Empire of Two: The Dawn of Unity

The clock had just struck midnight, and the calendar flipped to January 1, 2025. The faint hum of my PC filled the room as I leaned back in my chair, headset snug over my ears. Wiktor's voice crackled through the call, his tone as dry as ever.

"Yo, Wiktor," I said, half-distracted, "ever thought about, like… taking over the world?"

There was a pause before his voice came through, laced with skepticism. "Yeah, sure. But it's not possible and way too much effort."

I laughed. "True. I'd probably be too lazy to do it anyway."

"Of course you would," he shot back, a hint of amusement in his tone. "Lazing around and yapping about politics is your whole personality."

"Hey! Discussing politics and history is a passion of mine," I protested.

"Bro, shut up."

"What? What did I do?"

"You made me lose," Wiktor groaned. "You yap too much, and now I'm dead because of it."

"Bro, I—" My complaint cut off as a notification popped up on my screen. "Oh, someone just added me as a friend. His username is… 'God'? Bro thinks he's God or something."

"Wait, no way," Wiktor said. "He added me too."

We both paused for a beat. The only sound was the distant clicking of our keyboards. The weight of the moment hung in the air, neither of us sure what to make of it.

"Probably just some scammer," I said finally, shrugging it off, fingers still hovering over my mouse.

"Yeah," Wiktor muttered, though his voice was quieter now, like he wasn't quite so sure. A faint click from his end signaled he was probably examining the profile, too.

"He just messaged me," I said, glancing at the screen. The message read: Have you ever wanted to go to another world and experience a new life more exciting than this?

Wiktor's voice came through, more serious now. "He just sent me the same thing. That's… weird, right?"

"Yeah, it's definitely weird." I shifted in my chair, glancing at my screen again, wondering if this was all some bizarre prank.

"What if we responded with 'yes'? I mean, what's the worst that can happen? Getting isekaied to a fantasy world, hahahah."

"Yeah, alright. Let's send it at the same time. 3, 2, 1, send."

I clicked the message, then waited. The seconds dragged on, the silence between us filling the room. "Alright, I sent it. Yo, Wiktor, you there? HELLO, YOU THERE??"

Suddenly, a light flashed, and everything went black.

I woke up with a jolt, disoriented. The first thing I noticed was the smell of smoke. I blinked, trying to focus. When my vision cleared, I found myself standing in the middle of a dense forest. The air was cool and heavy with the scent of earth and charred wood. A low crackling sound filled the air, and as I turned around, I saw Wiktor crouched by a campfire. His dark, messy hair was more tousled than usual, his expression a little more tired than I remembered. His face, still youthful, held the roundness of a 16-year-old, soft features that made him look less rugged than most people his age. His brown eyes were focused on the fire, but they flickered toward me when I moved.

This was the first time I had ever seen him in person. Wiktor looked like someone who hadn't had much sleep recently. His clothes were simple and worn, the kind of stuff you'd wear if you'd been traveling for days, but they didn't make him stand out in the slightest. His build was lean, with just enough muscle to look sturdy but not strong—more like someone who relied on wit rather than raw strength.

"Yo, that you, Wiktor?"

"Yeah, and you're Joshua, correct?"

The air seemed to thicken with tension, and I could hear the distant rustling of trees around us as I took in our surroundings. We both just stood there for a beat, unsure of what to say next, before the weight of our situation finally hit me.

"Okay, first—WHERE THE FUCK ARE WE?" I blurted out, the words hanging in the cool air like a scream in the wilderness.

Wiktor didn't answer right away, his eyes still fixed on the fire. The silence stretched on, the crackling of the flames the only sound for a moment longer. Then, his voice came, quieter this time. "No idea."

"Did we get isekaied? I just said that as a joke, man."

"You jinxed it."

"How is this my fau-"

"Come to the fire. We should probably speak about our next move."

I hesitated for a moment before walking over and sitting down beside him. The crackling flames felt oddly comforting in this strange new world, but the reality of our situation wasn't something I could ignore.

I stared into the fire, its flickering light reflecting the chaos swirling in my mind. This wasn't some joke or game. No matter how much I wanted to laugh it off, reality had hit me square in the face.

I turned to Wiktor, the weight of the situation finally crashing down on me. "This isn't a game anymore, man. This is real. We're really here. There's no going back."

Wiktor glanced at me, his brow furrowing as he processed what I just said. He opened his mouth like he was about to argue, but the words died in his throat. The truth hung between us, heavy and undeniable.

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "Look, I don't know what's going on or how we ended up here, but pretending this is some weird dream or joke isn't going to help us. We need to deal with this."

Wiktor stayed silent for a moment, his tired eyes never leaving mine. Finally, he nodded, his expression softening a little. "Yeah. I know. But it's just... hard to believe, you know?"

"I get it," I said, my voice a little quieter now. "But it doesn't matter how weird it is. We need to focus on figuring out what the hell we're doing here. This is real, and I don't think we have any choice but to adapt."

The weight of my own words felt like a punch to the gut, but it was the truth. We weren't in some game or story anymore. We were in some unknown world with no clue how we got here, and the sooner we accepted that, the better.

Wiktor let out a heavy sigh, standing up and dusting off his pants. "Alright, fine. What do we do now?"

"First thing, we find out where we are," I said, my voice firm. "Then we figure out how to survive. And hopefully, we can figure out a way to get to civilization."

Wiktor nodded. We both knew we had a long road ahead of us, but at least we weren't alone in this strange, unfamiliar place. Together, we could figure it out.