Submerged in darkness, unable to see or to move, but can only feel. It felt like he was floating on air, there was no pain, just a slight cooling breeze against his skin that was accompanied by a lingering sweet scent. His fingertips seemed to have been tickled by something soft, a smooth and silk entity brushing passed his cheeks. He didn't know what they we're, but it made him feel secure. Soft whispers that made him somewhat dazed. He listened to those sounds, trying hard to understand. There seems to be someone there. It sounded like - a woman, no, a man?
"Where am I? Huh? What's that sound? Where did he hear this from?" Its seem that he was unable to speak and could only continue to listen.
There seems to have been...
Music playing...
A woman gently singing a lullaby...
A group of men merrily laughing...
Then there was a sound of leaves rustling in the wind...
These sounded like of waves crushing...
A child was crying...
Were those explosions...and fighting...
There were horses galloping...
And dogs barking...
And even bells ringing...
He listened to all sorts of things, all of which made him feel nostalgic, as if he were actually there, but all the sounds are really far and distant. Most were all muffled and fleeting. There was one sound that was different, though. It was the voice of a man, deep and cool, he kept calling out to him. There was no anger or joy in his tone, but the sound kept getting louder and louder, closer and closer. Is this a - dream? But, everything was dark.
The man's voice seemed awfully familiar, "Who was it? Why is he getting closer? Was he calling me?!", He was shocked and confused. His train of thoughts were surging, realization creeping into his consciousness...Huh, why did he think the voice was calling him?
"Who am I?!"
Suddenly, as if knowing that it finally caught his attention, the deep alluring voice was already right beside his ear. A warm breath hitting his cheek, as the man called, "Wake up, Zero".
"Bang!" the young boy jolted awake, his heart almost beating out of his chest, as he layed still on the ground with his emerald green eyes wide open and staring up at the ceiling. "Ugh, W-what was that?", he mumbled to himself., He felt dizzy and uncomfortable, a throbbing pain in the side of his head. Images and scenes came flooding to the back of his eyes.
Those images that he saw, but don't remember seeing. It was like watching a scene from a movie, he could see and hear what is happening, but he couldn't feel it for himself. His body would move on its own, regardless of whether he liked it or not, as if it wasn't his body at all.
The first few scenes he had was him standing in a row with other children of his age, inside a brightly lit white room, all of them wearing equally white gowns with some kind of metal collars around their necks. A group of masked men, wearing white coats, would circle around them and poked at them with all kinds of metal instruments. He wasn't tied up or restrained in any way, yet no matter how much he dodged or struggle, his body just wouldn't budged. Each time he could only helplessly watched, as he was poked and injected with all kinds of things, before his world returned to darkness.
This scene played over and over, until that one scene. He was still standing in that same white room, but this time, a young girl wearing the same white clothes, was charging at him with a sword. He watched as his body also raised a sword, ruthlessly driving it into the other girls chest, her blood splashing across his eyes.
"Why is this happening?! Why am i seeing this?!", After that, scene after scene, was just him constantly fighting with others. The only difference was the place and the people he was fighting with, but one thing stayed the same and that is his sword ending the others life. He didn't want to watch anymore of this endless reruns of such brutal scenes.
Just remembering such made him sick, his stomach churned, as he vomited all of its juices. "Urgh....cough*cough*....gasp"
Forcefully calming down, he gritted his teeth to bare the pain and shakily stood up, as he warily looked around him. It was eerily silent, there were no signs of people or any living being. Only the cold breeze and the sound of his own breathing could be heard. The ground was an ashen grey color with debris littered everywhere and several broken structures here and there. Looking around, it seems he was in some kind of underground temple. Only the few streams of light from the cracks of the high ceiling were illuminating the entire place. It was a terribly gloomy scene, yet somehow, it was peaceful as if things were supposed to be this way.
He silently stared at the scenery before him, trying hard to hold down his uncertainty, he looked down at himself, confusion apparent in his eyes. His body was clearly his own, moving as he willed it. It was like those scenes he saw were just illusions. But the cuts and bruises on his whole body, as well as the blood stains on his clothes told him either wise.
He wore a black shirt and knee length shorts, although both were worn out and dirty, it definitely aren't those white gowns. A large Haori was draped over his shoulders. It was dark blue in color and had finely embroidered golden flowers. It would have been a high quality item, if it wasn't this tattered and torn. A small pouch of a similar design was tied onto a black sash that acted as his belt. He wasn't quite sure what inside it. Looking down at his feet, it was completely bare, except for the cuts and calluses. He felt lost and conflicted as he solemnly continued to stare at his feet.
"Zero", a deep male voice called out.