The forest no longer appeared average to him, it had a very hypnotic aura. An unexplored, mysterious and captivating territory that wished to be discovered, taken, and be owned by him. The urge and desired to set foot to the cliff could not be contained, as if called by Thanatos MAGIC walked in full resolution. To the edge between this world and the one he belongs, he didn’t look back not even once. He exiled the lake and moved beyond sight. With each step the air grew thinner and he felt as if he was moving through water, going deeper and deeper into a void with an unknown pressure affecting his lungs. Time passed, distance was taken, and enduring the unusual pressure with every breath, every tree he passed, MAGIC made it to the cliff.
He
smiled; a wicked grin molded across his face could be seen by nobody; a
sign of his satisfaction and an inevitable expression of
accomplishment. Thoughts of just running towards it and jump, crossed
instantaneously through his mind ‘to be done quickly’ but never really
meditated on the obvious, what would happen if he actually jumps from
the cliff? Would he really go to his natal place of birth? Would he just
die without knowing who he was? Or would he just wake up from the
strange dream he was having at the present?
The man with no memory ran a little bit; he couldn’t run normally for the environment impeded him to do so. Swimming
against the current, his body finally experienced fatigue and forced
him to his knees, about 15 feet away from the edge of the cliff.
Everything but his will to live prevented MAGIC from jumping. His desire
laid nowhere, there was no hesitation either. As strong as his will, it
was the prominent force acting upon him. He could not move for a period
of time that felt like eternity. During this time his head and desire
cool down and solitude came to his being.
There it was, his tired body on the ground, his eyes closed, exhausted, he didn’t know of anything else.
An
intense sentiment of guilt invaded his soul. MAGIC could not stand up;
more like he didn’t had the will to achieve the task. The only thing in
his sight view was a set of rocks and dry orange color leaves. He
wondered where IT could be, maybe still on the lake with the rays of the
sun on its face and dreaming. ‘What could IT be dreaming of? Maybe of
the place outside of this empty world, maybe of nothing at all, maybe IT
was already awake and looking for him, maybe IT was just sitting and
waiting, maybe IT knew that MAGIC left to go to his world.’
The
man with no past, tried not to feel pathetic by excusing his actions.
‘Something must have possessed me’ he thought while aimlessly starring
at the rough surface of the rocks in front of him. His fingertips could
almost touch the leaves; he extended his arm and gently padded a rock’s
surface. ‘I didn’t leave IT on my own will and I am still here.’ MAGIC
finally pushed himself up and grabbed the rock, making a fist and
disappointed at himself stated “I didn’t stop on my own either.” He
threw away the rock while standing up. With a disgusted attitude and
resentful eyes, he yelled at the precipice “Fuck you” and walked towards
the lake.
Naturally, the view changed slightly since it no longer was dark. Each time he took some steps, the place lightened up. He had a resolution that could not be changed. His guilt left his body but not entirely, it didn’t matter much for he no longer care. MAGIC will do things right and fix it to where solitude could leave. Even if everything was a trick, even if it was just a dream, even if anything would turn in vain. MAGIC’s mind and soul would be in peace, it shall be the right thing to do and nothing else matter. Was he possibly possessed again?
Our
protagonist passed the same bushes and trees, but this time light
renewed them to the point that everything appeared new to MAGIC. The
panorama unfroze and to him it turned from a warm winter to a cold
summer that lasted for just a few seconds. A scream broke the timid
silence, a familiar voice, the echo resounded in MAGIC’s ear. He ran as
fast as possible to the lake where IT emitted another scream. The
natural or in any case, fake environment no longer matter, everything
became a blur in his eyes. MAGIC’s respiration could not work as fast as
his legs and almost out of breath; he reached the empty silver color
lake. The young man’s lip tried to call for IT but no sound could be
heard, as if his body knew that all was useless for it was already too
late.
IT disappeared leaving only traces and pieces of a torn crimson red scarf that originally belonged to MAGIC. “SHIT!” was the only word he could pronounce and while picking the leftovers from the old scarf everything went bright and later on, everything was an empty black space of nothingness. A migraine, yes, it could not be anything else. His head hurt as if someone or something was constantly pressing it; he wanted to throw up but nothing could be vomit since his stomach was empty.
“IT… I
need to search for IT…” MAGIC didn’t or couldn’t imagine what happened
and had no idea what he could do at the moment. Was it even necessary?
He already knew the way out and for all he knew this might be just a
wild fantasy. Maybe he knocked himself out and just needed to wake up,
maybe he was in a coma or a brief transition between life and death.
MAGIC laughed, ironically, at the thought of being fake by thinking he
was a creation from someone else’s mind. A replica perhaps, but did it
even matter? He had no memory, nothing but a mix of feelings and a
hesitation swimming in an ocean of carelessness. What was right or
wrong? What meaning does his existence had at any time and place? What
value did his hands have at this time?
There were only some dirty pieces of something and nothing.
After rubbing his temples, our uncaring hero, had no time for a journey. Development and changes were unnecessary for this story since he was who he is, and he was himself with or without memories. “I am MAGIC, I exist and do not exist, I am hope and despair, evil and divine, powerful and vulnerable, impotent and sublime, … or something among those lines.” His existential issue resolved just in time to face this tale’s enemy. There it was, on the other side of the lake, a human shaped figure, white in color and somewhat transparent, flames or fog surrounding it, there was no face, no features of any sort and it seem to be as tall as our hero. The arms held no weapons but a piece of red cloth that hanged around some sort of claws. This torn piece of fabric was later thrown to the lake as a duel invitation and the creature levitated towards the man.
