The boy was still walking down the corridor, disregarding the statues and paintings that seemed to stare from the sidelines.
[I can't remember anything at all...] With his mind still in disarray, he couldn't focus at all [Not my name, my home, or even what I am...]
And then he stopped walking
[Am I... human?] he queried to himself
It terrified him. Terrified of what he was. The exploits he exhibited earlier, such a feat, were impossible for a human to achieve.
He couldn't pin down whether it was impossible at all. All he could rely on was the hunch that nobody, living or not, could do that. No one but him, at the very least.
[I'll just deal with my existential crisis later... It'll just depress me further] He set aside the problem [I'll be okay, I think]
[Now...] he scanned the surroundings [Where have my legs taken me?]
Since his mind was still a mess earlier, he had ignored the walking space he had gone to. Which bit him back when he had no leads regarding his location.
[Hallway... hallway... hallway...] He said, whilst his mind was trying to make sense of his surroundings
[Ah! This hallway!] Until he eventually remembered what he was doing [I'm supposed to gather information about myself, and what this bloody place has to do with me]
[Where do I go though?] He probed his mind further [I don't have a map, nor do I have the means to get one]
A few seconds of silence made the situation rather awkward for himself.
[Eh, I'll just continue walking then] He blurted out
And so he walked, with the same old statues and paintings composing the background. After minutes of walking down the passageway, a dark-brown door came into view.
[It's another accursed door] Miffed by another door, he expressed his distaste for it. [It sounds completely logical to have a door at the end of the hallway but even so, f--- it]
A resounding groan echoed towards the hallway
[It's also another puzzle] The boy said, his exasperation expressing itself.
It made sense. The last door he saw was a puzzle itself. He could only assume that this door would also be one.
[Another terrible, horrible, no good, useless puzzle is in my f---ing way!] He spread apart his arms in ridicule.
[My god, I have the body of a kid and yet I'm still swearing] He realized. [That's clearly not normal, if I say so myself]
[Maybe I'm really some dangerous hodgepodge of science and machinery hellbent on destroying the world?] He expressed, hoping to calm his nerves down with a lighthearted joke.
After a few more rounds of self-jokes, he focused on the task at hand. Yes, it was time to solve the root of his problems, the puzzle.
[Time to get a closer look then] He probed the door
The door had no interesting features, being composed entirely out of wood. It had a single metal knob on the rightmost portion. It was about as normal as a door could be.
Above the door, a picture of the moon hung itself. A full moon, nothing more.
[There's a painting of the moon above the door] He exclaimed. [Is that supposed to be the puzzle?]
As he was too short to reach the canvas, he opted to jump and reach for it. And so he jumped, which led him to being a few meters above the ground.
[Even my athleticism is exceptional] He only wanted to test his capabilities to see whether he was capable, with the results surprising him greatly.
Stretching his arms, he reached for the painting whilst in mid-air until it was finally in his grasp. He fell down, landing on his feet.
[I have it in my hands now, might as well prod it then?] He inquired himself, knowing that the answer stayed the same.
The boy inspected the painting, discovering that there was a glass-like substance protecting the artwork. He tried to pry it open, to no avail.
[Even if I removed the transparent cover, this painting seems to be nothing special. There's nothing on the backside either. I'll just return it back] He jumped once again, returning the painting to its rightful place.
[Now that I've confirmed the painting's insignificance, time to focus on the door.] He commented.
He approached the door, noting its appearance. It was dark brown, not lacquered nor coated in any paint. It's color seemed to be a natural one. It looked nothing more than an ordinary, unassuming door.
[Is this for real? Is this door really normal? Am I supposed to grab this door and expect it to swing open like nothing's wrong with it? Is that what's supposed to happen?] He mouthed, still surprised at normalcy that the door exuded.
[Welp, here goes nothing] He tried to turn the doorknob.
A single click reverberated throughout the entire corridor, reflecting the doorknob's status. He had turned the doorknob. He tried to pull on it. The door did not budge, however.
[... Yep] He sounded apathetic at the door's obvious reaction to his attempt. [It was wrong of me to expect anything unremarkable from this place, you self-centered prick!]
[I'll just kick the crap out of you, if only for the sake of it.] With those words, he attempted to do so. [Ow.]
As if the pain wasn't enough of an embarrassment, he felt watched. The statues in the corridor looked like they were enjoying themselves on his plight, even though they were clearly inanimate.
[I swear to god that once I see one normal door, I'll tear it down to bloody pieces, you obfuscated codfish!] He roared, arms waving.
[And just so you know you pompous, highfalutin, anger-inducing, pinheaded, idiotic, asinine, aggravating, frustrating, irksome, maddening, pestiferous wooden thing, I hope you dig a ditch for yourself and sod off!]
[So what if you're a door? Do you think that's going to save you from my wrathfulness? Do you? No, it won't! It absolutely will not help you at all from your intolerable, miserable existence, you stupid, lifeless piece of lumber! ]
The insults continued for a few more minutes, with each one being worse than the last. His words slowed down until the boy had calmed down.
[I just insulted a door... how low can my self-esteem plummet to?] He lamented, as he was more or less still angry at it. [It's just a bunch of cobbled up bunch of words, it can't even pass as an insult...]
[My god, am I going crazy? Did I do anything wrong to get entrapped in a nightmarish fortress without knowing who I am? These foolish crucibles, what of it? Do I continue solving them, slaving myself to nothingness? Aiming for a way out of this place? Drowning myself in the sweet, sweet nectar of hope, as I try staving off my despair? Attempting to reach for that glimmering sliver of hope that seems out of grasp? Can I even reach it? Are my hands long enough to take hold? Am I insane?] His extended spiel sounded more like the ravings of a madman, containing nothing but self-deprecation. His ramblings representing the already fractured sanity that he possessed. Because of a door.
Just like the last outburst, it took him a few minutes to calm down. The boy's shouting died down, his heavy words finished. What remained of him was one child-sized humanoid, sitting with its back, leaning on one statue.
[Will rest even do me good? It's not like I feel particularly tired. A bit sleepy, but it's something that a good jolt can fix. And even then, does my body need it? I have felt no sort of hunger either, which further disturbs me. Hmm...] He had voiced his thoughts in the corner of his world, still contemplating on his existence.
[Perhaps a bit of sleep benefit me.] He considered resting by the pillar. [It'll help calm me down, hopefully]
After a bit more of rumination, he lay his sleepy head on the floor, with the CRT TV attached on it serving as a cushion of sort. In a few eye blinks, he had fallen fast asleep.
And so he slept, slumbering on the pristine floor, without a care in the world. He remained inert there, as if he had never moved at all. It was the first time that he rested ever since he woke up in this strange place.
A strange rumble occurred in the entire complex, engulfing the corridor in a sea of noise. Despite all of this, the boy did not wake up. He rendered himself immobile despite all the racket.