As I lay in bed, I couldn't help but overhear a conversation.
"That bastard dragon ruined everything! I was so close!" A woman said.
"It's fine. You failed, but that's okay. These things happen. All that matters is that you're safe," A man said.
"Screw you, Krow! You probably think it's better that I failed so I can't take your position!"
"Haha! I wasn't worried even if you succeeded. To me, you'll always be our little Kesia."
I heard a loud slap.
"IDIOT!!! SHUT UP!!!" She yelled.
I heard her stomping out of the room.
I opened my eyes at that point.
"Ugh...my head hurts..." I mumbled.
I sat up and looked around.
"Where am I again?" I said.
I recognized this place, but I couldn't put my finger on where it was. I had been here so many times...
Seeing it made me feel something like anger, but I also felt a strange sense of calm.
I looked out the window to see kids playing with a ball in the streets. So many things seemed different than usual compared to how I usually saw them when I woke up.
The door opened at that point and a man with black hair and red eyes walked in wearing armor. He was followed by a young woman with long black hair in a ponytail with a ribbon tied to it. She wore a lightly colored kimono with pink flowers on it. Her eyes were blue.
"Good morning, sleepyhead," the man said.
"Are you feeling better?" The woman said as she knelt down next to my bed.
"I feel fine. My head hurts...who are you people?" I said.
"Uh...amnesia? That's not good..." The man said.
The girl frowned at him.
"Is this really okay?" She said.
"Not the time, Nasumi."
"Sorry..." She said.
"Hey Mizik, my name is Kronos. I also go by Krow. I'm the leader of Blue Skies Adventuring. This is Nasumi, our healer and support. Rank 6. You can call her Sumi. Mori usually does anyway," Kronos said.
"I think I'll just stick with your names. I don't care for nicknames..." I said.
"You never really did, Mizik."
"What happened? Why can't I remember anything?"
"We were uh...fighting a dragon. Yeah. You jumped in to save Kesia and got hit on the head pretty badly. Luckily, I managed to kill it and Nasumi saved your life."
Something in me felt like I had seen an event like that. I couldn't remember the specifics, but I didn't care.
All I cared about was that I was with my friends again.
"Is Kesia okay?" I asked.
"Of course she is! You think Nasumi would just let her die?" Kronos said with a smirk.
"I can't tell. I don't remember much about her. Sorry, Nasumi."
"It's alright, Mizik! No worries! I'm just glad to see you awake again!"
"Well...Nasumi is the overly considerate sort. She would even stop an enemy from dying to make everyone happy. It's a bit of a pain at times, but she's just that sweet," Kronos said.
Nasumi blushed.
"S-stop that, Krow! I'm not sweet! I just...I don't like it when people get hurt... So I want to erase any suffering that exists."
"See what I mean? She's our little saint!" Kronos said with a big smile.
Nasumi crossed her arms and puffed out her cheeks.
"I'm not a Saint or anything..." She said quietly.
"Oh, we love you Nasumi. Never forget that."
"Hmmph!"
"Uhhh...sorry. I still can't quite remember. Who am I to you?" I asked.
"You're a member of our adventuring group. The seventh member, to be precise. A few years back, we found you living alone in the woods by yourself. Apparently you were a wanted criminal in Kalsa for killing a member of the Iratus family. Your cousin. Ring any bells?"
"Now that you mention it..." I said.
I remembered very faintly travelling through the Kalsan wilderness after killing a man with red hair in Noir.
"I see... So you found me back then and what happened?"
"Well, you had some strange powers. You put this weird rock in your chest and became super powerful from it. Look, there it is now," Kronos said.
I looked down and saw a device glowing on my chest. I felt weird.
Like it shouldn't be there. But there it was, anyway...just as he said.
I tapped it and felt energy radiating off of it.
"That there is the Heart of the World. The source of your power. If it breaks, you'll die. But as long as it remains intact, you're easily one of our strongest members. You aren't built the same way we are, but you're still important to us."
"Right...I'm...important..."
Am I missing something? It feels like I'm missing something. Or maybe...someone? Several someones? Must be my imagination...
"That thing on your chest should be kept safe at all times. Anyway, we have to reintroduce you to everyone, it seems."
I couldn't help but feel like the thing in my chest shouldn't be here...
"Are you okay enough to stand, Mizik?" Nasumi said with a gentle smile.
