2. Blood sword
«Huh? You don't know?»
Although it was getting dark, given the near night, the girl who held out her hand had large green eyes, the same color was her hair, gathered in a high ponytail, with yellow tips.
She wore a fake sunflower along with the elastic at the top of her tail, it looked like it was made of crystal.
She smiled kindly, but her eyes showed that she was confused, or curious. It wasn't clear.
«I... I don't remember anything...»
And it was the truth.
She didn't know her name, she knew absolutely nothing. Her mind was briefly sidetracked by the problem when she was nearly killed.
She didn't know where she was, who she was and what was going on.
That girl in front of her, with the kind smile, was the first step to at least understand something.
«I thought you were lying to save yourself from ... Uh, that situation?»
Why should she lie in such a situation? Her neck still burned.
«But I see you're not lying. Don't
worry. I'll help you!» she showed her white teeth, a nice contrast to her golden face, she had a sincere smile.
«Ok...» she murmured, slowly grabbing the girl's hand.
«My name's Fera!» Fera, it was a nice name.
«Well ... will I have to call you somehow?» she seemed to ask the question to herself.
«Mhh. Don't you remember anything? Not even a letter?» she shook her head in response, staring down and holding on to her now dirty dress.
She felt slightly uncomfortable, she didn't know why, maybe it was because she had finally met a person.
Maybe she was shy? She had no idea what her character was.
She certainly wasn't as outgoing as Fera.
«Luna? Amea? Carthy? Sophie?»
She shook her head again. Not one of those names feeled hers. No name would have been the same as the one she had, but what was it?
I wish I could know.
After a couple of minutes they both ended up sitting on the ground, Fera was shooting the most bizarre names, but no memories came to her mind.
«I Don't-» she interrupted, looking for the right words.
«I don't want a name. I want to remember mine, I don't want another one.» she pressed her legs to her chest.
There was a moment of silence.
Did I offend her?... She just wanted to help me...
Before she could apologize, Fera turned to her quickly.
«Just call yourself Name. It could be an abbreviation of Nameless. Technically it's not a real name. You can consider it temporary. Just to recognize you. Or not?»
Name.
In fact, she couldn't continue to have no name. Having one that already existed seemed to her like identity theft.
Name nodded.
«Okay!» Fera smiled.
«Well, Name. What is our strategy?»
Name was shocked by that question.
«Huh?»
Fera looked confused.
«Wait ...Do you know where we are?»
Name shook her head strongly.
Fera stayed with her mouth open for several seconds.
«Oh. Ok, come on, let's get comfortable. It'll be a long night.»
Fera had started walking towards an unknown destination, Name following behind her.
«I come from a small town near New Folium. Unilementary, I use wood magic. That's quite my field.»
Name didn't quite understand what those words meant. New Folium, was it a place? But where?
«Fera ... What are you talking about?»
Fera seemed to stiffen.
«Huh?»
-
«Wait. Wait. So you don't remember anything at all? Nothing? Don't you even know where you are?!» Fera looked shocked.
Yet Name had told her she didn't remember anything.
«Not even the 12 Kingdoms and their own types of magic ... Are you sure you're not a child?»
Name nodded, without adding anything else.
Perhaps she looked like a little girl who knew nothing, but she was able to read, speak, count and many other things that children were unable to do.
She simply had no memory. Nothing.
As if everything about the world and herself had been pulled away, leaving an empty shell. As if she had only the basics of life left. She was shorter than Fera, but still not short enough to be a child.
«I can't believe it ...» Fera murmured.
Fera began to feel the ground, getting her hands dirty with earth, her eyes were closed and she seemed concentrated. Name said nothing.
With a satisfied whisper, Fera turned smiling to Name.
«Look here!» she said and at her command, what appeared to be roots emerged from the ground, surrounded by a faint green aura.
A few drops of sweat fell in Fera's face. Was she doing all that?
«I still have to ...improve ...» she said between one breath and another.
