《Paradox; Rewritten.》 Displaced(Part 1) ¡°Huh. This isn¡¯t where I was¡­ wasn¡¯t I just..¡± ¡°Hey! There¡¯s something over there!¡± My head is spinning. What just happened? I was lying on the ground, staring up at a cloudy sky. The air felt heavy, familiar. My chest was heavy. Something wasn¡¯t right. A group stood nearby, watching me with weird expressions. Their postures were tense, eyes sharp. Remy took a cautious step forward. ¡°A person..?¡± Mim grabbed his shirt collar, yanking him back. ¡°Careful. We don¡¯t know what it is.¡± My heart pounded. ¡°Huh¡­ what?¡± I sat up quickly, scanning my surroundings. ¡°¡­Where are we¡­?¡± None of them reacted the way I expected. No relief, no recognition. Instead, Nicholas narrowed his eyes, his excited gaze on me. ¡°It speaks?!¡± My stomach dropped. A big wave of unease crawled up my spine. Nicholas¡­? No, this wasn¡¯t right. His voice, his tone.. it felt different. That whole situation- Was it real? I pressed my palm to my forehead, dizzy. ¡°¡­Am I dreaming? Or was I-¡± The wind howled through the trees, carrying a strange silence with it. No one answered. Something was very, very wrong. Nicholas took a step closer, eyes practically sparkling. ¡°Incredible¡­ A fully sentient, completely unique entity just appeared out of nowhere.¡± His voice dripped with excitement, but not the normal kind. The kind that made my skin crawl. I tensed. ¡°Wh-what?¡± Nicholas leaned in, inspecting me like I was some kind of rare gemstone. Or worse-like I was a new test subject. I do not like where this is going, I don''t know where I am and how I did get here.. Wasn''t i just with mim, remy and liz.. Or was that just a long dream.. ¡°Just look at you!¡± he continued, completely ignoring my obvious discomfort and confusion. ¡°The structure of your halo, your energy signature- absolutely fascinating. I¡¯ve never seen anything like it.¡± His grin widened. ¡° What are you? Where did you come from?¡± I swallowed hard. Buddy, I wish I knew. Before I could say anything, Nicholas interrupted, pulling something from his coat, a weird little device that looked suspiciously like it could poke, jab, or.. explode. I leaned away, ¡°Uh¡­ what¡¯s that?¡± Nicholas practically vibrated with excitement. ¡°Oh, just a harmless scanner! Standard procedure for something this¡­ extraordinary.¡± He said that like I was an alien he just discovered in his backyard. Never expected him like this.. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. I held up my hands trying to block it. ¡± H-hey you should stop-¡± Nicholas froze, looking genuinely surprised; ¡°You know my name!?¡± The others exchanged confused glances, clearly not following. ¡°Uh¡­yeah..?¡± Mim, still slumped over the table, squinted at me. ¡° oh great, it knows our legal names too, it might call its alien friends and we will all die-¡± I stared at them. ¡°Huh? What do you mean? I was somewhere else before this. A meeting room with you and remy. And now suddenly I¡¯m-¡± I gestured around, ¡°here.¡± Nicholas tilted his head. Then, with a casual shrug, he said, ¡°Ah. Probably just a dream bleeding into your waking state.¡± I hesitated a little, ¡°A dream?¡± Nicholas nodded, clearly distracted, tapping away at his scanner. ¡°It happens. The brain sometimes carries over false memories right after waking up. A sudden shift in consciousness can make it feel real, but it¡¯s usually nonsense. I wouldn¡¯t think too hard about it.¡± Remy shrugged. ¡° probably, sounds like you just napped too hard, man.¡± I looked at them, baffled. They weren¡¯t concerned at all. No ¡°oh wow, how did you get here?¡± No ¡°maybe we should look into this.¡± Just¡­ shrugs. Am I going crazy? Or was I actually just dreaming all that.. Nicholas, meanwhile, had completely moved on. He was already muttering about ¡°rare biological markers¡± while playing with his scanner again. I wasn¡¯t sure what was worse- the fact that no one believed me or the fact that I was starting to doubt myself. Mim sighed. ¡°Nicho. He¡¯s a guy, not a lab rat.¡± Nicholas scoffed. ¡°That¡¯s subjective.¡± Remy smacked a hand against his forehead. ¡°Oh my god, do you even hear yourself?