Upon seeing the bodies on the cell floor, Gwendoline found herself caught in a sudden panic attack. She rushed towards the bars, screaming desperately for help through the long, dark corridor that separated the cell.

"Help! Please, someone!"

One of the three boys in their underwear exclaimed at Gwendoline, annoyed and impolite:

"For fuck's sake, shut up, I'm trying to—"

The curly-haired teenager stopped in the middle of his sentence, realizing that something was wrong: he had been sleeping on a cold floor all this time.

"What the hell?!"

He looked at the innocent Gwendoline, who was just as lost as he was.

"Who the fuck are you?! Are you one of Tony's allies?" the young boy shouted.

In a sudden movement, he straightened up, revealing the defined curves of his mixed-race body. Panic seized him as he desperately searched for answers in the dark cell, leaving him shaken and bewildered by what he was experiencing.

"Where are we?! And why are there people on the floor?"

"Listen... I have no idea, okay?! I..." Gwendoline stopped in the middle of her sentence, searching for an excuse not to reveal that she was actually dead. "I just woke up like you!"

The teenager scrutinized every detail of the gloomy room. He gradually realized that the situation he was in was abnormal and that a solution was needed.

"This is insane..."

After a short moment of reflection to prepare himself to face the situation, he sat down gently on the cell floor, letting out a sigh that expressed his determination.

"Well, alright... What's your name?"

"My name is Gwendoline Bourcier... And you?"

He seemed hesitant about revealing his name, as if it were top secret.

"My name is Yanis Lagrand..."

So, the teenager's name was Yanis Lagrand. He seemed just as young as Gwendoline, probably around 17 years old at most.

As time passed and Gwendoline paced endlessly, nervously biting her nails, Yanis wondered about the young people who were still sleeping on the floor: who were they?

"And do you know them?" Yanis asked.

"No, not at all..."

As she expressed her thoughts, Gwendoline was immediately drawn to the blond-haired boy, her eyes widening in astonishment.

"Wait! Yes! Him, the blond one!" she assured, pointing at the concerned teenager.

"Do you know him?"

"No, but he looks familiar to me."

Gwendoline approached the blond boy with hesitant steps. With great surprise, she discovered the true identity of the stranger, and her mouth opened wide in shock.

"It can't be..."

"What?"

"It's Jacob Kalis..."

"And am I supposed to know him?"

"He's the best video game player in the world..."

"Oh really? Is that even possible?"

She couldn't believe it. A globally known personality right here, in front of her eyes. Not that she wanted an autograph, but rather, how was it possible that he was here, and why?

The few minutes that passed in the cell allowed the other teenagers to wake up. The girl in pink pajamas with pink hair was named Alora Devi. She was 16 years old and had one green eye and one blue eye. The blond-haired boy was indeed Jacob Kalis; at only 15 years old, he had become known worldwide for his extraordinary skills in video games. The last one was Rogue Grimez, just a shy 15-year-old boy with black hair and gray eyes.

"We've been waiting for someone to come for fifteen minutes. Why don't we try to find a way out ourselves?" Jacob suggested.

"You can see that there's no way out, right? The bar separating us from the corridor is unbreakable," Yanis replied.

"How do you know? Try hitting it, maybe it will break," Alora suggested.

"No, I won't do that. It could attract our kidnappers."

From the other end of the room, Gwendoline, in the midst of her panic attack, tried to come up with a plausible explanation for what was unfolding before her eyes.

Should I tell them? This isn't a kidnapping... It's much bigger than we imagine.

Suddenly, a noise, then another, reverberated through the mysterious and narrow corridor. All the teenagers held their breath as the footsteps approached the cell. When a few rays of light finally made their way through the prevailing darkness, a silhouette appeared in the corridor. A deep voice, that of an old man, rose towards the troubled teenagers:

"Do not be afraid, the Lost Ones."