She had built a kind of root shell. Fera stepped inside, inviting her to join. Name followed hesitantly.
«And now ... Down!" touching the roots, which again became covered with a greenish aura, the shell, now become a sphere, slowly brought both of them underground. Fortunately she left a hole to let in air and light.
Fera looked exhausted.
«We'll have some privacy.» she threw a thumb in the air smiling, despite being covered in sweat.
«Now ...» Fera made herself comfortable.
«Let's start with the basics. First of all-»
«W-wait!» Name interrupted her.
Fera had helped her right away, already where the pink woman had almost killed her.
«Why are you helping me?»
Fera didn't look surprised.
«Uh ...Because I want to?»
Huh?
«But! You don't know me!» Name didn't understand her. Despite desperately seeking help, Fera had come upon her like a miracle. She was a little bit scared.
«You seemed to be looking for help. You looked scared and lost. I didn't want to leave someone like that. I couldn't.»
Name was speechless, left with only a reassuring warmth in her chest.
«I know how it feels to be alone, in a place you don't know, scared and looking for help. The person who helped me…» Fera looked up for something, as if lost in a distant memory.
«... I promised to help in my turn, even ... just one person. And so I'm doing it. For you and for me!»
Name managed a shy smile.
«Anyway, if you can reassure you, everything happens here. To the outside world comes a lot of stories and legends, the fact that you have no memory ... It's strange, but not that much. Anyway, we are currently in the world of Deorum. At the moment we are participating in the entrance exam after the first screening, it is called the Acceptance»
Name nodded, a little uncertain and confused by her words.
«What is the outside world?»
«The world outside of Deorum. Clearly no one is born inside Deorum, but outside. The outside world is very complicated, do you want me to explain it to you?»
Name nodded, but stopped when she heard a loud thud on her head.
Fera signaled her to be silent and Name held her mouth and nose.
«Please! Please! Spare me!»
It was a boy's cry, another desperate, trembling cry. Given the dirt that sprinkled her hair, it was right on top of them.
Name looked at Fera scared and looking for answers, but she shook her head no.
Didn't they have to do anything?
But, he needs help!
«No! No!»
Name saw Fera with her hands over the roots she was manipulating them to go to the surface.
Then the sound of a blade flapping in the wind, and the flesh being pierced.
Through the small hole, blood entered.
Name only heard the thud above her. The sound of a body falling to the ground, lifeless.
«Trying to stab me in the back and then praying for salvation... How useless.» it was the voice of another boy, surely the one still alive, who had murdered the other.
It was a sad, almost heartbroken tone, yet it came from someone who had just killed a person in front of them.
Name was trembling, all she could do was be afraid and stare at that sword of blood over their heads.
The footsteps above them quickly receded.
Name stared out through the hole, seeing only the starry sky.
«Now... it's safe ...» Fera muttered, the ball of roots resurfacing to the surface.
In a short time they were back on the grass in the moonlight.
Less than two meters from them the boy from before was lying in a pool of blood: thick reddish hair and glassy blue eyes. He looked younger than Nome.
She couldn't even cry or get close.
«This world isn't that beautiful.» Fera, bending over to fix the roots, looked strangely serious.
«Very often you will have to think only for yourself, ignoring others.» Name stared only at the body.
«Always keep this in mind: in this world you have to learn to survive. Alone.»
There was a lot of wind.
«Yet you helped me.» Name's trembling voice was hard to hear.
Did she deserve more help than that boy? It was unfair.
Name wanted to add something, but didn't know what.
Luckily, Fera was there with her.
The green-haired girl approached her.
«I'm sorry, it happened in an instant ... You can't save everyone. It's impossible.»
Name didn't cry, but stood there, gripping the hem of her dress.
It's unfair.
She wanted her memories back, she wanted to know her real name, she wanted to go home. She didn't want to see other people die in front of her.
She was shaking, but stopped when Fera pulled her into a hug.
For a few seconds she cleared up, then, less than two inches from her, a blade appeared straight before her eyes.
