"No …no ...NO!!!."
Screaming at the top of his lungs August found himself in quite a perilous situation. Catching his ragged breath midair, he realized that he was …falling?
Which literally made no sense. He remembered standing on a stable surface just a while ago.
'Ground, for god's sake. I was standing on the ground!!'
Indeed, though his present self might disagree. He would've liked to recall something more but it seemed his memory was a bit hazy.
'What else might I have forgotten?'
That was something only a fool would think in this situation. However, August was no fool. To absolutely no one's surprise, he was a moron.
Wise men do not judge someone based on their noble birth or appearances. But foolish men could be found easily— the ones doing the exact opposite in the situations of great importance.
As foggy as his memories were right now, instead of figuring out a way to safely land on the ground he thought of doing something unique.
"Let's see," he placed a finger on his chin. "My name is Augustus. My father is Valerius and mother's name is Sophia. How many siblings do I have?"
Looking at the sky above he nodded, "Oh.. right I am an only child."
It doesn't matter whatever happens, at least he remembered himself.
"Now!" Turning his gaze towards the ground. "Let me guess uh… there."
Down below, moonlight fell on the dense forest. Thick canopies of tall trees were to be seen in the darkness.
"Wait a minute," he thought, diverting his mind away from screaming. "Am I going to land on tree branches?"
Indeed. Though he was quite fed up with the forest itself, he realized it would be difficult to avoid it now.
'So much for going on an adventure'
The air felt cold over his loose clothing. The sharp wind felt like a thousand blades threatening to bruise him.
With the nearing surface, the seriousness in his mood increased gradually.
Keeping his eyes open against the cruel wind wasn't easy but he managed it somehow. Hurriedly, his gaze fell in all directions—searching for anything that could promise him survival.
Faraway at a distance, something caught his attention. The tiny dot of light seemed like a human settlement perhaps? No that wasn't it.
He focused his gaze forcibly trying to make out whatever it was shining in the middle of a forest.
To his surprise, he did find a proper explanation. It seemed like a surface reflecting the brilliant moonlight back.
"Ah.." he sighed, dejected. "It might be a lake."
A lake or a pond could help him survive in this forest. For that, however, he had to land on the ground …alive.
There was no way he would have his limbs intact—that was, if he managed to survive.
"No!!" He screamed once again. "Not my hands and feet. I have yet to master the way of the sword."
Obviously, he was a child of ambition. Aside from crying all of his miserable life, if he had done something else, it was dreaming.
Dreams with open eyes by the way, fate didn't bless him with pleasant visions in his sleep.
That was another thing he had to deal with.
Lost in his thoughts, he might have forgotten that he was falling down but fate never forgets. Nor does it allow anyone else to do so.
Although he couldn't remember details, it felt strange to blame someone else for his fall.
'Wait a minute!'
He creased his brows, "Is it my own fault?"
Sighing with a heavy heart, August felt as if it would be better if he was a mage like the others. Perhaps then, he would not be having this much difficult time.
A mage could simply craft spells and make himself land on the ground smoothly, but he wasn't going to envy them now.
There was no use.
What could a dead man possibly achieve by being jealous of others? A corpse should not have any right to complain should he?
Therefore, pushing all the worries aside he closed his eyes.
Even if he hadn't believed in the existence of gods in his whole life. For some reason, this felt like the right time to change his opinion.
Joining his hands in order to pray for himself, shortly realising that he doesn't know any prayers.
"Oh God!"
Only if he hadn't ignored the faith in god for his precious books.
'Not like it matters anyway'
For some reason, his fall seemed dramatically stretched. He should have kissed the surface already by now. Even so, he wasn't going to complain.
'What if I hit the ground breaking all my bones? And no one would help me. Makes sense. I am in the middle of nowhere after all.'
He imagined himself dragging his mangled body around while searching for food.
'Then people will think of me as a beggar and I'll make money without having to work.'
It wasn't that he lacked anything in his normal life. Quite the contrary actually.
With the chilling breeze he was able to hear rustling noises from down below. Which obviously belonged to thick canopies of the forest. Meaning, he could hit the surface any moment now.
The inevitable panic resurfaced.
Gritting his teeth, August braced himself for the impact. The fact that he would fall through the tree branches before touching the ground made him shiver, as if the cold breeze wasn't already playing its part.
Suddenly, something caught his attention. As if he saw a flash of light through dense trees.
The vision he saw was a faint pale light in the same direction as before. Only this time, the light felt as if—
"AaaaHhh" as soon as he felt the hard branches of trees poking and scratching himself. August couldn't help but scream.
His cry felt like he was about to get executed.
The leaves of the tall trees felt like razors on his skin. Thin wooden branches poked him at different places. Fortunately, he never felt the thick hard branches in his way. Otherwise, he would've been severely injured by now.
His fall in the sky had been seamless but it felt slow. And for some reason, it seemed faster going through the trees, in comparison. Perhaps, the universe desired him to be dead.
Suddenly, his descent came to a halt, that too before touching the ground.
In the darkness he could feel bound by thick rope-like strings.
'Did I fall into a trap?'
There were many creatures known to conjure webs in order to trap their prey. In the dark, August couldn't think of anything else but that.
'Wait! Am I even alive?'
He struggled to break himself free. It might be bad if any creature caught his trail right now. August neither had his sword on him nor was he in a condition to battle.
As if giving shape to his fears, a loud roar resounded from the depths of the forest. Whatever it was, the creature didn't seem friendly. And night time happens to be the hunting time.
He had to free himself before danger could find him.
— — — — —