Life is full of mysteries. A lot of things happen without proper explanations. All we can do is accept it.

I was sitting on the slope of a grassy hill overlooking a vast expanse of forest. In the distance, a mountain range hid the horizon. The sun in the wide blue sky was halfway to the zenith. I used my hand to protect my eyes from its glaring brightness.

A sweet moan came from beside me. There, a girl was lying asleep on the grassy soil. She was wearing nothing but a light gray robe, revealing a bit of her pristine white skin whenever she moved. Her short black hair was slightly ruffled, covering a part of her face.

A similar robe was wrapped around my body. I inspected it and found that there were no other garments underneath. Under the robe, I was stark naked. Feeling a bit breezy, I hugged my knees closer to warm myself.

“Where is this?” I asked. The question was not directed to anyone. It was just a question to calm myself, a question to hide the confusion and dread slowly piling up inside me.

I turned to look behind me. On top of the hill was a stone obelisk about three meters tall. The sound of waves came from beyond. My curiosity peaked, I stood up and started to climb the slope. As I was about to leave, the girl moaned again and shifted in her sleep. I looked at her, undecided whether to wake her up or not. In the end, I chose to just let her sleep for a while.

When I reached the peak of the hill, strong winds blew against me and caused my robe to flap. I felt conscious about the fact that I had nothing underneath, so I grabbed the hem and held it tight.

Beyond the hill was a majestic sight. From the top, it gently slopes down toward a rocky cliff. Waves from the vast blue ocean that extends toward the horizon crashed against the bottom of the cliff. The impact was so strong that slight traces of the ocean spray lightly touched against my skin.

I closed my eyes and basked in the moist and cool sea breeze. The sound of flapping wings broke my reverie. I looked up and my mouth hang open at the sight.

A flock of what seemed like birds at first sight were flying at an indeterminable height, but every flap of their wings produced a sound strong enough to be heard from the ground. Looking closely, their bodies where not covered by feathers but by rough scales.

“Dragons!” I exclaimed in surprise and fell on my butt. I was surprised not because of their almost impossible existence but because of the majesty their bodies emitted with every movement they made.

One of them broke from their formation and swooped down closer to the ground, then circled a few times above me. I could only stare, realizing that it seemed to be watching me. After about three rounds above, it produced a snorting sound, then returned back to the others. When it beat its huge reptilian wings, a huge amount of air hit me and pushed me against the ground.

Standing back up, I patted my robe free of loose soil and grass. I watched as the dragons flew toward the mountain range in the distance.

I knew of dragons and other mythological beasts in fantasies. Where my knowledge came from, that I do not know. One thing I am sure of is that this world is not the world in my knowledge.

I turned back to the obelisk to inspect it. It had a hexagonal base, each side about one and a half arm’s length. It tapered upward to about half an arm’s length, suddenly intersecting the last few centimeters. On each side, there were scribbles and images engraved on the glossy dark gray surface.

As I was trying to figure out what the images depict, I heard a yawn from behind. Turning to look, the girl from earlier seemed to have finally awaken. She was sitting up and stretching her arms upward. The robe’s sleeves slid down her arms, revealing healthy white skin.

Her head tilted to the side, seeming confused at the sight in front of her. She turned her head left and right, observing her surroundings. She then picked a bunch of grass and stared at it, then let it drop from her hand and be blown by the wind.

“Hey!” I called out to her. She quickly turned her head and our eyes met. Her pale blue eyes struck me speechless. Her perfect nose and small pink lips gave her a beauty beyond description. She was the most beautiful girl I have ever seen, according to my knowledge.

While staring at each other, she seemed to finally realize the state she was in. She hugged her body, trying to tighten the loose robe around her. She then glared at me fiercely with those beautiful blue eyes.

“I—I’m sorry,” I apologized and looked to the side, trying to avoid her enchanting eyes. “Uh, are you alright?” I asked, while sneakily casting glances at her. She had already stood up and trying to back away from me. With her hugging her robe tight, it emphasized her wonderful figure.

“Who are you? Where am I? What did you do to me?” she asked, her voice slightly tinged with fear.

“C—calm down first!” I raised my hands to show her that I wasn’t planning on doing anything. As I did, a strong wind blew from behind lifting my robes. With her current lower position, her eyes widened at the view that was revealed beneath my robe.

With a scream, she turned and started running down the hill toward the forest.

“Wait!” I ran after her. We don’t know anything about this place, why we are here, or who brought us here. Running around in this strange place is dangerous.

