7 Rings

Part 2

Waking up again, I found myself laying in a bed. It was comfy and I felt like closing my eyes again. Suddenly I jolted up. My heart was beating incredibly fast. Just then, a door on the other side suddenly opened. "You've finally awakened." Said the red haired woman, walking over to me, sitting down on a chair next to me. I looked at her with confusion. "What happened? I-I remember falling into the pond! I thought I died! How am I alive?!" She looked at me with a hard to read expression. "You did die," she said. "My dear, you've been reborn." she explained. "Reborn?" I looked up at the woman and she turned and grabbed a small mirror From a nearby table. "See for yourself," she said. A young boy appeared in the reflection. He had light pink hair, a soft complexion, and dark green eyes. "T-Thats me?" I said, while moving my head around. The woman sighed and raised a hand against her cheek. "I truly am at a loss. That should have been impossible," she said. I was equally perplexed. I never thought I'd breathe again. Looking at her again, I asked, "Where are we?" She smiled and said "Inside the Great Phoenix. The Sacred Tree." She then stood up and said, "I will give you a moment to collect yourself. There are clothes on the table. Once you've put them on, follow the hall behind the door. Keep on going down it until you reach the end of the hall. There will be a door with a red bird carved in it at the end. I nodded, and as she left I looked under the covers of the bed I was in. She was right, I was completely naked. Examining myself, I admired my body. My legs weren't rotted, my skin didn't look like dried leather, and I felt energy coursing through me. It was then that I realized my left hand was closed into a fist. I tried to open my fist but I couldn't unclasp my hand. I felt the weight of the small stone in my hand, and after prying my fist open with my other hand I was able to open it. I felt blood flow into my hand and soon I was able to freely move it. The stone had dropped onto my leg and it gave off a strange warmth. Picking it up and examining it closer, I saw no visible differences from before. It looked the exact same as earlier, the only differences were that it was strangely warm and I felt no energy coming from it. Deciding I'd ask that woman what was up with the stone, I set it on the chair she was sitting on and stood up, and walked over to the table. She had given me a long sleeved shirt, some pants, and basic undergarments. They were all dark red and looked very similar to the flowers that were blooming on the lily pads. They looked very fragile, but as I put them on they felt surprisingly tough. They fit me perfectly. I had pockets so I grabbed the rock, put it in my left pocket and headed out the door.

As I walked down the hall, I felt full of energy. I really wanted to run around but I held myself back. There were a few turns and some doors with different designs etched in them, but I ignored them as I continued down the hall. After a couple minutes of walking I reached the end of it. I was confused because there wasn't a door with a bird design and I was sure this was the end of the hall. As I was looking around, a door suddenly appeared in front of me. The woman stood at the entrance and beckoned me forwards. "How did you do that? It wasn't here a second ago," I said as I walked towards her. "It's been enchanted with a simple spell. It makes it so anyone who hasn't seen the door before is unable to see it when it's closed." She told me. "Spell? What's a spell?" I asked. She looked at me in surprise. "Please come with me, I need to ask you some things." She hurried through the door, and I followed. Once past the door I gasped. We were inside what I think is a large room. It's hard to tell because the floor, walls, and even ceiling were reflecting different places. The wall to my right showed enormous mountains with a massive storm sweeping through them. The wall to my left depicted a jungle battered by constant rain. Below me the floor showed a desert that looked almost endless. The ceiling showed the sky. As I was looking around in wonder the walls shifted to different images. From muddy swamps to fiery volcanoes, they were constantly changing to depict different locations. "This is the 7th's map. These walls show almost every place in this land," The woman said. She had moved to the center of the room and was sitting at a round table I hadn't noticed. "My name is Shar, please come sit." She said pointing to a chair next to her. I crossed the room and sat in the chair. "Now please tell me, what is your name?" Shar asked, a weird expression on her face. "Um, my name is-" I paused. Wait, my name? What was my name again? Shar sighed "I knew it. I thought it was weird that you didn't know what a spell was. Can you recall anything about yourself?" It suddenly hit me. I can't remember anything. The only memory I have is being in that cave. I don't know how or why I got there, I don't know what drove me. I must have had a reason to press forwards in the cave, but I can't remember it. Who am I!? Who......am I? I pulled my hair in despair. "I-I can't remember anything. I don't know." Shar reached over to me and gently hugged me. "It's ok. You need to calm down," she gently whispered into my ear. Tears poured down my face as I sat within her gentle embrace. After a few minutes I calmed down. She let me go and looked into my eyes. "This is certainly strange, but you'll be ok." She told me. I nodded, and she smiled. "I don't know why you don't have any memories either, but I might be able to help you get them back. Place your hands on my shoulders and close your eyes." I did as she said, and then I felt Shar's forehead touch mine and she said something in a language I couldn't understand. "Azhdez Lak Moh." I felt heat come from my head and Shar pulled me back and looked into my eyes with surprise.

"Is something wrong?" I asked. She shook her head and sighed. "I'm sorry but yet again I've never seen anything like this before." "What do you mean? What happened?" I asked worriedly. Shar looked down for a moment before raising her head and looking me straight in the eyes. "You don't have any memories, you don't have a past. Your soul's beginning is coming up from the pond, nothing comes before that." That didn't make any sense. How was that possible? No past? How can I not have a past? What about my memories of that cave? Shar rested her arms on the table and looked deep in thought. With a moment to calm down, a thought came to me. Who was she? She was at the end of that cave. I can vaguely remember that she told me to fall into the pond too. She must be connected to this in some way. I don't want to think that she's bad, but I know pretty nothing about her. Why is she even helping me? Shar, who I had been observing for a bit, suddenly turned to me, and as if reading my mind, she said "You intrigue me, I've never had a visitor before, and the first one who does is a half dead husk. You did something I didn't think was possible when you came back up from that pool, not to mention that you seemingly have no past. Simply put, you're an anomaly, and that intrigues me." So that's why? I guess I can see where she's coming from. I mean I'm pretty much nothing right now. I see no reason to even bother with distrusting her. "Well, I guess I have nothing then. What do I even do now?" Shar stood up and moved to some orb thing that was standing near the center of the room. "Well, listen, I don't think you should give up yet. It simply isn't possible for you to have no past. The fact you have memories from before your "soul" started is really strange. I can think of only one reason why your memories are like this. They must have been the price of being reborn." But why were my memories the price? From what Shar has said, being reborn isn't something that's ever happened before. If my memories were worth that much then who the hell was I? "Listen, I believe that your memories aren't completely gone," Shar said. "Wait, what do you mean? Weren't they the price?" I asked. "Yes, they were, however, it isn't possible to erase the past, your past. They must have been taken," She said. So my memories aren't completely gone? This is finally some good news. I swear I will get my memories back. I don't care who or what took them. Determined, I asked "how can I find who took them?" Shar sighed and said "saying that it would be hard is an understatement. Listen, your memories must be at the core. "The core? What's that?" I asked. "It's the very center of this world. Where everything originates from," She said. "That pond you were reborn in is connected to said core, meaning the only possible place your memories could be is there." I smiled and said, "That's great! So all I need to do is get to the core and I can get my memories back?" Shar stared at me for a couple of seconds before sighing. "You don't understand the gravity of this. Let me explain some things to you." With that, she sat up and walked over to a some orb thing I hadn't noticed before sticking out of the ground. She then grabbed and whispered something.