In Search Of Well — series

Volume One: "BLUE DEMON (Source of Water)"

— CHAPTER THREE —

"Miss Nameless"

Behind Sofia’s closed eyes, a flood of fragmented memories swept through her mind. The noises—crackling of fire, distant laugh, and murmurs like an ancient hymn weaved through the chaos of visions.

Even though none of it made sense, just caused Sofia to feel a sheer sense of unease. Yet it all felt achingly familiar, like echoes of a forgotten life. As if they weren’t her memories… or were they?

However, as clarity sliced through the haze, the visions abruptly sharped. Blood pooling a dim floor, burst of fire from the weapons, and then strangely, an enchanting garden came into her sight - blooming with blue roses under a gentle, ethereal glow of the surroundings.

But as quickly as it all came, the scenes dissolved into darkness again, leaving only the fading echo of a voice—a trembling, anguished whisper—that Sofia felt brushing against her thoughts like the soft caress.

`*Would you…tell…ofia?*

Snap! 

Sofia’s eyes shot open. A startle gasp escaped her lips. 

She sat upright, struggling to catch her breath as if her lungs had forgotten their function. Her chest rose and fell with each thud of her heart that pounded like a caged bird yearning to flee. 

The echo of that voice had faded, yet it left a splinter of pain lodging deep in her skull. The pain… pulsed at her temples.

Sofia winced, letting out a low, guttural moan as she reached out to her head. “What’s this uneasiness?” She murmured, her voice barely a whisper. Her fingers pressed against her temples in a futile attempt to still the ache.

But unexpectedly, her breath hitched when her touch met the rough folds of the bandages.

‘Bandages?’

Sofia’s stomach churned. Her brows furrowed as she quickly jerked her hand away as if touching her own skull was forbidden.

‘Am I hurt?’

Apparently so.

The questions swirled in her like waves, but they came too quickly to hold onto. And the room seemed to offer her no answers but a quiet tranquility against her nerves. Sofia’s hand gripped the edge of the blanket that had fallen from her shoulders, though her legs were still tucked beneath it. The bed felt unnervingly cozy—soft, like fleece.

Yawning, yawning, yawning.

She cracked her fingers, rolled her neck—left to right—and arched her back like a waking cat. The motion sent a ripple of relief down her spine, but her thoughts remained restless, blank, like a slate wiped clean.

Sofia frowned, blinking as the cold light from the terrace's doorway hit her gaze. 

“Eh? Where am I?” She murmured, pressing her lips into a thin line, while her icy blue eyes darted across the vast and luxurious room.

The high ceiling stretched above, adorned with neon patterns —blues shifting into purples, dancing throughout the place, and casting soft glows over the walls.

She still breathed in shallow, uneven gasps. The air felt cold, tickling even, but it wasn’t the only thing spilling in through the spacious terrace before her… the morning light. Illuminating the furniture that seemed hovering just above the floor—sleek, elegant, weightless—by technology Sofia couldn’t name.

However, it was the continuous, musical splash from a fountain in one corner that held her attention. As its waters were pouring into a glassy indoor pool, Sofia found its symphony filling the quiet and dulling her unease. That before the weight of her question could vanish from the air, she didn’t realize she’d already swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stood on. Her movements itself were fluid, like a river. But the moment her bare feet touched the floor, she froze akin to ice!

Suddenly feeling her steps sinking into the floor, Sofia gasped, gazing down only to find out the entire floor was glowing faintly red. Not stone, not tile—it seemed as though grass.

‘Grass? Indoors?’ Sofia, her mouth agape, wiggled her toes over the softness with an uncertain expression. It grounded her in the moment, though only for a blink.

“Good morning, Miss Nameless.”

Out of nowhere, a smooth, artificial voice of a female addressed her, more likely shook her from head to toe.

Sofia flinched, her breath caught in her throat. “Who was that?” she blurted aloud, her voice turned sharp.

“I am Eunoia,” The voice replied, emotionless, but it carried a soothing and melodic tone. “I am a designated artificial assistant, entrusted with the honor of serving all who reside in this very Kariel mansion.”

‘K-Kariel what?’ Sofia wondered, aimlessly gazing around the room, trying to locate the source of the voice. But it seemed the speaker addressed her from everywhere and nowhere at once. 

“Where are y—” She asked in the empty air. “No, where am I?” Her voice, racing with uncertainty, was quieter now.

“You’re in the private residence of the Kariel family,” Eunoia responded. “Please allow yourself the leisure to acclimate. While I notify the head of the household that you are awake.”

And with that, the voice vanished, leaving Sofia alone with her thoughts. 

She vaguely nodded, grasping only the meaning of some words. “Measure… pleasure… climate…” Sofia mumbled, blinking twice and tilting her head. “What did she say?” Though as a symphony of a city noise reached her ears, her gaze snapped toward the terrace and the faint view of the world beyond.

Steps quickening, she approached the terrace and for a second, she might’ve regretted her decision when a strong breeze struck her face, chilly and biting.

A wave of goosebumps rippled across her skin, and she pulled her hood up to shield herself from the December chill despite the fact it was apparently autumn. 

