Throne of Memories

Apparently, my most recent memories come from a place called Earth. Which would explain why it’s easier for me to remember things related to that world...

World...? Yes, it really was another world. I’m sure of it. A place where magic didn’t exist, and instead, technology reigned supreme.

Maybe that’s why I found all the objects in this room so fascinating. Without even thinking, I had already stashed everything inside Atra. So far, I’ve only verified that the ring itself works. As for the rest, I’m trusting what was written on the plaques beside each pedestal. And for some reason, I don’t doubt that what they said is true.

"But… is that really okay? I mean, taking the clothes makes sense, but the rest… isn’t that just stealing? No! Every single inscription said it was for 'Zendal'. My name is Zendal, and the figure on the wall looks exactly like me. That’ll be my excu... er, explanation!" I said with confidence, trying to justify myself. "But seriously, I only took them because they were sitting right outside my 'room'. Any misunderstanding isn’t entirely my fault, right?"

Speaking of fascinating things, I also can’t forget the sphere of light that now hovered around me. When I tried setting it down on the pedestal with the clothes so I could change, it floated right back toward me. It nearly gave me a heart attack...

"What am I supposed to do with you? Something inside me says you're important, so I'd rather not leave you out in the open. Who knows what public order is like around here... Are you listening? I'm talking about you!"

Maybe because I hadn't had any company for who knows how long, I ended up scolding the floating sphere as it hovered along without a care in the world. But when I raised my index finger to point to it, a sudden sensation stopped me in my tracks.

Instead of having the answer at the tip of my tongue, I felt like it was right there at the tip of my finger. On impulse, I lowered it and drew an imaginary line in the air. I froze in place when I realized it wasn’t entirely imaginary.

The air in front of me was shimmering. The best comparison I could think of was the kind of visual distortion you see above a flame.

In my mind, I wanted to back away as quickly as possible from whatever I had just created. But instead, my instincts took over and pulled me toward the trembling line right in front of me.

"I have no idea what I’m doing..." I muttered as I brought my hands around the strange vibration, trying to grasp it with my fingers.

And just like that, as if pulling open a curtain, I parted the area in front of me, creating an opening about a meter wide where there had previously been only air.

An opening to where? That was the question, and I had no answer. It felt like looking into outer space through a window. Within the endless darkness were countless lights of different colors and sizes.

That’s when the sphere smacked into my chin, trying to push through. I held my face in pain, but looked up just in time to see the opening close with the sphere inside.

"Wait! ...Wait?" It didn’t take long to realize I hadn’t actually lost anything.

I raised my hand, and a small rift opened above it. From within, the sphere slowly descended and settled gently into my palm. Then I focused on the thought of storing it, and immediately the rift opened again. The sphere floated upward and vanished inside.

"It's like the ring, but infinitely stranger… It seems I need to know what's inside to pull it out. Or maybe it’s because I have some connection to the sphere. After all, I brought it with me from that dream."

My gaze fell on Atra, still on my index finger.

"Assuming... really assuming that I’m the Zendal mentioned in the inscriptions, maybe the one who gave me this ring (the Supreme Arcane Authority?) knew I’d lose my memory and made this to help me recall the feeling of opening that rift in the air... It’s not exactly the same, but when casting Shadow Vault, it does feel somewhat similar."

In any case, until I can study that strange space properly, I’ll stick to using Atra. Who knows what might come through if I keep opening that rift too often… Still, for some reason, I feel like the sphere is safe in there.

With the issue of where to keep it resolved (at least for now) I turned toward the massive double doors.

I was still hoping to find someone I could ask about my situation. Preferably someone who wouldn’t try to confiscate my newly acquired collection of so-called magical items. That would be pretty depressing.

"But... Zendal di Ameritia. So 'Ameritia' was my last name... I mean, the emperor's."

According to the inscriptions, when the empire, known as the Ameritia Empire, ended up ruling the entire known world, people eventually shortened the name to simply Ameritia.

"Wasn’t that kind of embarrassing for the emperor? I mean, what if his last name had been Smith? Would we all be living in Smith right now...?"

