[Eiswelt, Taured, February 6th, Thursday, 10:26 AM, 2025]
I lost my memories. Five entire years had passed. Not that I could tell.
My whole being was aching and tingling and feeling an overwhelming pain, the kind that comes with severe acute hypothermia and being flash-frozen.
The next thing I knew and felt was something around my body crumbling.
I had been frozen in ice.
I was cold. Unrealistically cold. As cold as death itself.
I looked around me, and all I saw was snow, blood, destroyed buildings, ice, and corpses.
I turned around to find shattered ice on the ground. Something had hit me.
I had been hit by a van and flash frozen onto it by The Storm.
I was frozen on the side of the van; she must've formed a cube of ice around me.
I didn't remember anything at the time.
Where I was, what happened here, barely anything about my past either. The only thing I remembered was my name, and strangely enough how my body looked before being frozen.
My eyes shut from both the cold and the pain, I clutched my head as visions flooded my mind, memories that were no longer mine, a smile, a blurry face, a gentle voice.
James Karawei: "Agh! What— What is this...?!" I gasped in pain and shook my head violently as if it would do anything to get them out of my head.
I opened my eyes and looked down at myself.
My own hands, they were bigger, despite being in ice, I had grown up.
Strangely enough, I had no shirt on, just some jeans.
I quickly went over to the side of the van and looked into the broken glass, seeing enough of myself to realize just how much I had grown.
My body had changed and developed while frozen, and even my hair grew out more. It was still brown, still messy, just more of it.
My eyes still had starry pupils, they were still blue. For now.
The most important detail was that my muscles grew bigger, I looked like a bodybuilder.
And I felt taller too, around 6'0 in height or 182 cm.
James Karawei: "Wow… I'm James, James Karawei… This is so insane… Was I always this buff?" I smirked, not out of joy but from the sheer absurdity of the situation and flexed my biceps.
I was completely numb to my situation.
That's when I felt something in my pocket, way warmer than my jeans that's for sure.
It was not the beacon, that was long gone.
Inside my pocket was a lone note, not put there by me.
"Follow the road home, South, Jasmine is your friend. - R.K"
James Karawei: "R.K? Why does that sound familiar... And who the heck is Jasmine? And most importantly where the heck am I? I better not be homeless in this… wasteland."
I tucked it back into my pocket and sighed.
The wind gave no answers.
I had no idea who left it there.
I didn't remember much other than myself and my name. And how to tell which direction I was facing by looking at the sun, which was setting over the horizon.
It was surreal looking around at everything, the destroyed buildings, the frozen cars, the blood on the ground.
But other than that, I was clueless.
James Karawei: "Guess I'll try to find a vantage point, see exactly where I am… That tower looks good enough."
I began walking towards the Eisturm Tower, towards the center of the city.
The city of Eiswelt— Not that I remember the name— Was filled with corpses.
Most frozen, some not-so-frozen and held up by strange... Talismans, as best as I can describe them.
Small pieces of paper linked together with strange eyes on them and symbols in black ink and other markings.
They looked ancient and modern at the same time, both the corpses and the talismans.
It was tragic.
James Karawei: "Holy crap. Who could've done all of this... And why? What for? Oh man... I think I'm going to be sick—"
I ran over quickly to a broken car and puked straight into the open hood.
James Karawei: "Ugh… Hopefully nobody'll use this again. Gotta avert my gaze…"
I shut the hood of the car and kept going.
After half an hour or so of walking, I had reached the base of the tower.
It was also flash frozen, spikes sticking out of it like some sort of messed-up art piece.
The giant ice spike where the port used to be also caught my attention as the sun dipped lower on the horizon, but then I looked back up at the tower.
More corpses.
Hung by their necks, by a strange white rope made up out of a bunch of the same talismans I saw earlier over it. These were just tiny and more compact.
Ice spikes were embedded in almost all of the bodies, impaling them to the tower, some had bullet wounds, some were just hung, some were frozen completely, making giant fleshly ice cubes. But they were all hung by the strange white rope.
Blood laced the tips of the ice spikes.
