I restarted the power, casting eerie shadows across the room. I stood frozen, staring at the body lying in the middle of the storage room. My mind raced with questions, the foremost being, "Who is this?"
I took a cautious step forward, my heart pounding in my chest. The dim light revealed more details. The person on the ground was a young man with short, burnt blond hair, wearing a long blue coat over unfamiliar black clothes. His face was pale, eyes open and rolled back.
Great, past me, clean up after your dirty work! What's this?
Oh right, no need to worry. He's alive. I checked before restoring the power.
I propped him against the wall, hoping he would regain consciousness. Slowly, he began to mumble in a low voice. I moved closer to hear him clearly.
*Whispering*: "Water..."
"Oh, you speak my language."
*Barely audible*: "Wa...ter..."
"Oh, right. Wait a moment."
I handed him a glass of water. "Here you go. Can you drink by yourself?"
*Incomprehensible mumbling*
"What?" *Moves closer to hear better*
*In a weak, almost dying voice*: "You... bastard..."
*Spills water on him*
*Jolts awake from the shock*: "Ahhh! You..."
"You're awake!"
"I'm still alive?! What happened? Where am I?"
"Yes, you're alive. I don't know, in my house, I guess. Wait, I'm the one who should be asking questions here."
*Turns to him with wide, angry eyes*: "You! You left me in this room without water or food for two days!"
"Really?"
"You forgot about me!!!" *Leaps at him*
"Hey! Hey! Wait!"
*After a struggle...*
After an hour of chaos, I finally managed to calm him down. What I know now is that he was recently dragged here. There's no doubt I haven't seen him before (let's forget about the storage incident, my past actions don't define my present self, right?). So, his memory is likely still intact. Maybe I can use him to find out what's happening outside, perhaps get some useful information.
*Pouring tea*: "I don't think we started off on the right foot. Let's start over..."
"Aren't you going to introduce yourself first?"
"Well, I don't remember my name."
"What?"
"It's complicated."
*Sighs*: "Alright, my name is Eric, from Washin. That's all I know about myself."
"Washin?"
"The capital of Morstenda."
"Hmm, that name sounds familiar, not gonna lie. Anyway, nice to meet you, Eric. So, how did you end up here?"
"You kidnapped me."
"I didn't mean—stop saying I kidnapped you. I don't even remember what happened. You probably did something to make me do this; otherwise, why would I have anything to do with you?"
"I don't remember exactly what happened either. But is there any excuse to lock me up without food or water for two days?"
"Okay, my bad on that one. But wait, you don't remember what happened either?"
"I was dragged and brought here suddenly. All I remember upon arriving is someone with two swords attacking me! Then everything went blurry, and I found myself being dragged by the same person. When I was thrown into the room, I regained consciousness and shouted at him to stop, but he ignored me and closed the door. That person was you! I waited for you to return, but you never did! I tried shouting, but you didn't respond!"
"Oh, right, the rooms are soundproof."
"I started getting thirsty and hungry. I needed to use the bathroom. I mean, how could you—*blablablablablabla!!!!!*"
*This guy is annoying.*
"I mean, aren't these rooms designed to store food? Then I tried touching that strange glowing orb, and the electricity flickered. That's how I knew it was the power source of this place."
"Wait, did you mess with the power? You're lucky to be alive."
"It was the only way to get your attention!"
"You're making me blush..." *Blushes*
"Go kill yourself!!!"
"Listen, I don't attack anyone without a reason. Maybe you attacked me first; we don't know. But please, accept my apology."
"Ugh, who cares, man."
"See? We solved things like adults. Now, back to our topic. You mentioned you were suddenly brought here, meaning you're not from this place?"
"What is this place?"
"I'm asking the same question."
"...Do you have Alzheimer's?"
"What is that?"
"Never mind." *Studies him closely* "You know, you resemble someone I know. Wait, what was his name?..."
"Yeah, it's probably my brother."
"Really?"
"..."
"Man, I'm tired of you. I'm leaving." *Stands up and heads towards the door.*
"Oh, I wouldn't recommend that. It's dangerous outside right now. Also, that door doesn't lead anywhere."
*Opens the door.* "What are you talking about?" *His eyes widen in shock and horror.* *He freezes in place.* "Where am I??"
"I told you, that's not the exit door. If you want to leave, you need to go through that door, walk to the end of the corridor, then go up the stairs to your right. Don't use the elevator—are you listening to me? Hey." *Snaps fingers.*
*In a terrified voice*: "Are we in the void?"
"What?"
*Searches his pockets suddenly.* "Oh my God, please be here." *Takes out a notebook from his pocket.* "Thank God." *In relief.*
"What is that?"
I think this is the day I've used "what?" and "what is this?" the most in my life, and I have a feeling it won't be the last.
"I want you to take a look at this." *Hands him the notebook with a tense expression and a serious look.*
"Is this your notebook? It looks familiar."
I opened a marked page, and it contained illustrations of the place's landmarks. I could recognize the floating islands, emission islands, the calm sea, and the ruins of civilizations, along with some other landmarks I didn't recognize, but they were undoubtedly other places I hadn't reached yet. There was a marked picture that looked like a castle, but unlike the others, it didn't seem like a place that exists here. From what I see, what I know is just a drop in the ocean.
But when I opened one of the first pages, at that moment, I felt like everything around me had disappeared.
"You must be kidding me."
What was written was:
"Title: Things to Remember
1. My name
2. Where am I from?
3. Why am I here?
4. How do I get out of here?
5. What is this place?"