***

The structure had changed, and it no longer resembled the chamber where I had first awakened. Now the walls were white and smooth, and they were lit by torches with a fire that looked more normal, even cheerful. By “more normal,” I mean it still didn’t seem like natural fire. Its glow resembled sunlight in a strange, artificial way.

"If I had run into someone who wanted to ask for everything I just ‘borrowed,’ that would’ve been disappointing, to say the least... But not finding anyone at all also has its own kind of disappointment."

Indeed, the wide, towering, seemingly endless corridors I had been walking through for quite some time were completely deserted. Still, it didn’t seem like the place had been abandoned. There wasn’t a speck of dust anywhere, no insects, not even a trace of cobwebs.

Every now and then, I tried to open one of the many heavy carved wooden doors, but most were locked. The ones I could open didn’t lead to any inhabited space either. All I found were massive, empty rooms.

Time passed like that, until eventually my aimless wandering brought me to a corridor that was truly enormous. In the distance, I could see the largest doors I had encountered so far.

Given the circumstances, the whole idea of “staying unnoticed until I understand my situation” had lost all meaning. Determined to find someone, anyone, I headed toward the doors with purpose. Though to be honest I doubted I’d be able to open them by myself.

After some effort pushing, the colossal wooden structure finally gave way and allowed me to pass through into a chamber that left me speechless.

I couldn't say for sure if it was larger than the vaulted chamber with the artificial lagoon where I’d first woken up. It was definitely longer, and lined on both sides with rows of pillars so massive they looked like they could hold up the sky itself. But what truly caught my attention were the stairs at the far end of the hall, or rather, the throne they led to.

"Am I in a castle? A palace? Well, if the inscriptions were messages from kings to an emperor, it wouldn’t be surprising to find them in a palace. Still, I was expecting something more like a mausoleum. The zombie theory is starting to fall apart... Not that I’m complaining. I don’t like zombies anyway."

The throne was as massive as everything else I had encountered in this place, and before I realized it, my steps were already carrying me toward it. The distance was considerable, so it took me a while to reach the base of the staircase and begin climbing.

"But it really is huge. You could probably fit two or three people across the seat. If someone sat in the middle, the armrests would just become decorations. Or maybe... were they meant to be decorative from the start?"

Once I reached the top of the platform, I stepped closer to take a better look. I couldn’t tell if it was made of gold, but the metal seemed to shine on its own. The only thing I was sure of was the strange feeling that the throne was calling to me.

"Everything in this place is enormous and strange... There really is no one around, is there?"

My curiosity got the better of me, so I looked to both sides to make sure no one was watching who might come scolding me later.

"Ironically, what I want most is to find someone," I said as I sat on the cushions of the throne, whose comfort was worlds apart from the stone bed where I had first woken up.

"Now I really do feel like the Zendal from the inscriptions... mm?"

The moment I leaned back into the throne, my vision blurred. I rubbed my eyes, thinking maybe I still wasn’t fully awake despite how much time had passed, but when I opened them again, I was left speechless.

The massive throne hall was now bathed in true sunlight pouring in through towering windows near the ceiling, whose curtains I could have sworn had been closed when I first entered.

But more importantly...

Not only humans, but also elves, dwarves, and other races I didn’t recognize from my memories of that world called Earth had appeared at my feet, all smiling at me.

As I sat frozen, wondering how to apologize and get out of there, they all began to kneel.

I looked around, but there was no one else. I was the only one on the platform. So my bewildered gaze turned back to the crowd before me.

My eyes stopped on a small group kneeling a little closer than the rest. Among them was a girl dressed in robes and a pointed hat. Her entire outfit was an elegant shade of burgundy, decorated with delicate silver embroidery.

She stood out to me because she was human, but her hair was violet like flower petals. It seems that when I’m nervous, I start noticing every detail... maybe because I was subconsciously looking for an escape route?

Noticing my gaze, the girl blinked in surprise, but quickly recovered and stuck her tongue out at me with a mischievous smile, then winked one of her dazzling emerald eyes.

At that moment, my vision blurred once more. When I rubbed my eyes and opened them again, everything was gone. Even the curtains were as tightly closed as I remembered.

"This can only mean one thing," I muttered as I leaned back on the throne with a tired sigh. "I'm having hallucinations..."