《Veritas》 Chapter 1: Reflections What does it mean to exist? Is it to simply live in the moment and enjoy it for as long as possible? Or is it to suffer the horrors of life? Simply living is already a complicated and arduous task in and of itself. To even put yourself through even more suffering to achieve a goal is either an admirable feat, or that of a foolish one. Judging which is which depends on the person, but there is one thing we can all agree on. Life is suffering. Buddha once said it and so it must be true. Despite being able to live like a literal prince, he gave that all up once he saw the suffering of humanity. He sacrificed his comfort for the price of experiencing that suffering. Through it, he gained enlightenment and became what he is today. I might be wrong on my interpretation since my memories are a little fuzzy at the moment, but what i do know is that life is suffering. So by example of buddha, for us to ¡®Live¡¯ not just live. There is a difference between ¡®Living¡¯ and just existing, and that difference is only seperated by a fine line so thin, that people mistake existing for just living. How people define ¡®Living¡¯ and existing is up to them, but the thing we must remember is that we must live. We must live. You must live. Strange. ¡®You must live¡¯. The phrase didn¡¯t feel like just a phrase to me, it felt like someone said it to me. But who? In fact, i looked around and notice that i was in a strange place. A place containing that of only one thing, excluding myself. I ignore it for now as there were more important things to think about. Like who was the one who told me that ¡®You must live¡¯. I tried to remember it, yet the closer i get to said memory, the more blurry and non existent it felt. Stolen novel; please report. Like a remembering a fleeting dream after you wake up. But there was another question i need to ask. Who was that person to me? I try to remember once again and yet it came out blank. Any semblance of memories in my head was only bits and pieces of memories. Fragments of the life i had. With those fragments seemingly not connecting with each other and yet still existing. Like something big was missing in the center of all of it. Then realization struck me. There was the most important question to solve at least give me a chance of remembering my memories. And it¡¯s that. Who am i? A feeling of loss overcame me as i try to remember who i was. I try to think and think and remember who i was. My place of birth, my age, my family, or at the very least. What is my name? I felt a black hole at the center of my being, like a big piece of myself was missing. A piece i must have in order to truly live. The only thing keeping me from breaking down in the spot was the phrase told to me. ¡®You must live¡¯. I may not remember much yet that phrase was the only I felt that i must listen to. Who was the person that said that to me, i can¡¯t remember, yet every time i try to recall the fragmented memory. A feeling of warmth coursed through me. A smile crept up into my face unknowingly, thinking that maybe once i solved my current predicament. Someone may be waiting for me. Steeling myself, i gaze around the place i was currently at. It hasn¡¯t changed. The place was still filled with one thing. Up, down, left and right, it was everywhere. I look directly at one of those things and it reflected back at me. Showing the current appearance of myself. It was a man of dark-colored hair and blue eyes. He looked to me in his mid 30s, wearing a light blue long sleeved folded to his elbow. Wearing dark pants nad black shoes. I touched the man reflecting back at me and the man did the same. Once our fingers touched i realized, the man was me. A look of slight shock overcame the man in the mirror, which means that i was having that same expression. I composed myself and looked away, intending to look around a bit more. A plan started formulating in my head, yet it came to a dead end. I still down know where I am and even who i am. But there are two things i definitely know. It¡¯s that i have to get out of this place. I need to get out of this place. The other thing i know without a shadow of a doubt is the place I¡¯m stuck in. Based on common sense found in my mind, this place was extremely strange yet i have to believe it. A Dimension of Mirrors. Chapter 2: War Walking around the place, not noticing how long i have been in this place. Everywhere i go, there were mirrors to my left and right. I looked up and also saw mirrors. Pretty much concluding that there were only mirrors in this place. Simple reasoning really; I looked far off into the distance and saw mirrors as far as i can see. At times when i took a peep at the mirrors, i saw moving images. Some mirrors had images portrayed in different themes. Themes were like a knight slaying a dragon to save the princess while some had a party of heroes fighting a powerful demon. With every mirror, it contained a different story to tell. All the same in appearance yet never the same in contents. It was a bit strange truth be told. Because for every mirror I came across, i saw that it held the most fantasy-like stories. It wasn¡¯t all unicorns and rainbows, unfortunately. The most heartbreaking thing I saw was that of a man standing in a city of ruin. The image of a man standing within the ruined city was a little saddening. Encased in a pitch-black suit of armor with an axe held in his right hand while on the other, well there was no weapon held. Because there was nothing to hold it. His back was like an impenetrable fortress built to protect, his immense pressure making me feel like a mountain was on my shoulders. Yet now as he stood there, i felt that it was cracking. In contrast to that image, I stared off into another mirror telling an entirely different story. I thought that my eyes were playing tricks on me but i think that the being in the image has wings. Pearly white wings that seemed so pure of any taint and damage. Another difference