¡± The conversation buzzed around me, but my thoughts were stuck on something else. This isn¡¯t right. I felt the wind, I heard the voices, I saw the faces, but it still felt wrong. ¡® i must''ve been dreaming the whole time.. Nicholas and Mim were still arguing like an old married couple, with Remy standing in between them like an exhausted babysitter. ¡°I¡¯m just saying,¡± Nicholas huffed, waving his scanner, ¡°if something like this, him, exists, then logically, we should document everything! For science!¡± Mim leaned over Remy¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Or maybe for mad science, you mean.¡± Nicholas gasped. ¡°How dare you.¡± Remy pinched the bridge of his nose. ¡°Nicholas, please, for once, act normal.¡± ¡°I am normal. You people are just boring.¡± I sighed, finally pulling myself up from the ground, brushing off my clothes. ¡°Uh¡­ I¡¯m still here, you know.¡± Nicholas immediately turned back to me, his eyes gleaming. ¡°Right, right! Ignore these two-, tell me, what are you?¡± I blinked. Obviously I don''t have an answer for that. Mim sighed. ¡°- He¡¯s just some weird guy, let¡¯s move on.¡± Nicholas grumbled, but before he could protest, Remy clapped his hands. ¡°Alright, we¡¯ve wasted enough time. We should head back before someone starts questioning why we¡¯re out here poking at strangers in the middle of nowhere.¡± ¡°Poking would¡¯ve been hypothetical,¡± Nicholas muttered under his breath. I didn¡¯t like how he said that. The nicholas in my dream were more calm and sane sounding.. Shoving the unsettling thoughts aside, I sighed. ¡°Fine. Where exactly is ¡®back¡¯?¡± Mim stretched, cracking his back. ¡°SJA base. You¡¯re coming with us now, since we¡¯re stuck with you.¡± Wow. So welcoming- I let them lead the way, my mind still lost. If that was just a dream¡­ then why do I still feel like something¡¯s off? That didn''t seem like a dream.. It felt too realistic to be one.. Displaced(part 2) I let them lead the way, my mind still lost. If that was just a dream¡­ then why do I still feel like something¡¯s off? That didn''t seem like a dream.. It felt too realistic to be one.. ___________________________________________ As we walked, I tried to shake the uneasy feeling. The wind was sharp, the ground solid beneath my feet..definitely feels real. And yet, my mind kept looping back to the¡­ other place. That dream. It didn¡¯t make sense. Aren''t Dreams supposed to be blurry, distorted, slipping away the moment you wake up. But this? I could still remember every detail. The way the room smelled. The sound of their voices. Even the slight tension in the air. It was real. It had to be. What if.. I''m in a dream right now..? But that''s nearly impossible.. ¡°So!¡± Nicholas¡¯s voice snapped me out of my thoughts. ¡°What¡¯s your genetic structure like?¡± I blinked. ¡°My what..?¡± Nicholas walked ahead, flipping his scanner open again, eyes practically glowing with curiosity. ¡°Your DNA! Your physical composition! Your energy output! Do you even have a normal biological structure, or is it something entirely unique? Maybe some unknown anomaly? How resistant are you to extreme conditions? What about-¡± ¡°Okay, whoa.¡± I held up my hands. ¡°First off, I think I¡¯m normal. Second, I have no clue what half of that means.¡± Nicholas gasped like I¡¯d just personally offended him. ¡°You think you¡¯re normal? You don¡¯t know?¡± I had enough. ¡°Do you wake up every day questioning how you¡¯re made..?¡± I sighed. Nicholas looked like he actually had to think about that. Mim groaned, dragging a hand down his face. ¡°Nicholas, please. The guy doesn¡¯t even know where he is, and you¡¯re over here trying to catalog his entire existence.¡± Nicholas scoffed. ¡°And that¡¯s exactly why we should! If he doesn¡¯t know, then that means we have an opportunity to find out!¡± Remy, who had been quietly leading the way, finally sighed. ¡°Nick, you will scare him off if you keep that up.¡± I nodded. ¡°Yeah, what he said.¡± Nicholas huffed but didn¡¯t back down. ¡°Fine, fine. But one more question.¡± I raised an eyebrow. ¡°Just one?¡± ¡°¡­For now.¡± I sighed. ¡° What is it?