Chapter 7: Lake

The boy held himself back whilst facing the lake, as he remained astoop his form. He saw the child of stone that stood beyond the flowery lake, as it returned a gaze to him.

He planned to jump on the leaves, pluck the flower, and put it in the statue’s clasped hands.

[I can do this...] He warily spoke, an attempt to convince himself ineffectively. His attempts at doing so lead to him to grieve his anxiety. [It couldn’t be that hard, could it?]

The boy took a few deep breaths, steadying himself. He adjusted his posture as he straightened the way he carried his body. A few more breaths. And then he sprinted.

Large, broad steps, as if he hopped from the ground. He continued to run, nearing the lake’s edge. His steps seemed light, almost like a feather, as he maintained his pace.

Until he had reached the boundary between lake and land.

Carrying the momentum of his dash, he vaulted over the bordering line, heading into the first petal that he could reach.

A shadowy figure loomed over the air, its cloak fluttering through. Landing on the lake’s surface, its right foot touched a flower petal, red.

The water did not stir at his actions.

As soon as he contacted it, he bounded for the air once more. Forcing his right leg to move onwards, he reached for the horizons.

He found himself in the sky again, as he flittered past the water.

He touched down another petal, whose color was orange this time.

[This is... it's fun!] In his excitement, he saw the world for what it was. This little game of his, it was fun. [It’s like hopscotch!]

He had no memories of the past. He did not enjoy the same treatment as most normal beings were said to have; with a personality and past to speak of.

He lacked the latter, and the former was vague.

Yet he possessed knowledge on certain topics. Such as the strange concept of 'non-euclidean geometry', what 'braille' is, and how 'hopscotch' works.

Though, of course, hopscotch isn’t just about hopping.

From all the tribulations he had experienced, this was the first time he ever felt the concept of ‘fun’. His previous harrowing experiences allowed him to enjoy the excitement he currently felt at full length.

The boy hopped again, as his left foot bore the burden.

Aiming for the skies, he looked for the next petal to use as a platform. A few meters away from him, a yellow one was motionlessly still. He chose that as his destination as he landed on it.

Halting his buoyant travels, he realized that the flower he needed to claim was already within his reach.

As he was quite close to it, he could finally make out the details he couldn’t identify before.

The flower stood out from the rest of the background, seeing that it was situated right in the middle of the lake. Its stalk seemed to be below the water, holding the flower in place.

A flower placed in deepened waters whilst surrounded by petals, a noble sight for his eyes.

It had nine petals spread apart, each one a different shade of green. Said petals shimmered from the dappled sunlight, sparkling as they basked within the light's glory.

The blossom’s core had the must curious decoration, a single emerald gem.

The boy leaned closer, studying the flower in depth. With a tiptoe, he appeared to be a bowing figure, as he faced the flower with wariness.

[That’s certainly the weirdest flower I’ve ever seen.] He mused upon the strange flower, an inorganic appearance. [It doesn’t even look natural.]

The boy fixed his posture, if only to straighten himself while positioned unaturally with his body.

Despite that, he still stood with one foot, as the other dangled close to the water. And as he noted everything else, he finally reached for the forlorn bud.

[Pluck the flower and get to land, pluck the flower and get to land...] He reminded himself repeatedly, he couldn't afford to forget that simple fact. [I'm nervous...]

As he focused on the task at hand, his eyes laid its gaze on the solitary plant.

Slowly, his body lowered itself until he appeared to be crouching. A few more seconds of silence and then... he leapt.

He sprung into action. His legs carried him a few meters above the surface, pushing him nearer to his goal.

He seemed like a raven in flight, reaching for its prey. An ink-black raven, ready to pluck a flower from its resting place.

The distance between him and the blossom grew closer until he was within an arm’s length. The flower was within his reach now. He was still at the zenith of his flight when he lifted the bloom from its watery foundation.

The flower, whose color was in different shades of green, was in his grasp.

‘Next, I just need to get off this lake and into land, then I can deposit this thing into the statue’s hands.’ With one goal finished, he neared the puzzle’s completion.

With the flower in hand, he glided through the air, continuing his journey to reach the ground gliding through.

He witnessed a strange response from the petals on the lake’s surface. Some of them were sinking.

