THE END OF EVERYTHING
CHAPTER 8: Different But The Same
It's been three years since I came to England. I'm an orphan. My mother died shortly after giving birth to me.
My name is Angga Sagara—a name she gave me, her final message to my father just minutes before she passed.
Tragically, my father died on assignment in a remote region not long after I graduated from high school.
I had no one else. My extended family didn't even try to help after my father passed. I was fortunate enough to have some of my father's savings left, though not much.
After my father's death, I lived alone. When I received a scholarship from a university in England, I went to that faraway country, alone and without anyone.
I've spent the past three years in England, working part-time. It wasn't much, but it was enough to get by.
...
In my sixth semester, I was assigned to conduct research on Salisbury Plain, home to one of the world's most famous Neolithic monuments and a popular tourist destination.
My major is Archaeology, and I wanted to complete my final thesis by researching this ancient site.
However… something unexpected happened that day.
That day, dark clouds loomed over Salisbury, as if warning of something to come. Standing amidst the giant stones of Stonehenge, I felt a strange vibration in the air. The ancient stones seemed to whisper to me, sending shivers down my spine.
I meticulously documented every detail I observed, trying to understand how Neolithic humans built this monument without modern technology. Suddenly, a strong wind blew, carrying dust and small pebbles that forced me to close my eyes.
When I opened them again, something impossible happened.
One of the large stones in front of me seemed to move closer.
It wasn't the wind or an optical illusion. The stone actually shifted, as if pushed by an invisible hand. I froze, my heart pounding.
Then, the ground beneath my feet trembled. Small cracks appeared, spreading from the center of Stonehenge. A bluish light emerged from the fissures, emitting an alien energy that stole my breath.
The light seemed to create a gateway, and I saw the dust and grass around me being drawn into it.
"What's happening?!"
I turned to run, but when I looked back… the place was empty. Moments ago, it had been filled with tourists.
"Oh my god! What's going on here? I have to get out of here!"
As I tried to run, the light seemed to pull me in. Though I managed to grasp one of the stones, the pull from the gateway was so strong that it dragged me inside.
I was pulled into nothingness—only darkness. Then, a soft yellow light appeared, and I felt my body drawn toward it.
At that moment, I could only surrender to what was happening; perhaps I would be reunited with my parents.
But… when I woke up, I was suddenly in a dark place, like an underground chamber. The only light came from beneath me and from a lantern carried by a hooded girl with a man beside her.
I was startled because they immediately questioned me about my identity. Somehow, I understood what they were saying, though it was strange to see their unusual ears, yet they spoke in what sounded like English.
I felt quite panicked with the knife pointed at me. I was ready to attack if they attacked first, but the hooded girl prevented it.
...
"I don't quite understand why I was summoned, as Vaingard said."
"Perhaps… there's a reason why I'm one of the many summoned here."
Lys asked about life in Angga's world.
"Angga, in your world, do Elves experience what we're experiencing now?"
"No. Elves don't exist. Magic is considered a myth in my world."
Úlrey interjected upon hearing that Elves didn't exist in Angga's world.
"If your race doesn't exist, how do you know our physical characteristics?"
"If they don't exist, how do you know about Elves? Even your movements seem familiar to me, like the guards at the Cathedral."
Angga paused, then answered.
"Well… in my world, we have old legends—some even about Elves."
"And about being familiar with the guards' uniforms… decades ago, there was a country that used uniforms that looked similar to those guards."
"And… could you take me to the city another day?"
Angga's words sent a chill down their spines, not because he wanted to go to the city, but because the current situation made it impossible to return there.
"No, no, you can't say that casually. I suspect they're hunting because of the magical light that erupted earlier."
"Yes, that's true. I don't know how long we'll be like this. But for now, we should stay away from there for a while."
"So it's impossible, then…"
Disappointment was clearly visible on Angga's face.
In the warm silence of that night, Lys stood to enter the tent.
"Alright, I think it's time. We should continue our journey tomorrow."
Angga replied.
"You're right, we should get some sleep."
"You two go ahead and sleep. I'll stay awake for a while."
"Alright then, good night, everyone."
Angga and Lys went to sleep first, while Úlrey chose to stay awake for a while.
...
I couldn't sleep that night. My mind kept replaying Angga's words about his world.
I, who had only lived in such squalid places, never imagined that the world was so vast, with different worlds and different lives.
I never thought about the outside world. But… since meeting them, even though we'd only just met… I've learned so much that I didn't know.
Could someone like me—a street urchin—really walk beside people like them...
…