James Karawei: "Oh man... How'd they even get them up there?"
The sight made me almost nauseous again but I pushed through it and moved closer.
Even the central door leading inside the tower was covered with corpses and blood stains.
I turned around and saw a bunch of buildings in the Northern Quadrant burnt to ashes with smoke still rising from them. Molten and frozen at the same time. I saw even more destroyed buildings to the West, and strangely a few intact ones in the East. But in the clearing in the Southern Quadrant of the city, I saw trees.
I saw the road home.
James Karawei: "That looks like South… A chance I've got to take."
Not that I knew I was heading home, yet my feet started moving on their own, something inside of me refused to die. I wanted the truth.
I made my way to it, walking past the main highway to Taured, going over the frozen cars and people.
Taking one last look at the sunset.
And crossing an army barricade which led into the forested road.
So I kept walking.
[A month had passed]
I was far away from Eiswelt now, I realized I was still on the road, but no longer on the frozen sea.
Everything was quiet in my mind, my body, the world around me. No cars. No fuss. Nobody cared.
It didn't register to me at the time, but I wasn't hungry or thirsty. I had been walking for over 30 days straight with no sleep either.
The only strange thing I noticed in my hazy-state was that some trees had the same talismans on them like those in Eiswelt.
I felt numb.
I pondered the silence, my eyes drew to the sun, and I kept walking.
[Another month had passed]
I watched the snow melt into mud, and the mud turn into spring grass.
I watched destroyed cars around me, flash-frozen this far out from Taured and corpses marked with even more talismans.
A few corpses and cars were even burned to a crisp.
Yet I never stopped walking.
[Three months had passed]
I had been walking for way longer than I had realized.
Time felt weird for me, I didn't know it then, but I had been walking South for over 2 months— No, 3 months. I didn't know for sure, but I could just somehow tell. And I didn't mind either.
I was completely out of it, barely thinking.
Complete autopilot.
Still thinking about things every now and then, just barely. On an almost subconscious level.
The same scenery didn't help.
I still wasn't hungry or thirsty, at least not for sustenance. My mind was working fine, other than the zombie-like state and lack of memories or feelings.
I wanted truth, something, anything.
A warm blanket, even.
I kept walking.
Even more time passed, a week or so.
Somewhere down the road, after who knows how many steps—
I found a car. The furthest car I'd seen from Taured. Which was strange enough on its own.
The sight alone almost instantly snapped me out of my haze and I felt a surge of adrenaline flow through my body.
James Karawei: "What… What's a car doing here, in the middle of nowhere? They better have food..."
I quickly ran over.
It was covered in ice spikes, talismans were on the car and it was also burned.
It looked like it had exploded.
I looked inside the car.
It didn't register at first in my mind.
The bodies.
My mother, Aunt Lara's dog Ricky, and my father were in front of the car. My mother's flesh had been burned off completely, she was a skeleton. Ricky was covered in talismans, almost like he'd been mummified. And my dad was flash frozen in the front seat.
I didn't recognize them, but the sight alone filled me with a strange indescribable feeling, it made me dizzy and it almost made me throw up again.
James Karawei: "Oh… oh no… What is the meaning of all this death?!"
Through the other side of the broken windshield, I saw a man in a crimson suit, he had a matching fedora on his head which had a black hatband, his messy black hair peeking out from under the fedora. He was also wearing a black face mask with strange golden carvings on it.
I hadn't noticed him earlier, he had just been standing there, hands in his pockets, watching me.
I turned to look at him.
James Karawei: "W-who are you? Did you—Did you kill these people?!"
The man tilted his head at my question, as if he hadn't understood why I asked and stepped closer.
The Boss: "No? What makes you think that? Oh, excuse my manners. You're James Karawei and you can just call me… The Boss."
The nausea combined with the sudden dizziness almost made me trip as I took a few steps back from the car.
James Karawei: "Why are you here in the middle of the road next to this car then…? Uff… W-why… What do you want? How do you know my name?"
He didn't respond and instead he lifted his right hand.
