The night sky was filled with fierce wind, as Sayda gazed towards the starry night, accompanied by Eldras who is currently asleep. Alone in the middle of a strange forest, bathed in the luminous glow of space.
The turbulent mind never seemed to stop talking. Momentarily, a word escaped his lips, barely more than a whisper.
"What am I doing right now?"
He raised his hand, pretending to catch one of the stars.
"Am I a star? Does anyone recognise me as being different from others? Or am I just a human being lost among the many stars?"
He then lay on the grass, staring at the night sky.
"What do I want to be when I grow up? Huh..."
He let out a long breath, holding his face in both hands.
"Night... Do I hate it? Or is it the other way around?"
"Why won't my mind stop talking when night falls?
He swivelled to face Eldras, who was snoring next to him. He then embraced himself and moved in closer to Eldras to warm his body.
"Or am I just... "
***
Sunlight began to shine, slowly dispelling the night's darkness. The eastern horizon turned orange. Sayda was still asleep, feeling the foul mucus on his cheeks.
He opened his eyes, tried to touch his cheeks as he drew out a long trail of drool.
"Eeee"
With a swift gesture, he wiped away the drool from his face. Then as he looked ahead, he encountered a wolf's gaze, its tongue lolling out from its mouth. With a quick action, he jumped back, startled. He just remembered.
"Eldras!! What are you doing?"
He held his chest.
"Fuhh, my heart almost stopped. I thought I was going to be eaten."
Eldras barked at him.
The sunlight, streaming through the gaps in the leaves, suddenly struck his eyes. He pulled his face and looked around for a moment.
"It's morning..."
He stretched his body. Suddenly, Eldras barked again at him.
"What, Are you hungry?... Wait a minute."
"'Chest' 'Apple'"
POFFP!
An apple appeared on his hand. He threw the apple to Eldras. The wolf jumped and caught it.
"Alright, this is the day, I'll definitely finish this game, you're going with me right, Eldras?"
RUFF RUFF
The wolf barked.
Sayda raised his hand while pointing forth.
"Let's go."
Suddenly, he yawned deeply.
"Haaa... I'm still sleepy."
***
Amidst the vast expanse of wilderness, a group of birds could be heard chirping above the sky. The sun was at its zenith, more than three hours had passed since they set off.
RUFF RUFF!
"What again?"
A boy is walked with his back bent, a wolf beside him. An apple appeared in his hand and threw up to the wolf.
"That's the last for today, you keep asking me for an apple every ten minutes."
The wolf wagged its tail.
"Good."
***
10 minutes later...
Eldras barked again. An apple appeared in Sayda's hand.
"There you go."
He threw it to Eldras and he catches it. All of a sudden, he remembered something.
"Didn't I just give you an apple earlier?"
The wolf shook his head. Sayda, who had been walking with his head bent down, stopped and looked at Eldras with a suspicious look on his face, an apple was holding in his mouth. The two of them looked at each other.
"Liar."
Sayda jumped and pounce on Eldras immediately, with a quick action.
"You're utterly greedy... give it back!"
Eldras's leg pushed Sayda's head away as he tried to hug him tightly. His hand almost grasped the apple, despite the wolf's effort to move away. Only a few inches left, in an instant, with one gulp, he swallowed the whole apple. Froze, immediately stunned, with eyes widened in disbelief.
"N... no way"
He gasped and let out a long breath before suddenly lay down on the ground, looking up at the clear sky. His face shows clear signs of fatigue.
"Ahh, I'm so exhausted... can I sleep for a while?"
Eldras's bark fell on deaf ears as he drifted off, his vision growing dim as he almost closed his eyes, the sound of Eldras's voice gradually fading into the distance.
A moment before closing his eyes completely, he saw a long blue line stretching across the sky. It was odd and endless. Completely dark. Then, a vague memory came, strangely familiar.
"Wait... Isn't it.. I think I've seen it before."