The trees at the edge of the forest were small and sparse, but after a few seconds in, the tree grow huge and dense. There were a variety of shrubbery and other small plants. My robe was caught by twigs along the way, but it’s a mystery that no tears have appeared on the cloth.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“Stop! This is dangerous!” My soles were starting to hurt. We both don’t have footwear. How could she keep on running like that. Dashing barefooted in this forest, I wouldn’t be surprised if she suddenly stopped and cried because she stepped on something sharp.

A black slender figure appeared on my peripheral vision. It was sprinting behind the trees with very agile movements. Every now and then it would disappear from sight, then appear again at random intervals. With my attention to it, I almost tripped.

Soon we arrived at an opening. In the middle was a lake with a small island in the middle. The bottom of the lake can almost be seen through the crystal clear water.

The girl turned to the right and started running along the bank of the lake.

“Wa—!” As I was about to call out to her once again, my voice was caught in my throat as the black figure emerged from the forest.

Its black and lithe figure was reminiscent of a jaguar. The only difference was the bushy gray mane on the top of its head, fierce crimson eyes, and dark red paws.

Seeing its ferocious appearance, my feet froze and my breathing stopped. My senses were screaming that I will die if I move or make any noise.

The gray-maned jaguar had its eyes set on the girl. With a low growl, it started running toward her. She was in danger!

What should I do?

The first thing that I thought was to run away. I should go and find a safe place to hide before this beast decides to go after me.

My eyes fell on the defenseless back of the short-haired girl.

She will die!

She will die!

She will die!

Every time I think of saving my self, those words would hinder my thoughts. Am I capable of leaving a person behind just to ensure my own safety? Am I capable of living after this knowing that I left a person to die?

…But what could I do?

The beast was a hunter. We are prey. What could we do?

Run!

To where?

Just run!

My body finally moved. Every fiber of my being was burning with the intention to run. Pain seared through my brain as I forced my legs to move a millisecond faster, a millimeter further.

I felt something break within me, and like a broken damn, power gushed forth toward my legs.

I ran faster than I ever could.

I ran toward the girl.

Feeling the beast’s thirst for her blood, she looked back and shock and terror filled her eyes. As the beast approached, it lowered its body to the ground, bending its hind legs for a pounce.

Extending those powerful limbs, the beast lunged toward her.

I must make it!

Enduring the pain in my head and in my legs, I appeared right behind the girl. Apologizing in my thoughts, I tackled her toward the lake.

Splash! We fell in the cold water.

As I surfaced, I saw the beast standing by the bank of the lake. It doesn’t seem to have any intention to enter the water.

“We’re safe,” I told the girl. I turned to look but I couldn’t find her. Fearing the possibilities, I dived under the water and quickly found her. She was unconscious.

I swam toward her and lifted her to the surface. I then brought her to the island in the center of the lake. She was still breathing unhindered, thank goodness.

The black figure was still there at the edge of the lake. Its eyes were on us, as if unwilling to let us go, willing to wait for us to return. It knows that we can’t stay here for long.

It wasn’t long before the girl woke up. She was knocked unconscious when I tackled her. Luckily, she didn’t suffer from any broken bones.

When she saw me after waking up, she tried to kick me away, then tried to jump back into the lake. I managed to grab her from behind before she could.

“Let me explain!” I said while trying to hold her still. She kept on flailing around, trying to escape from my arms. Unable to break free, she bit me.

“Look!” I turned her to face the beast on the shore. It was lying prone on the grass, but its fiery red eyes were still on us. “It was running after you earlier! If I hadn’t made it in time, you’d be nothing but meat in its stomach!”

Looking back, it was still a wonder how I did it. It felt like something strange had happened with my body at that time. Right now, my legs were actually feeling a bit weak.

Finally, she had calmed down. She whispered something.

“What?” I asked as I couldn’t hear what she said.

“Thank you…”

“It’s nothing.”

“You can let me go, now…” she said with a slightly embarrassed tone. Realizing our current positions, I released her. She immediately fell down on her knees. I remained standing, watching over her. Her shoulders started to shake, followed by sobbing sounds.

“What the hell… is going on?” she asked between her sobs.

“I have no idea either.”

“Where… are… we?”

“I don’t know.”

“Who… are you?”

“I…” My mind blanked out. I stood still for a few seconds, unable to answer. This was what I was trying to forget.

I was trying to forget the fact that I couldn’t remember my name.

“I don’t know…”

She turned her head to look at me. Her face remained pretty despite her red teary eyes and wet disheveled hair. I could see a glint of fear in her eyes.

“I don’t know my name, too…” she muttered.