Echoes of The Book

"Breathe, breathe, breathe… Damn it, just breathe, Thomas," he thought to himself.

Thomas was on the ground, panting with sweat pouring down his face.

"Hey, uh, are you alright?" Somnia asked.

"Yeah, I'm just trying to calm myself down."

"Why? You're perfectly safe here."

"You don't understand, I'm a scavenger."

"Aaaand?"

Thomas looked up with a confused look on his face.

"What do you mean and?"

"I meant, what does being a scavenger have to do with your current situation?"

"The real question is what DOESN'T have to do with my current situation? Do you not know about the consequences of fleeing from a scavenger base?"

"Nope."

"The scavenger organization is very serious when it comes to these scenarios. If you're ever caught running away or fleeing without permission, there are many penalties."

"Wouldn't they just fire you?"

"No, they purposely don't fire scavengers so they can punish them as much as they can. I heard a story of a man who snuck off to a nearby kingdom to get some food, and when he returned to his base, they forced him to work for a year without paying him. He was forced to become a servant of the highest bidder so he could get his hands on some money. I DON'T WANT TO BE SOMEONE'S SLAVE!"

"Well, there is no way they can find you here, so I think you should be fine."

"Wait… Where exactly am I?"

"Oh, you're currently in my castle in the Kingdom of Initium, an island that is a territory of the Empire of Eden."

At that moment, Thomas's face went completely pale, and he dropped to the floor.

"T-t-the Empire of Eden? You're telling me that ritual sent me across the world…."

"Exactly, and since you got sent across the world, there is no reason you have to worry about them now!"

"So, um, who exactly are you again?"

Thomas looked up to get a good look at the man in front of him.

"He looks like a well-dressed man. However, what's up with that mask of his? Why does it resemble the symbol that was in that eye I had to draw for the ritual?"

"You don't know who I am?"

Thomas looked at Somnia with a confused look on his face.

"You are a scavenger, after all, and you people usually aren't very educated."

"WHERE DID THAT COME FROM?!"

Somnia let out a small chuckle.

"My name is Somnia, Somnia the Dreamer."

"Somnia… The Dreamer?"

"Exactly!"

"And where exactly are we right now?"

"The church in my castle!"

Thomas sat there with shock all over his face.

"D-D-Did he just say a church… IN HIS CASTLE?!"

"Why do you have a church in your castle?"

"Obviously because I didn't feel like walking to church, and so I simply built one in my home!"

"Oh… I see."

"Anyways, Somnia, tell me, what is this blessing ritual?"

"It's a ritual that sees if a god deems you worthy of either a piece of their power or to communicate with them."

"I see, so it's the ritual I just performed."

"Exactly!"

"And if I remember correctly, you said earlier you performed it too, right?"

"Yup!"

"So, what has happened to me? The last thing I remember, I was covered in this dark energy and then sent here, but I don't feel any different."

"Well, did you hear any voices?"

"Nope."

"I see, so that must mean you are now like me! A Chosen!"

"A Chosen?... What exactly is that?"

"A Chosen is someone who performs the blessing ritual and is successfully deemed worthy by the god of the symbol they picked."

"Wait, so if I'm a Chosen now and the god I picked was the God of Existence…"

Thomas looked at his hands, and a wide grin formed on his face.

"I MUST BE PRETTY POWERFUL!"

"Well, if you were given the same power as me, then yeah, you are pretty powerful."

"Wait… The same as you? Were you also chosen by the God of Existence?"

"Mhm."

"So what exactly can I do now?"

Suddenly, Thomas let out a huge yawn.

"Oh wow, I must be more tired than I thought."

"I see. You're more than welcome to stay in one of my guest rooms."

"Are you sure? I don't mind staying somewhere else."

"It's fine, don't worry about it."

Somnia slightly knelt and put his hand out.

Thomas grabbed his hand and got on his feet.

"Follow me."

Somnia opened the doors to his church and stepped outside.

Thomas took a few steps and poked his head out.

"HOLY CRAP!" Thomas yelled.

Thomas looked out to see a beautiful grand foyer. At the center was a huge set of grand staircases. At the very top was a beautiful diamond chandelier. Thomas walked to the center of the room and slowly spun around to observe the room.

"This is… your home?"

"Yes," Somnia answered smugly.

"Come."

Somnia walked up the staircase with Thomas right behind him. As Somnia showed Thomas the way, Thomas looked around and observed every detail of the home. The walls were rose red with many different patterns on them. Each hallway was full of many wooden doors, and often there was a painting. There was no pattern between the paintings; they weren't family paintings or anything that looked like they were connected to the home. There were paintings of oceans, forests, and occasionally of people.

Thomas noticed that not only were both the baseboards and the crown molding decently big, but they were also made of pure gold.

"So, Somnia, what exactly do you do for a living?"

"Nothing, I retired a long time ago."

"Retired?"

"Yes, what did you expect? That I was going to gain massive wealth to afford this home and continue to work?"

"Well… No, but people like you often continue their work, so they pass it on to their children."

"That would have been the case, but I sadly never had the chance to have children."

"Oh, I see… Sorry for asking."

All of a sudden, Somnia stopped walking and opened the door beside him.

"This will be your room."

Thomas walked up to the door and took a step inside.

The room was humongous. At the center was a massive bed with a small table beside it on the left. The walls were colored a greyish blue. On the right of the room was a wooden desk, and on the left was a closet.

"Woah," Thomas said happily.

There was a look of amazement on Thomas's face.

"I-Is this really my room?"

"Yes, it is."

"So, for now, you should get some rest, Thomas, and when you wake up, I will explain everything to you. Alright?"

"Alright."

Thomas started walking and looked around the room in amazement, trying to absorb every detail about the room.

"There are some pajamas on the bed that you can change into."

"Oh, I see, thank you very much."

"Goodnight, Thomas."

"Goodnight."

Somnia slowly closed the door, and you could hear his footsteps slowly get quieter and quieter as he walked away from the room.

Thomas started changing clothes, and while he was changing, he thought to himself.

"I still have so many questions."

"How can he afford all of this? Why is he helping me?"

After Thomas finished getting dressed, he got into bed and slowly fell asleep.