Chapter 2 - waterfall
They walked for what seemed like minutes, then reached a waterfall-massive and beautiful. Lucid observed the water as it cascaded down, merging with a pool beneath it, eventually turning into a river. He thought to himself, 'Was the water always purple?'
Though he remembered certain things, he knew some objects had specific colors, like the sky. But why was it bright purple or lavender here?
'Ugh, what was that word for that color again?'
Alice continued a little further ahead, looking up at the waterfall. "Isn't it magnificent?"
Lucid looked at it. It was indeed massive, and oddly calming to look at. This could have been the source of the sounds he had heard in his coma-like state.
"It's not half bad. You don't have to call me 'sir,' Alice. You can be casual with me. I won't bite," he said with a friendly tone, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
She looked down for a moment and muttered, "Oh, okay, sir Lucid-I mean, Lucid."
Lucid chuckled. 'She seems really adorable,' he thought.
They took in the scenery. It was almost ethereal, divine. As Lucid watched the waterfall, he noticed some strange things. For one, there were two moons in the sky. This felt a little off, but he couldn't place why. Perhaps this was normal for this world, or maybe he was going crazy due to his amnesia.
Another oddity was the complete lack of animals or any other living creatures in the forest. He saw a fly and a couple of ants, but no squirrels, no deer, no birds at all. Lucid came to two conclusions: either this forest couldn't support an ecosystem of that size, or there could be some massive predator stalking the area.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Alice, noticing Lucid deep in thought, asked a question to snap him out of his reverie.
"So, Lucid, what is your biggest fear?"
Lucid thought for a moment. 'What an odd question, but I could humor her for a second.'
"Well, I believe everyone has a fear or two. If you don't possess one, then I think you're not human at all. For me, it would be large bugs... and being left behind."
Alice looked at him with surprise. "Oh, really? You look like someone who doesn't have any fears. You seem pretty calm to me." She smiled, radiating some kind of positive energy.
Lucid thought to himself, 'Look, I haven't even seen how I look at all. Not like it matters.' He walked over to the river to inspect his reflection. What he saw startled him. It looked like he was wearing a glass mask with unclear facial features behind it. He hadn't even noticed his clothing. He looked down and saw a long brown battle coat, clearly showing signs of wear and tear.
'Huh, neat. At least I won't get cold in this,' he thought. Every part of his body seemed to be covered from head to toe. He wore heavy winter boots and black trousers with many pockets. His only identifying feature was his short medium, curly brown hair, parted at the middle of his forehead.
'Huh, I should take a closer look at myself once I have time. Maybe I can find some clues...' he thought.
Suddenly, a terrified yelp from the girl broke his thoughts.
He quickly scanned the area, panic rising as he realized she was in danger. In front of her stood a four-legged creature, its movements twisted and erratic. Its limbs were contorted in unnatural ways, and it matched the color pattern of the forest-lavender.
Without thinking, Lucid acted quickly. He grabbed the girl's arm and pulled her behind him, instinctively shielding her. He had no idea what he was doing, but outrunning this creature wasn't an option, especially with her in tow.
He frantically searched his pockets and pulled out a tough steel object that felt like a knife or a dagger. 'Fuck, whatever it is, I'll take it.'
From the looks of it, the creature wasn't huge-well, it was twice his size-but if he could locate any of its vital areas, he might have a chance. Then again, this thing didn't look like anything from Earth.
'Huh, Earth? What was that?' he wondered, a strange sense of recognition flickering in his mind.
The creature growled and took a step closer. No!" he yelled silently in his head as he watched the creature come closer, step by step.