was that his back wasn''t turned to me. And now i can clearly see his entire appearance. I had to rub my eyes to make sure that i was seeing clearly because of how perfect it is. He wore golden armor that was akin to that of the sun, a face so beautiful that it seemed like the gods sculpted it themselves. Ocean blue eyes deeper than the ocean itself with a kind and gentle smile fitting for an angel. Adding to that, he looked like he had the power to match. On his right hand was a sword blazing in holy fire. Almost blinding if i look at it directly too much. He was, by any stretch of the imagination, Perfect. Like he was the embodiment of what perfect looked like. It would have been almost too perfect, if it wasn''t for his blazing sword pointing down at something with his gaze focused on it. The image was ominous by also considering his gentle smiling face. Suddenly, i felt the temperature rise when i saw the man, mostly likely an angel, staring back at me. There was a slight shock in his eyes when he saw me, and in the next, it turned into that of amusement as if he realized something. His mouth moved like he was trying to say something. But before i could read into it more, the mirror shattered into a thousand pieces as it fell to the ground. I stood rooted in my spot with utter stupefaction. Before i could react, the mirror reformed and was back in its original place as if nothing happened. I looked closer and noticed that the image was replaced. A sudden feeling arose within me. Feeling as though something was summoning me to it. Without resisting, i went closer and reached out my hand, and the moment i touched it, my vision went dark. Without a moment¡¯s notice, i was in the middle of a battlefield. I gazed up into the sky and saw massive fireballs flying across the air as it intended to hit their targets. Some of them succeeded and proceeded to scorch rows upon rows of swordsmen and magicians. While some of them were defended against and countered with another ball of fire to be thrown against the enemy. I looked around and saw that soldiers clad in armor were charging against the enemy. Horror filled my being as i saw that the enemy they were fighting against wasn¡¯t humans. They were emanating evil, filled with only the desire to wreak havoc upon their surroundings. Their every scream and swing of their weapons evoke a sense of wanting more murder and blood. Pure fear washed over me and I wanted to run in the opposite direction, almost to the point of desperation. And yet for some reason, i was made to watch. I felt my body become frozen stiff, refusing to heed my command. My mind became blank as despair overtook me. It heightened when i saw that a massive fireball was thrown in my direction. The position i was currently in was dead center as its blast radius. Seeing that i was unable to do anything, i closed my eyes as i felt the hellish heat emanating from the fireball. The feeling of being swallowed by something made its presence known throughout my body. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. And yet for some reason, i still felt that i was alive. Not dead. I opened my eyes for a little bit and saw that i was still in the middle of the battlefield. Still very much alive. Shocked by this revelation, i thought of why it was so when a gust of wind by passed me. Looking over, i saw that it was a man wearing a full suit of armor. He rode a white stallion as he traveled across the battlefield reaping the lives of demons wherever he goes. Every part of his body was covered in blood except for his face. His armor was stained with either the blood of his enemies or his own. Yet judging by how easily he was slicing the rampaging demons made me realize that it probably wasn¡¯t his blood. He got off his horse and stood tall against the overarching enemy. He turned his back against the approaching enemy, letting me see what he looked like. Platinum blond hair, clad in pristine silver armor now covered in blood, along with his sword that gave a person a sense of holiness to it. But his appearance was kind of strange. It was because his face was¡­blurry? I don¡¯t know why but his face blurred out as if it was erased by an eraser. Like something was hiding it from my eyes. Nevertheless, i ignored it for now and paid attention to him. He seemed to be the commander of the army since he began a small speech. ¡°Brothers and sisters, today we shall fight. We shall fight for everything that is good. We shall stand against the encroaching evil before us intending to destroy our home. So fight with me, let us battle against the despicable demons that slaughtered everything that we knew and loved. This here will be our final stand against everything that is evil, for the light of day will eventually shine upon us. Victory!¡± He turned his back as the army of brave soldiers passed by him, colliding against the enemy headfirst. Limbs flew and waves upon waves of soldiers died in front of him yet he did not move. Standing there, he continued gazing upon the battlefield. All of a sudden, i was transported above the middle of the battlefield overlooking every single part of the battle going on. I saw soldiers rushing against the demons while the demons were ripping apart the soldiers like paper. Some of the soldiers managed to kill a few demons yet they were promptly replaced and they in turn were killed. While all of this was going on, the blond-haired warrior didn¡¯t move an inch from his spot. Something was off about him. Something wasn¡¯t right. Despite the inspiring speech he gave, he gazed into the battlefield with an indifferent expression. Like he was watching something completely unrelated to him. The cold look in his eyes, as he watched, proved my point even more. All of a sudden a demon appeared in the middle of the battlefield. The difference with this one is that he completely gave out a different sort of aura. With other demons, they gave a feeling of crazed slaughter. Yet the demon overlooking the