Max: Ya, it's all right now. Everything is gonna be alright now.
Max smiled, knowing his family was here somehow. There were parts of the letter that he didn't understand but he knew that he will soon learn. All he needed to do was ask the two in front of him.
Lin: I dont know , what happened to you, but nothing is fine. You were screaming on top of your lungs and screaming like a baby!
Max: You are shouting now too!!
Max matched the energy projected by the black haired Asian dude. Max should heve been scared of the man in front of him, cause he carried a Kukris blade, something he had only heard of or seen images of. But Max was confident Lin wouldn't hurt him, partially due to the presence of Melissa beside him. The girl just stood there confused.
Max: So anyway...who are you guys? What's your purpose here?
Lin: Wait...why are you asking the questions..?? We were the ones interrogating you!!
Max was taken aback by this. But it made sense that they would want to know who he was. He hadn't explained himself to the strangers and they must have been really suspicious.
Max: I told you, I guess. I am Maximus Augilerris Steefan. You can call me Max. I woke up here. I don't know where I am....what is this place??
Max asked the first question that was throbbing in his mind for a long time. The last memory he had, even though it all returned to him, was him going out on a date to a fancy restaurant. All the things he was seeing was not something he would see even in his technologically advanced world. Cryo-freezing, atleast to his knowledge, wasn't possible yet.
Melissa: Wait, you mean to tell me that even you don't know what this place is??
Melissa raised her eyebrows, looking as if she was panicking. She touched his chest, but immediately withdrew her hand. Her deliberate emphasis on the word YOU confirmed that the two strangers had no idea what this place was too.
Max: Wait you guys woke up here too???
Lin: No way! We found this place. And we've never seen something like this.
Lin, for once, sounded calm, actually trying to hold a conversation for the sake of getting his answers. Max was shocked to see this development, but knew he was doing the right thing. He had no answers to return, but only more questions. Especially considering the letter.
In the letter, there was a curios statement made by his sister. She had signed off the year as 2025. Which was weird cause his last ever memory was him going to a restaurant in 2021. What happened in the four years? He wondered. There were still stuff missing in his brain, something that bothered Max. Why was there not a single memory of the last four years. What did she mean by him "hopefully" waking up?? So many questions, left unanswered.
Also there was this curious case of coincidence. Max knew he was just sixteen years old. But he looked older now, possibly being twenty. If he added the missing years to his age, it would match perfectly. But why did he lose the memories of those few years?
Max: What year is it...?
Max asked the two in front of him. At first they looked confused on why he would ask something like that. But Melissa looked at Lin, for a second, and then got ready to answer. Max braced himself for whatever she would say. Alicia, his sister, did mention that this was the future. Although he didn't know if she meant it literally.
Melissa: It's the year 1807 in the Age of Creation.
Max eyes widened at this revelation. He was expecting it to be something higher. He didn't expect to hear something like this. But even if it was the year 1807 A.D. it still didn't make sense. These two were so fashionable for the era. This was a different case entirely and he was sure of it.
Melissa meanwhile was leaning ahead of Max and looking at the letter.
Melissa: 2025...?
Before Max could ask any other question, Lin removed his second blade from the sheath. He then signalled with his hand to keep their silence as he looked towards the door. A single drop of sweat flowed from his temple to his chin. He was trying to listen for something.
Max and Melissa focused their eyes and ears to the door too. With the sudden silence, they could all hear the same thing, very clearly. Footsteps. There were echoing footsteps outside the door, which was a bit faraway, but getting closer nonetheless. The footsteps echoed, giving almost a ghostly effect, making it incredibly scary.
Lin: He is here...we need to go!!
Lin was shouting, but he still sounded quiet. He immediately walked backwards, to the opposite side of the door and used his Kukris blade to slice open the entire ceiling., creating a massive hole in the process.
Max: Wait, who is coming..??
Lin ignored the question and jumped above, which was such an impossible action, according to Max. How was this guy even a human?, was the first thing that his mind asked. Melissa immediately used her palm and pointed her fingers to the roof too and strange white threads came out of her fingertips and it caught on to the massive hole.
The strings then immediately pulled her up and she went above in one fell swoop, leaving Max all alone in the basement.
Max: Wait, guys! You left me in here!!
Max shouted back hoping they would hear him. Lin and Melissa looked down from above. Melissa stretched her arms, as if she was about to pull Max up too, but Lin stopped her.
Lin: What are you doing?? Why would you try to help him? He would be a deadweight!!
Melissa: But he looks kind! He doesn't seem like the enemy. Do you want to abandon him???
Lin: It's his screaming that might've attracted the Samurai anyway!!
Max was listening in to there back and forth, as the footsteps grew louder. Max knew that whatever was in the other side of the door, was terrifying. Max wanted to jump, but he was unsure if he could make it. Plus, the two were literally in front of him, meaning he would hurt them, even if he did the jump.
They also did mention a Samurai, making him wonder what that meant. Was the guy outside the door a katana wielding samurai?? It didn't sound that bad, but it was weird to think actual Samurai still exist. But before he could shout again for help, or listen to their conversation, they all heard a sound.
The door in the corner started shaking. The walls around it was cleanly cut, immediately in a square shape. The entire wall along with door fell down creating smoke from the rubble. Max covered his eyes with his left arm and then looked through the smoke. From out there came a man slowly walking in to the room. The same footsteps he had heard until now, belonged to him.
Max: Oh, come on man!!
The man in front of him was wearing a green yukata, that Samurai usually wear. He was wearing wooden sandals, and also a strawhat. He had something which resembled a twig in his mouth, and a huge American sword at his waist. But most importantly....
Max: These are the worst kind of swordsmen!!
Yes. In every piece of fiction consumed by many, when there was a Swordsman with a sword, while still being blind, meant that he was one of the strongest and scariest beings to exist. And unfortunately for Max, this Samurai was also wearing a cloth that completely covered his eyes...