The Boss: "It's that same boring question again. You know everyone asks me that right? Like they can't take a hint."
As he said this a strange glowing crimson chain shot out from his hand, wrapping around my father in the car.
The Boss: "Let's say I'm here to take something that doesn't belong. Something important."
He pulled his hand back and my father flew through the windshield, sending glass flying everywhere. I ducked down instinctively as the shards rained.
Before I knew it—
He was crouched over the corpse of my father, a strange glowing red aura covered his body.
Humming a strange tune to himself.
Even if I didn't remember The Boss from my birth or my father, some part of me screamed at the sight. But I couldn't find the voice to actually scream.
Like a wound I didn't know I had, suddenly aching.
We locked eyes, and I hopped up on top of the car's hood. Suddenly feeling energetic.
James Karawei: "I'll ask again… Sir, did you kill these people?" I asked calmly, my hands trembling, with something I couldn't name.
The Boss: "No, James. I'll also say it again, I am here to collect." He said and looked back down at my father.
Suddenly, the man smashed the ice covering my father with his right hand and grabbed my father by the neck, the rest of the ice melted away instantly and then the aura disappeared.
The Boss: "Oh? Looks like little Zuzu failed to finish the job. Or maybe Reality has made you more resilient, but you're still alive."
The Boss's hand began glowing an unnatural crimson as a single red chain came forth from his palm again, which embedded itself into the neck of my father.
James Karawei: "No way…"
My father was preserved well by the ice, I saw it too that he was still alive.
But unfortunately he didn't realize what was happening. He slowly and pathetically struggled in the man's grasp.
Alexander Karawei: "Ack… You!—Who?—J-Jam—"
I couldn't move a muscle, not because I was scared, but because I didn't know what to do.
His eyes found mine as he looked around frantically, coughing as he started losing oxygen as if the glowing chain was suffocating him. He became even more distressed and thrashed harder.
The stranger stared me down with zero remorse as he pulled his hand back, a strange, red glowing prism came forth from my father's neck.
His body suddenly went limp and died.
The Boss: "Ah… found you. The second one so far that I've held."
The prism then flew into the stranger's chest. He shuddered and groaned as he stumbled back onto the ground, extending his arms and looking up at the sky. Laughing.
The Boss: "Amazing! So this is real Reality... Hahaha... Truly Amazing! Black wasn't lying to me… That means—"
He took a deep breath as his hand stopped glowing and stood up slowly. His eyes narrowed confidently as they locked with mine.
The Boss: "That means I must proceed with the plan…"
I had no idea what to do.
The Boss: "Your name is James Karawei, you live on 573 Wheelbarrow St., Darrilyn, Piasu, Ryomania. 20 km or so past the city of Havok, which is in the capital of the country. You and your family worked as farmers in the countryside before moving here to Taured, and you've been walking South, home, for the past three months."
He said as he stepped closer, I didn't move an inch or blink once.
James Karawei: "Why... Why do you know so much about me? Who are you? And what did you just do to that man?!"
I felt my hands ball up into fists, my teeth clenching before I knew it.
I took a step off the roof of the car and onto the hood.
The man chuckled and put his hands up as if he were held at gunpoint, slowly backing up towards the corpse of my father.
The Boss: "Tender Trap…" He muttered as red mist seemed to creep out from the sleeves of the man's suit; he winced as if almost in pain, and chuckled.
The Boss: "Amazing… It does work! Hah… Look— Now, now, I don't want to fight... Ngh— I just told you your address with precision, I clearly— Agh... I want to help you..."
The man doubled over and fell onto his knees, shuddering again.
The Boss: "Ah… this hurts more than I thought, guess that's what I get for being hasty—James, go home, my dear boy! You'll recover there. The truth, and— Yourself! Agh—"
The man suddenly toppled over, shaking and groaning in pain. Large glowing crimson fangs jutted out of his mouth, breaking through his face mask.
The air around us began to break, like a mirror being shattered.
Red glass shards breaking off of the air itself, cracking like glass.
More and more mist covered the area until I couldn't even see ahead of me, I decided to run forwards, past the car and past him.