battlefield was completely different. Like he was a different species altogether. But his appearance was almost human-like, but I can tell he was still a demon. Because judging from his skin being bloody red, the rows of skulls hanging from his waistline, as well as his massive height and size, dwarfed every other demon by comparison. He was definitely a demon. He had a massive axe hanging behind his back as he emanated an aura of pure destruction and death. In contrast, he had an indifferent temperament. Keeping an indifferent expression, he began approaching the blond-haired man step by step. It was like he was taking a stroll in the city. Yet every time a soldier approached him, he didn¡¯t even look at them and pulverized them with one arm without stopping his pace. It happened a few more times until the demons and soldiers fighting began making way for him to walk. In no time he reached the blond-haired man as he was already within arm¡¯s length. Yet the two didn¡¯t make any subtle movement. They stood there eyeing each other when the blond man spoke. ¡°So you came Belial.¡± The demon supposed to be Belial nodded. Despite the lack of response from the demon named Belial, the blond-haired man kept talking. ¡°That is indeed a surprise, i mean my reasons are fairly justified. Aren¡¯t you supposed to be sieging a fortress of another empire by now? What, their skulls aren¡¯t shiny enough for you to collect?¡± In a mocking and playful tone, he gazed at the numerous skulls decorating Belials¡¯ waistline, some were human while some were from other species unknown to me. Yet throughout that, there was no trace of fear on the blond man¡¯s aura. He stood resolute and tall against the abomination of a demon called Belial. While Belial seemed to just gaze at the man that was barely up to his chest. He didn¡¯t want to converse any further it seemed as he started pulling out his Axe in a slow, and terrifying manner. The blond man saw it but didn¡¯t seem to have minded it. He continued looking at the demon with apparent arrogance and conceit in his eyes, acting as if the demon in front of him was nothing more than an ant. Once Belials¡¯ weapon was fully pulled out, he gripped it with both hands and without warning, slammed it down against the blond warrior as if he wanted to pulverize the man in front of him A cloud of dust rose when his axe made contact with the man, yet the expected burst of blood and guts was nowhere to be found. When the dust settled the battle between the two became clear. There was a slight shock on my part when I saw that the blond man successfully blocked the axe pulsating with murderous intent. Not like the demon gripping the axe with both hands, the blond man only defended by gripping his sword with one hand. The axe was only a few centimeters from his face, and yet there was still no trace of hesitation and fear on his part. He then said. ¡°Anyways, good talking with you Belial. You can die now.¡± He deflected the axe away from him and swung his sword at the demon¡¯s throat, intending to cut his head off with one go. The demon didn¡¯t block his attack and instead cleared some distance between them. The blond man saw it and didn¡¯t let him get away, he closed the distance between them and swung his sword one more time. And this time Belial responded in kind and so their two weapons clashed. Sparks flew as their weapons collided again and again. On the surface, not one of them had an advantage as it seemed that they were both equal, and yet if i looked closer, and somehow i realized, that the battle was actually on the side of the swordsman. It continued as their fight raged on, everywhere they went it became an absolute slaughter. Be it demon or human, anyone that got in the middle of their fight was killed and even if no one interfered, their mere battle in a huge war was enough to cause disastrous damage on both sides just from the shockwaves of their fight. What to do¡­ Chapter 3: Spectating Reviewing my current situation, there are a few things i know. One is that i was somehow thrown into a place full of mirrors which I can only assume or i will call the mirror dimension. Two is that I was sucked into a mirror for reasons unknown to me and three, and the most important detail is how do I get out of here. I paused my thoughts and looked unto the ensuing war, despite my current form being untouchable and invisible from the rest, it¡¯s not assuring enough that it will last. And if the worst-case scenario happens where my ¡®abilities¡¯ goes to nothing, then my rate of survival here is pretty much close to zero. Maybe even god himself would be reluctant to save me from this death trap. On another note, i gazed at a particular direction and saw that the battle between ¡®hero and demon¡¯ was pretty much over. The demon apparently named Belial, lost an arm with his axe cracking in several places. I felt that even hitting it with my fist is enough to shatter it to pieces just by judging its current condition. While the ¡®hero¡¯ is somehow still in good condition. He stood tall against the massive demon in front of him, with the only injuries sustaining his body being his frazzled hair and some blood leaking out from his mouth. His eyes were full of arrogance and assuredness toward his opponent. Maybe knowing that he has won this battle and that there was no more need to expend more energy. The demon didn''t react as he had a different expression, and despite being wounded and sliced in several places, even losing an arm, he didn¡¯t keel over and escape. The tense situation persisted between the two and yet i felt that something was wrong with the situation. Why wasn¡¯t the blond-haired man finishing the demon off? Didn¡¯t take me long to figure out why as they started conversing once more. ¡°See? Did i not tell you that battling against me is fruitless? I mean why did you bother to try in the first place? The situation will always be the same no matter what war we fight in Belial.¡± ¡°That is not true.