“You son of a…”
MAGIC accused the living thing that came to him in an instant too fast
that he could not finish his dialogue when the monster was already on
his face. The thing pushed the man down apparently, as hard as it could
for it even cracked the lake’s surface. The thing went straight for the
neck, the jugular and the young human grabbed the creature’s arms in a
fail attempt to get release. Instead, MAGIC’s arms turned blue and
purple as if been gangrened by cold frost. The creature kept pushing and
strangling MAGIC, the first layer of the glass and frozen lake was
shattered and almost completely destroyed. Liquid did not
came out but instead, a soft dusty substance that rose and burnt the
young man’s back. He yelled in pain but it didn’t have an effect on the
situation, the monster didn’t react to it.
In a flash, MAGIC remembered the knife IT gave him and he reached to his back, where he had carelessly placed it before. While having one hand on the creature’s neck and the other one passing through the burning substance to get the knife, MAGIC strangely felt some sort of pleasure. In his mind the thought of finally fighting someone or something with all his might, fired up his enthusiasm and the adrenaline mixed well with the release of Dopamine. All of these chemicals and more provoked the young man’s will to fight. When he finally had a hold of the blade, MAGIC didn’t think twice and stabbed his attacker with his left hand. One, two, and three times he used the dagger and punctuated the creature’s abdomen until it finally stopped strangling MAGIC. With the last stab, the man pushed the pale creature to his right.
It
didn’t move, it didn’t cry, and didn’t bleed either, or at least that
is what it seems for the wounds were only lines drawn on the white
canvas that was the being’s right side rib cage. The human with all his
strength hit the thing away from him with his left elbow just where the
wounds were; in result the creature was pushed away to MAGIC’s left side
and with the opening the man move to the opposite side. Trying to get
far away from the broken part of the lake, the protagonist rolled and
crawled his way out of the crystalline fissure. He noticed his right
hand no longer had a putrid look but hurt from where the lake’s
substance had touch him. Still with the knife in his hand, the hero knew
what to do next, but to his surprise the spirit no longer laid on the
lake. Immediately, MAGIC stood up and became defensive, looking
everywhere to locate his enemy. No sound and no movement took place; it
was as if MAGIC had been there all alone.
After
some minutes of no activity, the young lad took some steps to the small
crater that still vomited dust. Inside of it, broken pieces of glass,
silver colored magma and ironically the only red element that could be
spotted was the old scarf. MAGIC still cautious, picked it up with his
left hand, healing at the contact with the fluffy material inside and
around the hole. The chemical reaction burnt but didn’t compare to the
sight and surprise of seen the scarf as good as new. The completed piece
of red cloth, felt warm and soft; MAGIC first instinct was to place it
on his face. Calid and comforting, the touch of a angel in the hands of a
human, all having the smell of a tender spring day. He smelled the
fabric and whispered “Where are you?”
The climate once again changed, everything became foggy, dusty and humid. For the first time, the human could feel the present weather; his eyes itched and irritated due to the dust. He also started to sweat and obviously could not see anything clear. Then, he even coughed uncontrollably, covering his mouth with the scarf and disoriented didn’t know what to do. His chest compressed many times, he wished for something to drink, or anything that could end the undesired cough. One thing that he absolutely hates was indeed this... coughing his lungs out. He thought of consuming the strange substance coming from the broken lake.
MAGIC looked
down and inside the hole he found water “Could it be a mirage?” He
thought for a second but on an impulse he drank some of the water after
taking some of the liquid out with his bare left hand. “Damn, is this
how poison feels like?” Once again, another burning sensation, poignant,
and aggressive could be felt by the young man. The fiery water went
down his trachea, esophagus, and landed in his stomach. He wanted to
throw up but couldn’t. He coughed several times to the point that his
face turned red, and had to kneel down in order to resist the hostile
muscle contractions. MAGIC covered his mouth again with the scarf and
thought he could cough blood but instead, everything was gone. Every
pain, cough, and discomfort was gone.
-“Well, that worked out nicely but for sure hurt like bloody hell.”
He
stood up and the dirt around him still bothered his vision. Suddenly,
MAGIC felt a potent push and thus he lost balance. However, he was able
to rapidly turn around while falling. As expected, it was once again the
creature from before. Our hero tried to grab it in an attempt to gain
support and to stay on the floor, but it was inevitable to be slam onto
the ground. For a second time, his body fell on the lake after been
attacked but unluckily this time; his body completely shattered the now
fragile layer of glass as if it were mere ice. Boiling water is what our
hero experienced when his body submerged into the lake; he had to get
out for he assumed his self being would burn to death if he were to stay
underwater.
Instinct moved his body but a strange
force pulled him, stronger than gravity and ignoring buoyancy, this
force restrained him from going out. Panicking and out of
options, MAGIC opened his eyes to see the aperture from where he came
closing by reconstructive itself. While ‘falling’ down the void, the
burning sensation diminished until it was completely gone. The only
lighting source came from the creature above, to the young man’s side,
only darkness ruled underneath the layer of glass. MAGIC no longer felt
the force dragging him down and began to swim back to the closed portal.
Unlike before, he could not breathe when he reached the transparent and
glassy membrane and could only observe the spirit above that appeared
to be staring at him while waiting.
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