My vision was still blurred, but the room had only one small light above me, which was a lantern that hung from the roof by a rope. The walls were made of simple wood, and a window was on the wall nearest to me. Outside, it was still dark, and tiny lights flickered in the sky. The room was quite bare, with only the thing I lay on and a small wooden structure that was next to me.
My body sank deep into the soft thing below me, and my hands dug into the comfortable material. On top of me was a fur covering; it kept me quite warm. Across the room from me was a closed wooden door; it was the only exit from the small room, other than the window, of course. I trace my hands against my skin, realizing that it must have been quite a while since my wounds were now completely gone. Strangely, on top of where my wounds used to be were white bands that were slightly burnt. But even more strange than that was that my body was no longer bare.
Pushing myself up and flinging my legs over the edge of the comfortable thing, I threw off the fur covering and stretched out my hands to look at my body. On me were some simple pieces of linen, shaped to fit my body; they were loose on my skin, drooped slightly, yet were comfortable. The lower piece was quite short, extending down to just above my knees, and the top part covered my torso and extended slightly down my arms.
Pinching the pieces of linen, they were surprisingly durable and soft, the only rough part being the seams, which had tiny threads running through them. Raising my hands to my head, I let out a loud breath. Putting my feet on the hard floor, a cold shock shot up my legs for a moment before I adjusted to the sensation. The floor was made out of a slightly darker wood than the walls. Taking a few steps, my vision blurred, and my legs trembled. Holding onto a nearby wooden box, my body took a few moments to settle. With a slow step, I approached the room's only window. What I saw through it shocked me.
An amazing sight startled me: a stone path lined with dozens of wooden houses. On that path were large pieces of wood standing about three meters high; on each was a lantern that glowed orange, illuminating the area beneath it. The path curved, and the window that I looked out of did not allow me to see farther along it. Taking in the amazing view, I heard a loud noise come from the other side of the door.
Quickly turning, my hand turned into red slime and formed a sharp spike. Preparing to attack, the door opened slightly, revealing a young woman. Taking her in for a moment, I quickly realized that I had seen her during the fight with the bear; she was one of the archers! Before she saw me, my hand reverted to normal. When our eyes met, she gaped at me.
"You're awake!" She yelled at me
She rushed over to me quickly, placing a wooden bowl on a nearby wooden box. She held onto my shoulders and directed me back onto the soft thing.
"You shouldn't be moving around. Stay in bed; you need rest."
So this is a bed... While sitting on it, my legs dangled over the side. The woman held my arm, looking it up and down, then doing the same with my other one. Next, she moved to my legs, examining them as well. Slowly, she removed the bandages, her eyes widening in surprise as below them revealed my normal skin.
She hesitated for a moment before begging to talk.
"What is your name?"
"My name..." looking at the blank section of my Demon System, I answered.
"I'm not sure."
"That's okay... Can you tell me your age and where your parents are?" She asked.
Age, my age—should I tell her the truth? Would she believe me if I said I was just a few days old, maybe a week, and parents? What are parents? Being silent for a moment, I finally responded.
"I don't know how old I am... And what are parents?"
She looked at me. And then smiled. About to open her mouth, a loud knock interrupted her. Looking at the door, the sound of running could be heard on the other side.
"Just give me a second, ok? I'll be right back."
She quickly exited the room, closing the door behind her and leaving me alone once again.
Outside the room, the woman walked quickly down a hallway which was lined with lanterns. At the end, she entered another room, one filled with multiple people. The room looked similar to the first, but on the bed was a man surrounded by people. On top of him was an older woman who held pressure on a wound that bled profusely. He was missing an entire arm and had many terrible wounds across his body. He had been bandaged up to the best of their abilities, but the white bandages were dyed a crimson red, blood dripping from them forming pools of blood below.
"His wounds opened up again! "Someone come put pressure on this while I cast a healing spell." The older woman shouted.
Quickly, one of the other people in the room took her spot, holding down on the man's wound. The older woman stood back, raising both hands to the man and closing her eyes. For a moment, she stood silent before beginning to speak.
Oh, holy Mother, hear my prayer. Threads of life, knit and bind, restore this child of yours.
As she finished the chant, a blinding glow appeared on her hands, a long thread of golden light begging to emerge from her palms. The thread moved towards the man; as it reached him, the thread instinctively targeted his wounds, begging to make his body glow. When they reached the wounds, the threads entered the man's body and began to stitch them up. Golden wire closed his skin, reducing the small wounds to mere scars while only slightly closing the larger ones. After a moment, the light dissipated, and the woman let out a tired breath, holding onto a nearby person who held some fresh bandages.
