Have you ever woken up without any memories of your past, surrounded by endless darkness so pervasively palpable it's claustrophobic, where the only semblance of reality is this suspiciously illuminated flight of stairs that receded into the distance?
Beyond the surface bathed in light is definitely a gaping, stygian void. But which direction should I take? I lost track of time mulling over my surreal situation while anxiously pacing around on this landing, on the edge of breaking down, wondering where the hell I am.
At last, there's progress, but a rather disappointing memory! So I got fired from work last night. Sigh. Well, that felt damn right.
I worked the night shift for almost a year. I couldn't recall the company's name and exact details, though. After my exit clearance, I went straight home. And for the first time, I went to bed without bothering to change my clothes or shower. I checked my phone. It's 12:43 AM. I stared at the ceiling, worried about my finances and unsure how to process my awful situation. Barely a month before my birthday, I'm unemployed. Is the term NEET even acceptable if you're almost 42? Wait! Am I that old? FML—
I must have fallen asleep (or maybe I'm still deep asleep, and I'm having a nightmare!). Upon waking up, I saw nothing but darkness and these illuminated stairs.
Should I go up?
Or should I go down?
What if I just stayed on this landing? Until I eventually wake up from this nightmare…
But what if I'm dead—
Nah, I'm definitely alive.
Everything felt real. This couldn't be a dream.
Is it just my anxiety? It seems this darkness is closing in on me, like an unwanted swarm of ants slowly crawling on morsels of potato chips—wait! I binged on junk foods before I went to bed. Unhealthy food, but it's most likely what's left in the cupboard.
What if I regained my memories? And I'm nothing but a loser, condemned to whatever the hell I am right now. That's when goosebumps prickled all over my nape, and I instinctively jerked my shoulders, as if shaking off the bad vibes.
I walked around, careful not to step beyond the illuminated area. I haven't tried anything besides anxiously circling this tiny perimeter. Am I in an escape room? If this isn't a dream, what is this?
Whatever happened to my memories? I tried so hard not to think of 'who I even am'? I'd go bonkers once I'd entertain that line of thought.
What if I hunker down and wait for myself to wake up on my own?
But what if I don't wake up at all?
Sh*t!
Sh*t!?
Sh*t—
What if that darkness, I thought of as a gaping void, is simply a black wall?
What's the harm in trying to figure it out?
Thus, I extended my right arm, touched the darkness, and probed what's beyond this pitch-black surface. I'm expecting and praying it to be a wall painted with such color.
I froze upon realizing there's only emptiness.
Instinctively, I jerked my right hand away from the void! But it's too late.
I'm horribly shocked at the outcome of my fearless curiosity. I screamed!
I screamed frantically at the top of my lungs, but I heard nothing of my voice. Haven't I noticed this deafening silence before?
Heaving, shaken, and beyond my wits' end, my eyes bulged in horror and disbelief at the horrific state of my right arm. Half of it was gone. That macabre darkness cleaved through my flesh and bone with a clean cut. Bloodless. Painless. The residual limb was covered with a pitch-black sheet, thus preventing the severed part from getting exposed.
I panicked and ran away from that landing.
While I ran like crazy, a memory of me happily climbing down the stairs, smiling at someone waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs, popped out of nowhere. That slowed me down since I was trying to figure out what that was all about. I came to a halt.
I'm tired as f—
The stairs seemed endless. And in between catching my breath and processing that memory, I realized that I had gone downstairs.
After a while, I calmed down.
I resumed my slow descent because I had nowhere else to go. I'm scared of looking back from where I came. I avoided glancing at my mangled arm. I just focused on the stairs ahead of me.
I don't know how much time had passed. I just kept walking since that's the only sensible thing I could do. I was ever careful not to step away from the illuminated stairs. Until I reached the door. I felt relief. There's hope! I straightened up and was overjoyed to have come this far. Without any second thoughts, I grabbed the knob and twisted it to open the door when a pop-up window appeared.
What the f—? This thing reminded me of spammy pop-up windows on a monitor screen.
// Entry denied_
// Error 453 Missing Body Part_
What the hell is this?
Open the damn door! I screamed while forcefully twisting the doorknob. But the door remained shut.
// BZZZT
The pop-up window must have glitched since it produced a bzzt sound and flickered.
F*ck this dream!
// Entry denied_
Let me out—
// Error 453 Missing Body Part - Void Glitch. Protocol Section 4: To uphold fairness and equality, no one is permitted to enter The Greensward if they have a missing body part as a result of the Void Glitch. To compensate, the Body Parts Retrieval Quest is offered to you. This generous offer must be accepted should the Otherworlder wish to enter the green field. [MORE INFO]_
Whose the Otherworlder? Me?
// Otherworlder Appraisal [IN PROGRESS]_
I'm utterly confused. Shocked at this turn of events. I just stood there, left hand on the doorknob, mind buffering.
// Appraisal [FINISHED]_
// Otherworlder is eligible for Body Parts Retrieval Quest_
// Would you like to begin Body Parts Retrieval Quest?_
// [YES] [NO]
I inhaled deeply, as if sucking in all the air my lungs could muster. Then, breathed it out slowly.
I let time pass.
Indecision was my forte, wasn't it? I stared at my remaining limbs: a trembling left hand, swollen from brute-forcing the doorknob. As for my mangled right arm, I gritted my teeth in anger. And when I do make a decision, this happened. I'm an idiot—
I laughed at my bizarre predicament, even if I heard nothing of my voice.
F*ck this sh*t.
I must have gone crazy, doing this and that, releasing my pent-up emotion. I screamed profanities while slamming the door. I stomped the floor until my feet were sore. In the hope of waking myself up from this nightmare, I slapped my face repeatedly until my left jaw numbed. After all, pain is a sign of life, of fragile existence, or whatever is left of my reality.
A sardonic smile lingered across my face. I'm still here, stuck in a bizarre situation, suffering in self-inflicted pain. Sign of life, my ass—
As time passed and the crazy pent-up breakdown wore off, the realization hit hard: I'm confined in this darkness, alone, and slowly going mental; unless I make a choice. I stared back at the pop-up window. What if I choose no?
And then what? Same as that time I lost half my arm for a pinch of curiosity? Stop overthinking! Yes is the answer to everything, right?
// [NO] was selected_
Goddammit! I was meant to press YES!
// I apologize for this inconvenience. While Error 453 is enforced, I regret to inform you that there are no other available quests for you at this time. [MORE INFO] [BACK TO QUEST]_
// [MORE INFO] selected_
You are one crappy program! Who f*cking created you? Some douchebag tech CEO? Are you an AI? Piece of glitching text-based RPG sh*t? Or what? It would have been fun if this world were pixelated, huh!?
// Beyond this door is The Greensward, the greenest lawn where you can clearly see the magnificence of The Tower That Reaches The Sky. Here, you can be anyone you want to be. Everyone is invited, but only a few can enter. And even fewer can make it through each Blightenhorren. Therefore, it's crucial that you are unaffected by the Void upon entering. [MORE INFO] [BACK TO QUEST]_
Screaming, I struck the door with my foot, giving an all-out final blow.
// BZZZT
Who reads the devil in the details anyway? Dammit—
// [YES] selected_
// [Body Parts Retrieval Quest] assigned.
// Teleport [Hellstrip]_
// Quest begins in 3_
// 2_
// 1_
// Welcome, to Our World, [PlatypusHoller425]~