There was once a time he dreamt that the world was ending. Stars would fall down to the earth like rain, their splashes full of stardust and fire and hydrogen and pain, and in the remains of the world stood himself, alone and full of grief. It was a bizarre dream, one he never told to anyone. Felix was sure that a therapist would adore hearing about his apocalyptic dreams, but he rather it stayed forgotten.
Still, it lingered on the back of his mind – the end of the world. The despair he had felt even in his dream was unmatched. For a moment – a brief, imaginary moment – he was the last person standing in this world.
It felt lonely.
Such a nightmare was one surely experienced by others, was it not? That’s what he told himself, at least, to calm him down in the early morning when he woke up with a start. Yet he could never shake that feeling of isolation from his shoulders.
Especially now.
It was a different way of ending now. Now, the world was flooded with a crimson red ocean, crows feasting on the last remnants of life. He stood atop a mountain, watching it all sink beneath the ocean, down into trenches. If he moved from where he stood, he would join the others in death. If he stayed, he would be alone forever.
A sharp pain shot through his chest, and, with a horrified, choked gasp, he looked down. Something was piercing straight through his torso. Some kind of barbed tail. Felix’s eyes travelled from the end of the tail to behind him, and the sight almost made him vomit.
A grotesque monster stood behind him, snapping its pincers at Felix. It looked rather like a scorpion, except not – a hard black shell armoured it, and its jaw was unclenched, giving it the appearance that it was screaming. Except it never made a sound, only a disgusting squelching as it moved and the bug-like flesh beneath its armour shifted. It had six legs, each one growing longer the further back the body it went, and upon its back sat a glowing white orb, connected to its body by veins and skin. Most frightening to Felix was its tail – long and slender, it clearly could extend far past out what it was reaching now. At its tip was a barbed spike, oozing with blood and some sort of pearly white liquid.
The creature retracted its tail, leaving Felix staggering for a moment before he fell to his knees. Dying. He was dying, joining the rest of the world in the afterlife. If it even existed.
Just before his moment of passing, Felix took one last glance at the monster. For a brief moment, he swore he saw it smile.
He woke up screaming.
Not completely screaming, mind you. It came out like a ragged screech instead. He twisted and struggled in a bed – whose bed, he didn’t recognise – and screamed some more when pain struck his chest.
It became hard to move all of a sudden. Sweating bullets and his skin pale-white, Felix grunted and moaned in pain. Then his body felt numb.
He opened his eyes.
Lomi stood over him, her curly brown hair tied up in a ponytail and her dark skin wet with perspiration. His gaze travelled from her eyes down to her clothing. She wore some sort of medieval garb: a purple tunic, linen pants, leather boots. If this was some kind of costume party, he certainly didn’t get the memo.
He must have been staring at her for quite some time, because the cough that came from her mouth broke through the silence and suddenly made things very awkward. Glancing away from her, he scanned his surroundings. It was a small, simple bedroom, with a cot pushed against the corner that he sat upon, a window nearby (though the curtains were drawn, blocking his view from the outside), and candles lit for light. Upon a small desk close to the door, he saw an array of weaponry and strange artifacts, along with a mirror – though he could only see the back of Lomi’s head.
Felix slumped down on the bed, covering his eyes with his arm. His other arm stayed by his side, still numb from the after-effects of whatever this not-Lomi did to him.
“Are you okay?” Speak of the devil. She sounded so concerned, as if she wasn’t pulling the most elaborate prank ever on him. Either that, or he was still dreaming. Yeah, that sounded right.
“It’s just a dream,” he muttered under his breath. The words were barely a whisper. “I’m going to close my eyes, and when I wake up, I’ll be in the park. Yeah, that sounds about right. The park.”
He lowered his arm from his eyes and blinked at Lomi.
“You’re still here.”
Lomi scoffed. “Of course I’m still here, moron. You think I’d abandon you when you’re as useless as you are now?” She grinned, flashing her dimples.
