New World

There is a bleak, indistinguishable sound coming from nowhere.

A dazzling light escaped from the cracks it made in the middle of the void I was floating in. The slow, amplifying sound stirred me from my long slumber. The white light shined before my eyes, blinding me with it. It followed with the images that rushed into my head—blurred pictures that I couldn’t recognize how, when, and where I had seen them.

The burst of distinctive shades of colors blended and soon portrayed random pictures flashed in rapid motion, pushing through the cracks, casting colors all over my surrounding.

The exploding images went along with a distressing blaze of dreading sounds.

In a matter of seconds, my surroundings changed. I found myself in the middle of a battlefield. I was baffled to see myself wearing thick silver armor while holding a sword in my right hand. The second I got into the place, all my senses awakened violently in a wink of an eye, forcing me to feel, hear, and see everything with clarity. My brows formed into a frown when I tasted the metallic tang of blood, overpowering my tastebud. I coughed and heaved.

“Oww,” I grunted and writhed from the discomfort I felt.

There was an inexplicable sharp, stabbing pain in my arm. When I touched it, it was wet and warm on my hand. My face darkened to see the crimson liquid flowing between my fingers. I was bleeding badly, and I suddenly felt sick and exhausted. Several parts of my body were aching and trembling with spasms.

The war cries and shrieks of people begging for mercy almost deafened my ears. The others were yelling the names of the people they cared about.

Screeching sounds coming from above distracted me from everything. I saw dark monsters flying across the dark sky! Some darted, swooping, and snatching soldiers between their talon, their razor-sharp beaks tearing everything that got in their way. At my left, a giant ogre barged its way into the middle of the murky swamp and swung its thorny mace towards a group of elves, sending them flying violently away with shattered bones. Others were stuck on its weapon as the dead bodies got impaled mercilessly against its thorns.

To my right, I caught a distorted figure staring at me. There was a crone holding a staff, mumbling incomprehensible words as if she was trying to say something to me. But she was too far, and I couldn’t hear what she was saying, adding to the fact that we were in the middle of a chaotic battlefield. Why was an old lady in here? Then to my panic, her eyes glared crimson red, her decrepit fingers pointing at me as she kept murmuring, and chanting.

A demon monster was about to snatch me from above when a giant shadow lunged itself at it and caught it between its teeth. IT’S A WEREWOLF! I didn’t notice them until this one came and saved me from being torn in half! Packs of them are helping the Elves and Faeries fight against the demons.

My head was starting to feel dizzy. I thought of running away to save myself from this place. With trembling hands, I covered my ears and prayed for this nightmare to disappear. I look around for the safest place to hide, but my mind was blown by the horrible smell of burning flesh. 

An elf was running madly, fire licked all over its body, as he screamed in torment.

“What the hell’s going on?!”

Watching the horrifying sight of the burning man, I flinch and fell on the gruesome muck painted with the blood of the dead elves piled everywhere. I grimaced at the revolting stink of decaying carcasses of horses and the corpses of both elves and faerie, all were half-buried and decaying in putrid muck. I can’t breathe. My heart was racing so fast in my chest that I could feel I was going to faint at any moment. It is complete chaos.

“What’s this? What’s happening!?”

“EODELLE! RUN! YOU CAN’T DIE HERE!”

I turned my head in shock towards that voice. It came from a man. When I was about to look at his face, the scene had disappointingly started melting, and the colors shuffled into a different view.

The scene changed as if I was teleported somewhere. From up the hill where I was standing, confused and shaking in terror, I could see Elves and Faeries holding flags and banners as the large flank of their army fought against the swarm of demons besieging a tall and grand palace made of silver and gold. The sound of swords and clanking metal was everywhere.

The agony of loss, grief, terror, and despair filled my spirit.

It was a direful sight.

My eyelids fluttered as the random images came rushing again, flooding, inside my head. It was overwhelming. No matter how hard I tried to suppress the anxiety and fear that were rising strenuously inside my chest, there was nothing I could do but watch how the darkness eradicate everything in sight. I feel so helpless. Why am I seeing all of these?

I cried when a huge shadow devoured the whole scene, leaving me only the sound of the fading screams of dying elves and faeries…

The cracking sound continued, releasing me from the void I was imprisoned in.

Before I knew it, I plummeted from a high place and my body knocked directly against a hard surface. I coughed several times and gasped for some air, filling my lungs with it. What happened? I tried to stand up but my arms and legs are too weak so I lay on the cold floor waiting for anyone that could help me.

So many hours passed and I waited so patiently but no one came. I tried to look around the place but my eyes are too blurry to see. It was dark. Am I in a cave? When I look back to where I fell from, I saw huge chunks of shattered crystals lying down on my feet. They glimmered a light of blue until it faded slowly, leaving me shivering in the middle of darkness.

I felt exhausted as I dozed slowly, hoping to regain my strength soon.

***

Birds. Are those birds?

I woke up for the second time again. This time, it’s by the sounds of the chirping noise outside. I could finally see the light coming from the exit of the cave. With trembling arms and legs, I struggled to get up and keep my balance. I feel like a newborn spawn.

With wobbling legs, I made small steps and leaned against the walls of the cave for extra support.

I need something to wear. But there is nothing inside the cave. Only the broken crystal, rocks, and dirt surround this place. Good thing my golden hair is long enough to hide my naked body. I need to go somewhere.

But where? There is this feeling in me that I need to do something. But I have no idea what it is!

What happened? Why can’t I remember anything? I feel so lost, and my head is killing me.

I forced myself to think of anything that happened before I got out of that crystal. Nothing came out of my mind but blurred nonsense images. I couldn’t catch a glimpse of any memory in my head. Most parts of my mind feel like plain, and blank pieces of parchment.

I can’t remember anything that happened aside from the colors which played in front of my eyes before I got out of the crystal and fell to the ground. The only thing that I could recall is the shadowed unfamiliar faces of people, and I don’t even know their names.

Every time I make an effort to remember anything, sharp stabbing pain hits my head, and it’s just too unbearable for me. So I only focused on walking slowly, keeping my balance, and making sure I won’t trip.

Maybe there’s an answer if I’ll find out what’s on the outside of this cave.

Like a hatchling that got out from an egg, I strived hard to reach the exit. The cave wall was cold against my skin as the dirt stuck and smudged on my hands and arms. I wince every time a sharp rock hurt my feet but I kept on going until I got out of this cold, dark, place.

The sound of the birds chirping came more audible, and I could finally feel the cold breeze blowing softly on my skin. The light was dazzling outside but I could it was so pleasant to see and smell the fresh green trees and grasses around the place. I filled my lungs with the refreshing scent while I kept on walking forward towards the end of the cave until I can see the beautiful forest surrounding the whole area.

I was about to step forward and bathe my skin with the gentle warmth of the sun when I felt the ground vibrate under my feet, followed by the warying sound of a gigantic thing trotting in my direction. It was too fast! And I know it is already late for me to run and hide so I curled myself into a ball, hoping it wouldn’t notice me.

Please… please don’t let it see me…

But I guess I wasn’t lucky at all for my prayer to be answered.

Instead of a wild beast, I saw a man standing in front of me and looked at me from head to toe, mesmerized upon seeing my naked body.