I took a couple of steps away and fell on my back, tripping on my legs. My heart was beating out of my chest; the warm blood spilling down the small injury on my small face hurt as if something had lit it on fire. I stood incredulous for a couple of seconds, unable to comprehend what was happening.

Why? What did I do wrong now? Why are you attacking me?

“Dad, no! What are you doing?” Her daughter shouted as she tried to push him back to his chair.

“I’m sorry, honey, but this is not something we can avoid. If we hand back the son of the Scarlet Devil in this state, she will claim our heads; it’s a matter of survival now.” He said as he shoved her aside, grabbed his cane, and tried to come at me.

A deck of cards had suddenly appeared in his hands, and I immediately recognized what it was.

I immediately got back up and ran towards the exit, picking up the card stuck on the wall that had just injured me.

“Help me! This bastard is using a demonic weapon in a civilian area!” As I opened the front door, I shouted the same words that the old hag shouted earlier.

Once I kicked the door open, I found that the outside city had disappeared; a grassy plain surrounded the small house.

Behind me a bunch of tentacles slammed against the wall of the hallway; I could hear the desperate Elena trying to hold back her father, but it was all useless.

Fuck! WHY? WHY? I thought you were friends. Why suddenly attack me? What did I do? What did my mother do to you? Please! I just want to leave this place! I promise you I won’t hurt or harass you. Please.

I looked back and saw the tentacles reaching out to me; they were extremely faster than I could ever be.

I tripped on the exit, and naturally, I tried to get back up and run away, but that wasn't impossible. Horrifying images flashed before my eyes as I was preparing to exhale my last breath; a giant eye in the skies and tentacles made out of re liquid were dragging a bunch of corpses away.

The tentacles suddenly turned red in my eyes, and just as they were about to reach me, I raised my hand that was holding the blood-stained card, from which the hero of the tragic tale, me and Elena, was made.

I didn't know what was happening; my mind was racing from one thought to the other. A chilling sense of dread had taken grasp of my heart; I could barely move anymore. I could smell the pungent smell of blood filling my nostrils.

The environment around me was slowly distorting; from the shadows, I could hear people screaming in agony as their screams were being suffocated by the sound of a car.

The knight from the heroic tale emerged from the card I was holding, carrying on his back a multitude of weapons as always: a large bow, a crossbow, a mace, a sword, a spear, and more. His presence alone was enough to dispel those phantoms.

"Huh? What are you—" I was surprised by the sudden appearance, but after checking the card I was holding, it was the same from that story. The one who ended so miserably and the one who held the power to turn the situation upside down.

Without batting an eye, the knight began cutting down all the tentacles, swinging his sword; the blade of his weapon was long and bent around like a whip, effortlessly cleaving through the tentacles.

I felt a surge of confidence when I saw the knight. He was the shining beacon of hope I desperately needed at the moment. During the game we played, I saw how powerful that being was; nothing could match his power, not even a dragon.

As he swung his long weapon, he was able to clear the area around us effortlessly.

After disposing of the tentacle monster, the knight grabbed his favorite weapon, the spiked ball attached to the chain wrapped around his waist, and suddenly swung it around us, preventively striking a bunch of tree roots that emerged all around us.

He swung the massive spiked ball at the house and pulled his weapon back before it could strike the building.

"What are you doing? Attack them! Why are you stopping now?" I shouted at the knight, but he didn't respond; he simply laid down his weapons and stood still.

I was frustrated, but as I began to hear the sound of a demonic creature screeching inside Elena's house, I decided to run away while I could and hide until her father would turn off whatever card he used to create the grassy field just in front of her house.

When I turned around, a large hand crashed against my face; it made me fall on my back and kept my head pinned against the ground.

“Wait! Please! I can—”

In the palm of the hand, there was a large eye pressing against my right eye. I felt something prickle the skin of my neck. The knight standing behind the large being pressing me down refused to defend me this time and stood still.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

I felt countless hands suddenly grab my body; some of them were trying to keep me pinned to the ground, some instead were scratching and attempting to tear my body apart. To keep me from screaming, a large tentacle entered my mouth and began pumping fluid into my throat.

Save me, please. You, I did everything to make your life better back then, please.

I woke up back in my bed; I was sweating buckets. I felt like I just had the most traumatizing nightmare. My whole body was covered with bloody bandages. The doctor was sitting beside me happily humming a Christmas song as he was working on something while showing me his back.

It was the middle of the night; he was making strange concoctions next to me. Around him were countless trays of bloody gadgets, rusty nails, three roots soaked in my blood, strange teeth, and other parasites.

As I tried to sit, I almost screamed in pain; the injuries placed all over my body made moving almost an impossible task. The situation felt somewhat familiar.

The scene felt eerily familiar; the last thing I could visualize was the car that had crashed against the forest filled with demons.

“What’s this?” I asked him, trying to smell the odorless container he was holding under my nose.

The container held a strange, light-colored liquid emitting constant, odorless fumes.