"He'll be fine for now, but change his bandages and keep an eye on him... If anything abnormal happens, find me immediately; I can't lose anyone else tonight..." She directed this towards the people who stood around the man. They all nodded and started to work to clean and change his bandages.
She began to walk towards the room, but as she did, she was interrupted.
"My lady... I have urgent news about the conditions of that young girl that we recovered," the lady who examined me said.
"Is that so? Let's hear it." The older woman replied.
"She's awake, but she does not remember anything, not her name, age, or even her parents... But that's not the strangest thing; her wounds are completely healed."
"Awake? And what do you mean her wounds are completely healed? I treated her myself, and I saw the severity of those wounds!"
"Lady Liora, I do not lie; she is in the other room. Go and see for yourself."
"Fine."
Liora stormed out of the room, quickly making her way down the hallway, the younger woman following close behind her. As they reached my room, Liora entered, opening the door slowly. Sitting on the bed, I had put the fur cover back over me, and my eyes were focused on the window. As Liora and the other woman entered the room, my crimson eyes snapped towards them.
When our eyes met, Liora was shocked.
"You truly are awake..." She whispered out loud.
Slowly, she approached me, sitting down on the edge of the bed. Smiling, she spoke.
"Hi there, I'm Liora. I'm the head healer in this small town, and this woman here is Kayla. She's an apprentice of mine."
Kayla waved at me, a small smile on her face.
"I heard that you can't seem to remember anything. Is that true?"
My heart raced as she asked me the question. It's not like I don't remember; it's just that there is nothing for me to remember! What should I tell her? Can she be trusted? Will she hurt me if she finds out that I'm a demon? Okay... It's better to play along for now. Slowly, I nodded my head.
"I see... well, you're safe now, now no monster or demon can hurt you here," Liora said.
Looking at her, a warmth filled my heart, and visions of the monsters that I had encountered so far flashed through my mind, as did the pain I had experienced and the people I had lost. Tears built up at the sides of my eyes, but quickly I turned away and held them back.
She paused for a moment and then spoke again.
"Can I see your wounds?" she asked politely.
Nodding, she looked at my legs, seeing that truly my wounds had disappeared, moving up to my arms, she examined them as well. While looking over them, she began to speak.
"Do you remember anything about how you got here?" She asked
Looking at her, I thought about the question.
"No... the last thing I remember is that monster..."
She sighed for a moment, letting go of my arm as she finished examining it.
"I understand, well, if there is anything you need, ask any of the people in this building, and if you remember anything, make sure to let someone know, ok?"
Nodding, the two women left, telling me to get some rest. Watching the door close behind them, I lay down on the bed, looking up at the roof. Dwelling there for a few moments, tears began to flow freely down my face as the reality of the situation finally hit me. I was safe.
Looking around the room, I decided to lie down on the soft bed and take advantage of the amazing feeling. My body had never felt this good, having been used to lying on hard rock or in puddles of blood. This was a nice change of pace.
Staring up at the flickering flame in the lantern, time seemed to fly by. To my surprise, a ray of light breached the window, illuminating the room even more. Looking at the light, my legs moved on their own, bringing me back to the window. Looking out, the view was so different from what it looked like at night. The road was bustling, filled with so many unique people; people smiled, people cried, and people laughed. It was truly a beautiful sight. On the path, the lanterns that lit it at night had been extinguished, relying on the giant ball in the sky to brighten the world.
My head turned suddenly as the door swung open, and a man whom I had never seen entered, carrying a bowl with something inside it. He smiled at me and approached, scooping up the bowl that Kayla had left on the wooden box earlier.
"Are you hungry?" He asked while holding out the bowl.
My stomach rumbled as the aroma filled my nose. Inside the bowl were small white things that surrounded what looked like meat. Slowly, I took the bowl.
"What is it?" I asked.
"It's rice and cooked chicken," the man explained, while holding a small wooden tool.
"What's that?" I said while pointing at the tool.
His eyes widened for a moment before softening.
"This is a spoon, this is what you use to eat this with," he demonstrated by scooping up some of the rice before dropping it back into the bowl.
Nodding, I quickly grabbed the spoon and dived into the food. It was delicious, crisp, and filling. Each bite tasted like heaven. The man smiled at me as he watched me devour the food in the bowl.
"Was that good?" he asked.
"Yes!" I nodded frantically.
"I could tell!" He laughed,
Grabbing the empty bowl, he set it aside.
"I'm Gabe, another apprentice of Liora. I heard that you lost your memory, and I was wondering if you had remembered anything."
Looking at the man, my head drooped, and I shook it slowly.
"I see, well that's okay! Do you have any questions? I will try to answer them to the best of my ability."
Thinking for a moment, one question came to mind.
"What is this place?" I asked.
The man looked at me for a moment before responding.
"You're in the medical centre right now... But our town is known as Lumere."