Last time, we learned Professor Stone figured out the secret of Martial Kim’s origins! What was the real answer? From another world? From another timeline? Another universe? What could it be – and how did he figured it out!?
“P-Professor Stone,” Martial Kim would give a dry gulp as he tried to figure out what he was dealing with, “Wh-what do you mean, you know what is wrong with me? Could you please explain?”
“Again, it’s elementary. About everything.”
“Wh-what exactly?”
“You have amnesia.”
“...What?” Martial Kim was completely caught off guard by this form of counter attack. At first, he believed it, given what has happened, but the moment he recalled every detail of his past – childhood, youth, to even memorizing every name and face that has passed through Moon Tavern – his answer was obvious.
“Preposterous,” said the young master. “How could I have amnesia? My memories are still intact! I still know who I am!”
“I’m thinking you had an accident, on the road while coming to town.”
“An accident? On the road?” Martial Kim tried not to scoff, for he knew his companion was speaking without ill intent. “If I was truly a victim of such incident, you would think I would be aware of it, no?”
“Exactly!”
“Professor, you are speaking nonsense.”
Prof. Stone got comfortable in his seat as if he figured out the murderer in a mystery party game, “Victims of a severe accident often cannot recall what just happened, due to the injuries to their brain. They remember their names, even recite their social insurance number, but not the events that made them black out.”
“...Is...that possible? To still remember who you are, but not what happened to you in a specific moment in time?”
“Brain injury,” Prof. Stone tapped his temple to emphasize, “Too much trauma in a quick period of time can make one forget the events shortly before the incident. Worse case scenario, the damages could leak into other parts of memory and block that too – like tearing out a page in a story book.”
“...I...I do not mean to be rude, professor,” Martial Kim tried to defend himself, “I believe your conclusion is wrong. I do not have this trauma induced amnesia.”
“Not just trauma induced. I think you have Anterograde Amnesia.”
“...Wait, there is more than one type?”
Martial Kim was well versed in the medical arts. Granted, he was not a full fledged physician, but he dabbled enough and acquired the right amount of experience to cure most ailments and conduct autopsy of the dead. Not to mention, broken limbs and muscle injuries were most common in the martial arts world – so he had plenty of practice to feel confident to arrive at the right diagnosis. And he was a studious one, he always kept up to date with the latest and greatest medical breakthroughs.
So, it was obvious the fact there was more than one kind of memory loss in this modern reality caught his undivided attention. “I-I never heard of such diagnosis. Where did you get that? Who discover it?”
“Clive Wearing.”
“I never heard of such physician. But for you to speak highly of him in this conversation, surely he must be a reputable doctor.”
Prof. Stone tried not to laugh, “Clive Wearing was a British Musician.”
“Oh?”
“The man was well versed in musical arts, not medicine, and was very talented in his field. Wrote lyrics, taught music to students, so on and so forth. In saying that, his rise to fame wasn’t his background – but his memory loss.”
“H-how can one be famous, by losing his identity?”
The forensic chemist then carefully told the story of Mr. Clive Wearing.
In 1985, the musician fell ill to encephalitis. Although he survived, the sickness destroyed most of the nervous pathways in his brain. Fortunately, he could still eat, drink, read, and function like a normal person, however...sigh.
“He can’t form new memories,” Prof. Stone went on, getting the young master’s attention. “Doctors, researchers, nurses, whoever met or even talked to him after his incident would only become a stranger to him the second they leave the room.”
“Th-that sounds like a frightening curse!”
“Not a curse. A mental defect. Clive can tell you exactly what he had for breakfast, lunch, dinner, even his favourite radio drama program he listened to the day before and recite the details of the story. Hell he can recall everything since he was born... But anything after the incident, anything new, he cannot retain. Even if you gave him a piece of candy and walk out for a smoke break, you telling him about the candy would be complete news to him. He’d even be shocked to find it in his pocket.”
--- I-Impossible! D-does a selective amnesia like that actually exist!? Being clubbed on the head or even suffering severe emotional shock is one matter, but not remembering if you had been in an accident – or even never forming any new memories like everyone else... My hands are shaking!
“...Th-then what happened to him!?” The young master asked, near pleading to know, “S-surely h-he could not survive with a curse—er, ailment like that? Would he not be—”
“Yeah. Living the same day over and over again. Even if it’s years after his incident, he will always believe it was the exact day in the year 1985. Literally stuck in the past. A psychological time loop, even as his body grew old. Couldn’t even recognize his own reflection near the end of his life.”
Waaaaah. Martial Kim was breaking out into a cold sweat!
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
Even the greatest of grand master would feel their heart skip a beat, knowing they would forever live the one day in their life and never learn anything new. New faces, not a chance; new skills, hah good luck; new enemies, boy was it more than sow what you reap.
The young master had to grab the table just to anchor himself into reality. Else his thoughts and spirits might just spook out of his mortal shell!
“D-do I really have this sickness!?” yelped Martial Kim.
“We don’t know, not for sure,” Prof. Stone tried to calm his friend down, even passing some burgers in front of him. “It’s just a deduction. I mean let’s face it Kim: you don’t know what a car is; you fumbled to turn on the kitchen sink; you didn’t recognize a phone ringtone; and by Keekee’s admission you were still ‘playing the part of a medieval character’...This is a bit of a stretch, but I feel your amnesia hit a homerun and sent you waaaay out of the ballpark!”
