Darkness.
Not the kind one sees when eyes are closed, nor the absence of light in a room. This was something deeper-an absolute void, where not even the concept of space seemed to exist.
He felt nothing at first. No sound. No taste. No body. Just... thought. Or the potential for thought.
Then came sensation.
A surface beneath him. Hard. Cold. Not in the physical sense—but in a way that echoed through his awareness, like an idea of cold rather than temperature itself. It was as though his mind were rebuilding from fragments, each piece of awareness arriving one after the other.
Time passed-though how long, he couldn't say. There were no heartbeat, no movement, there was absolutely nothing. Just an abstract sensation that something was moving forward, pulling him with it.
Eventually, a thought formed.
"Senses... What was that again?"
The thought had meaning. Vocabulary. Identity. But where had it come from?
With that spark, more followed. One by one, his senses began to reemerge, as if rising from a bottomless ocean. Breathing. Stillness. He realized he had limbs. A body. He was lying down. He was human—or at least, he assumed so.
"I think... someone's touching me."
A warmth pressed against his shoulder. Gentle. Reassuring.
"It feels... nice."
The softest of sounds reached his ears. Leaves rustling. Water trickling nearby. There was wind, too-cool, faint, brushing past.
"Huh. Calming. That's what this is. It feels... refreshing to hear again."
With that, a flood of questions surged.
"Who am I?"
"Why was I in the dark?"
"What is this place?"
He couldn't answer any of them. Not yet. But somehow, he knew one thing with certainty:
He was going to wake up.
And so he did.
His eyes opened-slowly. The first thing he saw was light. It stung. He winced and turned away, blinking through the brightness until his vision adjusted.
"Ugh... so bright..." he muttered, voice hoarse and unfamiliar. "Whe-where am I?"
A figure hovered above him—a small girl. She had soft, apple-green hair and dark green eyes, wide with surprise and relief. Her bangs fell slightly into her face, which was pale and youthful. Her clothes were worn: an oversized, faded sweater and grey trousers, both frayed and weathered. A soft green glow radiated from her palm, which rested gently on his shoulder.
He tried to speak, but it took more effort than expected. His throat felt dry, unused. His second try came through as a whisper.
"Hey…"
She jumped slightly, startled by the sound, and looked at him in awe.
"Oh—! Hello, mister…" she said shyly, her voice soft and hesitant.
He stared at her, confused. Then glanced around. They were in the ruins of what appeared to be a stone building overtaken by nature. Ivy climbed broken walls. Trees had pierced through parts of the roof. Sunlight filtered down through the cracks.
Beside him, the stone was stained dark—blood. Was it his?
"I… should be in pain, shouldn't I?"
Turning to her again, he asked, "Do you know where we are?"
The girl shook her head. "No… Alice doesn't know either. Alice woke up here, too. She wandered around until she found you. You looked hurt… so Alice healed you."
Alice?
He nodded slowly. "Nice to meet you, Alice. And… thanks. I guess you saved me."
He paused.
"My name is…"
A blank space opened in his mind. His chest tightened.
"What… is my name?"
Nothing came. No memories. No past. Just blank silence.
"Huh. Classic amnesia… seen it in movies and manga all the time."
He chuckled faintly at the irony.
"Wait… manga?"
He frowned. The word made sense, but the source didn't. Fragments of knowledge floated in his mind, but no memories attached to them. Still, he needed a name. Something for her to call him.
"Lucid," he said aloud, without thinking. "My name is Lucid."
It felt right. Familiar, even.
"Maybe it's real. Maybe not. But it'll do."
She beamed. "Lucid! Yay! Alice is happy to meet you!"
He managed a weak smile. "Same here."
After a moment of quiet, he studied her again.
"You're pretty young. Isn't it dangerous to be out here alone? What about your parents?"
Her expression shifted. She looked down at her hands, quiet.
"Alice… doesn't know. Alice woke up alone. Alice doesn't remember anything before that."
Lucid's heart sank a little.
"So I'm not the only one lost."
"Well," he said gently, "we'll figure it out together. Deal?"
She perked up and nodded enthusiastically. "Deal!"
Then she reached out and tugged at his hand.
