5. Forward

…Prove your worth

Hone your Body…

…And sharpen your Mind.

You shall be judged…

…When the flower bloomed three times.

Remember the Past, do live in the present, to prepare for the Future.

To solve a puzzle…

…Start by gathering the pieces.

***

‘CLACK’

I heard a noise coming from above me. I looked up and saw a dim light coming from a small circular hole separated by a transparent layer, brightening this room.

*Where am I?* I thought. Moments ago, this room was a pitch black room with a white circle and weird objects around it… Well apparently not now. What I’ve seen now is a large open cabinet and a door beside in front of me, and I am sitting in the dirt… This room has no proper floor. The walls are made of reddish bricks. One thing I noticed is that this room is dirty. There’s dust everywhere.

I get up and wipe away the dust in my cloth. The pain on my left foot is not as intense as when I entered the room. I can now place my both feet on the floor, but I still can’t walk normally. I looked at the wound cloth… It looks bloody.

This seems to be some kind of a storage room, but it’s dirty. There’s dust everywhere, and the cabinet only has one box containing some metallic scraps.

*I have no use of these scraps.* I thought as I remembered that Regan was waiting for me outside.

As I left the room and walked to the exit on the corridor, I pondered what really happened when I was inside the room. I felt I was sucked into somewhere unknown. Was it a dream? Probably. Was it real? Not sure, but it seemed so. It’s pitch black everywhere, but I didn’t know if I was actually looking at black, or I closed my eyes at that time… Bizarre, I can’t feel anything, I can’t smell, hear, or even speak.

Do I even have eyes?

All I know is I am talking to myself, in my head. But was it my head?

Do I even have a head?

…

Forget about it. There is too much bizarre stuff going on ever since I was here.

Jevannah said I could meet my Spirit there, and find my purpose, but even after that, I still did not see a Spirit… And I have no idea what to do next.

What is my future here exactly?

***

Regan: “There you are.”

Regan greeted me as I opened the door to the outside.

Me: “Sorry to keep you waiting..”

Regan: “Not at all. In fact, you’ve got out of that really fast.”

Me: “Really? I thought I was there for quite some time..”

Regan: “I don’t know why that guy wants you to get in that filthy storage room. So, what did you do there?”

Me: “Uh, I was sitting in that room… It was pitch black, and then my mind went blank, I think..”

Regan: “Pitch black? Huh, probably the light pipe didn’t work, and actually, why do you sound coarse?”

Coarse? Now that I think about it, my throat feels dry, and my body feels rather lack of energy. I touched my neck to examine…

Regan: “You must be thirsty. When did you last drink?”

Me: “...Drink? I haven’t drank yet..”

Regan: “Right… How about I take you to the bar?”

Me: “Bar..? What is that..?”

Regan: “You’ve never heard of a bar before? Holy stones! I can’t believe it. It’s where we ‘drink’, alright?”

Me: “And it will help me clear my, dryness..?”

Regan: “YES. Jevannah wasn't kidding when they said you’re as pure as ever.”

Me: “Really? Then let’s get there..!”

As I walked towards Regan’s back to have them carry on my back again, Regan turned back, seemingly looking confused.

Regan: “...What are you doing?”

Me: “I thought you ought to carry me on your back..?”

Regan: “About that… Actually, why don’t we just walk this time? You can walk, right?”

Me: “Eh? Yeah I can walk.. but-”

Regan: “T, then, let’s go, shall we?”

Regan turns back again, scratching their face with their finger, then walks away.

What is that strange change of behavior, anyway?

***

While we headed to the bar, we talked a little about the history of this city.

This city, I mean the firestone, was discovered by a fabled chimera rider named Masan with their pet animal Phantos. Masa- and Phantos, two names make Masapas, for their strong partnership.

It is said that Masan, in their last days, fed their pet Phantos with a shiny block. Phantos was a small scaly four legged animal who is slow, and had a bad temperament, but Masan loved Phantos dearly, so when Phantos ate that block, its body grows enormously into giant, and all of their legs changed its shape into a golden wing, carrying Masan into wherever Masan wants as time allows.