¡± The demon finally spoke, and his voice contained power and pure malice. His words resounded on the battlefield with some Humans even going mad, they looked as if they became demons themselves, bleeding from their eye sockets as they turned to their allies and killed them with pure madness in their eyes. While the Humans were being affected by pure madness and slaughter, the demons got somehow stronger as their auras full of killing intent burst out even more as they tried turning the tide against the humans who were slowly winning. The chaotic situation became even more chaotic just from Belials¡¯ words alone, and yet the blond man didn¡¯t seem to care and even chuckled a little saying, ¡°Petty Tricks.¡± All of a sudden his aura amplified with pure Holiness as if god himself descended. He gripped the handle of his swords with both hands as he stabbed the bladed point to the earth, The crazed soldiers went back to normal and were even healed of their injuries, receiving a boost from the overflowing aura the man was giving out as they screamed Victory, charging towards the ferocious demons as some of them seemed to have imploded on themselves. The blond man gazed back to Belial and mocked, ¡°So this is your Final Stand huh? Alright well fun times over Belial, see you on the next battlefield.¡± He pulled out his sword from the earth and was about to slice the demon¡¯s head off when suddenly, he stopped just as he was about to make contact. All of a sudden i felt my instincts warning me to run away but by then it was already too late. Because for some reason, he turned in my direction and locked eyes with me. His blurry face no longer became blurry, with his appearance becoming more and more clear. Then i saw it, i saw his face. A face so handsome that it was enough to start wars over, a face so perfect that I was becoming slightly self-conscious of my own appearance. But that isn¡¯t the problem right now, his deep blue eyes were boring down on me as if he realized something. He turned back to Belial and Belial also saw me. The moment we locked eyes I seemed to have realized something. The memories of my past were slowly becoming clearer and just as i was about to remember it, echoing laughter rang about. I heard the blond man¡¯s laughter as he looked at both of us. Like he just figured something out. He removed his blade from the demon and pointed it against me. But he turned his gaze towards the demon and said, "I see.¡± This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. The moment he said that he appeared right in front of me. I closed my eyes and waited for death to come but strangely it didn¡¯t. Opening my eyes I saw that the blond man was only gazing at me, looking at me up and down with an apparent smile on his face while he did it. ¡°So this is it huh, I thought that it would be grander.¡± ¡°Um, what do you mean?¡± The man appeared surprised by what I said and replied, ¡°I see, well it¡¯s nothing important really.¡± He stopped scanning me and stood still, gazing into my eyes as if he was trying to find something out from me. He smiled once again and said. ¡°Hm okay, alright goodbye now.¡± Just as I felt the presence of death encroaching me, I saw that a massive demon stood between me and the blond man. His aura was indeed weak and almost fragile, and yet for some reason he blocked the blond man from even coming near me nevertheless. ¡°Belial, get out of my way.¡± ¡°No,¡± he replied in a deep voice. I didn''t understand why he was protecting me since there is no reason to. Aren''t demons supposed to be the bad guys in this situation? ¡°I see. Then die with him if you want.¡± The blond man¡¯s sword shone with pure divine light without a moment¡¯s notice. He charged at us with full force but Belial responded by swinging his massive axe at him, its pure force was enough to decimate everything around the blond man¡¯s surroundings. And yet he himself was not damaged. Their weapons collided with the result of one of the weapons shattered to pieces as it fell to the battlefield below. Belial stood tall with only the handle of his now former axe in his hands. He didn¡¯t seem to mind that his weapon was destroyed as he tossed his handle to the side. He turned back to me and gave me a deep look. I looked back as I didn¡¯t know what else I should do. The next moment, I was shocked at what happened. The Demon named Belial, smiled. Not of the evil and malevolent kind but of the pure and joyous kind. He gave a smile so kind that it was unbefitting of a demon of his stature. He turned his attention back to the battle but by then it was already too late. The moment he turned back his head was separated from his neck as his body vanished into ashes, no longer was there a demon named Belial on the battlefield. For some reason, i looked back at the blond man with some anger in my eyes, an emotion i felt for reasons i did not understand. I just felt angry. The blond bastard walked slowly in the air, approaching me bit by bit with every step he took, it looked like he was enjoying this moment. Yet for some reason, there was utter rage on his face. His face twisting grimacing as if he was missing something. ¡°You! Why You? Why was it you!¡± He slashed his sword to the side, sending shockwaves down below into he battlefield as it decimated both humans and demons alike. He then pointed his sword at me and continued. ¡°Tell me, why was it you?!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± I replied with utter confusion on my part. I didn¡¯t understand what he meant, why me? Why did i get sent to this hellhole of a place? I would also like to know. The blond man seemed to have simmered his temper down, then looked coldly at me with indifferent eyes. ¡°Very well then. I guess ill have to find out for myself.