The air hung heavy, thick with a poisonous, sickly yellow smoke that clawed at the throat. Beneath this toxic ceiling, the ground lay flat and lifeless, a sterile desolation where no blade of grass or shadow of life could take root. The only sound was the endless, mournful sweep of the wind, a tireless presence whispering through the barren chaos.
In the midst of this wasteland, a young man knelt. His clothes were nothing more than old, tattered rags, clinging to a body already scarred with countless injuries. Unseeing, he slowly tilted his head back, aiming his gaze toward a sky perpetually hidden by the pall of smoke. Suddenly, his blue eyes filled with tears. A silent scream of sadness tore from him, a raw emotion he fought—and failed—to contain. He looked down, slamming his fists repeatedly against the hard, unyielding earth. His knuckles broke skin almost instantly, but he didn't stop as he cried out, "Why... how did things end up this way? WHY DID I HAVE TO SURVIVE?"
All of this started some time ago—I don't even remember when anymore.
It all began the moment I woke up in a forest. I had no memory of who I was, how I had gotten there, or even my own age. I had forgotten my own name. I looked around, seeing nothing but ancient trees, rich green grass, and strange butterflies glowing yellow for some reason. I felt a weird, profound connection to these insects. The moon hung full and white overhead as one of the luminous creatures perched delicately on my finger. The moonlight caught my eyes, making them glow with the same faint luminescence as the butterfly, as I sat staring at the delicate creature.
A sweet voice cut the quiet scene.
"Hi, handsome guy, what are you doing here?"
A shocked and scared look flashed across my face. I jumped, nearly falling over again, and shouted, "Who is here? Show yourself!"
A small sigh came from above. "What do you mean, show yourself? I'm here, you foolish human. I was standing on your finger before someone decided to jump like a scared cat and try to give me a heart attack. You know I don't want to die, kid."
Slowly, the man looked down at the glowing butterfly. "No way… You can speak!?"
The butterfly sounded insulted. "What do you think? Butterflies are stupid or something? Actually, we are much smarter than you humans. Be grateful I let you even be a ground for me to stand on."
"Huh, you mean my finger? That's a weird way to say it…"
"Shut up!"
"Alright, how can I talk to you, though?" I held my head, a deep throb beginning behind my eyes. "Even though I forgot everything, I still know butterflies can't talk unless they were magical… wait, what does 'magical' mean? I don't know. Ah, it just came out of my mouth, but I can't remember it!"
The butterfly buzzed sympathetically. "Well, that's weird. You should be able to remember it, just as you remember how to speak. You know, magic is a part of this world, like water."
"What do you mean? Magic isn't real… HUH? Why am I saying that?" The man's blue eyes went darker, almost black, as he clutched his head and stared down at the grass.
"...I didn't think I might watch this before I die. This is interesting. Even though you forgot everything, your body and brain didn't forget, which puts you in…"
Before the butterfly could continue, the man whispered to himself, looking up with realizing eyes, "...an endless pain."
"It seems to me, my friend, that your ability to talk to me isn't something you got with luck," the butterfly stated. "The gift of your body to keep safe and learn anything fast is a great one."
"Then, I guess I'm lucky, hehe," I replied, forcing a smile and attempting to change the topic.
"Hmm."
"By the way, can I talk to the other butterflies? I guess I'll be the king of butterflies if I can, you know," I finished with a silly face.
"Of course, you can't. If you could, you should have heard them from the start. They are really annoying! What did you say? You're the ugly one? Come here!"
In a brief, funny scene, the butterfly flew off my finger and started sparring with another glowing butterfly in the air.
I watched silently.
The butterfly stopped its fight and looked back at me. "Ahm, so that was my brother. He sucks anyway. What are your plans? You don't want to die, right?"
"I don't know. I think I will look for humans to survive. Maybe I will find my family and remember who I am."
"There is a human village in the middle of the forest. Want me to show you the way?"
"Sure! It would be a great help from you, thank you. And your brothers and sisters are acting kind of weird, though."
The butterflies were flying fast around the man now, making soft, strange sounds while glowing. Some glowed blue, some pink, some red.
The yellow butterfly shouted at the swarm. "Alright, stop everyone! It is my choice, and you have to respect it, or I'm hitting you all! But… I will miss you all. Stay safe." He turned back to me. "Don't worry, they just don't want me to go."
"Then don't go. I will feel bad taking you away from them."
"No, I'm not staying. I want to see the world! Plus, you don't get to talk to a human every day."
"Fine. By the way, are you going to explain magic to me before we go?"
"We've got no time. If the sun rises, it will be hard to hide. I will tell you on the way."
Just as the young man and the yellow glowing butterfly were about to start their journey, a small butterfly, colored in all the colors of the spectrum, glided toward them. She glowed, making the place full of brilliant colors, and slowly put her head on the yellow butterfly's head.
The yellow butterfly whispered, "Mother… I will be back. Wait for me!"
That was what every animal saw, but as the queen butterfly glowed, the man's eyes opened wide in shock. The color rushed into his eyes, and all he could see was a flash of brown hair.
After that, he found himself in a dark room. A dark voice cut through his mind.
"You can't escape from your flow. Why don't you just give up? WHY?! WHY?"
"What are you talking about? Who are you, and what did you do to the butterflies!?" the man demanded.
The voice laughed, a dry, rasping sound. "Me? Haha. I'm the one who lived with you, and I'm tired of you!"
"Why don't you just leave?" the man asked with a silly, defiant look.
"Are you stupid, or trying to enrage me?"
"Well… my friend," the man said, his eyes now glowing a dangerous red. "Why don't you tell me!"
In a second, the man was holding something dark and amorphous in his hands. "Here you go! That's you! I don't know what's happening to me, but I feel so good!"
"HUH?! You… how is that even possible? I didn't think you would still be yourself even when you forgot everything. Well, you got one thing wrong, even if we are inside your mind, you can't get me."
The dark thing quickly changed into a sharp sword, slicing the man's hand.
The man screamed in pain. "WELL, THAT HURTS! OH GOD DAMN IT!"
The dark thing took a man's appearance. It was a figure full of shadows, wielding the sharp sword and laughing like crazy. "HAHAHA, you never change! This always makes me laugh…"
"Huh. Well, this is interesting…" the man murmured, his eyes closing slowly.
"Yeah, you are right. This is the first time you start like this, so it might be interesting…"