**Beep Beep Beep**
“Ugh. My head hurts.”
**Beep Beep Beep**
“Keep it down!”
**BEEP BEEP BEEP**
“Son of a… Ha, fine I’m-”
**Splash**
[I can’t breathe! Where am I? Shit, I can’t see.]
A dark fountain erupts from the ground. “Urg. Fu- Urg. Cough.”
[Well, that was quite the experience. This is the second time this week. You would think nearly drowning several times would desensitize someone.]
A tall man started to shakily rise to his feet while wiping the remaining black goop from his mouth. He looked around on the ground for a minute before giving up and walking in a random direction through an endless abyss with only a black ocean to complement the empty landscape. The man eventually reached into one of his pockets to pull out a pair of glasses.
[Looks like I can still get the things I need, but I still can’t make something like coffee.]
“Ha, why can’t I get some coffee. I feel so tired every time I end up here. You hear me!”
The man shouted while pointing into the sky. The man then slicked back his hair and rolled his shoulders. The man had above average looks and was relatively toned. He wasn’t necessarily a body builder, but he was in great shape and could definitely be called strong. The man was around 6’2” and had red hair and brown eyes. He also had a few freckles sparsely scattered around his body along with a number of scars along his arms, back, and chest. Despite healing technology developing to such a high degree over the years, he felt somewhat reluctant to part with his scars. They serve as a testament to his hardships as well as a reminder to both improve upon himself and remain humble. Although the man still doesn’t remember how he got them.
[I wonder what I get to see today.]
The man finally stopped in front a series of doors. The first door seemed like a normal door someone would have in their house. The second door was a bit more grand. It looked like it was a fancy door you would see within a mansion. However, it wasn’t necessarily something you would see in a castle or some noble’s estate. As for the last door, it looked like some kind of glitched mess.
“Well, I doubt I could possibly choose one of the boring options.”
The man shrugged as he walked forward. However, he soon found himself falling as his vision was replaced with black. The man tried his best to hold his breath, but he soon found himself gasping for air.
“Urg!”
**Honk Honk**
**Chatter**
“What is the point of giving me options if you are just going to put a door under my feet. This is the fifth time I have ended up here. Am I supposed to learn some kind of life lesson before I move on, or am I supposed to realize there is no such thing as free will?”
The man waited for a few seconds before letting out a slight groan. He then travelled towards a dark alleyway. He then took a seat on a set of stairs, resting his head on his hands as he began his wait.
[This is the fifth time I was sent here. Nothing changes. This is likely one of my memories, but I can’t see anyone. Heck, even the cars and surroundings look like flames.]
The man turned towards three humanoid flames with different colors. The smaller one was bright red. It looked like a child and was likely the man’s past self. After watching the exact same scene play out four times in a row, he grew bored. He already knew what would happen. Right on cue, an orange flame showed up with a bright red flaming knife in his hands.
[Yep, this will be the same as well. The man kills the woman by surprise and then slashes at the man’s neck. The man will knock the blade out of the orange flame’s hands and then will be beat to death while also bleeding a bit from his neck. The blood loss was hardly anything fatal. The blade barely grazed the man’s neck, but it still caused a decent bit of blood loss. Afterwards, the kid grabs the knife, yells ‘awaken’ after being pushed into a corner, then the knife extends a few feet to stab the man in the neck as he impales himself. Yep, the exact same scenario. No deviations or differences. Next, the strange old man in the white suit will show up and say some boring shit about heroes and what a ‘real’ hero should do.]
The man got up and started to walk away as the woman who he assumed was his mother fell to the ground. He showed an indifferent expression. He couldn’t even remember what his parents were like. It wasn’t just because the incident happened a long time ago; rather, he couldn’t quite remember too much about his past. He had a vague vision of what he did, but he wasn’t entirely sure. It felt strange. As if it were on the tip of his tongue. It was hard to explain the feeling, but he knew that his memories were sealed. It happened around a week ago. He left himself notes explaining a few things, but it gave him no real answers. He basically told himself that he used a special technique he learned to temporarily seal his memories to prove a point. What exactly he was trying to prove wasn’t listed. Regardless, the man would have to live with his decisions.
The surroundings began to crack. The scene shattered to reveal the original void the man started in.
Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.
“Well, this is new.”
The man looked around for a minute before he felt a shiver down his spine. His senses screamed at him not to turn around. He knew not to turn around. Yet before he could stop himself, he found himself facing the opposite direction.
[What was-]
“REMEMBER!”
***
The man’s eyes shot open as he fell forward, expelling whatever he could from his stomach.
“You ok down there.”
“URG!”
“I’ll take that as a no then. Oh waiter!”
“For the last time, I am a guide, not your exclusive butler. Ask someone else.”
A man wearing a butler uniform put a hand on his forehead as he let out a long sigh. He looked at the puddle of vomit and started mumbling as he took off.
“He says that, but he’s probably going to deal with it anyways. So how are you?”
The man looked around to see many rows of chairs in front and behind him. He was surrounded on all sides by people that had a wide range of reactions. Some were having panic attacks while others didn’t seem to care. D was confused how he got here, but just about anything would be than listening to that hellish voice.
Another man with black eyes and hair looked at the man as he continued to heave on the ground. He took a deep breath as he tried to calm down. The fear was visible in his eyes.
“So probably not well. Ha, well I guess we should start with something else. Name?”
