Darkness.
Heavy, slow and endless- peaceful.
Something stirs.
A faint flicker behind closed eyes. The world is muffled, soundless.
Then, in the midst of this gentle nothing-
Light.
A sliver. A crack
It blinks. Shuts again. Opens wider.
His eyes begin to open.
Just a little.
Blurred light bleeds in.
Something looms in front of him – huge, scaled, but strangely fluffy. horns jut out from its chin and forehead.
The view sharpens as his eyelids drag open like rusted gates.
The shape sharpens in the light.
A… face?
Scales. fur.
Horns.
Teeth.
'What... is that?'
Its glowing eyes stare back into his own, inches from his face. Hot breath billows. Nostrils flare.
The boy blinks once. Slowly. Then again, still there.
He doesn't react; his face stays still. Blank. Sleepy.
"…What?"
He asks the creature flatly.
The dragon snarls, a faint light forming in its throat- Getting ready to strike.
The boy lifts a hand.
And slaps it
There is a pause- just a second too long.
CRACK
The beast sails into the trees, flung like a puny fly.
BAM
It crashes through a trunk, shattering it in half.
Still, no reaction. Only a slow, puzzled glance at his still-raised hand.
…
Silence.
…
"WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED??"
A voice rings out from the left.
He turns his head.
A squad of knights stand there, half in formation, all frozen mid-reaction. Their faces a mix of awe and disbelief, eyes glued to him.
"That was a bloody B-rank dragon," one knight whispers to the other, eyes wide.
"It wasn't exactly bloody," the second points out flatly.
"It's a saying, you bloody goofus," the first snaps back
"Calm down, boys. Calm down," a third sighs.
The two others don't take that lightly, diving into a full-blown bickering match.
The boy doesn't respond – just watches them blankly.
Then his gaze shifts.
Among them, slightly apart, stands a lone dog-like boy. Ears lowered, tail curled around his legs.
Hunched. Shivering
Not in armor. Not talking. Just… staring at him
His eyes wide – filled with something the others aren't showing;
Worry.
Just as the dog-like boy hesitantly opens his mouth to speak, a knight cuts in.
"You do realize you just bitch slapped a dragon – one that even top-tier adventuring parties struggle with – straight into oblivion, right?"
He points toward the forest, eyes locked on the boy.
"Well he's not in oblivion," another knight says flatly. "he's just… lying over there with a tree snapped in half."
"why you little—!" the first growls, spinning on him.
Nearly starting another bickering match – again.
The boy interrupts.
"What is that?"
His voice is calm. Flat.
The knights blink. "What?"
"A 'dragon.' What is that? What's all this B-rank stuff?"
A beat of stunned silence.
"…You've gotta be kidding me—" one knight steps forward, glaring. "How could you not know what a dragon is?"
"huh…?"
He stares, blinking slowly
The riled-up knight doesn't take that lightly- He storms toward the boy, teeth gritted- but then, a soft, shaking voice cuts through;
"w-wait.. what i-if he doesn't remember anything?"
The dog-like boy's voice trembles.
"H-he's bleeding from the head… after all…"
The riled-up knight turns around and looks at him. Silent. Tense.
Then-
"…you know what? You're right."
"wait- just like that?," another knight blurts out. "That easily? you're not angry anymore?"
The once–enraged knight just shrugs and strolls back like nothing happened.
"you know, he just has anger issues," the second knight mutters to the boy. "please don't take him seriously."
He steps closer and kneels beside the just-awakened boy.
"so… you don't remember anything?"
"I guess," the boy says blankly. "actually, yeah. Got no clue."
"So... do you know who you are?"
"No."
"Where you are?"
"Nope."
"What you're wearing?"
"…"He glances down. "Nope. Don't know my name. don't know where I am. But my shoes are tied, so things are looking up."
The knight grins smugly. "Do you know who I am?"
Just as he leans in, anticipating a positive answer-
A voice shouts from the side:
"Oh, quit it! No one knows who you are, you're never gonna be famous!"
the knight throws a side-eye, Then looks back.
"Well, do you?"
"…No," the boy says deadpean.
The knight stands up, dusts off his knee, turns to look at the others and announces proudly:
"Yeah, he's totally kookoo. Doesn't even know who I am."
No one pays him any mind.
The other knights are too busy murmuring among themselves, trying to figure out what to do with the boy.
The knight's brow furrows. He straightens up, puffing out his chest.
"I- The great Fer- "
"U..uhh… uhm... w-what... h-how-" the dog-like boy suddenly cuts in, fidgeting, struggling to form words.
"W-w-what??" a knight interrupts, mocking his stutter and anxious posture. "Spit it out, will ya? What's wrong with you man- can't talk properly or something?"
"It's called social anxiety, stupid"
All heads snap toward the voice.
It's the boy. The one who just woke up and slapped a dragon. Still blank-faced.
A beat.
"… You don't know your name, where you are, or what a dragon is," One knight blurts, "but that? That you know?" He scoffs.
"Well, that's actually possible…" Another mutters thoughtfully.
And just like that – another argument breaks out.
The knights whirl on each other, yelling, already mid-bicker for the third time.
None of them notice the boy quietly standing up.
He dusts off his pants.
Turns toward the trees.
And starts walking.
No goodbye. No words.
Just… leaving.
One knight glances up mid-argument. "Wait- where did he go?"
"Who?"
"The overpowered weirdo you imbecile!"
Another looks around. "Uh… did anyone tell him he's not allowed to just… leave?"
A voice mutters, "I think he just did."
"Well, to be fair, I don't think anyone thought he'd be able to just walk off like that with all those injuries."
"…He slapped a dragon." Another knight says flatly.
"That he did" a third replies dryly.
They all fall silent.
-
Somewhere in the forest, leaves rustle.
Something watches.
Something waits.
And the boy with no memories walked straight toward it.
-
"Goddamnit! How do we keep losing people?! now the dog-boy is gone too!"