Jay reasoned that waking up in a stone cell might not be the worst thing that could happen. After all, many people have simply never even woke up again after collision injuries. But then again waking up in the captivity of a crazed maniac had a potential to get plenty worse. He hoped it was simply a first impression but the brief glance he had of a ritual room was kind of a deal breaker in that regard.
Jay almost let out a groan when the possibility of the him being in another world came to mind. There were plenty of possibilities; he remembered how a fictional human trafficking cartel had set up their base to make it seem to the kids, the victims, were on another planet to crush any sense of hope for escape although the lie was discovered it was pretty effective prior to that. Similarly these bastards could be trying a similar tactic.
The reason why Jay didn't immediately dismiss the possibility of being in another world is that in top the theory of unpredictability existing and he didn't want end up like the protagonist of the series called the unbeliever. Almost the whole time while the protagonist witnessed incredible things, he proceeded like everything was fake. He had valid reasoning like how he was completely free of leprosy which he had been plagued with in his original world and other things, but Jay felt like things would go rather horribly for him if he made the same mistake.
Having all this time to contemplate circumstances seemed suspicious also. Jay thought his jailers would have tried achieving whatever their motives were with him when he woke up, the time he was most disoriented. And the less conventional things seemed, the more Jay became worried. Actually being in another world would be the worst case scenario, since that would mean "magic" was used to bring him here. The existence of magic brought with it convenience to the elites that made most innovations unnecessary and therefore almost always meant the society developed around it would either be Utopian or a feudal society. Seeing the dark stone walls around him, Jay bet that the latter would be more likely.
Living in a feudal society would be horrendous, Jay thought. Not only could dysentery potentially kill him, the superstitions could lead to his lynching depending on how well he could 'do as the romans do.' And seeing how at the very least some magic required space, it seemed likely the elite and powerful would still be the landed aristocracy with simply the fact they were capable of feats of magic. Which would make living conditions horrible depending on whether the peasants tried revolting yet. He didn't even touch on the possibility of slavery.
Jay began almost hoping for anyone to come. Sitting in dim lighting with all these thoughts bouncing around his head was certainly not healthy for him. Finally the sound of footsteps reached him so he readied the pile of sand dust he gathered.
"Se ug axalo axawaxako."
The second the door swung open, Jay was upon his captor. Or at least he tried to attack. An invisible barrier kept his kidnapper out of reach. Worst case scenario it was, Jay thought. With a swipe of their hand, he was sent crashing into the wall behind him.
"Pe ug uctolchaxact vo?"
Jay realized he had another issue. He couldn't understand the language being spoken.
"Usoropt imwit je waxaupp pit civirizow dolsen weurdniz gned zo cemmen raxackuaxago!"
Jay found himself taking a barrage of phantom blows, and all he could do was curl into a fetal position. A small part of him remarked on his hard luck with getting a worst case scenario; the rest of him was wracked with pain. Jay began to feel hazy and the fury he believed he buried came roaring up.
All he ever did was work and work and he just finally grabbed a hold of his dream and this curve ball was thrown at him? He always felt trapped in the wholly inefficient system known as society; the whole thing was built on lies and subterfuge and he simply wanted to secure a place on the frontier of knowledge!
"Ug axalo keick te fo pit toch sufjond enrupp!"
Jay rose to sounds of commotion. He couldn't recall the exact moment he lost consciousness, but he must have done so because he found himself lying in the corner of the cell. A dull metal tray was laid in front of him with a cup of ... beer and a lump of ... bread? Ah further proof of a feudal era. With a huff Jay shoved down the unfortunate excuse of bread and watered it down with the ... He couldn't call it anything other than swill and almost coughed up everything.
Unnatural howls accompanied by shouts rang out in the distance, filling Jay with fear but also a sense of hope. He might have a chance at escape, he could also be doomed to becoming food but he didn't ponder about that for long. The shouts and howls died down until the final howl turned into a yelp and the shout a singular yell of triumph.
With a tortured screech, the cell door was torn out, and in walked in an ... elf?
"Pe ug uctolchaxact vo?"
She had pointed ears to go along with an entirely too perfect beauty with absolute symmetry. Caught in a daze Jay didn't notice the elf's proximity until they had their hands on his temple.
[Wakarimasuka? Puedes entender? Do you understand?]
A musical voice rang out in jay's head; startled he pushed away the elf.
[I have no intentions to hurt you, but I need your consent to cast a spell on you. It should help you understand the common tongue and be able to communicate. Right now I don't know what language I am speaking; I caught that I started out with two other languages but that is just the effects of the spell I am using.]
Jay nodded his head mechanically; he wasn't sure what else to do, but found himself in a strange void the next moment. Various sounds were assaulting him slowly taking form into a language, but one inconsistent sound rang out. Curious, Jay followed it to its source only to assaulted by a much more musical set of sounds.
[An otherworlder! The last one brought devastation upon the world!]
Various vines started to encircle Jay and that didn't seem to be a good sign, but conveniently he found the two swords he forged recently in his hands. His first sword didn't connect but his second slash sliced through vines cleanly. With no end to the vines in sight, Jay rushed towards the direction of what seemed to be the source.
Jay broke into a clearing after what seemed an eternity. Various foreign thoughts came to him in a jumbled mess, and he struggled to make sense of it.
[You will end here!]
A barrage of vines came from all around and Jay fought as much as he could but within seconds a vine found his legs. In a panic Jay stabbed into the ground to maintain his balance. Everything in sight flickered out of existence, and he found himself collapsed on the ground, the two swords cast to the side.
Jay didn't have to check the elf's pulse; he recognized the glassy eyed look his father had when he was found dead on the couch. He curled up into a ball before the first shudders hit.