His silhouette gradually revealed itself as he approached the cell. It was indeed an old bearded man, dressed like a magician from an ancient time. His long white and gray cape supported the idea that he was indeed a magician. He also wore a worn-out hat that concealed the top of his face. The style of clothing worn by the magician in this new and unknown world hinted to the teenagers that a great adventure awaited them.

"The 'Lost Ones'?" Jacob wondered.

"Yes, your group is called the Lost Ones."

The magician stopped in front of the bars, carefully observing each of the teenagers in turn. Except for Gwendoline, who was hidden by the narrow walls of the cell.

"First and foremost, it is crucial that you listen to me attentively because what I am about to reveal may seem incoherent and filled with lies. But it is indeed the truth of our world."

As he uttered these words, he performed a spell that produced a magical key before their astonished eyes. Then, he opened the barred door with it and entered the cell.

"How did you do that?!" Jacob exclaimed.

"Thanks to a spell... Well... My name is Charnald Tones, and I will be your guide during your journey. Now, I will try to be as clear and precise as possible. However, if you have any questions, feel free to ask."

The old man cleared his throat and began speaking with a knowledgeable air.

"While you were asleep, our best mages extracted your souls to place them into your new bodies."

"Our... souls?!" Rogue exclaimed, sweating a few drops of stress.

"What?!" Alora cried out in turn.

Panic was even more evident on Gwendoline's face when she realized that a mistake had been made in their manipulations. She repeated the same phrase over and over again:

How am I supposed to be here? The others were sleeping, but... I must have been placed here by mistake. I'm dead! But most importantly, if there are only supposed to be four of them, how is it that we all have bodies? One should be missing! Right?

While Gwendoline was lost in her inhibited thoughts, her frightened gaze inadvertently met Charnald's, who, taking a deep breath, shouted at her:

"Who are you?!"

The old man's loud voice prompted everyone to instinctively observe Gwendoline. He cast another spell, extending his hand towards the frightened girl.

[Elemental Magic: Wood Confinement]

Charnald's spell formed green magical symbols that scattered on the wall near Gwendoline, and movable wooden branches wrapped around her, holding her captive.

"What are you doing here?!"

"I... I don't... know..."

The wooden branches tightened around Gwendoline, but it had the opposite effect as she struggled to find air. The scene was filled with tension, and her labored breath could be heard colliding against the dry and firm wood that served as her prison.

"You're suffocating her, sir! Stop!" Alora exclaimed.

"What is your name?!"

"Gwendoline... Bourcier... I... I..."

She tried her best to finish her sentence despite the wood squeezing her more and more.

"What... What is it?!"

"I... I... committed suicide... and my soul... ended up... here..."

At those words, Charnald released Gwendoline from the wooden prison. She coughed continuously, trying to catch her breath. Alora, struck with imminent shock, covered her mouth with her hand and exclaimed loudly:

"You committed suicide?!"

"Yes... But I swear, I don't know why I'm here."

"Well... I don't know what we're going to do with you. I'll have to discuss this with the King."

A heavy silence fell over the room after Gwendoline's sudden revelation. It gradually subsided as Charnald resumed the conversation:

"And you don't seem hostile."

"No one here is hostile, sir. We don't even know why we ended up here," Rogue replied with evident timidity.

"Then I will continue where I left off."

Charnald raised his hand towards the ceiling and prepared to cast another magical spell. This time, blue symbols and runes appeared around him and the cell.

"Wow! That's so cool!" Jacob exclaimed, his eyes shining with wonder, displaying his admiration for Charnald's magical spell. As a regular human, he found it incredibly remarkable.

[Endless Cube]

The room was now covered by an opaque blue cube that reached the cell's walls. The cell itself was barely illuminated by lanterns, instantly glowing with a bluish hue due to this magical cube.

"And what's this?" Alora asked.

"It's an isolation spell, a top-secret conversation," replied Charnald.

"To this extent?"

"Yes, the survival of the multiverse depends on it."

"A multiverse?! So, it really exists?!" Alora exclaimed.

"For you four, maybe five, you are about to embark on a journey to acquire power in order to defeat a superior being who threatens to erase the multiverse in two years."