"Huh?"
'Are my eyes closed? Why is everything black? '
I blinked.
'Nah, my eyes are definitely open. But why is it so dark? Wait, where even am I?'
I tried to look around. Everything was pitch black. No, actually, now that my eyes were adjusting, I could roughly see... A stony outline?
This was when I realized I was standing. Probably in a... cave? Wait, what is it I'm holding in my hand? I that a-
Squinting my eyes, I followed the dark outline of what appeared to be a pretty long sword, the hilt of which I was apparently leaning on.
'Ah, must be one of those lucid dreams.'
My heartbeat, which I only now realized was pumping like crazy, started to slow down again.
'Damn, this almost feels real. I'm even starting to feel this dank cave smell. Anyway, I don't like lucid dreams. They always turn into some nightmare by the end. Guess I'll just force myself to wake up.'
It's not like I've had many lucid dreams in my life, but on the few occasions I did, I learned you can usually force yourself awake once you realize it's a dream.
However, something was strange.
For some reason, my senses felt much sharper than they had any right to be in a dream like this.
Wait, come to think of it, did I ever even smell anything in a lucid dream?
I could also distinctly feel the rough stone floor under my boots, the weight of the sword in my hand, the slightly tight... wait, what am I wearing?
I moved my hand over my chest, only to realize the thing I'm wearing is made of some kind of leather. The outline felt pretty hard, but this was definitely leather.
Now that my eyes were properly adjusted to the darkness, I could roughly see my own hand. A white cotton sleeve could be seen underneath the iron bracer, covering my arm-
My arm, isn't slightly larger than I remember?
"Haaa. Haaa..."
It was now that I noticed my heart was racing again.
No, I need to calm down.
"Haa, Haa, Haa -"
I felt my chest getting tighter, my breathing becoming more ragged. Seems like calming down was not on the menu.
"What the fuck?"
I couldn't help but curse out loud. Only that, my voice sounded slightly different than usual, which definitely didn't help.
Feeling a weakness in my legs, I couldn't help but sit down on the cold stone, barely keeping myself from tumbling with the help of the sword. Usually, I'd be worried about catching a cold, but at present, this was the last thing on my mind.
I waved my hand in front of my face, suddenly realizing the movement felt light. In fact, I barely even noticed the weight of the braces, which probably weighted at least a kilo each.
"No, seriously, what the fuck?"
Feeling panic starting to set in, I gritted my teeth and tried to organize my thoughts.
For some reason - probably due to the shock - my mind felt foggy, but I took a deep breath, and did my best to recall. What was I doing?
It's been a few months since I've lost my job. My job?
Ah, yes, after my last IT support job didn't work out, I've been trying to get a new one for the last few months.
Money wasn't too tight, and since I lived alone, I could probably scrape by for a few years if I really wanted.
'Wait, this is too far back. What was I doing recently?'
The fog in my head stubbornly refused to clear, but as I focused, more and more memories started to return.
'Earlier this week, I had a phone interview. Can't remember who they were, but it doesn't matter.
Yesterday... yeah, just finished that Sci-Fi book. It was about.. ah, yes, the bounty hunter who accidentally saved the illegitimate child of an interplanetary megacorp's owner, only to find out the child, who was actually one of the owner's clones, was to be killed, because he accidentally discovered the dark secret behind the corporation's... wait, why am I even thinking about this?'
'Next day... I remember I vowed to finally clean the house.'
Of course, I decided to postpone it again (for the last time, I swear), and instead I...
'The library!'
I started going to the town library a few months back.
Usually, if I read anything, it'd be online, but some guy on a forum brought up a topic of online novels vs physical books, and, with all the free time on my hands, I decided to give it a try.
Surprisingly, I've found some pretty good stuff. Of course, there was a lot of chaff, but among the obscure stories by unknown writers, there were definitely a few hidden gems, especially some of the older books.
And so, today, I was going to return that last book, and scour the fantasy section in search of new discoveries.
'Hmm, why is it getting harder to remember? I definitely... yes, I found my next book. What was it?'
I remembered the book standing out to me because of its pitch-black, old looking, yet also strangely mesmerizing cover.
'The title was... hmm? Why can't I remember?'
I remembered picking up the book, reading the title and the first page, and taking it to the reception.
But no matter how hard I tried to remember any of the contents, it was as if the images in my memories were distorted by some kind of static.
I did, however, remember the old lady at the reception giving me a strange look. Wait, I think she said she didn't even remember this book being in the library. But, there was a protocol for this type of stuff, so she plastered some temporary barcode on the back and let me take it.
It was already pretty late, so I picked up some pizza on my way home, and decided to start reading right after dinner.
'I remember sitting on the sofa, ready to open the book. But why can't I remember anything else?'
I tried my best to recall anything else, but it was as if my memories were cut off right at that moment.
I felt the cold sweat at the back of my neck. Why? Why couldn't I remember?
No, there had to be something. For some reason, I felt like there was something I'm missing.
Trying to remember again, I suddenly felt the same strange, indescribable feeling that I felt right as I was about to open the pitch-black book.
Gathering every shred of will I had left, I tried my best to focus on that feeling.
And the moment I finally grasped that feeling, suddenly, translucent symbols and words suddenly covered my vision.
[Name]Sebastian (Ǎ̸ͅḷ̷̆ê̴͕̳x̷͎̪̎ ̵̭͗͐S̸̞̒̉m̴̝̙̈͠i̶̟͖͐t̷͔̣͗̌h̷̝͘͝)