[I’m fucked!] He blurted, while landing on a blue petal. The verdict that he would fall and drown caused him to fear for his life. [And fucked I am!]

The situation was unfavorable for him, as the petals he stood on were descending beneath the waters. The platforms he could use would soon vanish if this continued.

[Stop talking to yourself, goddamit!] He continued to talk to himself, aware that doing so would have no benefit. Habits die hard, unfortunately. [Just jump!]

With his foot still rooted, he surveyed the area for any more petals, noticing that only two remained.

One was hued indigo, and beyond it, violet. These petals were faltering in their place, however.

‘Oh no, they’re sinking already!’ The thought gave him an adrenaline rush, something he genuinely needed at the moment.

In a spur of action, the boy set his sights on the indigo petal, reaching it after a quick hop.

He discovered that the petal bearing his weight wobbled. Aware of that, he jumped onto the final petal, the violet one.

With the momentum from his jump still intact, he bounced onto the final petal as he neared land. He arrived at the last petal he needed to reach, aware of how close he was to reach the statue.

He was only one jump away now.

The boy crouched again, gathering the force needed to conclude his airborne journey. Whilst the petal wobbled, he remained still, his body lowering itself. This continued for a few brief moments until the petal wavered in its position.

Sensing the urgency, he made the last jump, hurtling across the air.

From an observer’s perspective, the picturesque view of a shadow clinging to a blossom would most likely be a sight worthy of being framed. If not because the creature’s head still had a black box as its mask, it would be a perfect moment to capture.

The creature resumed its buoyant journey in the air, with the ground being a few mere meters now.

Sensing the completion of his action, the boy readied himself. His feet started to touchdown, with the presence of ground beneath it. Completing his movement, he finished his descent. What he didn’t consider, however, was how to land.

He stumbled, his sense of balance perturbed by the rocky landing he had performed. His legs gave up, with his body crashing headfirst into the ground. Because of that, he rolled over and over, like a broken wheel clinging to what little purpose it has.

He continued his careening motion until he hit the statue with his head.

[Ow... ow... ow... ow...] He tried to grip his head, only to realize that the accursed visor still existed. [That hurt a lot... Wait, where’s the flower?]

He stumbled around, fumbling as he did his rampant search for the missing blossom.

[The flower... the flower!] He yelled, hung up at the mistake he made. Though it wasn't really a mistake. [Where the hell did it go!?]

He panicked, not knowing where the flower had gone. Did he drop it over the lake by chance? Perhaps it left him when he impacted the ground? Maybe it got destroyed when he landed?

Many possibilities rose in his head, none of which is correct.

The boy looked for the flower, craning his head everywhere to see where it had gone to. He spent a few minutes hunting for it, ignorant of the situation’s reality. And he was to blame for it.

While looking for the flower, he glance downwards, seeing the blossom in his hands. He stared at the bloom for a few seconds, realizing that he had it all this time.

Not once had it left his grasp. It only took a mere glance at the clenched grip to make him realize he played himself for a fool.

It was already in his hands.

[Screw not forgetting things?!] Even though he knew he was the one at fault, he could only scream in anger. His 'eidetic memory' did not help in this case.

[I didn’t even know that the bloody flower was IN MY HANDS! YOU FUCKING TWAT!]

He tried to throw the flower to the ground, his anger still fuming. Before he could do so, however, the single strand of sanity left from him stopped him from continuing with his actions, as he did not know whether the blossom would perish with his ill-tempted endeavor.

But alas, his emotions were hard to control, as he attempted again and again, with his conscience preventing him from doing the deed. In a back-and-forth arrangement, he sought to destroy the flower, before his mind failed to resume in doing so.

In the end, he just walked straight to the statue, with his eyes downcast and his thoughts crestfallen.

[I am an incorrigible ass.] With the boy's current exposure to his stupidity, these were the words he muttered to himself. [An asinine, incorrigible ass.]

He faced the statue, which remained immovable in its position. It wore the same old clothes he had seen before. While he attempted to insert the flower, he stopped, noticing something.

Halting his attempt, he probed into the statue’s head. He found the stony figure to be strange, for it lacked a certain aspect of what comprised a human body.

Or perhaps, he would be the one to lack of it.

