Mythria

I moved closer to the person who was peacefully sleeping on the ground. A girl of unknown origin. Someone who shouldn’t exist was right in front of me. I decided not to wake her up, and instead activate one of my abilities: Extended Sensory Perception. Simply put, it is the ability to extend my perception of smell, sound, and touch without directly interacting with the environment using my body. As a side effect, I became capable of sensing things that are far beyond what the average person could do. I will explain the logic behind the ability some other time, but for now, bear with me.

…

…

“This doesn’t make sense…. How come I can’t feel her life force?”

The girl was clearly alive, and yet, no signs of any life force can be detected from her being. I decided to scan the rest of the World, but as expected, I couldn’t sense anyone but myself and the animals living with me here in Paradise.

“This is the first time that I have encountered such a phenomenon. Throughout the twenty thousand years that I’ve been alive, not once has my ability failed me.”

Yes, even the undead - soulless beings moving only from sheer instinct after their bodies were injected with artificial life force as a result of sorcery magic, emit a faint light. This girl, however, hasn’t shown even the slightest signs of that light.

For the time being, I decided to let go of any complicated thoughts and focused more on what I should do with the girl. At first glance, she looked like she couldn't hurt even a fly, but in a World where everything had gone wrong, there was no such thing as being too careful.

What I did was basically just keep my eyes peeled at the girl. I looked at her and thought, “She’s really cute”. She had the kind of appearance which would inspire anyone’s protective instinct. It was as if the World was telling me to protect her, but from what? And Why?

There is no longer anything in this World. Nothing to protect, and nothing to be wary about. No friends nor enemies.

A mysterious girl whose life force cannot be detected, and on top of that, an appearance that encourages protection above anything else. Something definitely doesn't add up. My gut feeling is telling me I should try not to associate with her, but what if looking after her is the correct decision?

“Hhnngg….”

As I was contemplating my options, I heard the girl make some sounds. She was beginning to awaken. She began stretching, making a satisfied exhale afterward. She then proceeded to raise her upper body, making it so that she was sitting on the ground with her legs straightened out. As if the fact that another person was around went unnoticed, she patted the dogs and began talking to them in a language I can understand. This World’s major language, Alrhyon

“Hehe, were you guarding me while I was asleep? Thank you!”

She spoke, giving the canines a soft smile.

“Good morning!”

I greeted her with the biggest smile I could muster. I haven’t had any social interaction with anyone since the last five hundred years or so, resulting in my not knowing how to properly express myself.

“Waah?!”

She let out cute sounds of shock as she hurriedly tried processing the sound which she just heard. She looked straight to my face with eyes wide open and mouth agape, before putting a hand on her mouth as she cutely blushed.

“Uhmm… G-good mornying!”

As expected, even her greeting was cute although slurred. I waited until she was calm enough before asking questions.

“What’s your name?”

I expected a straight answer, but that wasn’t what happened. Instead, She furrowed her brows upon hearing my question. It wasn’t an expression of anger, but that of confusion. She closed her eyes still with her brows furrowed. She then put both her index fingers on her temples as an act of desperation while at the same time making “hhhhnnnnggg…” sounds.

“N-no need to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“It’s not that…!”

She exclaimed.

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“I…. don’t know my name.”

An imaginary question mark appeared at the top of my head as I deciphered the meaning of her words.

“As in, you don’t remember your name?”

She nodded.

“Do you know where you came from?”

The girl shook her head.

“How about the last food you ate? How much water did you previously drink? How did you get here?”

I bombarded her with questions seeking to extract even the smallest information out of her, but she could only shake her head.

“You…. don’t have any memory?”

“Every time I try to remember, nothing comes up. It’s like… Endless darkness. I feel empty…”

A pained expression showed on her angelic face as she looked down on the ground. I also felt guilty about pushing her right after she woke up.

Forget it. There’s no longer any meaning in being cautious, anyway. There is no longer anything to protect. Nothing to do. Nothing to strive for. I doubt my decisions at this point will make a change.