Yet strangely, cherry trees lined the terrace’s wall behind her, defying their weather as they stood in a full bloom. Their soft petals fluttered through the air that not only carried them but the sweetness of their scent that should’ve anchored Sofia… but she felt a creeping sense of anxiety coursing through her veins. She frowned, pondering why couldn’t she recall anything? Her name, her purpose, and the place around her.

Everything felt… unfamiliar. Or as hazy as the world that opened up before her.

Sofia whispered like a child as she finally beheld it, “Buildings,” 

The cityscape.

Engulfed in a gentle fog settled over the city and beyond, obscuring almost everything that lay in the sight before her, glowing alive with the burst of holographic colors under the sky—dark, heavy with rainclouds. 

It was the panoramic view of the city spread in the distance. Though otherworldly, strange for Sofia who stood momentarily breathless, spellbound. 

Her expression was a mix of disorientation and a mask of awe. Her head tilted back as her gaze traced the intricate, towering structures fading into the misty clouds, the were roaring with occasional thunder rumbles—constantly reverberating through the atmosphere like distant a warning of a cloudburst, and illuminating the structures in a stark of lightning.

“What… is this place?”

Slowly, Sofia’s eyes widened as she extended a hand toward one of the distant skyscrapers, wondering if she could touch it. They seemed rising toward the heavens like glassy waterfalls. Lush greenery woven through them, cascading off akin to curtains of nature. 

Their twisted, root-like bases seemed as if they had grown from the earth itself – but not quite. While the surfaces of those buildings shimmered with holographic display, projecting almost imperceivable news, and the public announcements that Sofia found too distant to be audible enough to decipher.

At the moment, it was the matter of time her gaze halted on the tallest building that stood like a beacon amidst the cluster of marvels and infrastructures.

At its peak, a giant ring seemed spinning akin to a blazing crown, etched with a single word, the very letters…

MEGMA.

Lost in the fascination of the view, Sofia watched the distant buildings, feeling something familiar stirring in her mind—a faint glimpse, like the echo of a forgotten dream.

Her steps faltered.

Abruptly, a sharp pain throbbed in her skull. Sofia grimaced, clutched her head as a fleeting memory moved past through her mind. She found herself running—through a dark forest amidst the rain, with distant structures barely visible ahead through the storm. 

But the flash of memory slipped away before she could grasp it, only the ache remained, and a sense of déjà vu.

She caught her breath, looking up and locking her gaze on the buildings before her. “Have I seen this place before?” The words left her lips in a soft whisper. “Why don’t I remember it?” She drew closer to the terrace’s edge.

At the moment, her fingers brushed against the boundary of glass and metal.

Zap!

A sudden jolt shot through her hands.

“Ough!” Sofia screeched. “It’s freezing,” she said. Frowning, as she stared at her trembling fingers, the shock remained like a faint tingle beneath her skin—until, her gaze drifted to the glass before.

And she froze, staring at her reflection that stared back, but to her surprise, it wasn’t hers. But a faceless silhouette that Sofia saw in her place in the glass, dark and eerie, with a question mark for a face. 

A figure that looked like her, but was unfamiliar, like a game character yet to be unlocked.

Sofia’s breaths quickened their pace, ragged. 

Her chest tightened. Her hands trembled at her sides. 

The longer she stared, the deeper a wave of panic crept in, pressing down on her, pulling her into the abyss of thoughts where only a sense of suffocation, and emptiness seemed to reside. The void that swelled inside her, and for the moment, as she could do was…

‘I remained staring dumbly at my own reflection,’ Sofa mused, (her voice a narrator)

‘Lost. I felt a sense of unfamiliarity with myself. As if searching for my soul, for the answers lost within the endless desert of my mind, where a lone thought stood exceptionally like an oasis…”

Her lips parted, the question slipped out with a bitter taste of confession.

“Who am I, really?”

Her words were barely louder than a breath, so faint they vanished into the breeze. But the weight of what she’d just confessed remained, heavy and inescapable.

Sofia stood there, frozen on the terrace, her gaze lost in the distance, unfocused. It felt as though she were balancing on a rope stretched between two shores, a yawning abyss below.

And as the quiet panic began to take hold—a fear of falling, of slipping into the void within her—she succumbed to fall anyway.

Until—

“Ah! You’re awake!”

The door slid open with a soft hiss, like a hand reaching from the heavens to pull her back.

Sofia snapped to attention. Her heart leapt into her throat as she spun around with a sharp gasp, startled by the sudden presence.

A woman entered the room with elegant grace, her footsteps soft, hushed. Her voice was courteous but tinged with a sudden surprise.

“Hold on—”

She said, drawing a breath, her eyes narrowing slightly as she took in the closer sight of Sofia standing on the terrace, wide-eyed and tense, like a spooked deer caught in the headlights of a distant midnight road.

“You’ve finally woken up?” the woman whispered in a quiet tone, more to herself than to Sofia. Her tone had shifted, laced with enthusiasm, as though she’d been waiting for this moment for a long time.

// TIP // Speeches in asterisk ** are used to emphasize characters' voices as a narrator.

TO BE CONTINUED —