It’s dark.

That was the first thought of this boy, completely encased in darkness. He extended his arms around him, and they pressed upon surfaces close to him that felt cold– like stone. Though he couldn’t remember how he got there, it was probably time to get out. There’s got to be a way out, and sure enough, after pushing upwards, there was the grinding of rock as he was once again graced with some small amount of light as opposed to total blackness.

He sat up from where he was lying down and looked around. Apparently, he was somewhere underground, judging by the musty scent and dark brown blocky bricks that the room he was in was constructed out of. Everything was lit by a couple of torches hanging on the walls. How did I get here?

No, seriously, where am I? His mind raced as he climbed out of his resting place– upon glancing at it again, it appeared to be a coffin, made of a similar material to the rest of the room, carved out in the shape of a somewhat intricate box. He kept thinking back. What was the last thing I was doing?

Nothing came to mind. Nothing at all.

Oh god. Why couldn’t he remember anything? Anything at all? Why he was here, what he was doing last, who he was– all of it was drawing blanks. He looked down at his clothes for something that would jog his memory, but he was simply wearing a generic tunic and pants. He began pacing around the room he was in, fervently trying to grasp onto any strand of memory that was left.

Of course, there wasn’t anything there to pull upon.

Okay, you can’t remember anything. Great. Incredible, even. But let’s try to think of where to go from here. The boy who had lost his memories looked around the room once more. It was rather nondescript; the coffin that he had laid in before waking up was still there (why was he in a coffin?), along with the torches gently blazing as the room’s only light source. 3 walls were completely blocked off, with one that seemed to lead into 2 different hallways.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

He took one of the torches off of the wall and peered into the halls. Both sides appeared equally dark. I have no idea if I’d even run into anyone in a place assumedly underground like this… Or if I want to. Just as he had that thought, he heard footsteps down the left hallway.

Quickly, he assessed his options. Well, I don’t know if they’d be hostile or not, but I’d have more to gain from a conversation than being on my guard, so I’ll try to be amiable– but I won’t hesitate to run at the first sign of hostility. Thus, he hardened his resolve and called out in a hoarse voice in the direction of the heavy steps.

“Hello? Is someone there? I think I’m lost, and I’d appreciate some help!”

He waited for a beat. Then two. No response, but the footsteps were growing closer and closer. Undaunted, he stood his ground, waving his torch forward, when the figure stepped into view.

That’s not a human. That’s the first thought that appeared in his head as a humanoid creature made of smooth stone approached him at a steady pace. It had no head, just a green jewel atop what appears to be fashioned like a neck.

He wasn’t expecting this. How could he? What is this, why is he here, it’s getting closer, where am I, why can’t I remember, why, why, WHY–

As he took trembling steps backwards, he tripped over something and fell on his behind. There was nothing but the narrow hallway and the golem. Why is this happening to me? I don’t want to die here, not without some sort of explanation! But… my body is frozen in fear. I can’t move. I can’t.

“Get up, now!” A voice sounded from somewhere that wasn’t the creature, and he felt compelled to obey. The stone thing was almost upon him now, but he still had a white knuckle grip on his torch and pointed it at it. Undaunted, it began to extend its arm towards him.

“Swing for the neck! Don’t miss it now!” The voice rang out, clear as day, so his body obeyed. He reared back his right arm as much as he could in the tight space, then–

KRAK!

A solid blow to the neck of the thing blew the green gem out of its socket. The creature then froze, solid as a statue, then fell forward. He had to jump out of the way to avoid being crushed by the rocky corpse. Releasing a breath he didn’t know he was holding, the boy looked up and saw someone that definitely wasn’t there before.

He was dressed extravagantly, in glistening plate armor. He was huge, almost standing up to the ceiling of the hallway they were in and just as broad. He was pretty much glowing with his face pulled into a marvelous grin that was complimented by a rather large handlebar mustache.

Wait, no, he was actually glowing. Do people usually glow translucent yellow like that?

“Wh-who are you?” The boy managed to stutter out a question.

“I am Sir Corajudo the Glistening Knight! I ventured into this dungeon with the intent of procuring its treasures, but as you can see, I had died and got turned into one of these blasted books.” He gestured to a mundane looking hardcover on the ground, and sure enough, a transparent yellow trail was flowing out of it and into his form.

“...Huh?”