Darkness. Everywhere I looked was darkness. I felt nothing, not even my own body.

Where am I? What happened?

But the more important question should be... who am I?

These thoughts ran through my head while I was floating inside the endless black nothingness. I was looking around again and again, yet nothingness was the only thing I could find.

 Maybe I had died, and I’m now trapped in an endless limbo for the rest of eternity?

 I couldn't feel my body, nor did I know if I even had one, to begin with.

 Maybe the only thing floating around in this endless pitch-black space is my consciousness?

 Thinking about that made my head spin if I even had one. Drifting for what felt like an eternity, I closed my eyes and felt something familiar. A sensation that I didn’t miss. Pain. My whole body ached, and it felt like I was dying again.

 I opened my eyes and was immediately greeted by the blinding sun. While squinting my eyes so that they could adjust to the light, I attempted to lift my head a bit to look in front of me, but to no avail. The pain was too immense. I also tried to look to my right and left, but that was also impossible. It felt like every bone in my body was broken, but that was not the worst part. The worst part was that the pain was constantly growing. The Pain grew stronger by the second, making it harder for me to stay awake. Not being able to bear the growing pain any longer I lost consciousness once again.

 Not knowing how long I was gone, I slowly opened my eyes again and saw that the sun had already begun to set. The pain was still there but weakening. Still, it took everything I had to not lose consciousness again. I didn’t know where I had this willpower from or why the pain began to weaken, but it helped me greatly. After the pain had been weakened enough, I tried to move my head again. It worked. It was still painful as hell, but I was able to slowly move my head from left to right to finally take in my surroundings. I found myself laying on an empty field of grass. I could make out flowers that had different kinds of colors, but there were no trees in sight. The grass had a strong green color and from the look of it life should have been thriving, but no animals were in sight either. It felt like I was the only living being around here. Looking in front of me I saw a big cliff, probably 40 to 50 meters in height.

Did I fall from up there? No that’s not possible. I would have been dead if that were the case.

 As the sharp pain weakened even further, two other sensations came back to me which I didn’t even know I had until this point. Hunger and thirst. I couldn’t move much so waiting was the only thing I could do. So, there I was, laying on this empty grass field, just being able to move my head slightly with a growling stomach and a dry throat, waiting for the pain to weaken even further. It took some time, but after a while, the pain was almost completely gone, so I tried to stand up. I had some trouble because my body weight was too much for my arms to handle yet and my body was weakened by hunger, but after a few attempts, I could finally stand. I was curious, so I looked at the place in which I was laying before and, I found out that the grass beneath me was painted deep red. It was probably blood, but whose blood was it? was it my blood?!

 ...But now that I think about it, my body felt like it was broken in every place. The pain is almost gone and I can slightly move, no broken bones either.

I looked back at the cliff.

Like I thought. I must have fallen from up there. But why am I not dead? Why do I have no broken bones? Or maybe I had broken bones but my body healed already? But that isn’t how the human body is supposed to work! I shouldn’t be able to survive such a fall, but I did.

I looked up at the sky, painted orange and yellow from the descending sun. I tried to think about it for a while but came to no conclusion.

I don’t have the time to think about what happened. I should probably find someone to help me. But I’m still not sure about this whole situation. I should probably search my body for wounds or other problems just to be sure.

My stomach grumbled again.

And I should look for something to eat and drink after that.

I began searching my body for wounds but couldn’t find any. I noticed that my clothes were torn apart in some places and the only things I was wearing were brown shorts and a simple white shirt. I also didn’t wear any shoes. After inspecting my clothes, I noticed a small brown bag hanging from my hip. I opened the bag in anticipation and found what I was looking for. A water skin and a piece of bread.

“YES!”

I yelled from the top of my lungs, only to start coughing afterward.

I shouldn’t yell when my throat is as dry as a dessert.

I could feel my strength leaving my body again, so I sat down and started eating the bread in record time.

I emptied the water skin and let out a big sigh of relief afterward. After finishing my meal and taking a quick break until the sun had set, I decided to stand up again.

I don’t feel fully refreshed yet but I should start moving. It’s almost night and I need a safe place to rest at.

The pain was almost gone, so it wasn’t too hard to stand. Looking around once more I still couldn’t find anything on this field, even while standing, so I decided to just start walking in a random direction. About an hour of walking passed by and I found a muddy road. It wasn’t much, but maybe it could lead me to a village or even a city, so following it shouldn’t be a bad idea. The road didn’t feel as pleasant beneath my feet as the grass did, but it was better than just blindly walking in one direction. It must have been hours since I first woke up. The moons were shining brightly, and the sky was a beautiful sea of stars. I was also walking through a thick forest and not a grassy field anymore.

Wait... I don’t understand why, but I have the feeling that there shouldn’t be two moons, yet what I am seeing is reality. Well, one thing I can be sure of is that I probably lost my memories, so it makes sense that I don’t know anything about this world... Right?

The two moons in the sky weren't the only thing concerning me though. Looking around I noticed that the forest was scant of life, just like the grass field where I woke up.

Was this caused by the night or is something else behind this?