James Karawei: "You... Just s-stay out of my way, freak!"
I ran past him further onto the road. The mist was still circling me, pouring out from him onto the area at a rapidly increasing speed.
I didn't even feel the tears falling off my face and onto the pavement as I turned and ran into the woods.
I couldn't even tell why I was crying.
The Boss: "Wait! There's something else… Ack… I need to tell you!—"
The man shouted after me, but I couldn't hear anything.
The air began cracking even harder around me, the glass shards flew through my body, they were incredibly cold and made up of an ethereal matter that seemed to not affect me physically.
My vision blurred as I ran. The mist was everywhere now, I couldn't even see my feet when I looked down, so I stopped.
I felt dizzy, and my head was shaking.
I fell over and—
My surroundings changed and I found myself in a field of wheat.
I looked around, trying to find the strange man on the road, but he was nowhere in sight. Nor could I see the red mist, it's as if it was just another vision of mine.
I felt even weaker then.
I saw smoke rising out of a house in the distance.
I fell to my knees and clutched my head as a sharp pain began crawling up my spine and to my temple.
I saw a bunch of images flash through my mind, things I didn't own, people I didn't recognize.
I yelled out before I could stop myself.
James Karawei: "Make it stop! Aah... Nooo!"
I thrashed around on the ground, my body suddenly tensing up.
I blacked out.
[The Karawei Farm, Darrilyn, Piasu, Ryomania, May 6th, Tuesday, 2:21 AM, 2025]
My eyes snapped open, and I stood up, a cold shiver wracked my body, and I felt sweat drip off of me.
Pure exhaustion.
And then a gentle hand rested on my forehead.
Jasmine Olson: "Well, well, well... Little ol' Jamie has woken up! My oh my, how strong you've gotten~"
The girl grabbed a wet, cold towel, gently dabbing my face with it. Smirking and winking at me.
James Karawei: "The man... He— What?! What is this? Where is he? Who are you?!"
She chuckled as I sat up and glanced around in panic.
Jasmine Olson: "What man, silly? This is your house, your living room. Duh. You've got a lot of explaining to do, five years' worth of stuff, I reckon."
She pushed me back with her palm. I laid back on the couch and sighed. Feeling no immediate danger from her.
James Karawei: "Ugh, I think I'm going to be sick again... What do you mean by five years? Who are you exactly?"
She grinned, and shook my hand enthusiastically.
Jasmine Olson: "I'm Jasmine Olson, I'm your friend! At least that's what the note in your pocket said. And so do I, buckaroo."
I glanced under the blanket, a fierce blush creeping onto my face as I realized I had new clothes on.
James Karawei: "You're Jasmine…? My clothes! Wha—"
Sweatpants and a red t-shirt that didn't feel right on me. Even though they were mine. She must've dressed me while I was blacked out.
James Karawei: "D-did you...?"
Jasmine Olson: "Yes. And it's nothing I haven't seen before~ Plus, there was some kind of tough ice on you. I couldn't get it off with my hands, so I crushed it with a hammer and made you a glass of orange juice! It's probably safe. Probably."
She handed me the glass that was on the coffee table, still grinning, it was quite cold.
I almost dropped it as I struggled with the revelation; everything was going by way too fast.
I took a sip and set it down on the coffee table. I sat back up and scooted away from her to put some space between us.
James Karawei: "So... Friend. Um... I don't really know what to say. I woke up in this weird frozen city, and the note you found was in my pocket when I woke up, I was frozen in ice. It told me to go South."
I rubbed my forehead in pain, hugging my knees to my chest.
James Karawei: "I saw a man down the road who hurt some people, at least I think he hurt them… He had a weird red suit and a mask on his face. He caused some sort of red mist to appear and I ran from him and somehow found myself in the wheat field..."
Jasmine rubbed her chin thoughtfully and nodded.
Jasmine Olson: "A man in red huh? Mhm, I know. I've been watching the news... Everyone knows Taured got destroyed five years ago by 'The Storm'. The president, Erringer Strauss, fled to America and reported everything, after that people obviously tried going back to the country to take it over from... 'Them'."
