I groan and wake up, rubbing my head. Where am I? Why am I in the middle of plain land? Is there something covering my eye? I feel my head again, and find that half my face is covered by something metal. "Well fuck!" I say out loud. And suddenly it comes back to me.
"Oh yeah, that's right, that weird god-guy said that he'd be sending me to Dahna. That makes more sense. Wait a second, that means SHIONNE EXISTS!" I grin like an idiot, and once again realize I'm literally in the middle of nowhere. "Am I in…Calaglia?" It certainly looks like it. I look ahead in the distance and see a village, or a town of some sort.
"This village would probably be overrun with Renan guards" I think, as I start walking towards the town. I look down at myself, and see that I'm wearing a black undershirt, a white hoodie shirt, a red jacket with black accents, and jeans, with some sort of gauntlet on my left arm.
Once I reach the village, I see something familiar about it. "Oh yeah, this is where Alphen lives right now!" I think. Renan guards are busy moving the trains. I sneak in, and then look around.
"Holy shit this is exactly like it was in the game!" I think. "You call that pushing?" yells a muffled voice that I immediately recognize. It's a Renan Soldier. "Put some back into it, embedded!" Oh I know what's happening, it's the start of the game.
I rush towards the noise, and get there just in time to block the soldier's whip. I look at the poor kid and say, "hey it's gonna be ok." Smiling.
Weirdly, I feel no pain. Could it be that I somehow got Alphen's powers? When I look at my arm, it's instantly healing itself. Holy crap, I have regen powers! "Hmph. What is this, some kind of slave support group? Mind your own business you worthless-" the soldier's cut off by the leader saying "Alright 3rd Squad! Time to regroup!" "Tch. Go on, get moving!" yells the soldier, and then walks away.
"Hey you ok?" Asks a voice that I know very well. Alphen, aka Iron mask! "Yeah I'm good." I reply. "And uhhh… dude, your arms bleeding…" but how would it be, if I had taken the hit? This is a glitch in the frickin matrix! "I'll go to Doc." he says. Since I have nothing better to do, I follow him.
"Sorry to trouble you, doc." he says. "Hmph. Look after yourself and there'd be no need for sorries would there? Now sit." Doc replies. He notices me and says. "Hm? Who are you?" he asks. "I'm uhhh…." I subconsciously scratch my head, thinking about whether I should reveal my real name or not. "Don't tell me you're an amnesiac too, like Iron Mask over here!" he exclaims. "Um, no, my name is-"
"Speaking of which, Iron Mask. So, still unable to remember anything, I take it?" he asks, cutting me off. "Blank, as always. Nothing but that strange dream." Alphen replies. "No face, no memories… Unable to feel pain, yet only too eager to take on everybody else's." says Doc. "What will we do with you? Here, let me see." he continues, taking a look at Alphen's arms.
"You may not be able to feel pain, but that doesn't mean you can't be wounded just like everyone else." he says, exasperated. "Wait, so that's just not possible then?" I ask. "It shouldn't be." Doc replies. "Can you explain this then?" I ask, gashing my arm on a nearby sharp rock, and showing him how it regenerates. "I can't feel pain either…" I admit.
"Holy Dahna! Well, If either of you aren't careful, you'll wind up dead without even realizing it one of these days." He says, addressing both me and Alphen. "I watched another slave die today. More corpses than I care to count." says Alphen. "Holy shit, really?!" I ask. "Unfortunately, that's hardly a rare sight around these parts." Doc replies, answering my question.
"Dahnans are always dying. And the Renans just watch. How long can this continue? Why doesn't anyone stand and fight?" asks Alphen. "If it were only so simple, my friend. " replies Doc.
Alphen, now properly bandaged and such, gets up, thanks Doc, and starts walking away. I also head out, but not before Doc says "Don't sit around here. Go out and feel the breeze on your skin. Even a slave is entitled to that. take care of yourself, this world is a tempestuous place." I turn around, and say. "Of course. And by the way, my name's Crowe. Rainen Crowe."