¡± Nicholas leaned in, eyes gleaming. ¡°Do you have any special abilities?¡± Mim groaned. ¡°Oh my god.¡± Remy gave Nicholas a tired look. ¡°Dude.¡± I hesitated, lips pressing together. What should I tell him? Would he even believe me if I said I might be just a normal being.. I shrugged. ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t think so?¡± Nicholas squinted at me. Hard. Like he could somehow force the truth out of me just by staring. ¡°I¡¯m serious, I don¡¯t think I do..¡± Nicholas hummed, clearly unconvinced. ¡°Hmph. We¡¯ll see about that.¡± I don''t think I wanna know what he''s thinking about doing. We kept walking in silence, the sound of our footsteps the only thing breaking the stillness. I couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that Nicholas was behind me still studying my every move, like I was some kind of specimen. Remy, sensing my discomfort, finally spoke up. ¡°Nicholas, not everything needs to be figured out. Sometimes, it¡¯s enough to just be, live in the moment without the pressure of needing to know everything.¡± I glanced at him, the sincerity in his words catching me off guard. ¡® live in the moment..¡¯ That''s familiar.. Nicholas, Obviously not listening to Remy, mumbling to himself. ¡°I just need a few more tests. A couple of observations. And then maybe-¡± mim quickly cut him off. ¡°Nicholas, can we just¡­ go back to the SJA without turning this guy into your next project?¡± Nicholas flashed a grin, clearly not offended. ¡°Of course. Just don¡¯t be surprised if I have more questions later.¡± I sighed, not sure whether to feel relieved or more worried. As we continued walking back to the SJA, I couldn¡¯t help but wonder if I was any closer to understanding myself, or if I was just getting deeper into something I didn¡¯t fully understand. But Remy¡¯s words lingered in my mind. Maybe I just need to be myself... Is that really enough? As we got closer to the SJA, the building looked the same as in the dream, but felt unsettling and suffocating. Nicholas¡¯s voice pulled me back to reality. ¡°You¡¯re more than you think, Solarphel. I¡¯ll need more data to prove it.¡± I sighed, not looking back. ¡°Can we not.. give me a break.¡± Mim chuckled. ¡°Good luck with that. Nicholas doesn¡¯t do ¡®breaks.¡¯¡± We finally entered the SJA. Even with the familiar noise around me, something still felt off. I wasn¡¯t sure if I¡¯d ever find the answers I wanted. But I guess it was okay if I didn¡¯t. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Reaching Nicholas¡¯s lab was as chaotic as I expected. The moment we stepped inside, the air smelled like rusted metal and suffocating.. Lots of weird stuff around made weird noises and beeped, screens flickering with data I couldn¡¯t even understand. Shelves lined with labeled boxes spread along the walls, filled with stuff I didn¡¯t want to question. In the middle of the room was a large circular platform surrounded by scanning equipment, and it didn¡¯t take a genius to figure out that Nicholas planned to shove me onto it the first chance he got. The atmosphere.. None of this feels real. The way the lights buzzed above me. The loud yet beeping noise.. The sharp steps of Nicholas¡¯s boots as he happily jumped toward a console. It was all very weird. Too weird and too defined. If this is actually a dream, then does anything I do here even matter? Maybe.. maybe not, why not try? A strange sense of freedom came over me. If nothing mattered, then I could do anything. It wasn¡¯t like I¡¯d wake up and deal with consequences.. So Maybe I should test the limits of this dream. What would happen if I just... walked out? I took a slow step backward while mim was busy contemplating life at the corner, and Remy scolding Nicholas lightly while he fantasized about my cells. I noticed a strange ore on the counter. a small, pulsing yellow crystal. It glowed slowly and faintly, as if hinting something. I don''t know what it is though im stupid, Just guessing. But Something about it felt... familiar. Nicholas, of course, was still too busy preparing whatever insane tests he had in mind. I Looked at the ore again. No one was looking at me. Without thinking, the automatic