Himura Satō

A phantom pain pangs on my body, the feeling of getting your skull crushed, your limbs slowly sliced off, and your organs being filled with your own blood.

It was as if it never happened, yet my brain can recreate it so vividly. But right now that isn’t a concern. With a faded green skin and tattered cloth covering their body, I sit around five lifeless bodies of small mysterious creatures. Their noses are pointed and the way they talked gave me the impression of goblins characterized by the media.

And so I decided to refer to them as such. Only weird thing is that they are all so different, one has teeth similar to sharks, one has a stinger, and another has a second left arm. I look up hoping that the goblin with wings hasn’t found me yet.

Some time ago, it passed by me but I hid under the leaves of the trees. These trees sprouted long and thick vines in their branches, when I ran into them, it was like crashing into a hard rope but thankfully, my switchblade could cut them fine.

I wiped the purple stained switchblade with one of the goblins tattered clothing then I took his rusty hatchet. Inspecting it shows me that it definitely was not made for him, as the hatchet was practically half his size.

I chop the vines as I head into a random direction. Stone buildings overgrown by vines in the middle of circular clearing. The ground was filled with long grass but strangely, not overgrown. I stayed cautious in case there was someone inside those things so I made sure to never go out into the clearing.

Some time later, I encountered another one. Different buildings yet the same circular clearing. No sounds of life or activity, as if there is nothing alive or at least intelligent in this forest. Attracted by the sound of flowing water, I went left and found a river. I sat in a nearby tree after washing my face.

I threw a rock at the river, fresh wind ruffled my messy hair. Without proper grooming or at least a hair tie, I look disheveled. I touch the back of my head. “It’s starting to get long too…” I said to myself.

I looked at the blade of my switchblade, after a second, I stood up and cleaned it extra well. With practiced precision, each stroke of my switchblade shortened the side and back of the hair. Prolong use of hair products made my hair sit a certain way, so with much effort, it returned to a middle part that flowed back.

I sat back at the tree, throwing more rocks into the river. Usually nature in real life never felt relaxing but this untouched nature gave an entrancing aura. “Yet in the end…” I opened my switchblade and held it in a reverse grip before stabbing a goblin behind me. A quick look shows me that he had wings.

“Everything is not as untouched as it may seem.” I said, standing up, following the downstream of the river.

Continuing my path, I found a peculiar sight to the right of the river, the vines which sprouted from the tree’s branches seemed to be cut in an uniform manner suggesting that somebody did this. I have no clue who or what did this but it does tell me that it is a path and so with a couple steps back, I jump over the river.

Still following the river’s stream, this time I walk in a path free of annoying vines. The sun would soon go down and was not about to fight goblins or some other creature in the dark so I tried to run. Five minutes later, I was out of breath already so I was forced to walk.

“...” Thirty minutes have passed and nothing has happened. I found myself wishing that something could come and attack me. As my body relaxed and my mind less alert. My thoughts began to wonder. “Haah…haaah.” I breathe in then I breathe out. I closed my eyes and when I regained my vision, I found myself slumped to a tree, nearby, I could smell the nasty scent of vomit.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

I died, I definitely died yet how am I alive? I start to panic, unusual. “What is this?” A mysterious sound reverberates, I look at where the sound would be but there was no one there. “An illusion, is it the sound of my bones breaking? I am still getting slaughtered and this is just a hallucination? Oh god!”

I could feel myself spiraling down, but a part of me still has a grasp of reality, or at least this reality. But even if there is still a part of me that is calm, my body certainly is not. The usual ragged breathing. “Here it is again…” I closed my eyes and found myself walking.

Looking back, I could see a small puddle of spit. Unsurprisingly, the first vomit brought out all I had and my second vomit was nothing but a painful act to release what little I had inside. My head hurts, but my heart rate is slowing down.

Feeling my neck, I could feel being stabbed by something. I touched my neck and once again, the pain returned. Pulling something out, I felt something akin to plastic. “Oh yeah, the material on my motorcycle might have pierced me whilst I was getting battered.”

My entire mind worked to keep myself from getting reminded of that again. I threw the plastic away and took a good look at myself. “Same clothes, same switchblade, no phone or wallet, and still inside this weak pathetic body.” I sigh. “Average body of an 18 year old my ass, you could barely run!” I said, berating myself.

“Considering that creatures here attack me as well, I should probably consider and finally do some exercises or something…or at least run so that I can have better stamina.” I said as if I actually have time to do this.

