Darkness.
Not the kind that envelops you when you close your eyes. This was absolute, suffocating nothingness, no sound, no weight, no breath.
Lucas felt as though he were falling endlessly through an empty void, his body dissolving into mist. Panic should have surged within him, but even that sensation felt distant and muffled. It was as if he were being submerged in a thick liquid, struggling to breathe.
"Hah!"
Suddenly, a rush of fresh air slammed into his lungs as he jerked forward, his eyes snapping open. He gasped for breath, the cold air rushing out of his nostrils while a chill crept up his spine.
Gripping the edge of a table to steady himself, Lucas's heart thundered against his chest like a war drum. A wave of hot blood surged through him; it felt as if his very soul were being forcibly compressed into something else.
Hah! Hah! Hah!
His breathing grew increasingly labored and rough; adrenaline coursed through him like wildfire. Every part of him felt uncomfortable and on edge.
After what seemed like an eternity, his breathing gradually slowed, and the frantic beating of his heart returned to normal. The discomfort began to fade away.
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes; relief washed over him like a soothing cold bath.
As he slowly opened his eyes to assess his surroundings, regret hit him immediately.
"Whe...where the hell am I?"
Lucas's mouth fell open in shock as disbelief washed over him. He stood frozen in place, time seemingly standing still as he absorbed the opulence around him.
Finally snapping back to reality, fear gripped him completely.
"Where the hell am I? Wasn't I on a train? How did I end up here?"
Panic set in as he surveyed the scene before him. Instead of the subway train he'd been riding moments ago, he found himself in an enormous luxurious room resembling the study of a wealthy individual or perhaps even royalty.
The walls gleamed pure white, so bright they nearly blinded him, adorned with intricate golden designs that glowed softly at their edges.
Above hung an enormous crystal chandelier that sparkled brilliantly; its sheer beauty left Lucas wondering just how much it might cost, far beyond anything he could comprehend.
"Damn... this chandelier could buy my entire family's future," Lucas thought incredulously as this notion flashed through his mind.
To either side were four sets of towering floor-to-ceiling windows draped with soft velvet curtains pulled aside gracefully.
The floor beneath him was made from black-and-white marble that reflected sunlight streaming through those grand windows. Scattered throughout this lavish space were plush sofas arranged with coffee tables between them; each piece of furniture looked expensive enough to cover not just tuition fees but also feed an entire family for years.
The room was lined with towering shelves crafted from exquisite redwood, each one intricately designed. These shelves held countless books, thousands, perhaps even hundreds of thousands, each seemingly imbued with its own unique story and mood.
To Lucas, this entire space embodied luxury. He had never encountered so many opulent items in one place before. In his life, the most expensive thing he had owned was a second-hand MacBook. Now, before him stood a room filled with treasures that could sustain him for years.
His mind raced as he struggled to comprehend his surroundings. One moment, he was on a train venting about the government; the next, he found himself awakening in this lavish chamber.
"Is this some kind of prank?" Lucas muttered to himself as he scanned the room again.
He glanced down and realized he was standing in front of a grand redwood table. Behind it loomed an extravagant throne upholstered in purple fabric, complete with curved armrests and plush cushions, a seat fit for royalty.
On the table lay stacks of books and documents meticulously arranged alongside unfamiliar objects. The overwhelming nature of it all threatened to shatter his sanity. Confusion, fear, and astonishment swirled within him like a storm; he couldn't determine whether this was reality or merely a dream.
Lucas lifted his gaze to the immense wall behind the throne-like chair, and a wave of confusion washed over him. He frowned as he examined what appeared to be a world map, tilting his head from side to side in an attempt to decipher it, but nothing looked familiar.
"This map doesn't resemble Earth at all," he muttered. "Why are there six continents instead of seven? And where the hell is Africa and Asia?"
Before him, affixed to the towering wall, was a colossal world map that bore no resemblance to anything he had ever seen.
It wasn't printed on paper or even painted; the surface seemed forged from polished dark steel, framed by thick brass edges adorned with intricate runes. Thin, luminous lines traced the coastlines of entire landmasses, glowing softly like veins beneath the surface.
Instead of the seven continents he knew, six dominated this metallic expanse. Their shapes were unlike any familiar outlines: no recognizable Europe or the stretched curve of Africa; no vast Asian mass.
Instead, these continents appeared sharper and more fragmented, resembling gigantic tectonic plates that had been violently forced apart eons ago. Lucas couldn't pinpoint their exact sizes, but it was clear they were significantly larger than those he was accustomed to.
One continent in the northern hemisphere sprawled wide and jagged, its coastline dotted with small island chains that resembled defensive outposts.
To the west lay a continent broken into three massive peninsulas separated by deep inland seas. In the south sprawled a vast landmass shaped almost like a crescent; its southern edge fractured into thousands of smaller islands scattered across an ocean that shimmered faintly with embedded crystal dust beneath the steel surface.
The eastern hemisphere featured a towering vertical continent, long and mountainous, cut through by glowing lines that resembled rail networks or ley conduits.
Between these continents stretched oceans etched in deep cobalt enamel, thin silver lines marking naval routes across their surfaces. A pulsing light flickered along borders, revealing certain areas glowing brighter than others.
As Lucas stepped closer, an unsettling realization dawned on him: this map wasn't static. Certain markers shifted slowly while border lines flickered faintly. It felt as though it was tracking something... something akin to real-time military movements.
His eyes widened in shock as he swallowed hard.
"This isn't just a world map... it looks like a war map."
Suddenly struck by a thought and seems to think of something, Lucas's eyes widened as he pinched his thigh hard enough to elicit pain.
"Yep...this is definitely not a dream or hallucination; it's all real," he murmured while rubbing his sore thigh as thoughts raced through his mind.
"Did that old man do something to me?" His memory flashed back to the peculiar conversation he'd had with an elderly stranger on the train.
He recalled discussing the current government's leadership and expressing how he believed he could do better than simply raising taxes and exploiting hardworking citizens.
The old man had asked if Lucas were in charge what changes he'd make, to which Lucas confidently replied that he would indeed do much better.
What struck him as odd was the way the old man smiled at him just before saying he'd come to see if Lucas could truly run a country. That was all Lucas remembered before waking up in this astonishingly lavish room that seemed capable of putting all his ancestors to shame.
As realization dawned on him, panic surged through his body like ice water coursing down his spine. Sweat began trickling down from his forehead and rolling down his cheeks as dread settled into every fiber of his being.
He took several steps back, nearly stumbling over himself as horror gripped him, his heart thundered against his ribs like war drums echoing throughout the silent room.
"What did that old geezer do to me?"