doors behind me opened. I took it as a chance and turned around and ran. Mim noticed slightly but waited a few seconds, "Hey nico, who will you experiment on now?" Mim¡¯s voice sounded slightly pleased. "And what are you talking ab-" Nicholas realised, "HE RAN AWAY?!" "Oh." Remy sighed. "Yeah, Probably." And I was already halfway down the hallway, my feet barely touching the floor. The SJA was huge, and I just kept running to wherever seemed like an exit. "GET BACK HERE, YOU WALKING SCIENTIFIC BREAKTHROUGH!" Nicholas¡¯s voice behind me. Nuh uh.. Absolutely not. I turned a corner so fast I nearly slipped. This was ridiculous. I''m having second thoughts.. Why did I run anyways? What will I do after I escape? I turned another corner and- ¡­ ran straight into a wall. Pain exploded through my forehead, stars in my vision, clutching my face. My brain took a moment to process what just happened. Did I really just knock myself out in the middle of my grand escape? I barely had time to feel embarrassed before I heard the sound of rapid footsteps behind me. Blinking through the dizziness, I turned my head just enough to see Nicholas sprinting toward me at full speed, eyes glowing like a mad scientist. "NOPE." Ignoring the pain, I spun around and ran off again, wobbling slightly from the impact but determined to keep my freedom. " BAHAH- HE HIT THE WALL!" Mim''s laughter echoed from behind as he was speed walking behind just for entertainment, treating it like a show. "Wow.. how far do you think he¡¯ll get..?" Remy sighed walking along with mim. Mim smirked, barely holding back more laughter. "Eh, ten steps before Nicholas grabs him- five if he keeps running like a headless chicken..¡± "I¡¯ll bet on fifteen. He¡¯s panicking, but he¡¯s fast." Meanwhile.. I¡¯m still dizzy, fueled by pure terror. Nicholas, on the other hand, was ready to jump on me with zero hesitation. Mim inhaled. "Oh, this is the best thing I¡¯ve seen all week." I didn¡¯t dare look back. I have no idea where I was going. Honestly, it feels great, the best decision I''ve made ever since I woke up in that dream. I turned another corner, barely keeping my balance. My only thought; Find somewhere, anywhere, to hide.. Maybe like a closet or something..? Then, like a miracle, I spotted an open supply closet, wow what a coincidence¡­ is this scripted?! Without hesitation, I threw myself inside, slamming the door shut and pressing against it, heart pounding in my ears as Footsteps walked past. "WHERE THE HELL DID HE GO?!" Nicholas¡¯s voice was close..too close. "Maybe he evaporated," Mim said lazily. There was a pause. "...Mim, that¡¯s not how science works!" "Well, neither are you catching him." Nicholas dropped to his knees. "My project¡­ my BEAUTIFUL, ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME DISCOVERY, GONE!" His voice wobbled, and to everyone¡¯s horror, his eyes was holding tears. Mim blinked. "..uhh." Remy looked at mim awkwardly then looked back at Nicholas on the ground. "Umm, there, there?" He patted Nicholas¡¯s shoulder, but it was clear from his face that he had no idea what he was doing. Nicholas let out a dramatic sniffle, clutching his lab coat. "He was right there, and I let him SLIP THROUGH MY FINGERS!" Mim leaned toward Remy, whispering, "Do we¡­ do we just let him do this?" Remy sighed. "I don¡¯t think we have a choice." With a choked sob, Nicholas suddenly stood up, wiped his nose on his sleeve, and bolted back to his lab, muttering, "I need a new plan¡­ I need blueprints¡­ I need..TISSUES!" The door slammed behind him. Mim and Remy stood in silence for a long moment. Then Mim shrugged. "Well. That was weird." Remy sighed. "Yeah¡­ wanna go get lunch?" ¡°Sure!