«No!» another voice, unknown and feminine, shouted.
A sword's blade aimed at her, was now on the ground.
Fera had released her from the embrace, stepping back in fear, Name instead was now facing another girl full of sweat, who had just pushed the attacker to the ground.
«Damn-» the boy with the sword tried to get up, but something was holding him to the ground: roots that imprisoned him.
Name turned to Fera, bent over the ground, who gave her a tired smile.
She saw the sorrow in her eyes. If she had an instant more, Fera could have done that before and saved the other boy.
Just an istant.
As the boy continued to wriggle in the shadow of the night, the girl who had suddenly appeared looked at them.
She had brown hair pulled back into two low ponytails and blue eyes similar to those of the pink lady, without pupils, but hers were sweet, not scary.
«He was my brother.» she only said, in her little voice as fragile as she was.
Nome understood that she must have benn refering to the dead boy, but she could not say anything, it had all happened too quickly.
«Thank you.» was all Name could say, in fact she had just saved her.
«I'm Miki.» she added, still out of breath.
The blood sword boy tried to break free, but gave up almost immediately.
Name could see his face better now: pale face, blue-blackish hair, and red eyes that looked like rubies. They were indeed peculiar eyes, and they looked at her with contempt.
«What? Do I have to introduce myself too?» the boy smiled sarcastically.
«Shut up!» Miki kicked the boy, injuring his lip, and yet he didn't seem shaken.
So Miki pulled out a knife, as big as her palm, and pointed it at the boy, who was looking bored.
«No, stop!» this time it was Fera who shouted.
«We must avoid killing people for no reason, we could already be 150. If only we were with one less person ...»
«We will all fail. Someone who thinks is here then.» he mumbled.
«Yet he killed my brother.» she looked furious.
«It was me or him. I just defended myself.» he clicked his tongue
«Miki, we're not like him, let's leave him here.» Fera approached the girl, comforting her and at the same time glaring at the boy on the ground.
«Hey! He attacked first! Hey!»
No one answered him, Miki had sat down to catch her breath and cry for her brother.
«Hey! Hey! Release me!»
Fera only turned with a menacing look.
«Shut up, punk.»
Name was engulfed in nausea as the boy wriggled a few feet from a dead body.
«He was begging for forgiveness ...» she whispered, without looking at him.
How painful did it have to be for a person to die thus leaving a sister behind?
At least, his memory will remain alive.
«Ah ...» he stopped fidgeting and giggled as he looked down.
«You're the kind of person I hate the most in the world.»
But he said nothing more.
Name didn't quite understand why she had told him all this, she had no memory: was she good? Was she bad? She didn't know.
What is it that he hated about her?
«It didn't have to end like this ... no ...» Miki was bent over her brother's body.
Name decided to go closer to her, she didn't quite know what to say.
«I'm sorry» She couldn't even know how bad she was.
«Miki ...»
«All those still alive, listen to me!» a voice rang throughout the forest, it was not that of the pink woman and it did not come from the sky.
«Don't kill anyone anymore! We are at 150! Just reach the barrier!» the voice was authoritative and masculine.
For a moment no one spoke, then the boy bursted into laughter.
«We are the furthest from the barrier, we have a nice journey ahead of us. You can't kill me.» he smiled to himself.
Name was still confused.
After all, she'd woken up in a test she didn't remember taking part in, but she was up to her neck in it now.
«Free me.» he said again, this time in a colder tone.
Fera sighed, then bent down and freed him.
He got up and started walking towards the barrier, with the moon behind him.
«Hey! Wait for us swordsman!» Fera went on to complain.
Name was reluctant to go, but she had no choice.
She was worried about Miki, but she walked forward, biting her lip. Nome felt a shiver go down her spine but decided to ignore it.
Name didn't know how she felt, it must have been bad to lose someone so close.
I hope to find someone who knows me later.
When will I get my memories back?
With that thought, Name too walked forward in silence.