Masan and Phantos discovered several giant firestones across the sector, before finally settling here, where Masan died peacefully. And Phantos? Without their life partner, Phantos wings gradually lose its golden color, and when their wings turn dark black, Phantos flies away to the endless darkness, never to be seen again.

The end of the story is kind of sad though.

Me: “So, Masan can fly around the world, but you guys don’t..?”

Regan: “ *sigh* You’re asking too much… Chimera are very rare nowadays, heck I’ve never seen one either. I heard only the snobbish can have it. Even with that, nobody ever heard of them making a scene.”

Me: “Is that so..?”

Regan: “The city was found a long, long time ago. I can bet chimeras like that don’t exist anymore.”

Me: “Such a great animal… Isn’t that helpful..? Imagine you can fly from place to place without needing to deal with nasty black goos on the floor..”

Regan: “Let’s just say that some people ‘really’ don’t want other people to rise higher than themselves.”

I don’t quite see the problem with Regan's previous remark. These people could just fly together rather than damning those who fly. What causes such people to act this way?

Oh well, we are strange beings after all.

***

Regan: “This is the BAR, Baldy.” Regan said that while pointing at the door aggressively.

Not far from the tall building I’ve just left stands a single maroon brick building with a carving that looks like a mug. There is a chimney above this building. Its poofing up grey smokes. Right across this chimney, I saw some kind of large vine laying in the sky. The bottom part looks greenish, and its color gradually changes into brown the higher up it goes. It went so high I couldn’t see where it ended.

The moment I entered the BAR, the scent of sweet and fruity aroma hit my right nostril. *What a wonderful smell* I thought.

Inside the BAR, I saw lines of red stools with torn cushions and a handful of large transparent glass tubes, separated by a brown counter. The lighting of the BAR is rather dim, maybe too dim to actually look anything in detail. I can see three people sitting on the stool. There’s two people at the very back end, and… Oskar in the middle. Oskar seems to be focused on drinking, while two men over there are talking to each other.

We then take a seat beside Oskar on the left side. Moments later, a big burly, bald man approaches us.

Burly Man: “Welcome to Masapas’ Desperates! What can I do for- Huh?”

The burly man looked at me intensely… That man is Huge! Its arms are twice larger than mine, and the man’s face? Scary as ever. Body and personality combined, the man would crush my bones if I ever get to their bad side.

Burly Man: “You must be new here… Holy stones!”

When the man said that, their expression changed drastically, like the man was happy to see me perhaps?

Burly Man: “It’s been a while since I saw someone new here. My name is Fervil, the juicemaker, and the owner of this bar. Since this is your first time, your first drink is on me!”

Wow, a free drink? This burly man is actually quite nice, huh?

Fervil then turned around and began to pour a drink into a mug. In front of me are five large glass tubes, but only two of them are filled with liquid. The liquid inside looks to be clear, and foamy. The first tube has liquid that is filled only half and it has a lot of foam, while the second tube has liquid filled to the brim, but only has a few foams. Fervil gave me the drink with less foam. I wonder what’s actually the difference.

Fervil: “Here you go, new Man!”

A free drink is in front of me! As I was about to gulp the mug about the size of my hand, Oskar interrupted me.

Oskar: “...Don’t trust the man… You’ll regret it.”

Me: “But, the drink’s free.. Free is good..”

Oskar: “...Do as you like.”

Me: “Uh? What’s wrong with free drink..?”

Oskar proceeded to ignore me. Did I do something wrong here?

I mean, what's wrong with getting something for free? I get what I want without needing to trade or barter anything with it, and it’s not like I would be doing this every time, right? Free is good, regardless of place and time…

And that’s where I bit my tongue.

As the juice made contact with my tongue, I felt burning sensations, as if there’s numerous little Undeaths with scythes at both arms piercing my tongue, plus it tasted bitter!

Me: “...Ugh!!”

Regan: “Hey, are you okay? Here's an empty mug, just throw up in here!”

My body however, really need these extra liquids to nourish itself. Ugh, What to do?