His eyes opened immediately as he wanted to confirm of what he had seen, but as soon he's opened his eyes, nothingness. No more than a clear blue sky with a bird flying around. The only sound he could hear was the barking of a wolf.
"Where?... Where did it go?! Was it just my imagination?"
He looked dazed.
The surroundings fell into silence. As Sayda looked up at the sky, feathers suddenly appeared flying above his head. His eyes rolled upward, trying to see. A slimy, protruding tongue emerged above him. Sayda's expression shifted abruptly to wrinkled and disgust.
"Eeee..."
He rose to his feet instantly.
"You're disgusting."
Eldras wagged his tail, closed his mouth tightly, and finally sat down in front of him. Sayda sat down too, leaning against one of the surrounding trees, and let out a relieved sigh before he spoke.
"You know what, Eldras? I've been thinking about this the whole time."
The wolf moved its ears.
"Am I... in the game? Or is this just a nightmare dream?"
"Even now, I am still struggling to comprehend the events of yesterday."
He raised his head and placed a hand upon the forehead.
"Even now, I still can't distinguish whether you're real... or maybe just an illusion for me."
"Am I dumb? I know you're not real, I know nothing about this world isn't real."
"But why I'm still talking to you like this?"
The wolf walked over to Sayda and sat next to him. He saw it and placed his hand on Eldras's head, stroking it as he felt the real fur. The wolf let out a small voice, and its eyes flashed brightly.
"Or maybe... maybe you the only one I could consider real to me."
A strong gust of wind blew through, knocking leaves and twigs off the branches. He let out a long breath as he tried to divert the topic.
"How long we've been walking? We haven't found anything yet, have we?"
He then stood up and wiped the dirt off his trousers.
"Alright, I have made my peace with the fact that I will not be living in this damn world for even one more day."
The wolf barked.
He stretched his body, ready to face something more preponderant incoming.
Momentarily, a subtle sound caught his ear, a faint rumble, low and continuous, barely more than a hum. As he tried to concentrate on the sound, Eldras barked as though it had found something.
"Did you hear it, too?"
The wolf wagged its tail.
"Chest 'knife'"
POFFP!
A knife appeared in his hand.
"Eldras, can you hear that sound coming from behind the tree about 300 metres away?"
Eldras's ears twitched.
"I'll count down to three, then we'll run and attack whatever's behind it. Understand?"
The wolf nodded.
"I won't make the same mistake twice."
His knife was firmly gripped.
"One..."
One leg slightly behind, the body bent, ready to pounce.
"Two..."
Similar to the way wolf stands, with its back legs raised and its front body lowered, waiting for the final command.
"THREE!..."
Straight away, the pair legged it towards the source of the sound, with the wolf leading the way. Eldras leapt over trees and bushes, disappearing into the thicket, leaving Sayda momentarily behind.
His eyes flashed as his mind drifted back to the first tragedy he could never forget, the moment that voice echoed through him. He was just a few steps away from seeing what lay behind it.
"Show..."
He pushed aside the leaves covering it and stepped in with one foot. A gust of wind hit his face, pushing him back as he stopped. The sound grew clearer ahead of him. His eyes now glowed, reflecting the bluish light from the water flowing rapidly from the rock of the high cliff.
On the left and right, there are partially clasped hand shapes that form a cresent from the rock, allowing the blue, glowing water to flow down the middle. Water lilies and lotus flowers bloom on it, floating in variety of colours. White stone were scattered around it.
Creeping trees adorn the area. Their leaves are scattered everywhere and the trickling water down makes them wet.
Sayda remained silent. His hand, which had been gripping the knife tightly, slowly loosened. He was seeing a scene that had only existed in his mind before, but now it was right in front of him.
For the first time since he entered this world, Sayda did not question whether it was real or not. He simply stood there, breath caught in his chest and his mouth opened slightly, yet the words that came out...