"Come on, Lucid! Alice will show you around. There's a lot to see in Alice's Forest!"
"Alice's Forest?"
He let out a breathless chuckle.
"Alright then, lead the way, princess of the woods."
She giggled and took off ahead, hopping between patches of sunlit grass. Lucid followed slowly, his legs still sore but steady. As he walked, he watched her hum and skip through the ruins like she owned the place.
"No clue where I am. No idea who I am. But for now…"
He smiled faintly.
"…this strange little girl is all I've got. And somehow, I'm okay with that."
They walked for what seemed like minutes, then reached a waterfall-massive and beautiful. Lucid observed the water as it cascaded down, merging with a pool beneath it, eventually turning into a river. He thought to himself, 'Was the water always purple?'
Though he remembered certain things, he knew some objects had specific colors, like the sky. But why was it bright purple or lavender here?
'Ugh, what was that word for that color again?'
Alice continued a little further ahead, looking up at the waterfall. "Isn't it magnificent?"
Lucid looked at it. It was indeed massive, and oddly calming to look at. This could have been the source of the sounds he had heard in his coma-like state.
"It's not half bad. You don't have to call me 'sir,' Alice. You can be casual with me. I won't bite," he said with a friendly tone, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
She looked down for a moment and muttered, "Oh, okay, sir Lucid-I mean, Lucid."
Lucid chuckled. 'She seems really adorable,' he thought.
They took in the scenery. It was almost ethereal, divine. As Lucid watched the waterfall, he noticed some strange things. For one, there were two moons in the sky. This felt a little off, but he couldn't place why. Perhaps this was normal for this world, or maybe he was going crazy due to his amnesia.
Another oddity was the complete lack of animals or any other living creatures in the forest. He saw a fly and a couple of ants, but no squirrels, no deer, no birds at all. Lucid came to two conclusions: either this forest couldn't support an ecosystem of that size, or there could be some massive predator stalking the area.
Alice, noticing Lucid deep in thought, asked a question to snap him out of his reverie.
"So, Lucid, what is your biggest fear?"
Lucid thought for a moment. 'What an odd question, but I could humor her for a second.'
"Well, I believe everyone has a fear or two. If you don't possess one, then I think you're not human at all. For me, it would be large bugs... and.... being left behind."
He felt a slight flashing memory cross his mind, a rather unpleasant one but blurry and unclear.
Alice looked at him with surprise. "Oh, really? You look like someone who doesn't have any fears. You seem pretty calm to me." She smiled, radiating some kind of positive energy.
Lucid thought to himself,
'Look?'
'I haven't even seen how I look at all. Not like it matters.' He walked over to the large pool under the waterfall to inspect his reflection. What he saw startled him. It looked like he was wearing a glass mask with unclear facial features behind it. He hadn't even noticed his clothing. He looked down and saw a long brown battle coat, clearly showing signs of wear and tear.
'Huh, neat. At least I won't get cold in this,' he thought. Every part of his body seemed to be covered from head to toe. He wore heavy winter boots and some dark green cargo pants with many pockets. His only identifying feature was his short medium, curly brown hair, parted at the middle of his forehead.
'Huh, I should take a closer look at myself once I have time. Maybe I can find some clues...' he thought.
Suddenly, a terrified yelp from the girl broke his thoughts.
He quickly scanned the area, panic rising as he realized she was in danger. In front of her stood a four-legged creature, its movements twisted and erratic. Its limbs were contorted in unnatural ways, and it matched the color pattern of the forest-lavender.
Without thinking, Lucid acted quickly. He grabbed the girl's arm and pulled her behind him, instinctively shielding her. He had no idea what he was doing, but outrunning this creature wasn't an option, especially with her in tow.
He frantically searched his pockets and pulled out a tough steel object that felt like a knife or a dagger. 'Fuck, whatever it is, I'll take it.'
From the looks of it, the creature wasn't huge-well, it was twice his size-but if he could locate any of its vital areas, he might have a chance. Then again, this thing didn't look like anything from Earth.
'Huh, Earth? What was that?' he wondered, a strange sense of recognition flickering in his mind.
The creature growled and took a step closer. No!" he yelled silently in his head as he watched the creature come closer, step by step.