"How does it smell?" He asked me as he rapidly sealed off the container and put it aside.

"Smell? It doesn't have one? Why?" I was confused; my head was still hurting; I felt like a lot of time had passed; I couldn't remember much; my brain felt drained; my throat was burning; I could still feel a viscid sensation all over it. I could barely think proper sentences in my head because I was so exhausted.

"Once again, not it. Don't worry; it'll surely go well the next time." He shook his head, disappointed, raised his cane, and slammed it against my head. He was too fast for me to react to. I tried remaining awake but couldn't.

I woke after what felt like a very brief pause.

Huh? When did I fall asleep?

As I opened my eyes, I found myself once again strapped against the bed; judging from the window, it was night outside.

I was all alone in the room; weird handcuffs kept my arms and legs attached to a bunch of poles Elena’s father had installed near the bed.

“Oi? Is anyone here? Why am I strapped on the bed? Did I do something…”

I was trying to recall the past few days, but they all felt extremely blurry. I remember visiting a park but couldn’t remember the faces of the people that accompanied me; I knew Elena was there with me. The situation felt extremely familiar, but I couldn’t put my finger on why.

“Oi! Are you seriously going to ignore me?” I kept shouting, hoping someone would respond, but I was left without answers for the rest of the night.

I couldn’t go back to sleep; my body was simply not tired enough to be able to go back to sleep.

Damn! I didn’t think you were such heavy sleepers; my mother would freak out if I even dared to step out of the bed past a certain hour. Here I am screaming my lungs out and barely getting noticed.

I tried to pull my arms to test out how durable the handcuffs were, and they didn’t budge no matter how hard I pulled. One thing that worried me, however, was the lack of pain.

What’s this? Why can’t I feel anything? Did they do something to me?

As I tried to remember everything that happened in the last week, I realized that they had probably tampered with my memories, as I couldn’t remember how I even got inside the fracture.

I guess it’s for my well-being, probably? Did they erase my memories because they didn’t want me to recognize the people that kidnapped me? No, if they were on the same side, they wouldn’t be trying to hand me back to my mother… Why would they erase my memories then?

I sighed and gave up attempting to free myself. It was strange; a part of me was believing I was just saved from that group of kidnappers, yet my mind was sure that wasn't the case. My memories were foggy and all over the place, so I couldn't even remember well what transpired in the past few days or months.

When the light came back, I heard the others wake up. I was extremely tired and felt as if I was about to fall asleep after spending what felt like an eternity staring at the empty and blank roof of my room.

“Oi! Elena! Are you there? Can you help me? I’m stuck!” I shouted.

I didn’t have to wait much longer for her to finally show up, carrying a tray containing my breakfast, which consisted of chocolate honey-covered cereals with warm milk, a brioche filled with chocolate spread, and some chocolate-glazed cookies.

That’s a bit… Isn’t there a bit too much chocolate there?

I was looking forward to eating chocolate, but that amount looked a bit excessive.

“Why was I shackled to the bed?” I asked her.

"You were hurting yourself in your sleep." She responded annoyed, placing the tray of food on the nightstand to take out the bundle of keys needed to free me.

Ah! Makes sense. Wait, who are you? How do I know your name, and why are you so familiar with me? How much time has passed down here? What happened for a memory removal to be necessary? Should I be scared?

I knew her name; I didn't know how I got there, but I knew I could trust her. In my mind, she was a child with a warm smile, always taking care of me and keeping me company.

She must've had a rough morning.

I said to myself to explain her cold behavior towards me.

She sneakily grabbed one of the three brioche filled with chocolate and ate it before removing the straps pressing my body against the bed.

Hey! That’s my food! Why did you take one? Go make your own if you’re hungry.

As soon as I was free, I stood on my leg and stretched my body, especially my neck, which felt incredibly stiff, and then I grabbed the last remaining chocolate-filled pastry and sunk my teeth into it.

The pastry was incredibly soft, and the chocolate cream was extremely delicious and sweet, so sweet it made my whole body tingle in excitement. I managed to taste what felt like traces of coffee flavor mixed in with the chocolate, but they were faint enough to enhance the flavor rather than make it too bitter.

Wait a second, there should be two… Elena!

I looked at her with a condemning stare and was met with cold indifference, no. She hated me? I stood still in complete silence. unable to compute what was happening.

W-w-what's wrong?

I wanted to ask.

Instead of her casual clothes, she was wearing a school uniform; she had already dressed herself, washed her face, and brushed her hair by the looks of it.

“How is it?” She asked me; she wasn't genuine; she seemed bored and bitter; I could tell from a glance she didn't like me.

“It’s amazing; the brioche is soft and spongy, and the chocolate, well, you can’t really mess up chocolate spread; it’s always good.” I responded as I sunk my teeth into the pastry yet again.

She rolled her eyes at me, and after filling out some questions regarding how I was feeling, she exited my room, barely even exchanging glances with me.

What’s wrong with her? Why did she leave so quickly? Why is she so cold today of all days? It's so unlike—wait, how do I know that?