“Wh-what does that mean!? Please tell me professor!”
“Meaning, whatever accident you had been in made your memories stuck in...I don’t know – the Dark Ages.”
--- D-d-d-d-d-dark ages!? A history of no light!? H-how? H-how is this possible? Surely, I do not show such signs and symptoms right? I am Martial Kim of Moon Tavern, I hail from the Jade Empire, I...Wait, he has a point. Everyone accepts those strange horseless wagons as common transports; they all seem to be fixated on those glowing stones that can sing; a-and I still cannot figure out what did Miss Keekee do to magically product hot water without firewood AND fill up the bathtub with a hole in it!... I thought this world was insane, but am I the one who has lost his sanity!?
“C-calm down, Kim. Caaalm down. Here. Burger. Buuuurger. Go on, eat it. Eating triggers the brain to ease up on the adrenaline and focus on digesting the food. That’s it. Thaaat’s it.”
Martial Kim was panting hard, sweat dripping down his forehead.
And he was not the only one suffering from this revelation.
Keekee had already rescued her phone from drowning long ago, but could not bring herself to walk into such an important conversation. She hid behind the corner, just listening. And like a mother, concern and worry grew on her face. She couldn’t whine or moan, or else the important story would have been interrupted. So she covered her mouth to silence her fear.
All she could think about right now was not whether or not she had to redo all the contact lists – but whether or not her friend Martial Kim was going to adjust to this shocking revelation. A part of her worried, this news would be too much for the young master and he would go running back into the mountains to end the pain.
Prof. Stone on the other hand kept the conversation as cool and level headed as he could, like a father – being the rock in the storm for his boy. “Now, Kim. There is nothing to worry about. We have the medicine and resources for such a thing.”
Martial Kim wasn’t eating anymore, he was fighting his trembling while hiding his grimace behind his burger.
“In saying that,” Prof. Stone cooed, “I plan on taking you to see a friend of mind. Trust me, he is a specialist in brain injuries and he has contacts in the amnesia research community. They’ll run some tests for you, to figure out what is your exact condition.”
“......”
“I know, I know. ‘You’re fine. You don’t need help.’ But let me be frank with you Kim: you’re not going to survive in the 21st century like this. Worse case scenario, your memory may degrade even beyond the dark ages, to a time where you can’t even form words and can only clap rocks together.”
Keekee swallowed a scared moan. It couldn’t be helped, the memories of her grandmother withering away in the seniors living still haunts her to this day. The way she looks at her own granddaughter like some stranger on the street kept cutting at Keekee’s life strings. Imagining Martial Kim staring her like someone she met on the street the first time...twisted her heart for some reason.
Martial Kim felt like he was sentenced to hang. Many believe, it was best to die with a full stomach – but he lost his appetite completely.
“...I shall return home.” The young master said, a curt response.
--- How though? I have yet to find a way home? I searched the mountains high and low, I still cannot find that nameless pavilion, nor the two moons. Am I stuck here, in this strange world? Am I going to spend the rest of my life here? If only I had the confidence to back up my words right now! I feel so much like a reckless fool!
Martial Kim rose to his feet. He finally realized, he over stayed his welcome in the cabin. It was time to end everything here... But.
“Slow down, Kim.” Prof. Stone grabbed a shoulder and guided the young master back to his seat, “You couldn’t even tell me where you’re from. Let alone how you got here. So, how are you going back like this? With the way you are right now?”
“..................”
--- I have fought countless of warriors up and down the Jade Dragon River of the martial world...yet why do I feel so defeated in front of this man. His words forged of pure wisdom and cut into my heart deeper than any cloud iron sword. Why can I not bring myself to fight back?
Prof. Stone said, “Look. I know we don’t know each other well and we more or less got off on a wrong foot. I’ll do what I can to help. If not for your sake, at least for Keekee.”
“M-Miss Keekee? Wh-what does she have to do with this?”
“The fact she is taking care of you. Like you’re a lost child she found wandering the streets.”
“.....” The young master blushed, but wanted to retort...no chance really.
“Kim. Keekee’s got a full time job, has her own personal life, and not to mention she is running back and forth from her apartment to this place to make sure you don’t hang yourself. Do you have any idea, how above and beyond the call of duty she’s been as a Good Samaritan?”
“.........”
“Not going to lie, in this day and age – there’s no way a girl would let a stranger like you crash in her place... You know, stay over. That’s only a plot hook you see in those Korean Dramas.”
--- Wait...all this time...have I been nothing but a burden to Miss Keekee? Because...I am who I am?
Prof. Stone then hit the final nail in the coffin, “Kim. You and I both know, Keekee is too young to be responsible for your well being. It’s not fair for her.”
Keekee wished she could retort, but it’s true. Why else would her parents agree to put her grandmother in a senior home. Even she felt guilty for nodding along with that plan.
An invisible weight crushed into Martial Kim’s shoulders. He lacked the strength to even sit up, let along stand up. Everything he believed in, everything he thought about himself, just fell apart like a sand castle.
A knight-errant of the people – bah, he can’t even use this world’s fire and water! A sleuth of the martial arts world – tch, he was framed for murder from the beginning and sat in jail! A hero of heroes – don’t make us laugh....... Martial Kim beat himself over it all. Now, what could he do?
Should he accept Prof. Stone’s offer and seek for ‘help’?
Or, should he cut ties and turn away from their good will – to free them of a burden?
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