[b]Ruler of the Sea ~ Lounge[/b]

A hooded Seth could once again be found lying on one of the sofas in the lounge. And once again he was napping, complete with his hood pulled down over his face. But with no interruptions he was free to have a little dream. One that, for once, wasn't quite the usual nightmare he was accustomed to.

[b]Unknown Location ~ Five Years Ago[/b]

A kid lay unconscious on the beach, looking like he was washed ashore from a shipwreck or something. Nothing on his personage but the clothes on his back, and even that was mostly limited to a blue hooded jacket and black shorts for the most part. He lay face down, his head turned just right so that it was smothered in the sand. As waves slowly rolled up to his waste before receding back as usual, a pair of legs appeared, someone having walked down to the shore from further inland. The man knelt, appearing to dressed like a monk of sorts, but with no beads and the only religious symbol he wore having been carved into by a knife of some kind. Where the man came from, this was symbolic of one who had renounced their faith. He still had a shaved head, though, the breeze of the beach blew cool wind over his bald head.

"Can you read him?" the fallen monk said, it turned out he wasn't alone. He was accompanied by another man, this one younger but still not a kid by any means. He was dressed differently too, drastically so. In fact standing next to each other the two may as well have come from completely different worlds... which they did. The younger man's garb was a more form-fitting outfit, mostly a black sleeveless shirt of leather and a bottom that was mostly combat fatigues and boots. He also wore gas mask oddly enough, that made it impossible to see his face or hair. He knelt down as well, hovering his gloved hand over the unconscious kid's head for a moment. He stood back up, even stepping back as if surprised, "What's the problem?"

"...Nothing." spoke the younger man, his voice sounding somewhat distorted by his mask.

"If there's no problem then what-"

"That's not what I mean. The problem is nothing. As in there's nothing to read." he gestured to the sleeping kid, "Minds are supposed to be like books I can read, but this kid... he's got nothing. It's like trying to read a book with blank pages."

The former monk narrowed his gaze somewhat, then gently picked up the unconscious boy and started carrying him inland, "Well whatever the case, it looks like we have ourselves a new resident. If you can't read him we'll just have to learn about the kid the old fashioned way." the apparently psychic man followed after the monk without raising any objections.

An unknown amount of time later, the kid awoke, "Where...? Who...?" he clutched his head as if suffering a headache. He tried to think... to remember, but then nearly screamed out loud. There was... nothing! Every time he tried to remember or think back it was just a painful blank. The kid wasn't even entirely sure he even remembered who he was. In a panic, he fled the room and found himself outside. He was in a town, or at least it looked like one. Small shacks and other humble buildings and abodes plus a nearby diner with a sign that read "Monty's". With no clue where this was or even if he was supposed to be here, the kid was about to run in another panic when something silently grabbed his shoulder. He turned and nearly screamed at the sight of an armored person who had apparently been standing guard at the little house he'd awoken in.

"Who are you?" the kid exclaimed. The armored man offered no response, "Who are you?" he repeated. Still no answer, "Where is this? What do you want with me?" but still the armored figure said nothing. Now the boy was getting frustrated, "Answer me, already!" he went to kick the armored person, but his shoe just clanged against what he could have sworn was merely an empty suit. Not that he noticed this fact at the time.

"He can't." someone spoke, finally offering an answer, but it wasn't the armor guy. It was a... monk? Or at least... someone who looked like one. He was accompanied by another guy in black clothes and wearing a gas mask of all things, "You don't have to be afraid. I merely asked him to guard you while you rested. Nothing more." the monk then nodded to the armored guy who merely offered a nod of his own in response before silently walking away.

"Where is this? Who are you? Who... am I?" the kid tried to think again, but like before it was a painful blank and he instinctively clutched the sides of his head in response to that pain.

"As I thought. Mantis couldn't read you because there was nothing to read. But let's start from the beginning. You're in Nexus Town. Whatever world you came from is one of many. Well, actually, they're all just variants of the same world connected in a multiverse. Nexus Town is... unique in that shares a connection point with all worlds. Any of the worlds can reached from here in some form and vice versa, in other words... like a nexus, hence the town's name." he sighed, though, since the next part was never easy to explain, "Every world also has a parallel realm this is nothing but Darkness and void. Sometimes this realm invades its sister world and swallows it into Darkness. Those with a strong enough heart or will to survive more often than not end up here."

"Hmph, more like the unwanted freaks end up here..." the guy called Mantis muttered.

"The point is..." the monk said after giving Mantis a brief glare, "...everyone in this town is a castaway, lost from their world. Or... simply rejected by it. Most of the survivors who end up staying here were outcasts in their own world, unwanted by their own people for one reason or another, and so they've little desire to return and live here instead among others who've also known what it's like to be unwanted and cast out."

Nexus Town. Multiverse. Darkness. Outcasts. To be frank it was completely overwhelming. Coupled with his rather unique situation, it was honestly too much for the kid to process. He wanted to scream. He wanted to scream so badly that he barely even realized that he had done just that. He screamed, cried out in confusion and agony. Before he knew it, white creatures began to appear in mass, who then started taking the shapes of bowguns and shooting energy shots at everyone around. They didn't do much damage though. In fact a great deal of them were quickly dispatched by various individuals with strange and sometimes scary-looking abilities and skills. As for the monk, rather than fight he instead approached the boy and knelt in front of him and placed his hands on the kid's shoulders.

"Calm down! You'll be alright." he said, having realized that the creatures he recognized as Sniper-type Nobodies were appearing and attacking in response to the kid's distress. That let him know in that moment that whoever this boy was, he was a Nobody, which meant he was still processing the concept of having no Heart or capacity for emotion on top of being unable to remember anything about himself. The monk's comfort seemed to calm the boy down, and the Snipers slowly vanished until none were left.

"I don't even know who I am... much less how I'm here... or even why..." the kid said with a bit of a hiccup from sobbing.

"How and why you're here makes no difference to any of us. But we'll be glad to help you discover the truth if that's what you wish. By the way... my name is Ganma. Can you at least recall your own name?"

"I... think... my name is..."

[b]Ruler of the Sea ~ Lounge[/b]

Seth shifted about on the couch, the Nobody having awoke from his nap. He yawned, even standing up and doing a little stretching. Like most dreams, the events of this one didn't stick in his mind for long. Still, he thought about it briefly, thinking back to when that really did happen. The only response to it he could offer was his usual grin and, of course, he chuckled.