¡± The man appeared right in front of me in a split second, his sword shone with a brilliant light as it was a few centimeters away from my neck. Without even being able to react, i closed my eyes and waited for my inevitable death. ¡­And yet it did not come. I opened my eyes again and expected Belial to come back but it was even stranger than that. I gazed at the whole situation and realized that all of them froze into place. Looking back, I saw that there was only madness in the man¡¯s eyes as he tried decapitating me like Belial. Yet even he froze. Without a moment¡¯s notice, reality itself seemed to have broken as cracks were appearing all over the place. Like the sound of a mirror breaking, reality shattered on itself as it fell into the perpetual darkness my surroundings were replaced with. Looking around i only saw darkness everywhere except for one place. And it was a door. Thinking that maybe it led me back home, i walked hurriedly to it and opened it without thinking. A bright light consumed me as I entered it. I opened my eyes again, with me only seeing one thing as pure despair was creeping unto me once again. I was back in the Mirror Dimension. I looked down at the ground with fists gripped as i thought i was done. I thought that maybe i could go back home. That i could finally go back to her. All of a sudden, a rush of pain penetrated my head. I fell to the ground as i held my head tight. A rush of memories penetrated my head, making me feel like someone stabbed a dagger into my head and twisted it in all sorts of directions. The pain lasted for what seemed like an eternity when in reality it was only for a few seconds. The memories stopped coming in, stopping the overwhelming pain i have gone through. Relieved that it was over, i sat back up and analyzed the relevant information given to me. And combing through the various parts of it, i finally remembered something that was connected to my past. It was my name. My name is Marc Soren. I see. Marc. But that was secondary to another piece of information i got. Something that was more important than my own name, and i don¡¯t know why, someone i deemed as more important than my own self. In my memories, I saw someone. I saw the woman¡¯s eyes as she looked back at me with pure love. Overwhelming affection that even thinking about it makes my heart beat with intensity, yet also a sense of longing for that affection, for that person. The problem is i could only see their eyes. Everything else was blurry. Seemingly nonexistent. But despite it, she must be someone very important to me. That is enough. Gaining motivation to keep moving forward, I felt that I must find out who this woman to me is. And more importantly, there was a feeling inside me of wanting to go back to her. I trust it and so i kept walking. I walked around once more into mirrors, trying to look into their situation. Expecting that maybe one of them will lead me to another situation like last time. Since maybe, these mirrors might be my ticket out of here. All of a sudden, I saw a mirror. I felt that this one was different from the rest. The image was blurry but I didn''t hessite and touched it with my fingers. In the next second, a bright light consumed me once more. Chapter 4: Memories I wonder what it feels like to have memories. Memories that are clear and not blurry. Memories contain the moments and events in your life that are either significant or insignificant. Yet in my point of view, there is no such thing as an insignificant memory. Every piece of memory that is contained within this head of ours, is the very piece of which that builds the whole picture. It embodies who we are. It shows what kind of person we are to us and to our loved ones. It reflects what kind of life we have lived, and i do admit that there are some people who had made some dastardly mistakes in their lives and regret it deeply. Some even wish to go as far as deleting them from our minds. Showing that memories may be beautiful yet also can become painful once we experienced some things we would rather not experience again. But those bad moments, those terrible and horrible moments that deep down we wish to forget, are still part of who we are. To deny them is to deny the dark side of us, the side of us which makes mistakes and hurts people. The side of us shows the darkness within us, laying dormant most of the time until it makes an appearance whether it be our own volition or not. We do not wish to remember it or even want to get rid of it because it shows the bad side of us. The side of us that is Human. I do not know of my past. I¡¯m not even sure whether it will be a good or bad one, yet the more painful thing is not remembering the good and bad, but suffering through the experience of not even experiencing it at all. You feel like a blank page, a clean slate to which you don¡¯t even know who you are or where you come from. Some might even say that it is a good thing, to get a new start and completely remove your past. But i want to remember it. I want to have the luxury of remembering all those moments in life where i lived. Where i loved someone dearly with all my heart as well as hating someone with my entire being. I want to feel something. For all, i feel now is pure emptiness. Like I don¡¯t even exist at all and is just an empty husk of what i truly am. How is this different from death? Nigh, this is worse than death. Wiping away my miserable thoughts, i focused on the task at hand. if i want to have the opportunity of being whole again, then i must focus. I will get them back one way or another. I walked around the crowded plaza, the sound of children laughing and the scent of delicious food wafting through the air. The sun shone brightly at the top of the sky, smiling down upon us with its warm light. This place was a total contrast to what the situation was the last time. I wonder why. At the corner of my eyes, i saw some robed men and women wearing all sorts of colors. Some of them were wearing black, some were white and some were red. They were also wandering around the plaza, buying food from the local food stalls as well as creating some mini fireworks by their hands as they entertained