Her expression hardened for a moment as she looked towards the fireplace.
Jasmine Olson: "The Magi, three strange people who took over Taured and have singlehandedly been keeping out multiple countries from it. The Storm, The Blaze and The Ever-Sealed."
James Karawei: "So that's how Taured got destroyed... And I was there? I got flash-frozen in ice—And now you're telling me five years have passed?!"
I let go of my knees and laid back on the armrest of the couch.
Jasmine smiled again and put her hand on my left knee, trying to be comforting.
Jasmine Olson: "Yep, five years... I figured you got frozen or..."
She paused, burying her face in her hands and letting out a deep breath.
Jasmine Olson: "I'm so happy you're alive, James. The Storm probably froze you. Nobody knows much about her, there are theories that she works for the terrorist organization known as Iris and is trying to steal something from Taured, but hasn't found it yet. Those are just theories though… News can't even get in or out of the country anymore."
James Karawei: "But who's R.K. then? And Iris?"
Jasmine lifted her head up, looking at the ceiling fan as it spun round and round.
Jasmine Olson: "Yeah, so... R.K. is..."
She frowned as she met my gaze. She looked away nervously for a split second before clearing her throat.
Jasmine Olson: "Not important. Iris is the dangerous terrorist organization currently running rampant all over the globe. Nobody knows what their goals are, but they've been stealing important objects from countries everywhere for the past eighteen years. Jewelry, art, valuables, seemingly random things like chairs… There's no clear reason as to why. Our president thinks that King Henry has something to do with Iris, and that he paid for 'The Android' to be constructed, but again, those are just stupid rumors."
She stood up suddenly, grabbing the glass of orange juice and drinking from it, not caring at all for the few droplets crawling down her neck.
She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, licking her upper lip.
Jasmine Olson: "I already called everyone and told them you're alive, but since I found you passed out cold in the fields... I reckon your family didn't make it?"
I got the courage to swing my legs over the side of the couch and stand up.
She let out a low whistle as she gave me a once-over.
Jasmine Olson: "Wow... Aren't you a tall bastard? Mhm, that cold air must've done something to ya, Jamie. Or maybe you're just really manly~"
She wiggled her eyebrows and finished the glass, putting it down onto the coffee table with too much force.
James Karawei: "Stop being weird... But yeah, I don't think they made it… Did I even have a family? My head hurts whenever I think about it, and it's also kind of hard to... Feel? Like... emotions... I feel so strange. I've been walking for so long my feet feel numb… My hands…"
I looked down at my hands and clutched them into fists.
Jasmine Olson: "You'll be fine after you get some sleep, I'm sure it's just because you were on ice for five years, no biggie."
I looked up as she chuckled and put her hands on her hips, walking towards the door.
Jasmine Olson: "Alright, well! I'm going home finally. I'm gonna miss this place, better than my little cave, that's for sure. Keys are on the dining table in the living room. School starts tomorrow at 8, Cathy is furious, and Jack is watching Two Piece tonight. And yeah, I know you just woke up from a literal coma, but hey—life keeps going, buddy! Break a leg!"
She turned and walked out of the bedroom, whistling. Leaving me alone with my thoughts again.
James Karawei: "School? Where the heck am I going to go tomorrow?! And who's Jack and Cathy?!?!"
I yelled out after her, she shut the front door in response.
She didn't ask too many questions, which was weird.
Didn't answer enough questions, also weird.
I then made my way into the room to the right of the couch, it coincidentally was my bedroom.
Not that I remembered it.
I took a deep breath as I stared outside and fell back onto the bed, watching the sunset.
James Karawei: "R.K., Iris, the man in red... That strange woman... It's too much."
I muttered as I put a pillow over my face.
I quickly fell asleep.
[ＥＮＤ ＯＦ ＡＲＣ ０－ ＧＥＮＥＳＩＳ]
I remember the day it started,
The day that I went back and the day that I went forwards.
The day was like night to you and the night like day,
And you shone so brightly before me, so that they were both intertwined.