The lamp in their small room flickered gently. Outside, a dog barked at nothing in particular. Inside, three boys sat like they were solving a major crime, when in reality, none of them had any idea what was going on.
Gao Zhi: "Alright. Let's try again. Slowly. Tell us everything you remember."Stranger: "Okay, okay. I'll try."
He closed his eyes. His fingers tapped nervously on his knees. Then he started to speak.
Stranger:
"The last thing I remember... there was this blinding white light. I didn't even have time to blink. And then suddenly—bang—I hit the ground. Hard."
"But that wasn't the worst part. The ground... it was freezing. Not like chilly. Painfully cold. Like my bones were shivering. I thought I was dead or in a freezer or… both."
"Then suddenly, warmth. Like someone dumped a blanket made of soup over me. I opened my eyes—and I see this street. A stone road. Dusty. Weirdly clean. Old buildings, too. Looked like vintage Europe if Europe ran out of color."
"Then I see you guys. This old man, and a boy about my age—"
Cheol Gae (offended): "Old man?"Stranger: "Bro, you look like a retired warrior monk who pays taxes."Gao Zhi (smirking): "Fair."
Cheol Gae : "What does that even mean"
Stranger (continuing):
"Anyway—you both had these long coats, kinda like school uniforms but extra dramatic. And when you talked... your English—dude—it sounded like something a royal European grandmother would recite during a tea curse."
There was a silence.
Gao Zhi and Cheol Gae turned to look at each other.
Cheol Gae (squinting): "…You thinking what I'm thinking?"
Gao Zhi (serious): "That he's definitely not from this continent."
Cheol Gae: "That, and… we might be the tea curse."
Gao Zhi: "No."
Cheol Gae: "Yes."
Gao Zhi: "…No."
They turned back to the stranger, whose hoodie now looked even more out of place under the low, flickering lamp. For a second, no one said anything.
Gao Zhi: "Your memories line up with what happened. The light. The cold. The instant jump. It's not just a random accident. You… you were moved here."
Cheol Gae (leaning in): "Or summoned. You ever fight a demon?"
Stranger: "No."
Cheol Gae: "Wrestle a god?"
Stranger: "No?"Cheol Gae: "Eat a weird glowing mushroom?"
Stranger: "…Not that I remember."
Gao Zhi: "Cheol. Let's not scare the guest."
Cheol Gae: "Wait, I think he died and then was reincarnated in this world"
Gao Zhi : "For the first time in my life I want to belive in your aunts dreamy diary"
The lamp dimmed once more, and outside, the wind howled. Inside their tiny room, three timelines sat together, sharing water, silence, and the growing realization that nothing ahead would be normal
Gao Zhi: "Okay. You remember how to speak. You remember things like… cities, shows. You even referenced grandmas and tea curses."Stranger (shrugging): "Yeah?"Gao Zhi: "So… do you at least remember your name?"
The room paused. Even the wind outside seemed to stop just to listen.
Stranger: "My… name?"
He blinked, furrowed his brows, like the name was hidden behind a locked drawer.
Stranger (softly): "…No. I don't."
Gao Zhi: "Interesting. You remember everything about your world except yourself. That makes me… weirdly willing to agree with Cheol."Cheol Gae (perking up): "Aha! So I'm not crazy!"Gao Zhi: "Not the point."
Gao turned back to the stranger, this time with more curiosity than suspicion.
Gao Zhi: "Think about it. If someone wanted to bring you here without the baggage of your old life—no memories, no distractions—they'd seal it. Block everything personal, but leave the basic stuff so you don't forget how to function."Cheol Gae (raising a finger): "And don't forget the light! He literally glowed like a divine light bulb."
Stranger (quietly):
"Now that you say it… I don't remember anything about myself. Not my name. Not what I liked. What kind of person I was. Family, friends—nothing."
"Who… who was I?"
"What was I"
His voice cracked just slightly, like the weight of that emptiness was finally settling in.
Gao Zhi stayed quiet for a second. Then he sighed, eyes softening beneath his heavy, intelligent brows and those two unusually big, straight ears that always stuck out a little too much.
Gao Zhi: "We'll figure it out. No one's ever truly lost until they give up on being found."Cheol Gae (nodding): "And until then, we're gonna call you… Something cool. Like Flamepunch."Gao Zhi: "Absolutely not."Cheol Gae: "Warmface?"Gao Zhi: "No."Cheol Gae: "Okay, fine. Treeboy. Since you arrived in front of a bonsai tree store alley."Stranger (groaning): "Please don't let that be it."
Outside, the moon rose higher. Inside, a boy with no name, a genius with strange ears, and a righteous idiot who looked thirty-five at nineteen sat together—trying to untangle the mystery of one mind and the strange light that brought him there.