the children. The image was indeed wholesome as it also put a smile on my face. I approached them as if wanting to relax in this serene atmosphere. It¡¯s a good change of scenery from my last experience. I sat down by the water fountain, enjoying this calm and peaceful place. In my mind, i tried figuring out what was this situation. These ¡®events¡¯ show nothing significant in my memories. There seemed to be no recurring pattern within these events but i can¡¯t make a sudden conclusion there have only been 2 so far. Thus i decided that the best course of action was waiting. Being in a fuss isn¡¯t going to help the situation so i might as well sit and relax. I observed the robed people as i was curious as to who are they. One of the white-robed women was making a little fireworks display with her fingers, mesmerizing the kids in front of her as well as impressing me. I also want to do stuff like that. In another place, I saw the black-robed magician standing stiffly like an arrow. Observing every nook and cranny of the place as if someone would be ambushing them the next second. I also sense some magical energy laying deep within them, seemingly ready to cast a spell if something bad happens. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. They must be fun to be around. I ignored them and put my focus on the willy bunch. They seem to be the most relaxed one of the group even more relaxed than the white-robed lady. It was clear because of the amount of food they were gorging in their mouths. Some would mistake them as pigs but it seems that the stall owners they were eating from seem to have not minded at all. In fact, they seemed to be even encouraging it as there was a hint of admiration in their eyes. Like an idol was in front of them and was eating their food. Strange. I brushed the thought off since they weren¡¯t doing anything wrong. looking at the food, i salivated as i also want a piece of it, but when i thought about my current form. My mood instantly lowered. I was about to leave since i did not want to hunger myself even more when suddenly, one of the red-robed mages started approaching me. Utter confusion was plastered on my face since this seemed to be different from the last time. The red-robed mage was a woman, with fiery eyes and long amber hair. She held out one of her kebabs and offered them to me. Her scarlet eyes indicated for me to take them. Despite my confusion, I took it from her and gazed at it for a few seconds. Can i eat this? I mean she can see me but its not guaranteed that it won¡¯t pass through my stomach. Hesitant in my decision, i gazed back at the woman and noticed that her expression was that of hurt as if she was a child that was just stolen a lollipop. I didn¡¯t want to make her feel sad, so gritting my teeth i chewed on the few pieces of meat on the stick and was able to actually ate it. The meaty flavor of it exploded in my mouth as it slid down my throat with no problem Surprised by how delicious the kebab was, i took another bite and savored this one even more. I closed my eyes and felt the delicious taste of it, how the juices of the meat felt on my tongue. Its soft texture allowing to easily eat it with no problem. This must be heaven. I tried taking another bite but realized that there was none left. Not noticing that i already ate it all, and so i looked back at the woman and noticed that she was looking at me with starry eyes. I felt my face suddenly heat up, coughing a few times and throwing the stick to a garbage can. The woman with scarlet eyes was still looking at me with joyful eyes, giving me another kebab. A bit embarrassed by my earlier stunt, i was hesitant on taking another bite. But when i saw her face that was about to cry again, i conceded and took another one from her hands. Eating another one, i thought that the taste would become old but it did not as i still had the same explosion of flavor in my mouth. So this is what heaven feels like. Finishing another one, i patted my stomach for a job well done and felt full already. The woman must¡¯ve noticed it too as she also smiled brightly, with a hint of pride in it too when I looked closer. All of a sudden, the woman¡¯s face turned red when I was gazing at her, and after thinking for a few seconds, i knew why. I pulled back my face and looked to the sky as if nothing happened. Maybe i looked a little too deeply. ¡°Rose! We have to go back¡± I heard a voice and turned to look at who it was. I noticed that it was another red-robed mage, seemingly calling out to the woman who fed me a kebab. The woman supposedly named Rose also looked back and nodded. She turned to me and waved her hands, before trotting back to her group. I also waved back to her and observed her as walked back. Strange, how could she see me? I gazed at the people with her and noticed that they didn¡¯t seem to notice that i was with Rose. A quizzical expression was plastered on my face as I thought of various solutions. I thought hard but i couldn¡¯t come up with a solution. this was only my second run on this and i still haven¡¯t recognized any patterns. Well, there was one, and that is I can only seem to observe. I don¡¯t know why that is but I have a feeling the answer to my question will be soon resolved. Looking around, I saw that the people walking around the plaza with their children were leaving. Kids were tearfully saying goodbye to their friends while the parents seemed to be also saddened that they have to stop their child from their playtime. But it was inevitable as the sun was already setting, gradually turning dark as the moon was becoming clearer in the sky. Hanging in the heavens above as it oversaw all of man. I gazed at the moon and tried reaching for it with my hand, yet no matter how much i tried grabbing it, it seemed so far away. Like a fleeting moment in our ever-long yet short lives. I pulled back my arm but i continued to gaze at the moon. There was no deep reason for why i did that, i just wanted to stare at