Irreconcilable Paths

A Captain Lost in Time

There I stood, inside a room I've been in a million times before. The air feels cold and heavy. The room is so empty that the silence roars louder than all else. The only things you can see is darkness and a small spotlight.

Within the light is one figure, a humanoid machine. It's eerie to look at when you first step in. It looks like a person, but the skin is replaced by a rough surface reminiscent of asphalt. They told me that the machine was made from the most durable metal known, but it was now worn down by the years of usage.

The machine was designed to take all the damage from an attack and calculate how much force was exerted from that attack. It has always been reliable and it's always given the most accurate measurements anyone can get. So this will be the key to my training.

The only items I brought with me to this room is my sword and the bitter taste of defeat. I want revenge, and I need to get stronger to get it.

With this in mind, I steady myself, preparing to attack. I unsheathe my sword, aim the blade towards the machine, and rush towards it.

That's strange, has the distance between the door and the machine increased? The machine seems so far away. I haven't even started yet, so why do I feel so enervated? It feels like I just fought a decade-long war. I can feel how tired every part of my body is. I know now why my arms gave up holding my sword; why my legs gave up moving; why my body fell to the floor; more importantly, I know now why I'm losing consciousness...

***

What happened? Where am I? I can't open my eyes. I can't move my limbs. Wait, why is the ground so...damp? It feels so different from the ceramic floor that the Training Room had. What are these ropes I feel between my fingers? It can't be...It is! It's grass! I'm in grasslands? How did I get here? Was I kidnapped? Was I in a battle I don't know of? Was I killed and my soul is trapped in my corpse? What happened to me? 

What's that? Footsteps? It's light, it doesn't seem to be an adult person, but it surely isn't an animal. Damn it! Eyes, open!

My eyelids slowly rise up, allowing the light to meet my eyes. The skies, they're crystal clear, no cloud in sight. The only thing you can see is the blue colours of the atmosphere and the sun shining brightly.

"I see you're awake now," a soft voice speaks. I scan around to see who it was. When I saw a figure, I was surprised, it was a child. A small boy in the middle of a wide and empty yet beautiful prairie.

"There are better places to take a nap than on the ground, you know?" the boy tells me as he holds out his hand, "give me your hand."

I accept his offer and lend him my hand. That's odd, it seems to fit perfectly in his.

"I thought he was just a small boy!" I thought to myself. That's strange, he's taller than me! What's happening? Why am I short? And why the hell does he look so familiar? Well, I should at least thank him for helping me up.

"Hey, thanks for that," I tell him, rather shyly.

"Don't mention it," he says as he turns around and smiles, "what's your name?"

"My name? It's Silvia."

"I'll definitely remember that," he extends his arm once more as if to shake my hand, "It's nice to meet you, Silvia, I'm Valdus."