The room is massive, the ceiling disappearing into darkness. There are many large, odd windows strewn on the walls, each one lacking glass and displaying an inky black sky. Was it a sky? Or just absolute nothing? There's an empty doorframe as well, its few short steps leading into a plane of still, shallow blue water.
A young woman sits at the piano. She ponders the keys, caressing them, prepared to play but not pressing down. Her long green robe is decorated with golden strands and symbols. She looks up from the piano's keys as you take a step towards her.
"Greetings," she says, turning her body to face you. "Are you with the others? I don't believe I recognize you..."
She scrunched up her face in an effort to remember. "I apologize for making you come all the way out here searching for me. I got, um... lost." She glances at the piano, then back to you.
The girl extends a hand, her loose sleeve nearly touching the floor. "I am Seren, an explorer for the village. You must have lived on the other side before the Shattering? I've never seen your face before."
Village? The Shattering? Other side of what? You turn your head in confusion. Not wanting to be rude, you shake her hand and introduce yourself.
"Ah," she says, a smile forming on her face. "So we're both ones who like to explore? That makes sense, seeing as we both ventured through that stone arch. Who knew the great cavern was hiding such a thing?"
You know what she means by arch, but pretty much everything else is lost on you. You ask her to elaborate.
"The great cavern. Our home, which recently shattered and revealed many great wonders. Perhaps you are not from the village after all? Please, do tell me where you are from, stranger. Our people have not met another peoples for a very long time."
You explain you're from the town, and you've never heard of this "village". In fact, the only village you're aware of is the ancient civilization of the Vol Solans, which your people are descendants of. Seren shakes her head. Her robe swiveled with the movement.
"I have not heard of these people. What is this town you speak of?"
You don't know how to respond. It's just the town. You have a feeling that if you asked her for the name of her village, she would respond that it is simply called the village. Instead, you ask how she got here.
"My entrance to this place was likely the same as yours. A stone arch of void. I discovered it while exploring the land exposed by the Shattering. I imagine you've noticed the broken mountain that exposed the cave entrance to this place? The mountain broke in half; that is what we refer to as the Shattering. When our sun erupted, it caused the... oh, apologies. I seem to be telling you my story in the wrong order, I do hope you can follow. Anyway, once I arrived here I discovered this..." she gestured towards the piano, "contraption. It is similar to an instrument from our village, one I was quite good at in fact."
You ask if she has any clue what this place is.
"I have not done much exploring. I feel as though I only just arrived in this room, though I can't remember how long exactly. You may think it's strange, but I have a hypothesis that this is a different realm from our own. My people knew of two realms, the overworld and the underworld. It is believed the overworld is the realm of the flesh, and the underworld is where we go when our flesh rots away, and is thus the realm of the soul. This place... I haven't seen the underworld with my own eyes (no mortal soul can comprehend it), but I do not believe that's where we are. It must be some sort of third realm."
You sit down on the floor. You knew it was reckless to enter that portal, but... is there a way out of here? It doesn't seem so. Strangely, you do not feel the grief you were expecting. It is, in fact, a whole new realm to explore. You may have been secretly hoping for that.
"So," Seren leaned forward towards you, "I have shared knowledge with you. Now I seek your knowledge, Traveler; what is your story?"
And so you told her. You spoke of the friends you had left behind, your experience meeting each of them, how adventurous and curious of the world they each were. You told her of Chester, who loved to share knowledge they gained through research, and as you did, your radio began to crackle. The percussive sounds of their bongos echoed through the room as you spoke of Esme, and soon you began to hear that homely tune they loved to whistle. You continued, explaining Rowan's long journey through the Wilds, and Gael's yearning to witness another oceanic event like before. Their music was clear now, the banjo and flute synchronizing with the rest, all fitting together like pieces of a puzzle. Despite having grown somewhat distant, their lives were all intertwined with each other. There was one left: Flint. You explained that they worked as a Gravewood keeper, and heard the sound of a piano coming from the cave. As you did, their harmonica faded in with the rest of the Travelers' music, and Seren's eyes began to shine.
"Excuse me, stranger, I believe I now know what to play."
She started tapping her foot, waiting for the start of the next phrase. She rested her hands on the keys, and when the time came, a beautiful countermelody began to ring out from the piano. Seren closed her eyes as the ethereal melodies all played simultaneously. It felt bittersweet, the connection of these lives with hers. At this moment, you realized she, too, could proudly own the title of Traveler. As the musicians played the last note together, Seren let out a heavy sigh. Your radio has gone silent once more.
"Thank you, Traveler, for allowing me to be a part of your song. I'm honored, truly. This encounter feels special, so I hope you don't mind if I think of you as a friend."
You nod your head, bowing slightly to her. You stand up, walking to the doorless frame. In the distance you can see a massive sphere resembling a moon rising from the horizon.
"Are you leaving already?" Seren called out, still sitting at the piano. "It's quite alright, I simply wanted to thank you once more. I'm going to stay here for now, but perhaps we shall meet again. Goodbye, Traveler."
You wave to her before stepping out into the shallow water below. The water rushes over your shoes and dampens your socks, but you don't mind. You have an entire new world to explore.