the moon and feel the chilly air hanging around me. its bright incandescence shines a light on every home, guiding the path of every person wanting to go back to where they once were, taking rest from a tiring day as they repeat that cycle all over again the next day. I start to wonder to myself if it can also allow me to go back home. To go back to where i once was. Or at least, to go back to where I belong. Thinking hard, i tried remembering where that exactly was but it still came out as a blank. There was little to no memory still of my past. Only a fragment of what once was. Yet even those fragments i held dear, for one day i will piece them all up together and form what once was. I approached a nearby bench and lay down on it. I continued staring at the moon, wishing for it to take me back home, and yet deep down i knew it was useless. The only way back is through me. From an outside perspective, my gazing at the moon might look like i was trying to bore out a gaping hole in it. And i would¡¯ve done so as long as i could go back but unfortunately, I''m human as far as i can tell. I closed my eyes and let my tiredness take me away. Chapter 5: Death I felt a slight nudge in on the left side of my shoulder. Subconsciously I swatted it off but I hit nothing. Thinking that it was gone, i went back to sleep and continued on my peaceful little dream. In my dream, i somehow regained my memories and was back home. There were even people in said home and they welcomed me back in open arms once they saw me. Yet in that moment, i was reluctant and even felt a little despair. It was because their faces were blurry. I looked closer and saw that their faces look like they were erased by an eraser. It was unknown why i did it, but despite my reluctance, i accept it and walked forward to approach them. When suddenly those blurry faces seemed to have been so far away. I hastened my steps and yet the distance between me and them still felt the same. I broke into a dash and chased after what seemed like a fleeting memory. Running after them felt like an absolute eternity but i did give up. I saw that they still had their arms wide open as if they were waiting for a hug from me. Not wanting to disappoint, I ran and ran and ran. But the distance didn¡¯t close. It felt that it was still so far away. I reached out my hand to at least try getting only a little bit closer and even then it was futile. Halting in my steps, i felt my legs become heavy, plopping down onto he ground. A sense of despair started creeping over my mind, my surroundings suddenly darkening as it tried to devour me whole. ¡°Mr!¡± All of a sudden the darkness shattered and i heard a voice. My eyes opened wide as i sat up from the bench, I felt my back covered in sweat, i felt a little wetness accumulating in my eye sockets i tried brushing them away from my eyes. ¡°Hey, Mr. are you okay?¡± It took me a second to reply before I regained my composure and replied. ¡°Ehem yeah, I''m fine.¡± I gazed at the person who woke me up and was surprised at who it was. It seems she was the only person i remember from my shattered memories. Well, it was only because i met her recently. Her crimson eyes and her auburn air seemed to have melded perfectly with the surroundings. Calming my racing heart every so slightly, though i don''t know why. Her expression seemed to have been a mixture of worry and surprise. I smiled and pretended that i was okay since i didn¡¯t want to trouble a perfectly good stranger. She seemed to have believed since her expression was replaced with a relieved expression. ¡°That¡¯s good, cause i thought i had to bring you to the local clinic, and let me tell you, it¡¯s not a good idea if you want to keep your pockets full. Well, it¡¯s not like my pockets were ever full, to begin with.¡± The girl went on and on about the clinic, and somehow she seemingly switch the topic to how Mrs. Daisy kept asking her to marry his son or why Mr. Frederick was leaving the city. She had a few speculations and I often added a little bit of my own in between, but she concluded that it was none of her business. Suddenly her face turned red and she seemed to have realized what she did. ¡°Wait ah I''m sorry¡­ Sorry for talking about all these random things you probably don¡¯t care about.¡± She went into a light panic, like a child being caught when they were doing something wrong. Instead of being courteous, I laughed out loud for some reason and when the girl saw it, her already red face turned even more beet red. My laughter rang for a few more seconds until I stopped to catch my breath. I haven¡¯t laughed that long for a long while ever since I was put into my situation. In fact, when was the last time I ever laughed? Huh, this seems to be the first ever since i got my memory back. I regained my composure and looked back at the woman. She had her face covered and seemed to have been really embarrassed. Giving a light chuckle I said. ¡°It¡¯s fine Rose I don¡¯t mind the little chit-chat once in a while. And it¡¯s my turn to apologize for laughing so loudly.¡± The woman named Rose no longer covered her face and gazed back at me. Her eyes indicated apparent embarrassment with her cheeks being red as a lobster. ¡°Um¡­ Its fine too¡­¡± Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. I smiled and was about to reply back when i saw the stick in her hand. A very recent memory came to my attention and i asked Rose about the stick. She realized that she was holding the tick and promptly hid it behind her back. ¡°Um, it¡¯s nothing really¡­ just a stick.¡± ¡°Huh, i see.¡± No wonder i felt a slight nudge earlier on my shoulder. But i wiped it off my mind as i felt that it wasn¡¯t a big deal. I moved the topic to another question iv been meaning to ask. ¡°By the way, why are you here?¡± ¡°Ah, that. Well, it¡¯s nothing actually. I just have a habit of visiting the water fountain every morning before going to work that¡¯s all.