I have no clue where I am, and unless I could find some civilization, I would quite literally be fighting for my survival. “Fighting for my life would make me stronger in time, but that implies me winning…”

I take a look at my switchblade. “Could I even win?” I ask. Although minute, I could feel my hand shaking. I won before but…I shake my head. This loss, I don't know how to feel about. I know it is something big and serious and should I really be treating this loss as a mere statistic?

I feel infuriated, for what reason I do not know. I could feel saliva building up in my mouth so I shook my head and cleared my thoughts.

“I can’t take a hit, not even a single one.” I would lose if I even get hit once, this shitty frail body, I hate it so much. “And it’s maddening knowing that it’s still my fault.” Give me something to point at and blame all my problems. It was childish but sometimes I can’t help it anymore.

“Yet in the very end, because it is always my fault, I will still take a step and fix this problem.” With that thought in mind, I walked forward, more steadily this time which stirred up a foreign feeling in me.

As I walk even more, I start to wonder, where are the goblins? Actually, are those even goblins? They had weird mutations. Looking up, I could see some sort of a tall stone-like structure, though I can’t make much of it because of the trees but it seems I am close.

A feeling stirred up in my stomach. “What will happen if I find someone? How will I explain myself about being here?” I ask myself, my footsteps slowing down as I try to think of a solution.

“ᏕᏂᎧᏬᏝᎴ ᏇᏋ ᏒᏋᏗᏝᏝᎩ ᎧᏁᏝᎩ ᏰᏒᎥᏁᎶ ᎦᎧᏬᏒ ᎮᏋᎧᎮᏝᏋ ᎦᎧᏒ ᏖᏂᎥᏕ, Ꭵ ᎷᏋᏗᏁ, Ꭵ'Ꮇ ᏗᏝᏝ ᎦᎧᏒ ᏂᏗᏉᎥᏁᎶ ᎷᎧᏒᏋ ᏒᏋᏇᏗᏒᎴᏕ ᏰᏬᏖ ᏋጀᎮᏝᎧᏒᎥᏁᎶ ᏖᏂᏋ ፈᏗᏖᏗፈᎧᎷᏰᏕ ᏕᏋᏋᎷᏕ Ꮧ ᏰᎥᏖ ᏒᎥᏕᏦᎩ.” Whilst in a crossroad nearing the structure that I saw I heard something. I immediately hid myself in a nearby tree. My heart rate was slowly going up but instead of calming myself down, I listened. “ᏒᏋᏝᏗጀ, ᏇᏋ ᏂᏗᏉᏋ ᎩᎧᏬ ᏗᏕ Ꮧ ᎶᏬᎥᎴᏋ ᎦᎧᏒ ᏖᏂᏗᏖ ᏒᏋᏗᏕᎧᏁ.” A manly voice full of himself.

“ᎧᏂ ᎶᎧᎴ, ᎩᎧᏬ'ᏉᏋ ᏁᏋᏉᏋᏒ ᏰᏋᏋᏁ ᎥᏁᏖᎧ ᏖᏂᏋ ፈᏗᏖᏗፈᎧᎷᏰᏕ?!” A woman, the same as the first voice that I heard, spoke in an exasperated tone. I couldn’t hear their conversations clearly so I peeked through the trees only to see the backs of five people.

There was a woman with a staff, a slim man with a spear, a large man with an axe, a old man who seems to not even part of this group and most particularly, The short-haired woman, brownish skin, a bow with pattern akin to a spiraling tree root and the most particular of all, pointed ears.

“An elf? Maybe another one of those mutations like the one I saw with goblins…” I pondered but for now, that does not matter. What were they speaking, I heard gibberish but this feels foreign.

I found myself unable to ponder anymore, instead choosing to make my way closer to that structure and soon enough, I found it.

Bricks and wood, they were floating. It created a structure of a tower but nothing seems to be connected. More importantly, it didn’t abide by the laws of physics. I feel…tense, I never expected this. Looking down, I could see the roofs of buildings which are surrounded by a stone wall wrapped in roots of greenery.

The river never made it inside the city but is very close to it. Looking deeper, I see a flag which makes out from this distance. I could feel my breathing becoming ragged yet when I opened my eyes, my was still at the same point.

Was I nervous? Extremely so but I never ran from a challenge. In my head, a question pops into my mind. “Where the hell am I?” A question which showed all of my confusion, nervousness, and fear throughout this entire ordeal which I find myself in.