"I should be..." I said.
My head still felt fuzzy. I couldn't figure out why, but I was angry at these two.
It was strange...
They were my comrades, after all.
I quickly looked out of the window of my room and smiled.
Ah...Lorelei. That's where I am. In Albatross. This is where I live. My dad passed away after getting sick and I inherited this house. I came back after visiting Noir and dealing with...what was his name...? Tyras...? No...that was someone else. It was Tyranus.
As I smiled, I quickly clutched my head in pain.
"Ah! Are you okay!?" Nasumi said in surprise.
She reached up and touched my head.
The pain began to fade and I heard Nasumi speak.
"Command heal. Access enhanced ability: Primeval Regeneration."
"Nasumi...that's a bit much, don't you think...?" Kronos said.
"Shh! I want to help him. Can't you see that he's in pain?"
Within an instant, the pain in my head faded. Still, I felt something from her reaching into me.
"Huh...? That's odd... He has an ability called Blessing of the Creator. It has a terrible curse attached to it. And if I didn't know any better...I'd say that this ability is- mmph!?"
Kronos placed a hand over her mouth.
"That's enough, Nasumi. You're probably just imagining things, haha! That power is used to kill the undead. Which is why we recruited him, remember? He was cursed by a lich."
Nasumi slowly pulled away from me and frowned.
She said nothing, but looked away.
"Alright. Stand up and come with us Mizik," Kronos said.
After I got out of bed, I followed the two of them into another room. There was a large man with a gentle expression and a young girl that looked a bit like Kronos.
"The big guy is Garen and the small one is Mori. She's my little sister," Kronos said with a smile.
"Hey! I'm not that little!" Mori protested.
"Is it really a good idea to bring such a small girl with you on jobs?" I asked.
"Sure it is! Mori is invaluable to our cause. In fact, she's probably one of the most important members of our party," Kronos said.
Mori gave me a smug look. She was beaming with pride.
"I guess I stand corrected. Sorry that I can't remember you all..." I said.
"It's alright, Mizik. You did get hit pretty hard back there. Perfectly understandable," Garen said.
"Lucky that I was there! I helped beat the er...what was it that we killed again?" Mori said.
Kronos lightly tapped Mori on the forehead with his fist.
"A dragon, you dummy."
"I knew that! I was just testing you!" Mori protested.
The a door opened at that point and another man with long blonde hair in a ponytail walked in.
"Sure you were... Anyway, hello again Kronos," the man said.
"A fine hello to you as well, old friend. Mizik, this man is named Mako. He's another member of our team."
"Nice to meet you Ma-"
I froze in place as I saw a familiar sword at his side. It was a sheathed longsword with pink gems on the hilt.
"Hm? Is something wrong?" Mako asked.
"That sword...where did you get that...?" I asked.
The others looked around nervously.
Suddenly, I felt Kronos lightly pat my back.
"Hey! Don't pay so much attention to silly things like that! He's always had that sword, remember? He used it to defend you against that dragon."
"No...I...ugh..."
I couldn't seem to think straight. That sword belonged to someone else...I was sure of it.
But those memories wouldn't come no matter how hard I tried to bring them forward.
I stood in silence for a bit and shook my head.
"All of this feels weird..." I said.
"It's all in your head. Listen, you got smacked upside the head by a dragon. A pretty big one at that, too. You just need some time to recover. In the meantime, how about we take a job to help you get back on your feet? You know...get back into the swing of things?" Kronos said.
"Maybe that'll help..." I said.
"We just got a job to round up some bandits outside of town. I was hoping you'd join us. Duke Oswald wants them caught. You in?"
"Yeah...sounds like it'll be an easy job."
With that, Kronos gave a wide smile and the others joined in.
They began getting ready to go.
As I watched them pack up, I remembered certain things.
I say remembered, but it felt more like the explanations for things surrounding me appeared from nowhere.
This was originally my house. It still was, in fact. We used it as a base of operations from time to time.
I was the seventh member of their group. They recruited me to help defeat a Demon Lord that dwelled in the northern, uninhabited lands.
Supposedly, we succeeded. At least my mind told me that we did. But I couldn't remember anything about it at all.
And a far as I knew...I didn't have any family left besides those in the Iratus estate back in Noir.
Though I was almost certain that I burned it to the ground. The fight with Tyranus must have been tough...
Especially...since I was all by myself.