Time was the ruler of the universe. In fact, no being had ever affected the flow of time. Even space was shaped, second by second, by it. Life forms were what they were because of the work of the clock, not because of magic. But despite being so enigmatic, time was not revered as much as darkness, light, war, or even the abyss, which were fervently worshiped by demons. In the history of the universe, or in the history of the world, no church or temple was ever built in the name of time.
Magic, however, was the opposite. It was the most revered phenomenon in the world. From mythical creatures to common ants, from the beasts at the apex to the weakest species that had ever lived, they all had faith in it and were nurtured by magic. They believed that nature was shaped by it. They believed that life was nourished by being close to its existence. They even believed that gods were born from it.
"Ugh!" The entity howled in pain.
He clutched his head as he curled on the hard floor.
"W-What happened?!"
The woman was startled by this sudden behavior but could do nothing about it. Time passed, and the entity was able to regain himself, but the pain was unforgettable.
"Are you okay?" the woman asked.
The entity absentmindedly nodded as he recalled what the flash of memory had brought to him.
The world was burning as the ocean evaporated into oblivion. Clouds were painted red, and mountains were filled with the dead bodies of various creatures, while shadows of darkness walked the land.
In the sky, he saw a winged beast cloaked in flames as it danced a deadly dance of wind. Its serpentine eyes were fierce, but the entity could feel its despair. It was fighting something. It was fighting a species that had survived where even dragons like it had perished—a human.
As usual, the entity didn't have a clue about its meaning. But his feelings were always stirred, his heart beating wildly in connection with the memory. His mind was alive, forcing its gears to work. The discovery of his memory had him concentrating on the fact that it could be triggered by certain words. Also, when he longed for a fire for warmth, he remembered something. Like the first time, he still couldn't fathom what these memories entailed, but he gained an understanding of them bit by bit.
"Those creatures, do they also come from the abyss?" he asked the woman.
"What creatures? Oh, do you mean those strange plants?" Her face turned into an annoyed look, but not directed at him.
"I don't know. I didn't hear anything about it," she said nonetheless.
"They didn't attack me," he stated.
"Really?"
"Then why did they attack me?" the woman said disbelievingly.
"Perhaps you did something that provoked them."
Her forehead creased.
"I don't remember doing anything special, really. I just walked out of their way whenever I saw them."
"Aside from looking scary, they were all gross-looking," she added disgustedly.
"Hmm, maybe you accidentally stepped on one of them without noticing," he said.
He watched the woman tilt her head as she began thinking. The entity began pondering too. If the plants had deliberately chosen not to attack him, then one more secret would be added to the mysteries that needed to be discovered in this body. That dragon—if it really was a dragon—why would he remember it, as if he'd seen it in person?
'They are considered mythical and legendary creatures in this world, right?' he pondered.
His thoughts were interrupted as he heard the woman brush the dust off her body, then speak.
"Uhm, perhaps... do you remember your name?"
When she saw that he didn't reply for a few seconds, she quickly added,
"If you can't t—"
"Ethan. My name is Ethan."
The woman nodded her head and turned around.
"Then, Sir Ethan, do you want to come with me? Let's force our way out of here."
She shifted uncomfortably when he remained silent.
"P-please, come with me," she pleaded.
The entity smiled and shrugged.
"What choice do we have? It's better to confront those creatures than stay stuck in this cursed forest."
The woman showed a relieved expression, then also smiled.
"You can call me Leah."
The entity nodded, and she continued talking.
"Sir Ethan, I plan on sprinting past those plants until we reach the shore."
He waited for her to explain the full extent of her plan, but he grew perplexed when she stopped. She stared at him with a questioning look for a few seconds.
"Lady Leah," he calmly said.
"W-What did you just call me?" she asked, flustered.
The entity ignored her reaction and continued, "What would we do after we get to the shore? We don't have a boat or a raft."
Even if they managed to build a boat, night would soon fall, making it impossible to navigate the water in darkness. Furthermore, the weather in this place was unpredictable. If it rained or stormed, they'd be as good as dead.
"Then we walk along the shore and look for signs of people," she suggested.
"Hmm, that idea's not bad. But I'm wondering how long it would take to find civilization. I mean, the forest is full of danger. It wouldn't be ideal for anyone to build a house nearby."
He imagined big signs reading: "Keep away, dangerous monsters nearby" or "Please enter, suicide forest."
"T-then…" she muttered softly, her words barely audible.
"Either way, we need to move," he interrupted. "I'm afraid the smoke might attract something bad instead of actual people."
"Mmm." The woman nodded, then asked, "In which direction?"
"To where I woke up, maybe there's some clue there."
The entity was not sure if she would agree but she just unhesitatingly nodded.
They half run through The coldness as the sun produced bright rays in the foggy sky. But the duo knew it would not be long till it began to set so they began increasing their pace. As time passed the entity was beginning to feel out of breath.
"Hey!" He shouted, exhausted.
The woman stopped and looked at him.
"Ah, you're tired already. I'm sorry Sir Ethan. I didn't consider your physical capabilities."