I heard laughter at the other side… and I’m the main topic…

Bar Patron A: “HAHAHA, look at that man, look at what you did, Bosso!”

Bar Patron B: “Bosso, you need to stop your pranks to the newbies, BWAHAHA!”

The evil liquid is still dancing around in my mouth. I really don’t want to drink this, but if I throw up, they will laugh at me even more! But suddenly, I heard a loud bang noise on the counter.

Fervil: “SAY THAT AGAIN, YOU TWO! OR SHOULD I DO PRANKS ON MY CUSTOMERS WHO KEPT TABS FOR MORE THAN 3 VINES?”

Bar Patron A & B: “Eeeek, no!”

Bar Patron A: “We’re sorry, we’ll do better next time!”

The two of them immediately scram to the exit.

Meanwhile, the shock causes my tongue to involuntarily kick the entire liquid on my mouth straight into my stomach rapidly. To avoid getting choked, I punched my chest multiple times.

I can’t believe I chugged them all. Despite its nasty entrance, I feel my ‘dryness’ gradually dissipates. What wonders, this liquid works.

Regan: “Are you okay? You know you can just drink mine. It’s not as nasty as yours.”

Me: “Huh? What’s the difference?”

Regan: “Mine’s has less foam, it’s not as awful compared to yours, and it’s sweeter.”

Me: “Is that so?”

I checked on Oskar’s mug, and it was the same as Regan. I bet the other patrons who just left drank the same thing, except mine. Why would Fervil gave me this drink? Maybe I should ask to switch to another drink. The other patrons seem to call Fervil Bossa. I should try that too.

Me: “Fer-, I mean Bossa-”

Fervil: “Fervil’s fine. You’re not here long enough, and you’re not that lowly to get a job from me. What do you want to talk about?

Me: “Uh, can I switch to that drink over there?” I pointed out that glass tube with less foams.

Fervil: “Can’t do that here. You gotta finish your own drink, and you gotta pay for the next drink.”

Can’t switch drinks, huh? How do I pay though when I have nothing?

Me: “I can’t pay you though.”

Fervil: “It’s okay. It is why I make it free for newcomers here.”

Me: “Can you explain why you did this?”

Fervil expression suddenly changed back to the scary face. I might have chosen a wrong question. That didn’t stop me from thinking why Fervil do such thing as giving awful drinks for new people.

Fervil: “You don’t like the drink? That’s fine. People gonna learn that free is not always good for them, but not me. I made it this way to give people a kick.”

Me: “A kick?”

Fervil: “That’s right! The newcomers I got here always felt like they lost their precious things or something. Fine drinks won’t help them. Gotta make them realize they are lucky to be alive.”

I think Fervil is talking about the rescued people. Was all the rescued people have cases like I’ve seen at the city outskirts?

Me: “About the newcomers, these are people that got rescued, right?”

Fervil: “Not everyone, but you are right. 9 out of 10 it’s people that got rescued from the dark hell outside.”

Me: “I was rescued just a while ago. Am I the same as them?”

Fervil: “Well, as far as I can tell, you are way too different than those guys. It’s been so long since I chatted this long for newcomers. Who would’ve thought that Jevannah got an actual diamond.”

Regan: “ *chuckes* It’s far from diamond though.”

Thankfully, Fervil’s scary face is gone… for now.

Fervil: “By the way, what’s your name?”

Me: “I’m Baldy.”

Oh crap, wait, why would I use Baldy as my name? Isn’t my name supposed to be Ann? How could I forget such an important name?

Fervil: “Ah, Baldy huh? That totally fits you. You know what? If you finish your drink, you get the same exact drink again, for free!”

Me: “I think I’m good…”

Fervil’s nice side is also quite dangerous.

Still, a kick huh? Perhaps I also need a kick in life. A kick to finally realize what I need to do with my life. I chugged the rest of the liquid, and appreciated its burning sensation and its bitter taste, for giving me a new perspective in life.

Just as I was about to finish my drink, someone came at the door. A silhouette, with a cloak. That must be…

Fervil: “Speak of the devil.”