¡± ¡°Ah, i see¡­¡± I asked another question that was the most important question i needed to know in this scenario. And it¡¯s that¡­¡° ¡°Rose, can I ask, where am I right now?¡± Rose had a stunned expression on her face when she heard my question. She looked surprised that the man in front of her didn¡¯t even know the name of the city he was in. ¡°Huh? What¡­ How do you not know?¡± ¡°Uh long story. So where am i anyway.¡± Rose seemed to have shrugged off her earlier confusion and answered my question. ¡°You¡¯re in Ferlantris City.¡° Never heard of it, but i nodded to her nonetheless so didn¡¯t garner enough suspicion. I inspected her throughout all this and realized that she may be someone important. If i don¡¯t play this right, i might get fucked over. ¡°I see.¡± ¡°Well talk to ya later mister, I''m off to work.¡± She waved goodbye at me before skipping towards another street. I waved back and saw her off until she was no longer in sight. Giving a slight sigh, i was glad that i didn¡¯t seem to be too suspicious of myself. I looked at my surroundings and noticed that a lot of people were already walking around the street. And since I have nothing better to do except wait, i might as well walk around. Standing up i tried walking towards the street opposite of where Rose went but i bumped into something. Confused, i reached forward and felt that i could no longer extend it any further. So i pushed with both of my hands and still felt that i couldn¡¯t pass through. Even more, confusion overtook me. But i calmed down and analyzed the situation with a level head. I looked down and noticed something, so I gazed around my whole surroundings and a conclusion sprang into my head. I can¡¯t move past the fountain. Seeing the line separating the fountain and everything else, I tried another area of the fountain but nothing. This doesn¡¯t make sense. I could move around the city yesterday but what changed? I thought that Rose might be up to this along with her colleagues but i don¡¯t think that is likely since there were only several seconds separating from her departure. To cast a spell this big in an instant well, it would take someone of the blond guy to do it and i don¡¯t think anyone is strong enough to match him here. Different solutions went into my head yet every single one of them was unfeasible. I thought of asking for help but that would garner even more suspicion and attention to me, which is something i don¡¯t want. Last time i caught someone¡¯s attention i was almost sliced in half. Sure maybe an outside force might be protecting me but who to say that it would protect me forever? A creeping sense of anxiousness started invading me but i calmed down my beating heart and sat down on the fountain. I closed my eyes and just felt the peaceful city surrounding me. I listened to the bartering of merchants and the laughter of children. My racing heart finally calmed down. Opening my eyes, i thought about my problem level-headedly and only came to one solution. And I already knew that solution before my little predicament. It¡¯s to wait. Throwing a fuss isn''t gonna help and I suspect that the more i try to break myself out of this prison, something even more frightening might replace it on its stead. So i did what any other good person trapped in a mirror would do, i waited. Sitting on the ground, i leaned my back against the fountain and felt the peaceful dropping of water from it. I looked around the busy crowd and felt that maybe this isn¡¯t so bad. Sure I might be trapped here but i know it¡¯s not forever. And the alternative is being stuck in a place full of mirrors, so this is an upgrade compared to that. Taking a deep breath, i thought that maybe this really isn¡¯t so bad. I closed my eyes and savored the peaceful atmosphere. One thing i know in this world is that along with this prison of mine, nothing lasts forever. All of a sudden, warning bells started ringing in my mind. My skin felt hot and i opened my eyes to see something horrible. My stomach dropped and i felt overwhelming despair. Everything was destroyed. I stood up and looked around me. Houses were demolished as if something ran to them as the citizens who once lived on them were on the ground. Lifeless. Blood was running through the once peaceful streets of Ferlantris city, making me puke on the fountain that was already died in blood. Its tiers were destroyed. Half of it was already destroyed while the other half was already crumbling on itself. ¡°What happened¡­¡± I saw my face reflecting on what little the water had left on the fountain. Then i saw something else reflecting on my face. I looked up and noticed that the sky was red. The moon was bloody red as it shined down. Suddenly i thought of another person. Rose. Without thinking i ran to the street i saw her off last as i didn¡¯t notice that i went past the fountain. In the streets, i saw mangled corpses being displayed everywhere, with its perpetrators gone like the wind. Pure anxiousness consumed me as I ran faster and faster. I turned left but it was a dead end. Yet i saw who I was looking for. She had her back turned against me and saw that she was still alive. Apparent joy was on my face as i ran to her but just as i got close, i noticed that something was off. I stopped when I was just halfway and called out to her. ¡°Rose?¡± She didn¡¯t respond. I called out again and in a much louder voice. Calling out again but louder than even my voice throughout the street. Yet nothing. A sense of dread flooded my mind as I might have realized something, but I ignored it and walked closer. With every step i walked, I felt that something was weighing me down. Every step felt like a house was strapped into my legs and yet I pushed on. Just when i was near her, I reached out to her and I called out her name in a meek voice. ¡°Rose?¡± I touched her shoulder slightly yet that was enough. Her body toppled to the side, crashing down on her back. Pure horror filled my eyes when i saw her condition. Her eyes were burned out with a look of shock on her face.