Light. That was the first word that came to Thomas’ mind as his eyes snapped open, almost like some strange force was dictating his gaze. Surrounded by darkness, before him three glowing items hung suspended in the air: a sword, a shield and a rod, each one almost beckoning him to them, his thoughts becoming a clouded, hazy mess. In his confusion he tried to speak, to question what was going on, but nothing escaped his lips, only silence. He couldn’t even hear the sound of his own breathing. Was he even breathing in the first place? He clutched his shirt, just over where his heart would be, panicking slightly, but to his relief he could feel it. The uneven, yet somehow still rhythmic, beat still coursed through him.

He kept his hand clutched to his chest for reassurance, but he looked up to the three objects before him again, now calmed down. He looked at each one separately for a few seconds, considering his options, letting his thoughts try and clear so he could decide more easily. However, once he looked at the sword, he knew which one he would choose, almost like a primal instinct pushing him towards it. With one hand on his heart, he reached out with the other and took hold of the sword, grasping the hilt tightly. Almost instantly, a blinding light invaded his senses and the darkness he’d found himself in, squinting both eyes almost completely shut as the light got more and more intense, the sword quickly becoming barely visible behind the radiant rays that engulfed him and everything else around him, but he kept grasping it, never letting go. Eventually though, he felt himself slip away, overwhelmed and forced back into unconsciousness. Light. That was the last word that came to Thomas’ mind as he fell back into darkness.

A loud creak forced Thomas out from his slumber, his eyes slowly opening and adjusting to the light as he felt more creaks give way from underneath him as he lifted his back off the floor, laying his palms against it to help hold himself up. It was at that moment that he also realised the sword had vanished from his grip, which surprised him. Even if he did assume that the whole thing had been a dream before, it had felt so genuine, but perhaps he was overthinking things. Blinking himself completely awake, he scanned his surroundings, quickly surmising that he was in some kind of tavern. The wooden floor beneath him had provided the creaking that had pulled him out of sleep, and combined with the lit candles and the general aesthetic of the area, it gave him a sort of warm and cosy feeling. Where exactly was this tavern, though? How had he managed to get here? 

Inquisitive to know more, he stood up, a multitude of unusual, and borderline uncomfortable, senses rubbed against him, coursing his whole body. He looked down at himself and was startled when he noticed that he was wearing completely different clothes to what he had been wearing previously. Well, not completely different. Instead of a normal white shirt, he was wearing a white shirt that you might see in a movie about pirates, made from linen and loosely fitted, a small v-neck pulled together slightly by some brown lace. Instead of his usual slim-fit black jeans, he was wearing regular black trousers, slightly looser and lighter than the former. His black high tops had been replaced by more boot-like brown shoes, fitting the theme of everything else he was wearing, except for one thing. The only thing that remained unchanged, was the blue jacket that Thomas was wearing, the same one that he usually wore as well. Given that it was the only thing from his previous wardrobe that he was still wearing, it was slightly idiosyncratic when put against his other clothes, but somehow it still matched. It made him feel like there was still a part of himself, from before whatever had happened, with him.
Getting back to the task at hand though, he began to look around the tavern in more detail from where he stood, noticing a sign from the corner of his eye that caught his attention. It read: ‘Dangenki Café Club’. He raised an eyebrow, reading it over several times in his head to familiarise himself with it. Was that where he was, then?

All of a sudden, he heard voices. Caught off guard, he quickly turned towards them, a surprised and confused look on his face. A group of people, a motley crew for sure, were all sat around the bar. From the angle he stood at he couldn’t make out many faces in great detail, but… was that a catgirl? In any case, how had he not noticed them before? Had he really been so caught up in his own thoughts until now? Mind you, given their lack of reaction to him getting up, he assumed that the same applied vice versa, but if he was going to get anywhere at this point then asking them would probably be his best bet. 

With a hint of nervousness, Thomas made his way over to the group, clutching his arms together to make himself feel slightly less vulnerable as he spoke. [color=violet]“Uh… sorry to interrupt, but… where are we?”[/color]