("... They're still talking about skateboard tricks.") █████ thought to themselves.
("I don't really find anything particularly interesting from it... But it's kind of surreal to be here.")
("This place is more lively than how it is back on Earth and doing 9 to 5.")
("What was it I was doing before I got here?") █████ thought to themselves, lowering their head a bit, hands clasped together while they sit, contemplating, ("... Did I enter a bright light?")
("... It was appearing in an empty alley, I thought I'd check it out. The light wasn't that deep into the alley anyway, so if there was any danger, I could just sprint out.")
("But there wasn't anything when I found it... It looks like a very bright hole suspended in the air. And I went in without thinking.")
("Now I woke up here... in some weird ass place with these... new kinds of people.")
("I wonder how my wife's going to live with this.") █████ lifted their head further, ("Does time behave the same here? I hope it does.")
... "Pretty sure Desty's still in Centauri." Dagus said, "I think he'll be alright."
"I'm worried..." Lanora said, "He'll be alone there without me... sounds tragic, doesn't it?"
"We'll probably get back sooner or later." Syle said, opening his eyes a bit, "Or probably longer than we think."
"I don't want him to worry for me either... Do you think time works the same here?" Lanora asked.
"Probably, who knows?" Dagus states.
They kept talking to each other, while █████ just sits there, thinking of their wife. Until Dagus nudged their elbow towards their shoulder, getting their attention.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Dagus asked.
"You look kinda down, █████." Lanora said, "You thinking of something?"
... "Nothing really, I'm just bored." █████ said, "I was an employee in ██████████ back from where I lived, that is until I dragged myself here."
"I wasn't expecting this at all. Maybe I shouldn't be that curious." █████ said.
"Hmm? Did you go into the light?" Lanora asked.
"Yes." █████ claims shortly, "Did you guys do the same?"
"Duh, but it's in a kind of a different moment than you." Lanora said.
"What do you mean?" █████ said, confused.
"Well..." Lanora said as she trailed off.
Flashback into the past in another world. The trio is seen standing near in front of a cave with the entrance shining very brightly, but before the entrance are police tapes put around the cave.
"Alright, we're here now!" Lanora claimed excitingly, "The Hiddens' Hideout."
"It's still weird that they call themselves the Hiddens." Syle said, "Like, I don't get it? Such a lame name, even Dagus can think better than that!"
"If I were to give a suggestion, I'd name the cult 'Linearism'." Dagus said.
"And why is that?" Syle said.
They bickered in the background while Lanora took small steps towards the cave.
"Weird, there aren't any footprints here. Didn't some people get pulled in few days ago?" Lanora states, making a thinking gesture with her hand below her chin.
There was nothing happening at all. Lanora continued to observe the cave from a small distance.
["Few days ago, people were found missing near the entrance of the cave at the time during the First Surge." Lanora (present) said, "Seeing the missing people here answered our questions."}
["We were there because we wanted to look and try investigating it." Dagus (present) said, "The Hiddens did something bad and opened a certain portal to... many worlds... too many worlds. The very bright light you saw is a portal."]
["We heard they wanted to recreate the world or something like that." Lanora (present) added, "Our home world is kinda to blame for this, I suppose, hehe. But it's still their fault!"]
But it doesn't stay like that for long.
Suddenly... the light in the cave began pulsing.
"What the-" Lanora said.
Dagus and Syle looked towards her.
"Lanora, what's happening?" Syle asked.
"The Second Surge?" Dagus said, thinking out loud.
The light in the cave continues to pulse and grow faster each second.
"Uhhh, guys? Do we have to duck for this one?" Dagus said.
"Probably." Lanora said as she went to duck.
Then, the cave suddenly sends out a mysterious wide surge outward, creating a massive wind. Many trees and plants were swayed, even Syle saw a bird knocked away by the surge.
The trio takes cover, Lanora ducks down, Dagus stands wide but is slowly backing up, and Syle covers his face by his arm in an X gesture. The surge is pushing them back a bit.
"Is this the Second Surge you said?" Syle calls out to Dagus.
"There couldn't be only one surge!" Dagus said.
"Anyone gonna check that out?" Syle said, "If not, I'm gonna do it!"
"What do you mean 'checking that out'?" Lanora said, "Syle, no!"
"Syle, it's dangerous!" Dagus said, "Be reasonable, that's 100% how they went missing!"
"Yeah, that's why we're investigating this, aren't we?" Syle states.
"We're only investigating it, but you cannot be doing this!" Dagus said.
Syle is already walking towards the cave, pulling and tearing the police tape.
"I have to see it." Syle said, looking back at them for a bit, before looking back to the cave.
As he walked closer, he decided to reach one hand out to the light.
... Suddenly, "OOP-" Syle exclaimed as he was suddenly pulled in.
"Syle?!?!?!" Lanora said as she quickly got herself up and ran towards the cave.
"Wait, are we really going in there?" Dagus asked.
"Yes, Syle went in! So I'm going in too!" Lanora said.
("Oh my god are we serious?") Dagus thought to himself.
He thinks for a bit, "Okay then." Dagus said as he sighs.
He began walking towards Lanora, following her from behind. The surge seems to grow stronger as the last 2 are pushing themselves forward. Lanora's the first to touch the light, but she didn't really get pulled... Well, not until her entire right arm was engulfed. Then Dagus just... went in.
"That's how we got here." Lanora said, "Yeah, it's... kind of stupid." She added again, sounding a bit embarrassed.
"Well at least you didn't do it out of curiosity." █████ said.
"'The destination of the portal can be random, it rarely sends you to the saferoom.' That's what The Narrator told me." Dagus added, "To think we're lucky to be here…"
"There's also something that he sensed when some people were transported here." Dagus added, "It's why we're separated into 2 groups. Despite being small, we're the 'Main' group here."
"Hmm... That's interesting, I guess." █████ said, crossing their leg while sitting on the floor.