I convinced myself as I decided to change gears. Instead of worrying, I figured it was better to just take things slowly and just enjoy the company. After all, I’ve never had a single social interaction for the last couple hundred years, and with the Planet having already met its end, I normally wouldn’t even have the chance. This encounter is a literal miracle. Something that should’ve been impossible, made possible.

*grrroowwwwlll*

Sounds of a screaming stomach rumbled, and the source was none other than the impossible existence that was in front of me.

“Eheheh!”

She let out a wide, innocent smile as she looked at me with a hint of shyness.

“Well, I’ve got lots of food back home. Would you like to come?”

She immediately raised her hands, accompanied by a huge “YES!” as she stood up. I started walking at a slightly faster pace than I usually do out of consideration for my hungry guest. Thankfully, she could match me, or else I might have ended up just carrying her. She kept looking here and there as we walked, like a child full of curiosity about their newfound environment.

I cooked something simple consisting of chicken eggs, processed meat like bacon, and bread. I also served some fruits for a little balance. I was too lazy to prepare vegetables, so I didn’t offer that to my mysterious guest. Well, I did offer a small serving of raw broccoli.

“Have a bite. Don’t expect much in terms of flavor though. I’m not a very good cook.”

I wasn’t being humble. I was never really interested in pursuing good food. Or rather, I liked eating good food, but didn’t like to cook much.

Perhaps she really was hungry, because she finished two servings of breakfast in no time at all. She let out a sigh of satisfaction before putting on a solemn expression. I didn’t have an idea as to why she was putting on that kind of face, but I immediately figured it out when she spoke.

“Oh, Lord Almighty, Ruler of the Universe, Celestia, and the Abyss, I thank thee for the blessing that you have bestowed upon this soul.”

There was an air of extreme faith in her posture. It was as if I was seeing a high priest, or even a bishop in the middle of their prayer routine. It made me wonder if she truly had no recollection of her past, but on second thought, it might have just been her subconsciously remembering what to do before, during, and after certain activities. I mean, amnesiacs don’t really forget how to speak, right? After all, different parts of the brain store different information.

“So… About your name…”

I started a conversation as she ended her prayer.

“Please, give me a name!”

She said with enthusiasm.

“Are you sure that’s okay? Won’t it be better for you to decide for yourself?”

“No! You give me a name. Otherwise, it would be meaningless.”

I stopped for a brief moment to take in her words.

“What do you mean by that?”

I asked.

“A person doesn’t just decide their name on their own. Everyone should be given names only by those who are important to them.”

“I mean, yeah. I get what you’re trying to say, but I’m not really someone important to you, am I?”

I reasoned, trying to escape the responsibility.

“When I woke up with no memories, you were there for me. When I was hungry, you gave me food without a second thought. You’re plenty important to me already!”

She said with a wink and a thumbs up.

Yes, I was there, but not for your sake. If you happened to be an obvious obstacle, I would’ve eliminated you right then and there. I gave you food not without second thoughts. I merely gave up on thinking and decided to just go with the flow. I’m not the kind of person you think I am. I am a lot more selfish than that. Besides, if I can be important to someone just by being there for them and giving them food, then the whole World would believe in me more back when people still lived.

She didn’t hear my words, of course. That’s because I was speaking only in my head.

“Mythria”

I finally made up my mind. If she wasn’t going to back down on this, then I might as well just give in and end it quickly. I thought of a good name that suited her best. Mythria, as in Myth. An existence that should exist only in Myth and Legends. A being of miracle and impossibility. It sounded like her very essence: Impossibility made possible.

In a split-second after hearing me speak of her name, she immediately jumped from her seat and on to me.

“Mythria. Mythria. Mythria…. It’s my name… I have a name…”

She repeatedly whispered her name to nobody in particular, as if to memorize, all the while tightly embracing me.

“It’s a beautiful name. I like it… I like it very much..! Thank you!”

She had what I could only describe as the biggest smile in the whole wide Universe. Her warmth became all the more apparent as she continued to embrace me for an extended period of time. I moved not an inch. Physical contact was something I have missed during my many years of isolation, so that wasn’t an unwelcome surprise.

From then onward, our life together in this desolate world began, just the two of us.