Drip… Drip…

That sound echoed in every horizon. A water droplet fell from somewhere in my surroundings. Who knows where it came from, but one thing's for sure - this place is not reality. The dripping would resound again and again with no end. I was laid face-flat on the ground. As far as I could tell, the ground was only a shallow floor of water, with no solid surface below it, yet strangely enough, it could support my body as if it were a solid object.

When I opened my eyes, all I could see were my reflections in the lightened darkness of the water. It wasn't me. The dark hair that flowed out and reached the ends of my chin waved itself in this place with no wind at all. Glimmering brown eyes without entrance were reflected upon that very water. The pupil of those eyes felt sullen as I gazed at myself. I allowed my jaw to lower itself briefly before examining the crumbled skin barely attached to the corner of my lips.

I raised my head only to see a vibrant, white, glowing orb spinning far into the horizon. Its apparition appeared to be reminiscent of the sun. Scattered arches made up of conjoined stones with rough scratches and markings on them of various sizes rose from the shallow sea and bent in a form to resemble a curved bridge. In fact, some of them even looked as if it would crumble at any moment from its structure, yet this place - for some reason, defied such law.

The dripping would continue once again. The effects were rather pleasantly soothing than irritating. Although it appeared as if the arches were the cause of the dripping, it seemed that it was not the case. Ironically enough, the arches appeared quite parched even in such an environment. As I contemplated the world around me, a dark silhouette with proportions akin to mine sat in one of the stone arches in front of me.

I immediately noticed him as his figure cast a large shadow over me from the glowing orb. My vision slightly shook and blurred consecutively as the cornea of the light was too bright for my eyes to see before my eyes gradually adapted to the light properly. Despite that, the silhouette gaze was fixed on me as if I were an alien. The moment I attempted to push my body up with my arms, I was suddenly slammed back into the ground with unbearable weight. I looked back at my reflections on the water's surface before looking back at the silhouette.

After my futile attempt at standing up, I hesitated momentarily before opening my mouth to speak. However, as I said, there was no sound, as if any noise was cut off from this world. At this point, I pondered. Where am I even? Who is that figure that looks just like me? Even more peculiar was that I could not recall anything that had occurred before I came here. My mind ached from a slight migraine each time I tried to remember my memories. Just then, the silhouette lifted himself up from the stone arch and stood menacingly, though the intentions of his aura were somewhat mixed.

Wait… his aura? I could sense that? It's as if I could read his thoughts and emotions despite our distance apart. Was he trying to communicate with me? Does that mean he could read mine and understand how intrigued and uncomfortable I am in this position? I shook my head to eliminate those thoughts and scanned the figure whose appearance mirrored mine.

As soon as I looked at him, a voice struck inside my head. "The most… forgetful one, are you...?" It spoke in a monotone and slow, muffled manner. I could only look at that silhouette, dazed, as it continued to speak inside my mind repeatedly, repeating the same exact words repeatedly. The shallow floor of water shook slightly before laying itself flat again.

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

The words abruptly paused before another one continued in the same monotone. "Oh, for how… the fragments have… crumbled?" The voices that spoke inside my head had no hints to them. I had no idea what they were talking about. "Does my… voice… not reach you?" I opened my mouth to respond to that question before closing it again after realizing that no sound can be made in this world. In my own mind, I tried to respond by resonating with a vigorous "yes, it does" continuously in the hope that the figure would acknowledge it.

Oh, how wrong was I, for my attempt was ignored as if it was done furtively! The voice then continued inside my mind, now with a deeper tone. "How pitiful… yet, not so pitiful… speak, for how you forgotten." What a cheeky guy that displays a body similar to mine! Have I not tried to speak to you? How little does my voice reach? Perhaps, is it enclosed only inside my mind? It matters not, though; I continued to listen as he stood stationary in the same position.

The next statement that spoke only came after a long silence and pause. During that time, the figure and I could only stare at each other. However, only I could read his thoughts, but he couldn't read mine. What came out next inside my mind was cryptic and indecipherable. It couldn't be put into words. If I were to describe it, it would be like a static buzz and clicks; not any words could be understood from it.

Shortly after, a harsh headache erupted inside my mind. Was it from the figure's enigma and my perplexity? My thoughts instantly shattered and could not piece themselves back, as if many places in them had gone astray. My head instinctively slammed itself into the floor of water and was met with an exacerbated pain despite no blood coming out in this scenario. My palms touched each side of my temples as they tried to calm my mind.

My vision blurred in a pitch-black pattern as the pain continued. I tried to glance back at the figure; however, my unruly body refused to obey my command. When I tried to scrutinize my reflection in the water closely, I realized that the periphery of my eyes had turned sanguine! My heart pounded insidiously as I stared at my reflection. My very own reflection appalled me.

The surface of the water suddenly became loose and devoured me inside. Neither the arches nor that figure was affected, only me. My body slowly sunk as it could only stare at the endless darkness with a bluish hue. I felt a sense of the darkness staring back into this surreal situation. Something cascaded down my cheeks with an evidently reddish color before one final voice reached me, and my mind began feeling cleared and serenely calm.

"Sink…" The voice resonated. It persisted for around five times before pausing once again. “Fall deeper… delve into what you loathe…” I thought to myself. What was it that I loathed? This must be a dream world; I had realized that ever since I came here, yet what occurred felt so real, as if it had replaced reality. The voice gradually became quieter, maybe to blend in with the tranquil feeling I was experiencing.

The voice mustered its final words as my entire vision and mind went blank. It spoke, not monotonously this time, but with a slightly more soothing tone. The dripping noise was still reverberating, but each drop was getting quieter and quieter. It ended with "fall, my…" before trailing off. I felt an unexpected elation. Was it smiling? My lips slowly curved to form a smile before the entire world dissolved into pitch-black darkness.