Vanitas

"Erm…"

When he tried to open his eyes, they felt heavy. It took him a fair bit of time to flutter open his eyes.

"Where am I?" He could see the ceiling high above his head. He felt softness under him. When he moved his hands around to touch beside him, it felt soft and smooth.

"Is this a bed?"

He slowly propped himself up and found that he indeed was on the bed. As he got up, the cover that had been draped over him slid down and he felt the cold wind assault his naked upper body. He had his trousers on. Only the upper body had been stripped of all the cloth. The reason for it was clear to him when he saw bandages wrapped around his torso and hands.

Since he was feeling a bit cold, he wrapped the white blanket over his body and then scanned the room.

He was currently sitting on the bed which was attached to the wall. He touched the surface and felt a roughness upon touching it. The wall was made up of stone. Whether they were limestones, sandstone, or granite, he couldn't say for sure. There may well have been wood used as well.

Right next to his bed was a small wooden chair the same height as the bed he was on. His shirt, overcoat, and gloves were put neatly on the chair and they looked new and were even shining. On the foot of the chair were his boots.

There was a table and a chair just across the room. His sword sat in the middle of the table. A half-length mirror was a few steps next to it.

He let go of the covers and with only his pants on walked towards the mirror. Maybe it was because he had been sleeping until a little while ago, his feet felt a bit sluggish.

As he stood in front of the mirror, he saw his reflection. His face, hair, empty eyes, and body wrapped with white bandages all over were clearly reflected in the polished mirror. There was something about that color white that bugged him, like usual. However, something else caught his attention.

It was the black symbols and letters that were engraved on his chest region. These symbols weren't drawn on his chest. They were carved and etched into his very flesh so no matter what, they will not be washed away or disappear. A glimpse at those symbols was enough for him to remember who he was and what he was supposed to do.

He clenched his fists tight.

He felt like he had lost something important. Every time he woke up like this, the feeling of utter loss that pinched his heart, was unbearable. He felt as if he would be crushed by the heavy weight of that loss. But whenever, he looked at those symbols, he felt a fire raging inside him. He didn't remember why he had these things carved in his chest. Even that, he seems to have forgotten. But, the feelings remained yet. The burning passion and desire to achieve something that those writings evoked in him melted away any insecurities and confusion he would have. He didn't need to know now. All he had to do was continue moving forward and reach the goal that had been carved on his body and his soul. He believed that as long as he followed through, he will eventually arrive at the answer waiting for him at the end of his journey.

After letting the inferno of passion blaze every pore of his body, he exhaled a deep breath.

True, he now knows his name and his objective, but still there remained a question. Where was he?

Although it was weird, though his memories seem fuzzy and missing, there are always some parts that he can remember somewhat. Like, this was not the place he was in before. He remembers that the sound of the river water rushing in the background was what he used to wake up to previously. And his room didn't have a mirror or such fancy tables and chairs. Neither was the room made of such high-quality stones and wood. It was a small hut made of low-quality woods, grass, and branches as far as he could recall.

As he was pondering these questions, someone came in through the door. It was a girl and she was holding something like a tray in her hands.

"Oh, you are finally awake?"

The girl had long blue hair cascading down to her hips paired with eyes of the same color. She had a gentle look in her eyes and a kind smile on her face as she slowly walked towards where he was.

"How are you feeling?" She asked.

"Pretty good, I would say." Who was this girl? He felt like he vaguely remembers her from somewhere.

"Can you please move to the bed and sit there? I would like to check up on your wounds and change the bandages if necessary."

Confused as he was, he did as she told.

He sat on the bed and the girl pulled a chair. She sat in front of him and put the small tray she had brought with her next to her on the floor.

She slowly unwrapped the bandages from his body. When her fingers brushed against his body, he felt a gentle wave rock him.

She brought her head closer to his body and squinting her eyes, examined the wounds.

"The wounds seem to have healed perfectly. Only a few scars remain. Though it has only been two days." She said to herself.

"Wait? What do you mean by two days?"

"I mean that it's been two days since we treated your injuries after bringing you here from the woods."

Wait, did that mean, he had passed out for two whole days? That fact concerned him a bit. Then after a while, he started remembering the events of the days that felt like it was only yesterday to him.

He remembers fighting in the forest with hordes of goblins, gremlins, minotaurs, and minotaur lords. There were only two minotaur lords left when he had completely exhausted himself. After he managed to somehow defeat the two lords, he doesn't remember what happened afterward. However, he does remember feeling the presence of two other people in the vicinity of his final battle of that day. Two humans, to be precise.

That meant that the girl sitting in front of him was one of the two who had been there and who had rescued him.

"Oh." As if he had just remembered something important, he bowed his head low to the girl before him.

She looked a bit surprised.

His head still lowered, he spoke, "Thank you for rescuing me."

The girl got flustered for a second and then she waved both her hands in front of her in denial.

"No, there is no need to. In fact, it should be us that ought to thank you for rescuing us." She continued in a voice filled with gratitude, "If you hadn't arrived back then, we would have likely been killed by the two minotaur lords. It was thanks to you that we survived and in turn managed to rescue you. So, thank you very much."

When she put it that way, it was hard for him to say anything in response. All he did was say, "Okay", and that was the end of the conversation.

The girl got up from the chair as she put the bandages on the tray.

"Do you think you can walk and move around?"

"Yeah, I think I will be fine." He rotated his hands a bit and found no problem with it.

"I see. Then, please get dressed. The General has been wanting to see you."

As he buttoned his shirt and slid his arms in his black overcoat, he asked the girl.

"General? Who's that?"

"Well, I am sure you might be confused about a lot of things. Is it okay if I explain everything to you on the way?"

"Yes. That will be helpful." He really had a lot of questions to ask about his whereabouts and who this General fellow is.

He donned his gloves and put on his shoes. He strapped the sword sheathed on a black scabbard to his hip and now he was ready to depart.

He walked outside the room where he found the blue-haired girl waiting for him.

As he stood next to her, she turned her head toward him.

"Ah, sorry. I haven't introduced myself yet, have I?" She looked as if she had only remembered it now.

"I am Eleanor. Nice to meet you. What is your name?"

"Vanitas." He said. After all, that was what the symbols and letters carved on his body said what his name was.

After that exchange, Vanitas followed after Eleanor until they reached the room where the General was.