¡± listening as their voices faded down the hall. Slowly, carefully, I cracked the door open and Coast was clear. That was indeed weird. I almost felt bad for nicholas. Slipping out, I sprinted in the opposite direction. Walking through endless hallways until I found a backdoor, just barely propped open. Did I question why it was unlocked? No. I ran through it, bursting into the open air of the city beyond. Cool wind hit my face, and for the first time since stepping into that lab, I could finally breathe. I was free. Displaced(part 3) Cool wind hit my face, and for the first time since stepping into that lab, I could finally breathe. I was free. ¡­Now what? I had no plan. No money. No idea where I was. Just me, and the hope that Nicholas wouldn''t send a tracking drone after me. I wandered through the familiar streets, my long turquoise-blue hair flowing behind me, catching a few strange looks. Maybe it was the hair. Maybe it was the fact that I was barefoot, wearing nothing but a white shirt and blue pants Ymir had given me that day. Either way, I stood out, and that wasn¡¯t good. Then I saw him. What kind of coincidence is this? Ymir. He was walking out of a shop, holding a small bag, when his eyes landed on me. His eyes narrowed slightly, and my heart beated in relief. He remembers me, Right?! "Huh," Ymir muttered. "You kinda look like someone I know." ¡­What? ¡°Yeah, weird. Even your clothes kinda look like mine.¡± Ymir rubbed his chin, then shook his head. ¡°Must be a coincidence.¡± A COINCIDENCE?! I just stood there, brain processing. What was I supposed to say to that?! "Uh, You sure? Y¡¯know, maybe take a closer look?" Ymir just shrugged. "Nah, I¡¯ve got a good memory. If I knew you, I¡¯d remember. Anyway, sorry to disturb you, see ya!" And with that, he just walked away. I stood there, absolutely dumbfounded, my soul leaving my body. WHAT DO YOU MEAN "SEE YA"? My whole existence just got dismissed. Wow.. I stood there, staring at Ymir¡¯s back as he casually walked away, completely unfazed. My brain, which had been running on pure panic and confusion, suddenly had a moment of absolute genius or so- Wait¡­ If Ymir, someone I definitely met in that so-called dream, doesn¡¯t remember me here, and the people here are acting like I¡¯m just some random guy¡­ then that means¡­ My eyes widened. This isn¡¯t a dream.. Holy crap..This is all real. Nicholas was real. Mim, Remy, the lab-all real and their behaviour in that dream is more of a weird thing.. I actually escaped from some weird scientist, ran through a giant facility barefoot, and slammed into a wall in front of witnesses. ¡­ Yeah, nope. I immediately decided this was just an extra long nightmare. Some ultra-detailed stress dream that my brain cooked up for absolutely no reason. Yep. That made way more sense. nodding to myself. "Yep, totally a nightmare." Standing in the middle of nowhere near the SJA building, getting side-eyes from people passing by. I took a cautious step forward and immediately realized another problem-people. So. Many. People. And their thoughts were LOUD. "Is that guy barefoot??" "Woah, Her hair is so long, has she ever cut it?" "Oh, he''s kinda pretty." "they look like they escaped from somewhere... should I call security?" I froze, wondering how and why I could hear their thoughts, trying to block it but the more I walked, the worse it got. People were literally stopping to stare at me, whispering and wondering if I was some lost celebrity or a lunatic on the loose. I passed a guy who was about to take a sip of his coffee, and for some reason, I accidentally heard his thoughts crystal clear. Stolen story; please report. "If I don¡¯t drink coffee, I¡¯ll die. This is the only thing keeping me alive. This is my life source. My reason for existing. My-" I accidentally made eye contact. His soul left his body. He choked mid-sip, eyes going wide like I had just read his diary out loud. Coffee spilled down his shirt. I walked away as fast as I could, trying not to look at anyone. My head hurt from hearing too many thoughts at once. People kept staring, whispering, wondering if I was someone famous or just crazy. I ended up in a small park. It was quieter here. Kids were playing on the swings, running around, laughing. Finally, some peace.. But I accidentally made eye contact with a group of kids. They all froze. Their eyes got big; "WHOOOOAAA!" Before I could move, they ran straight at me. "Your hair is so long!" "Are you an angel??" "You look so cool ma¡¯am!" "are you glowing or is it the sunlight?" "Ow, okay! " ¡° Can I touch your hair?!