When Riley finally woke up, he was lying in the middle of what felt like a giant cloud.
Everything around him gleamed. Bright, hazy shapes glowing softly as though the world itself was made of light. His eyes cracked open a little more, but the brightness only got worse.
"Ugh," he croaked, squinting.
It's too bright.
He blinked a few more times, trying to make sense of it. The glowing shapes... were those artifacts? There were so many, glimmering like jewels scattered around him. His pulse quickened.
He grew nervous, suddenly unsure what was happening. It felt as though he'd been frozen and numbed, only for his senses to return as he tried to recall what had happened.
Okay, maybe it was not good to remember what had happened, because the last concrete memory was of him practically dying at the hands of those kidnappers.
"!!!"
Then, as if jolted into reality, Riley remembered that!