'We've been running for half an hour. It's your abnormal body that's the problem,' he thought, hiding his frustration as he gasped for air.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
Heavy, thundering steps echoed through the trees, causing the man and woman to tense warily.
"Eek! What's that?!" the woman shrieked nervously.
The vegetation began to rustle violently, and the ground shook beneath their feet.
"Run!"
The entity shouted, forcing his tired legs to move. The woman, however, stood still for a moment, frozen like a clueless twig. Eventually, she started running, but her delayed reaction cost her dearly.
A giant boar, its head as wide as the trunk of a massive tree, burst from the depths of the forest. It charged blindly, shaking the ground and snapping trees in its path. When it spotted the two humans running, it changed direction midway. Its large eyes turned blood red as dirt scattered from the frozen ground—it had found its perfect targets.
The entity looked back and saw the woman following him and a giant boar behind her chasing which almost made his already tired feet go limp. He tried to focus his eyes on running when he heard crashing and breaking of bones as the boar passed him by. Between its giant tusks was Leah.
The woman did nothing as the giant boar crashed it's head into a tree causing a loud thud that reverberated through the area. The entity cringed in pain and the giant boar backed away for a little bit and shook its dizzy head. The entity watched as the woman fell into the ground like a broken doll.
Then the giant boar began sniffing her body while making grunting sounds. Meanwhile the entity did know what to do. He considered temporarily climbing up a tree and observed the giant boar next move but when it saw the state Leah was in he reconsidered.
Clunk!
In an instant, a foot was planted on the boar's head, causing it to wobble abruptly. The human it thought was dead suddenly stood up in a flash and began raising her small fist.
Bang!
The giant boar couldn't react as the fist landed between its eyes, causing its massive body to shift back slightly. It closed its eyes and swung its head side to side, trying to brush off the pain. Then it paused momentarily as its eyes slowly opened.
The woman's eyes widened.
'Why is she still standing there?' The entity was confused.
When the giant boar saw the woman, it grunted loudly in rage. It lowered its head and immediately headbutted forward, pinning its opponent against the cracked trunk. Fortunately, she grabbed the two protruding tusks, stopping it from driving them all the way through, as they began a contest of strength.
While they were stuck in a deadlock, the entity spotted a snapped, sharp stick on the ground and sprinted toward it. He abandoned the idea of jumping onto the giant boar's back, as the height was too much for him. Instead, he moved to the side of its head and planned to stab its vulnerable eye. But the giant boar immediately closed its eye the moment it noticed him. The entity was shocked by its intelligence but nevertheless continued his attack.
He stabbed and stabbed with the stick, but it only broke, and the closed eye remained unscathed.
Then, suddenly, the boar released a reverberating grunt and swung its head toward him, grazing him with its tusk. The woman was thrown to the side, and the boar squealed.
The entity quickly recovered after the giant boar's loud noise. It eyed both the woman and him as he slowly backed away. Then the boar decided who to target first. It stomped its right foot repeatedly while staring in his direction, then began charging.
He knew he was done for the moment its head touched his body. So, when the boar was close to him, he jumped to the side and barely dodged the incoming death. He pushed off the ground as he got up and saw that the boar, pushed by its momentum, had been unable to stop in time and crashed into a tree. He was ready to run when he saw it move strangely, trying to backtrack but unable to.
With that, he quickly searched for the woman. He saw her already recovered and standing, watching the giant boar's movements.
"Lady Leah! Finish it off while it's stuck!"
The woman only shook her head.
"I-I can't. It's too strong."
The entity tsked and then turned back to the stuck beast. He didn't have time to think and began dashing toward it. Using the tree for support, he jumped over the boar's head, and once he was on its back, he turned around. Meanwhile, the boar was still stuck, and he didn't let the opportunity slip by. He pressed his hands on each side of its head.
'Please work.'
The entity began thinking back to the time when his hands burst into flames. He searched inside himself for that feeling to return. The longing for fire to materialize grew stronger and stronger until he didn't notice his hands turning red and heat beginning to radiate. The boar, finally free, began jumping and trying to shake the entity off. The entity struggled to hold on, and just when he thought the boar had given up...
The beast turned and then began dashing very fast, running through an area where there were no obstacles in its way. He planned to jump to the side when, suddenly, it stopped, causing the entity to fly through the air and crash back-first into a tree. Gravity then pulled him down, and he was slammed against the hard floor.
He groaned in pain, spitting out some blood. Miraculously, he was still conscious, but his mind was in disarray. His hands ceased to burn, and out of the corner of his vision, he saw the boar preparing to charge at him. He tried to get up, but it was impossible. His bones were all broken, and he couldn't feel his feet anymore.
'Is this my end?'
He thought of the old saying that when you're close to dying, your memories flash by as you ponder life. But the entity could only see darkness as his consciousness began to fade. He tried to move his head to at least catch a glimpse of the sky, where the sun was beginning to set, when he saw, beside a large bush, another boar. This one was much smaller in size, with smaller tusks. It watched him menacingly, and he thought he heard someone talking. He listened more carefully, and then...
"Finish it off!"
He heard a rough human voice emerge from the boar's mouth. Then, as if mocking him, it let out a sharp squeal while his vision began to fade.