¡± "Do you know Santa??" I just stood there, completely lost, I couldn''t even get proper words out of my mouth. "Uhm..¡± One little girl gasped. "Are you a prince?" "I¡­ I don¡¯t know?" I said, confused. Another kid¡¯s eyes went wide. "You look like a prince!" "What? in what way-" A boy patted my arm, very serious. "It¡¯s okay. Maybe you were a prince, but something happened, and now you forgot everything." "That¡¯s so sad," a little girl sniffled. "Wait, I didn¡¯t-" "It¡¯s okay!" another kid said. "We¡¯ll help you remember!" And just like that, they all sat around me, coming up with crazy stories about my "past life." One kid even started braiding my hair. ¡­This was still a weird dream, probably. But at least it was kind of funny and comforting. I sat there, still processing how my entire life got hijacked by a bunch of kids with overactive imaginations. At this point, what am I supposed to do? Tell them they are wrong? That I was actually some guy who just escaped from a lab and had no clue how I got here? ¡­Actually, that sounded way worse. an idea hit me. A stupid, ridiculous, completely unnecessary idea, but also might be the best idea I¡¯d had all day. If these kids wanted to believe I was a prince¡­ why not? I gasped dramatically, putting a hand over my heart. "Wait¡­ you¡¯re right." The kids leaned in, eyes wide. "Really??" I nodded, lowering my voice like I was telling them a great secret. "I¡­uhm.. I think I am a prince! But ¡­ I¡¯m undercover¡­?" I sounded very unsure. A collective gasp. One kid nearly fell over. "UNDERCOVER?!" "Shhh!" I put a finger to my lips. "Not so loud! They might hear you.." "Who?!" the little girl braiding my hair whispered. I pretended to look around, as if checking for someone. "The ones who are after me. They don¡¯t want me to remember who I am. If they find out I¡¯m here, they might take me away." The kids all turned serious real fast. One little boy clenched his fists. "No way! We won¡¯t let them take you!" "Yeah!" another girl joined in. "We¡¯ll keep you safe!" A third kid put a hand on my shoulder. "Don¡¯t worry, Your Majesty. We¡¯re really good at hiding people. We played hide-and-seek for three hours last weekend, and my cousin still hasn¡¯t found me." .. I don''t know if that''s impressive or deeply concerning. "Thank you," I said. "But if I¡¯m going to stay safe, I need to blend in." The kids immediately nodded. "Yeah! You can¡¯t go around looking like a prince!" "Exactly!! " I agreed. "I need a disguise." The kids immediately got to work. One of them handed me a pair of cheap sunglasses they pulled out of their pocket. Another one gave me a baseball cap with a cartoon frog on it. A third draped their tiny jacket over my shoulders like a royal cloak. "There! Now you¡¯re totally normal!" I looked like a disaster. I don''t know if I''ll stand out more or less.. But honestly.. It was kind of perfect. "Thank you, my loyal subjects," I said, making them giggle. "I knew I could count on you." One kid suddenly gasped. "Wait! Do you have a secret prince name?! oh. I didn¡¯t think that far ahead. I panicked and blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "Uh¡­ Solarphel. Prince Solarphel." "Prince Solarphel!! That¡¯s the coolest name ever!!" One kid saluted. "Don¡¯t worry, Prince Solarphel! We¡¯ll protect your identity!" Another kid looked around suspiciously. "We have to make sure they don¡¯t find you." I had no idea who they were, but now the kids were hyping each other up, coming up with an entire strategy to keep me safe. "We should have code names too!" "We need an emergency escape plan!" "One of us should be a double agent!" At this point, I had officially lost control of the situation, but honestly? I wasn¡¯t even mad. Because for the first time since I got here, I actually felt¡­ kind of safe. Maybe this whole universe-thing wouldn¡¯t be so bad after all. From a distance, a lone figure watched Solarphel, draped in a child¡¯s tiny jacket and oversized sunglasses, playing the role of a "hidden prince" with ease, surrounded by his new loyal subjects. A quiet chuckle. Even without knowing, he still fit the part. Good. For now, he was safe. No need to interfere. Not yet.