Chapter 1.

First thought : "What. The. Fuck !". A panicking mind in an unknown place, fumbling around in total darkness. No sound or smell either, like one of the most impaired being in the universe. He could still move though, flailing about like a moron, gasping for air and kicking the damp, hard ground.

"That's not right. It cannot be. I was just ... what was I just doing ? Nothing ?", there came the sudden realization of complete loss. The loss of memories, like a blank slate. He still knew some basic things but could not imagine their appearance, like knowing the definition of words but not having a matching image, a pretty shitty Pictionary.

After a few minutes of complete chaos, he stopped fighting and started thinking. "Can't really waste my time like that, let's get up at least." So he did, with the difficulty of a lack of balance in his body. He stumbled quite a bit, and in the process groped a wall that was quite humid.

- Thank you, said he in a strangled voice he couldn't even hear.

That inanimate help was sufficient to get him out of his stupor. And so he followed along with this unexpected friend, caressing its surface while little by little recovering his senses. The world around him slowly became alive, with a distant damp smell, the sound of a ragged breath, and some shiny, uneven grey ground.

Then more sound, not produced by him, but in a very similar melody, going from panicked breaths and the drumming of fists on the stones to cries and soft tears. His eyelids fluttered to let him behold of the weirdly funny sight : dozens of people in their underwear, crouching or fetal as they cried for air.

He was standing against his cold wall, watching as they, like him, emerged into reality and got their senses back. He saw all kinds of people in front of him : some middle-aged guy with a beer belly, an elderly couple struggling with back pain, and many others of all ages. They were all as lost and confused as he was.

- What the fuck ..., he heard from pretty much everyone in soft voices.

A quite accurate description of the general state of mind. Quickly enough, people started to take note of everything and everyone around them, many trying to cover themselves in some shame. After all, a few were completely butt naked.

- Who are you !, screamed a man in his forties.

He had a bald head, a large build, and a biker's moustache. Looked a bit like a muscled Mario, whoever Mario may be.

- I'm going to have to ask you the same thing mister !, answered an annoyingly proper-looking woman a few meters away.

A heated argument ensued, without anyone making any sense whatsoever, which was not that surprising. Some insulted others who insulted back, while most just listened with shocked expressions plastered over their faces. All the while, our main man sank deep in thought, trying to put a bit of order in his head.

"Okay, so. Who am I ? ... Nick ? Sounds like it, I think, maybe. Why am I thinking in English though ? I'm pretty sure I don't come from an English-speaking place. Doesn't matter. So I'm Nick, and nothing else of note seems to come to mind. Ah yes ! Where's my phone ? What's a phone ? It feels like a pretty fucking important thing, and I don't even know what it is ! Is there any useful information in there ?!", he thought while unconsciously hitting his forehead with one hand and checking his waist with the other.

The fight around died down, people unanimously getting tired of screaming for no reason. The most adventurous began scrutinizing the place, Nick included. It was a huge underground cave made of solid, cracked, and dark grey stone. Nothing but that. Just a hundred meters wide circular cave, with an irregular ceiling as high as twelve meters. The dim light in there came from an oval-shaped opening at the apex above them. It gave a bluish glow to everything, even people's skin. "Creepy", he thought with a scared frown. At one end of the cave laid a small pond of crystalline liquid, and next to it a dark tunnel.

- Everyone, listen up ! I don't know what's happening here, but let's calm down and gather intel. If any of you know anything about what's going on, pray tell please., said the muscle guy in an authoritative tone.

No one answered, but everyone looked around at the nearest faces." I don't know shit, and I'm definitely not the only one", thought Nick in half disappointed half reassured way. He would have wanted to know more too but felt like great suspicion would hover over the head of the knowledgeable.

- No one ? Well me neither, meaning we're all in the same boat. Let's just stay calm and analyze the situation carefully. What's the most important thing right now ?, continued the dude.

- Figuring out where we are and where we should go ?, answered someone in the crowd.

- Exactly, and also see if we can get some clothes for those in need here., he added with an embarrassed tone while avoiding to look at the naked people among them.

- Let's get on with it then., spoke a raspy partially broken voice from the back of the cave.

Beer-belly guy cast a mistrustful gaze to everyone from the back of the group, then walked towards the only way out of there : the tunnel next to the pond. Everyone just followed, still very much shaken, shaking, and not very much thinking. Muscle joined Beer to the front, entering the tunnel in a determined pace.

Nick went with the flow among the flock. He stopped next to the pond though, hesitating to quickly quench his thirsty throat. However, it could have been unsuitable for consumption. Another unknown variable just there to break his everything. "Fuck it", he thought as he bent over the flange and plunged his entire head in there. "If you're gonna do something, do it whole-heartedly.". His face got very cold, numbing his mind in a partially appeasing, but still painful way. Aaaand it was just water. Plain old tasty-when-you-are-thirsty-and-bland-in-every-other-occasion water.

He then adopted a quick pace to catch up to the strangers, with wet head and sticky hair. He felt quite weird at some point though. Not something bad, just a surprising boiling feeling in his right side, above his waist. It was the same feeling as eating spicy hot curry, but not in his stomach. "That's a delicious-sounding word, 'curry'".

After a few minutes of boring walking at the back of the procession, he heard a series of propagating surprised gasps. People lumped themselves at the end of the tunnel, keeping the latecomers from the privilege of too being agape. A bit of time afterwards, everyone moved, letting Nick and co. to also discover the new sight : another big cave, with sturdy tables disseminated against the walls, covered with all sorts of objects ranging from food and clothes to tools and cooking utensils, and even ... weapons ? Armours ? Medieval shit ! Now that he thought about it, even the clothes looked ancient in style! "Feels like I think that a bit too much recently, but dafuck ? Swords and shields, spears and hauberks ?! I just entered an RPG ! I may love RPGs, whatever they are, but living one feels like a dangerous idea."