The man turned to look at the man who clearly didn’t care about him. He then noticed that he was in some kind of auditorium filled with chairs with people sitting on them. He looked at the man with a scrunched face.
“D.”
“Dee? Isn’t that a girl’s name? Oh, or are you going to say something like, ‘Deez nuts’. I apologize if my sense of humor is a bit off. I grew up in a humble village after all. I doubt someone from the country could possibly compare to someone from a great big city.”
“I meant the letter.”
“…”
Another voice called out. “It seems that the two of you are having quite the conversation.” The man has black hair and looks to be of Japanese descent.
“Well, no one asked you. Also, you smell like vomit. Ew.”
The first man held his nose as he swatted at the air in front of him. The second man opened one of his eyes as he looked at the first. His eye was black with a hint of dark purple. He closed his eye again as he returned to leaning back. Choosing to ignore the first man’s provocation.
“Hey! I’m talking to you vomit boy.”
The first man started swinging his hands around as he puffed out his cheeks. D started to get up. He felt like shit, but he was starting to recover a bit.
“So, what’s your name.”
“Oh? My name? Ah… What is my name again? No, hold on.”
The first man put his hand to his chin as he looked up towards the sealing.
The second man opened his eye again. “You can call me Jace.”
“Haa!” The first man turned towards Jace as he showed a sour face. “Clearly no one cared about you Mr. Puke. Also, stop acting like an anime character you weirdo. No one cares about your weird antics. I have seen your cartoons. I know what character design you are going for! I’m not some side character Mr. Main Character. Or perhaps you prefer Mr. Protagonist. Your protagonist vibes shall not affect me.” The nameless man formed an X in front of himself as he hissed at Jace.
Jace opened his eyes as he turned to face the man who still hadn’t given his name. “That was extremely racist. My mother moved from Japan to America. She then met my father there. We are speaking the same language as well. So, I would appreciate it if you didn’t try to insult my heritage or whatever you’re trying to accomplish.”
“Oh, so you speak American. I see.”
“You mean English. Yes.”
“Then you’re a barbarian. I hear that your continent is quite dangerous. Only people with a death wish go there. Well, I guess there are some exceptions, but said exceptions don’t live long.”
The nameless man showed a smirk as he shrugged. He then turned towards D. “Can you believe this guy?”
“Well, I’m from America as well.”
The nameless man paused for a second before pulling out a notebook and writing a few notes. “America is a wonderful country filled with wonderful people. I’m sure the council provides great protection while your overlor- your leaders help guide the common people to prosper in such a dangerous environment.” The nameless man gave a monotone response while glancing at his notebook.
D then walked over to Jace. “Right then Jace? Nice to meet you.” D stretched out his hand and flashed a smile.
Jace turned towards D, noticing the outstretched hand. The nameless man’s face turned black and white with his mouth agape.
Jace got up and approached D while the nameless man started to protest. “What do you mean ‘Jace’? We were talking first, why-“
**SLAP**
The nameless man stopped as he watched Jace slap away D’s hand.
“Well... Ah.” The nameless man looked between the two and grabbed D’s hand. “Nice to meet you. The name is Bartholomew, but you can call me Bart. Not to be confused with barf. I felt my introduction would be ill timed, so I decided to hold off.” Bart nervously started rubbing the back of his head. He was around six feet tall. He then looked towards Jace. He then put his hand on his head and swept it over Jace’s head. An evil smirk appeared on Bart’s face. “It appears that I win.”
D looked at Jace while Jace shut his eyes. “I don’t associate with people like you.”
“People who aren’t of Japanese descent?” Both D and Jace looked at Bart. “Sorry, I grew up in a village in Germany. If you need me, I’ll be sitting right here. Since this is my spot, and it looks like things are about to get started.” Bart pointed towards an empty stage with no one on it.
D turned back towards Jace as he thought about his response. “Sorry, I’m not entirely sure what I did to offend you. I typically try not to make enemies, but I know I can be a bit head strong at times. Ah, if it’s about the vomit, then I apologize.”
“Hey, can the two of you shut up. I’m trying to sleep over here and I’m already on edge with all of the glances I keep getting. So, I would appreciate the silence. Also, the other one should keep their mouth shut as well. They have no sense of humor.” A woman with silver hair called out from the seat next to Jace’s empty.
“Nani!” Bart cried out. “Bakana, there is no way that’s true. I am the funniest person I know.”
“Then you clearly don’t know anyone, as your jokes suck ass. I have literally watched bugs crawl on the ground that had better punchlines than you.”
“Oh, so you used to play with bugs as a child. You must have grown up in the countryside as well. Therefore, we are fellow country-”
“I grew up in a city.”
“You are a strange girl that no one likes, and you should-”
“Hey, let’s calm down. No need for name calling or insulting words.” D tried to intercede between the two.
Bart turned towards D. “Well, I was going to tell her to shut up, but if this is the so called chivalry, then I’m afraid that I need to inform you that I am an activist for equal rights. As these fists don’t discriminate between men or women. I’ll smash anyone into submission all the same.”
“…”
“…”
“…”
All three of the people looked at each other before turning towards Bart. D nodded as he put his hand on Bart’s shoulder. “I don’t swing that way.”
Bart stares at the three for 20 seconds. Before turning towards D. “I don’t get how that is a sexual innuendo.”
**Microphone Noises**
“Attention, attention everyone. I would like to announce the start of this year’s entrance ceremony Nyan!”
A girl with cat ears and a cat tail called out to the crowd while making a cute pose.