When Jack woke up, he found himself on the old couch inside his home.

Rubbing his forehead, he couldn't recall a single thing that happened after he wrung the knife out of the hands of the attacker.

But he was sure, he had forgotten something very important.

What that thing was or why it was so important to him, he didn't know, and it frustrated him even more.

He didn't want to continue lying on the couch, opting for pacing around instead.

Although he knew there was nothing of interest to him in the house anymore, he still didn't step outside.

It was because he neither knew where his father was nor how to find Cast. So, what was the use of wandering around in the dark?

Jack glanced out the dirty window, the setting sun was struggling to illuminate the room with its orange rays.

At this moment Jack noticed a blurry figure walking toward the house.

It took him a short second to realize that the figure was Cast, who was now clad entirely in black and white, except for his signature brown cap.

But after he arrived at the house he only stood in front of the steps up to the door not moving another inch.

This confused Jack, but soon a thought formed in his mind. 

Maybe the important thing he forgot was about their next meeting? It didn't feel quite right but he couldn't come up with a better explanation for Cast's strange behavior and his gap in memory.

Jack swiftly walked towards the door and wanted to open it but found that he was locked in. The key was nowhere to be found and he didn't want to pick the lock for half an hour, so instead, he stepped in front of the window facing the street.

While trying to open it, Cast had already noticed him and came to stand underneath the window.

Finally, Jack slid the window open and stuck out his head.

With an awkward and apologetic expression on his face, Jack muttered: "I'm sorry the door is locked, I will jump down now."

With these words, Jack started to climb out of the window before jumping off the wall and landing slightly wobbly. A hand appeared to support his back and prevent him from falling backward.

Jack was a bit surprised but still thanked Cast in a hushed voice.

The other nodded simply and shoved a pile of clothes into Jack's arms.

The clothes were the exact same as Cast was wearing at the moment, and from how they looked, Jack was guessing that it was more of a formal outfit.

He had to admit, this look also fit Cast pretty well.

Jack started changing his clothes, swapping his shabby trousers and shirt for the pure white shirt, black jacket and pants. There was even a pair of shining black leather shoes included, he put them on dutifully.

Finished with his outfit change, Jack looked at Cast, who had been watching him throughout the whole thing, seemingly deep in thought. Then he reached out and brushed through Jack's blond hair with his fingers.

Jack was startled and withdrew his head but before he could say anything, Cast interrupted him.

"We are going to a party today."

Jack was stunned, not because Cast told him that they would be going to a party, at least not entirely because of that, but because Cast told him where they would be going at all. This was great progress and that only in two days!

Jack eagerly nodded.

He wasn't much of a party person but he was pretty sure they wouldn't be there just for fun, surely there was a job waiting for them.

Cast started walking and Jack immediately followed after he hid his original clothes in a corner.

With Cast in the lead, they soon found a busy street with cars driving up and down. Not long after Cast stretched out his arm at the edge of the sidewalk one of the cars stopped next to them.

Cast opened the door and beckoned Jack to get in, only after both of them were seated comfortably, did Cast lean forward to tell the driver some kind of address.

It didn't take long for the car to start driving.

Jack watched his surroundings with fascination. Just like his teachers told him, in most 'Realms' with a pre-apocalyptic setting, even cities weren't nearly as brightly lit as in his world.

Although the number of humans had decreased substantially and with it the size of cities, there were almost no spots not brightly illuminated by lights, there was almost no difference in their appearance at night to that at daylight.

Here, there were colorful lights blinking like gems through the dark, enticing people to check out whatever it was they were shining for. He even saw some lights arranged in what he assumed were objects and the language of this 'Realm', which, he noted looked a bit similar to the one in his last 'Realm'.

It was a stark difference from the sterile look of the city he knew, but he didn't dislike it at all. Similar to yesterday when he realized just how lively a world with more people could be.

But in the end, this wasn't real, and Jack could only feel regretful and continue enjoying the view.

Even after they left the city, the lights of other cars and what he figured was the pre-apocalyptic invention called 'train' kept him distracted.

After about 10 minutes or so of driving, they arrived at their destination.

A building more gorgeous and grand than anything Jack had seen before, intricate designs decorated the entire building, golden lights gushed out from the open entrance and tall windows, making the water from the stone fountain glisten and the bushes strewn about the plot of land were lush and beautiful.

The guests on their way inside also mirrored this extravagant atmosphere.

The men wore similar clothes to Cast and Jack, while the women were clad in sparkling dresses, feathers, furs and all kinds of jewelry.

Seeing this, Jack was kind of jealous.

But he had no time to dwell on these thoughts, as Cast tapped him on the shoulder, waving him to follow.

Jack trot after him, slowly they neared the grand entrance that was at least five meters wide and eight high, there were many people standing in the hall following the entrance, most of them drinking, talking, and smoking like the man from that time.

Cast simply slipped through the crowd, obviously familiar with things like this. Jack tried to do the same, but soon lost sight of Cast in the mass of people.

This made Jack anxious, being in an unknown environment and the sheer noise from the music and people making him dizzy, which really didn't help him calm down and focus.

He wanted to leave but not without Cast, also, he wouldn't be able to find the entrance by himself anyway.

Walking around aimlessly to either find Cast or a quieter spot, whichever he came across first, Jack stepped out of the lavish building only to find himself standing on top of stairs that lead down to a big pool.

There were still countless guests around maybe even more than inside the house, some of them dancing to the music of the orchestra not far away.

Slowly but surely, Jack was pushed down the stairs into what was most likely the main venue of the party. He didn't really want to go down but it was too late for regrets.

Stumbling about in the constantly moving crowd, it took Jack a long time to reach another flight of stairs, which he quickly walked down with shaky knees.

Finally, he stepped onto the wooden jetty at the end of the stairs and his legs almost gave away under the immense relief he felt. There were no guests down here.

He barely made it to one of the broad wooden posts of the jetty and slid down into a sitting position, leaning onto the post behind him.

Taking deep breaths of fresh air, the dizziness started to fade a bit, and Jack began to assert his current situation and the next steps he should take.

Only now did he realize that he had acquired a long feather shawl and a glass of what smelled like alcohol at some point during his stumble.

Putting aside the glass, the shawl was actually pretty nice.

He stroked the soft shawl and fiddled with the feathers, it really helped calm his strained nerves.

Somehow, this 'Realm' really stressed him out, maybe it was the occasional fights? But these didn't turn out as bad as he expected them to and he actually didn't mind them that much.

What else was there?

Jack slightly furrowed his brows, if it was talking about stressful situations, shouldn't suddenly becoming deaf be among the highest?

"Finally found you!"

Jack instantly looked up from the feathers in his hands.

Cast was standing on the flight of stairs not far away, panting and his clothes in disarray.