Blume

Third Person Pov

In a large and old building on the capital's outskirts, many children of various ages were seen playing in the building's courtyard, which was quite spacious. Not sure what game they were playing, but they all looked happy with smiles and laughter, and some even cheerfully sang a song.

Among the children who were having fun, one particular individual stood out more than the others. That individual was a young girl with brown hair that was braided. Anyone who saw her for the first time would immediately think that the young girl would grow up to be a beautiful woman in the future.

Other than her appearance, another thing that set her apart from the other children was the aura that she gave off. It was as if a thin barrier covered her body, which made her aura distinct from the others.

Like no one noticed the strangeness, but if an expert were to happen to pass by and look at the braided girl, the expert would most likely be shocked because that girl must have a lot of secrets to hide.

Soon, an old woman appeared before them, who was dressed entirely in black from head to toe, and the only parts of her body that people could see were her hands, feet, and face.

When the old woman arrived, all of the children who had been playing immediately stopped what they were doing and dashed eagerly towards the old woman.

As they surrounded the old woman from all sides, the children smiled broadly and expressed joy with their facial expressions. Concurrently, people could also see the old woman's face breaking into a warm smile as she saw the children surrounding her.

But then the old woman's expression changed, and she appeared very serious now. It seemed as though she was looking for someone, as she kept looking to the left and right at the children that were surrounding her. Finally, and as if she found the person she had been searching for, the old woman arched her eyebrows and said.

"Oh, there you are, Blume! Would you mind coming with me for just a moment?"

The other kids were puzzled, but then they all looked at the young girl with braided brown hair, and it turned out to be the girl who had kept a lot of mysteries in the beginning, and now we know her name.

Blume, what an unusual name, considering that such a name is most commonly discovered in the outlying regions of the villages that are dispersed across the territory ruled by the Zeitgeist empire.

The girl named Blume appears nervous because she is now the focus of many people's attention, so she can only nod her head timidly before the old woman takes Blume's hand and leads her somewhere.

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Blume Pov

"Oh, there you are, Blume! Would you mind coming with me for just a moment?"

Someone suddenly called out my name. It was grandma Baum, who was well-liked and respected by the children here.

Just take a look at how, as soon as grandma Baum arrived, all of the children, who had been happily playing nearby, dashed over to her in excitement.

Of course, I am included because I consider grandma Baum to be my own grandmother. So I, alone and with no one in this place, consider myself extremely blessed when I meet good people like grandma Baum.

Grandma Baum once told me that I was here because my older brother abandoned me. I still don't know where he is or why he left me here.

There are also things that make me confused and scared. Ever since the day that I woke up in one of the rooms in this place, I have seemed to lose my past memories with each passing day. Even now, I have no recollection of my origins or my childhood.

When I was thinking about many things in my head, I suddenly realized something, and my face immediately looked a little pale because, at this time, all of the children there were focusing their attention on me with confused faces.

I could only nod my head weakly while lowering my head, hoping I could get out of this situation as soon as possible.

After that, I could feel someone pulling my hand, and when I looked up, I saw the figure of grandma Baum as she led me somewhere.

I couldn't help but sigh while I obediently let grandma Baum take me away because I was sure that if I lingered there for a long time, my friends would ask me a lot of questions, which ultimately resulted in me having a headache.

I've spent more than a month here, so it's safe to say that I'm familiar with this place. However, that doesn't mean that I know everything about it. After all, I'm still trying to figure out the purpose of why this place was constructed in the first place.

As you are aware, the vast majority of the people who live in this place are children, and our ages are not that far apart. However, I don't recall ever seeing their parents show up for a visit or anything of the sort, so my best guess is that they ended up in the same situation as me.

We all live in buildings that are similar to dorms, and we are provided with nutritious food daily. In fact, I can even swear that the food served here is the best I have ever tasted.

Naturally, the adults in this place take care of all of the children and provide them with all of their other necessities, such as fresh clothing, medicine, and any other important necessities.

As I followed grandma Baum down the empty corridor, I suddenly remembered something that had stuck with me to the point where I couldn't stop thinking about it even now. Yes, it is something that I find strange.

As I said earlier, if the children here have the same fate as me, that is, we are all lost, then the strangeness will begin from here on out. Because it is strange that none of them appears to miss their homes or families.

I never once heard any of my friends discuss their pasts, such as where they were born, whether or not they had siblings, or whether or not they missed seeing their parents.

No, nothing at all. I've never heard of such a thing, so I came up with a crazy theory because those children had not only been abandoned in this place like I had been, but they had all actually lost their memories of their past.

But I never shared my theory with anyone. In fact, I didn't even have the courage to discuss it with grandma Baum.

There is yet another peculiar occurrence that takes place in this place, which is the fact that each day, the adults in charge of us children are instructed to bring us to a particular room, which contains an odd statue.

A statue that was carved to look like a young man, complete with a handsome face and wearing a long robe. And whenever I looked at the statue, I had the unsettling sensation that my soul was being sucked into the darkness.

In addition to that, all of the children, including myself, were instructed to read a book that was full of stories and praises, as well as words that I could not read.

I am convinced that all the stories and praises contained within the book are meant to be dedicated to the young man engraved on that odd statue.

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Suddenly, I heard a voice coming from grandma Baum, who was at that moment stopping in front of a door that was familiar to me.

'this... This door leads to the room where the other children and I used to read the strange book I mentioned earlier,' I said anxiously to myself.

When I realized that this room was also the place of the statue of the mysterious young man, I noticed that my heart was beating very quickly for some reason.

"We are here, remember Blume, pay attention to your demeanor once you're inside!"