For now, he ignored the comment about being useless (despite the fact that a small part of him agreed with her). But the familiarity that she spoke with him was unbearable. They were only employees, fellow workers burdened under the name of capitalism. Yet here she was, acting as if they were childhood friends.
When was the last time he had a friend?
He shot up, frowning at her – he considered glaring, but she was muscular as all hell, and he was a scrawny little bastard. Plus there was the whole issue with his chest. So, instead of venting his frustration and anger at her, he decided to play the safe route.
Go along with the act.
“Nice… nice weather we’re having, isn’t it?” he said, leaning against the bedframe. Although he couldn’t exactly tell the weather since the curtains were shut. That didn’t matter, anyway. It was just a light topic of conversation.
Lomi squinted at him. “Of course it’s nice. Archeria reigns over this kingdom.”
Archeria. Okay. She put a lot of thought into this.
“Did you hit your head too?” she asked. Immediately after saying so, she leaned forward and placed the back of her hand on Felix’s forehead. “You don’t feel hot…”
That was it.
“I’m fine,” he snapped. “Nice work, by the way, on the prank. You put a lot of effort into it. Congratulations, you got me.” The sarcasm was just dripping from his tongue. “Now take me home now – or to a hospital, I guess. Just. Tell me why it hurts so much.”
Now it was Lomi’s turn to look confused. She stepped back in shock, eyes wide and her mouth agape.
“Hospital?” she repeated. “What’s that?”
Felix snorted. “Very funny.”
Silence passed through both of them, as they both stared at each other, gears turning in both of their heads. Finally, they moved at the same time – Felix standing up from the bed, and Lomi reaching for a dagger on the desk. Frozen, Felix tried to back away from her, only ending up with his back against the wall. He swallowed.
Okay, maybe not a prank, then.
She was aiming the dagger right at his throat. Her eyes were as sharp as the steel. And, worst of all, any semblance of familiarity and kindness was gone. All that was left was suspicion.
“You’re not Faelis,” she said.
“No, I’m not,” he said. “Now would you please put the dagger down?”
“What’s your real name?”
“Felix.”
“Sounds a little close to Faelis.”
“Faelis sounds like Felix,” he snapped.
Bad idea to try to antagonize the girl holding a knife to your throat.
“What in the Hells are you doing in his body, then?” she snarled.
“His body? This is my body, got –”
For just a moment, his eyes flickered to the desk and landed on the mirror. He stiffened, and, without another thought, he rushed passed Lomi and slammed his hands down on the desk. The sudden impact made the things on the desk jump and clatter, but he didn’t care to notice. No, he was too preoccupied with what was in front of him.
Felix had blond hair.
This body had blond hair.
Felix’s hair was often brushed back.
This body’s hair was wild and unkempt.
Felix’s face was barren of scars and burns.
This face had a nasty wound by the left cheek -three claw marks.
Felix was a scrawny, weak, pathetic-looking boy.
This body was strong, toned, and well-built for its size.
And, what stood out to him the most, and what made him stop and his heart race in his chest.
Felix’s eyes were green.
These eyes were a vibrant pink.
He let out an unholy scream, landing on his butt before the mirror. As soon as he landed, however, he felt something strange tug at his chest and a warm liquid seeping through his bandages. Oh, great. He was bleeding again.
“Careful, that’s my friend’s body you got there!” Lomi yelled, rushing to his side.
It didn’t hurt, somehow – perhaps the effects of whatever the hell Lomi had done to him. But the fact that he just saw himself, but not quite himself, was painful enough.
“This isn’t my body!” he gasped for breath. “This isn’t mine!”
“Yeah, I figured! Now hold still – we need to clean your wound again!”
Blood rushed to his ears, and his heart pounded against his ribcage. Suddenly, all noises were washed up, disappearing under the sounds of his own body. Sweat rolled down in beads against his head. It was suddenly getting hard to breath.
He could barely register Lomi moving to the desk, her back turned on him for a brief moment, but he took the opportunity he saw and bolted as fast he could out of there. She cried out after him – he never stopped. He was always a fast runner. He fled down a flight of stairs and barged straight through the door.
Only to come face-to-face with a dragon.
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