This thought occupied my mind until a yawn escaped my mouth and I could feel my body getting tired again. The stars and moons were also slowly being covered by clouds, so the forest kept getting darker.

Maybe I should search for a place to sleep, it would be dangerous to go any further without any light. Would it be a good idea to stay in this forest though?

I pondered about it for a few minutes, but the growing exhaustion of my body forced me to decide.

It’s dangerous to wander deeper into the forest, but it's also dangerous for me to collapse on the road. I think it’s better to find a safe place in the forest just in case.

I left the road and went inside the forest. It was pitch black inside but after a short while, I found a comfy-looking cave. I went inside the cave just deep enough to stay safe from potential rain and sat down, leaning my back against the cave wall.

I have a bad feeling about this, but I have to get some sleep for tomorrow.  

Soon after that, my pent-up fatigue overcame me, and I quickly fell asleep.  

Suddenly, an earth-shattering roar woke me up. My whole body began to freeze in place and fear spread throughout my whole body. The roar was deep and mighty and I felt it tearing through my flesh and bones. Then it was quiet again. I tried to stand up, but my body was still frozen with fear. After a few minutes I could hear the roar again, but this time it was closer. I knew that I should leave this place as fast as I could, but my body wouldn’t listen to me. I started to panic. My whole body was shaking, and I couldn’t keep my thoughts together.

What do I do what do I do? My body doesn’t listen to me and the sound is getting closer and closer!

I tried to move again and again and after a short while, I managed to get up.

YES!

I shouted internally and quickly left the cave just to be greeted by a black shadow which without warning appeared in front of me.

It was still dark, but I tried to look at the thing in front of me. It looked like a bear, but way bigger. Probably 2 meters tall while still being on all fours. Moonlight broke through the clouds and slowly but surely, I could inspect the animal standing in front of me. This thing wasn’t an animal. It was more like a monster. A black bear with massive horns sharp as blades, red glowing eyes, and a bloodstained mouth. Its body was covered in white marks which emitted an ominous glow. Bone-like spikes sprouted out of its back with small red lightning particles jumping from one spike to another.

I couldn’t fathom what was standing in front of me, but I knew that I should get away as fast as possible. Trying to suppress my fear by clenching my teeth, I slowly moved back to a tree behind me and tried to go around it without losing sight of the monster. I thought that the monster would instantly attack me when I tried to move, but the monster just stood there, staring at and mocking me without getting closer. It felt like I was just its toy to be played with before it devours me whole. Suddenly red lightning shot out of his bone-like spikes, hitting the tree next to me, and throwing me past several trees onto the road again. I hit the ground hard but managed to shield the back of my head with my hands. It was still a painful landing. Standing up again I saw the bear-like monster jumping out of the forest onto the road a few feet in front of me, making the ground beneath my feet rumble.

It’s no use. I can’t get away from it. I-I'm gonna die! But what will happen if I die? Will I be trapped inside this endless void again?

Frustration overcame me, which the monster seemed to notice. It let out a satisfied grunt before getting closer. 

I don’t want this. I don’t want it to end like this. I don’t even know why I’m here or who I even am!

A tear rolled down my cheek as I looked up at the monster which stood directly in front of me. Now standing on his hind legs, covering the moons behind it out of my line of sight. The size of the bear nearly doubled, It was now standing at roughly 4-5 meters. The shadow it threw over me trapped me in darkness once again, which made my frustration grow even bigger.

I want to know the answers to this. I want to know who I am and I want to know more about this world.

I DON’T WANT TO DIE!

I felt like something was escaping my body.

The monster took a step back. I balled my fist, which seemed to be cloaked in thick fog-like blackness.

I didn’t know what it was or how I did it. The only thing I knew was that this mysterious black fog escaping from my body could save my life. With frustration, sadness, and anger overcoming me, I punched the bear into his stomach, burying my fist deep into his flesh. I could hear my fist cracking and saw the thick black fog escaping in masses from the hole where my fist was now stuck. The bear roared in pain and tried to strike me with its paw. I needed to dodge the bear's attack while pulling my fist out of the bear's stomach, when suddenly more black fog shot out of my fist, knocking me and the bear away from each other.

I flipped through the air, hitting the ground again and again until I stopped with a big thump and my back against a tree trunk. Fading in and out of consciousness, I felt that I broke my right hand. No, my entire arm was broken. Looking in front of me, the bear was nowhere to be seen.

D-did I kill it?

I tried to stand up, but I lost my balance immediately and fell onto my knees.

What is this? What is this feeling of sickness and loss of balance?

The sickness overcame me and I vomited onto the ground.

W-what's happening?!

I couldn’t understand what was happening to me or my body. It was a feeling that I never felt before. I vomited again and collapsed, still fading in and out of consciousness. Within my blurry sight, I saw something approaching, but it was no animal. It had the shape of a human. He kneeled, and I could make out the faint silhouette of a big, strong-looking man. Suddenly, a deep voice started talking to me.  

“A child. No older than fourteen. Looks like he exhausted his mana. But

what is a child doing alone in the forest? Could it be that he- “

...Before I could hear the end of the man's sentence,

my consciousness left me once again.