Chapter Word Count: 1,070||Story Word Count: 4,275||Chapter Count: 4/12
The light is all that I can see at first. With the nudging of the wind I keep going. I try to take my time, because I don't want to end up falling and hurting myself. The farther along that I go, the more certain I am that won't happen.
That doesn't mean I start running, though. The farther forward I go, the more I can see that isn't light, and that helps me get adjusted more.
I don't know how far I've gone before I hear a voice that sounds so much like the one that spoke my name.
"Welcome, Izumi."
It sounds like a woman's voice. Not that I am certain of the differences, but that's what it sounds like to me.
"Who are you? Where are you?" I look around; this person has to be somewhere, don't they?
I can feel them looking at me. But I still can't see them and I don't know if it's because of all the light or they're just hiding from me.
I hope it's the light. I don't like the idea of being talked to by someone that I can't see, who thinks it's fun to hide when I already can't see much.
"Look up."
I do. I can't see very well; there's still too much light. But the harder that I look, the more I can see a sort of a shape. It isn't one that I remember – of course it isn't – but I can figure out that it looks kind of like a human in armor. I can't see much more than that.
But I can tell this is who is talking to me. When they speak again, the voice just kind of seems to come from up there. It's probably in the top five list of weird things that have happened to me.
That I can remember.
"Who are you?" Now that I can see them, I want a name. I want to know who they are and what they want from me. Because they have to want something, why else would I be called here? "Did you send the wind for me?" Then I stop. Something else occurs to me. "Did you take my memories?"
"I am Ophanimon. I did send the wind for you, but I did not take your memories. That is a side effect I could not control. Anyone who enters this land loses their memories until they can win them back."
Oh. I can't say why I believe Ophanimon, but I do. It doesn't make me any happier to know any of this.
"How do I win them back?" Because I want to so much. I have to know who I am and what is going on. I won't be me without that, and I want to be me.
"Each method is different for everyone. All that I can tell you is that the wind is your friend and ally, the only one that you can truly count on here. You may meet others who will help or hinder, but you can always trust the wind."
Which still doesn't tell me everything I want to know, but it's a beginning.
"What do I have to do?" I have a feeling I will involve breaking that crystal and releasing Ophanimon from it. I can't imagine anyone would want to stay in a place like that. And I don't object to doing it.
"I must be released from this prison. The only tool that can do that can be found far from here. The wind will guide you to it. Only someone like you can bring it back here and free me. Will you help me?"
I wish that I knew what to say that wasn't just 'yes'. Because of being called here, my memories are gone. The only way to get them back is to do what Ophanimon wants me to do. For someone that I don't know.
For all I know, Ophanimon could be some sort of demon that was locked up in here on purpose to protect the world.
And I can't turn down this order.
If I destroy the world, I'm not taking the blame for it.
"I will." What else can I possibly say? I'm tired from all the walking. I'm still cold from the snow. The little time I've spent inside hasn't done much to warm me up.
Also, my shoulders feel strange. More so than any other part of me. I just really started to notice. They kind of feel like something is hanging on them, and it just is strange.
"Thank you, Izumi. Above and beyond the restoration of your memory, I will reward you when you return and free me."
The wind tugs on me again and I guess the interview – if that's what you'd call it – is over. I follow the wind until I'm somewhere else and it takes me a few moments to recognize what I'm seeing.
It's a bedroom. I guess that means I don't have to jump out and start on this quest right away. I'm good with that. The bed looks soft and welcoming, and I can smell food coming from somewhere. There's another door across from where I came in, and when I peek that way, there's a bathroom.
I hurry right over there. I want to eat and sleep but the moment it dawns on me what a bathroom has in it, there's something I want even more.
The strange feeling on my shoulders doesn't stop as I start to get ready for the hot bath that's waiting in the bathroom. In fact, it kind of gets stranger as I wriggle out of my clothes.
My fingers brush against skin, nothing out of the ordinary about that. But then they touch on something else, and I stop where I am.
Bathrooms have something else, don't they? Well, they don't have to. But I think I remember seeing one in most bathrooms.
The mirror spreads across one wall, as flawless as if it were made out of silver or diamonds. I can see myself for the first time. I was right about being blond – which doesn't surprise me, I can see my own hair – but now I see I have purple eyes, which match some of my clothes.
But rising up behind me are two things that I missed entirely, until their weight made themselves known.
"I have wings..."
To Be Continued
Notes: I said it was an AU. That hasn't changed.