[Come to think of it, this statue has a face... doesn’t it?] Confusion set in, as his incapability to perceive the statue’s face disoriented his thoughts.

[Then why... why can’t I recognize it?]

He touched statue’s face, searching for the features which would consist a human one. He identified the nose, the mouth, the eyes, and even the ears. Nothing was missing, and they formed a perfect unity with its facial appearance.

All the features remained intact.

Yet he failed to recognize the face in its absolute form, and he could not understand why. Something blocked his mind from identifying facial traits.

[I’m certain that this is the face, but I can’t perceive it properly...]

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Prosopagnosia [Debilitant]:

Prosopagnosia, also called face blindness, is an impairment in the recognition of facial identity. Prosopagnosics often have difficulty recognizing family members, close friends, and even themselves.

They tend to use alternative routes to recognition, but these routes are not as effective as recognition via the face. Not surprisingly, prosopagnosia can create serious social problems.

It can be accompanied by recognition impairments affecting other categories such as scenes, object recognition, and facial expressions of emotion, but in some cases, face recognition deficits occur in isolation.

You are in possession of this [Debilitant]

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[Prosopagnosia?] An unfamiliar word appeared within his thoughts. And alongside it, a manifest of information that entered his mind. [Waitwaitwaitwait...]

Though unlike before, the process was a lot more subtle, and it lacked the pain that once accompanied him whenever his mind fell victim to the influence of the enigmatic source.

While the procedure remained a mystery to him, as he did not know what triggered the procedure in question, he still benefitted from its effects.

He gained knowledge he wouldn't have acquired from any conventional sources, as it simply popped into his mind.

However, it was just as suspicious as any event in his entire life, which did not seem to amount more than a few days.

[Hmm...] Vexed he was, for he wanted to unearth its origins, of where this font of knowledge came from. But his laziness took over him. [Do I even care at this point?]

He dismissed his thoughts, as he couldn't be bothered with most of his problems. It would be another issue he needed to save for later, once he gathered more information about himself.

[Yeah, I don't care much.] While he did not succeed in allaying his concerns, his mind fared better by casting those thoughts aside. He would deal with them later.

The boy directed himself to face the modest sculpture, who he still regarded with interest. Its stony form remained to be a remarkable body to him, with its impeccable details that mimicked that of reality.

Its hands remained clasped, it grasped as if it prayed. The statue was a receiver, a vessel for the flower.

[Do I put it in?] He showed uncertainty over what he would do, though he proceeded with his actions. He expected change that came with what the statue did. [I'm gonna do it.]

He fitted in the flower, holding it by the stalk. The boy then let go of it, as it fell into the statue's hands. A snug fit for the blossom, as the boy beheld the sight.

The figure of a statue clasping onto a flower was left. It looked rather sad, or forlorn even. It stood by the lakeside, with no companions to attend it.

The ground quaked, a rumbling noise echoing throughout the entire room. The walls shuddered, dust falling off from them.

And then, the sound became unbearable.

It hurt his ears.

[Argh....] He gripped the sides of his visor, if only to block what he heard. But as his body did not possess any conventional ears, he did not succeed in this.

The noise continued to resonate with him, as it dulled his head in pain.

[What the hell is happening!]

The boy turned around, looking for a way to escape from his plight. What he saw, however, was a waking nightmare.

The walls had crumbled down, showing only a black fog that seemed to absorb light. The flowers were wilting, covering the ground with fallen petals that had lost their luster.

He led his gaze to the lake, only to discover that a large sinkhole replaced it. Something fitting to be called an abyss.

The bottom seemed to be unreachable.

The sky... was no longer blue. In its place was a black space. Devoid of any stars, with the moon as its only backdrop. The lunar presence made him feel unease.

It was as if someone was observing him.

{|}

With blackened skies and wilted blooms,

I offer you my hand.

And when the king has fallen down,

I give my reprimand.

{|}

A crystal screen appeared before him, the same as it was before. What had changed would be its sheltered letters, a different poem by now.

It seemed to be related to the situation, but it offered no usable information.

He looked at the statue again, unsure of what to do next. He only turned around for but a moment, yet the figure varied by its appearance, and no trace of its regal presence had remained with it.

In its hands, the flower had wilted, with the emerald gemstone already gone. From its clasping hands, it vanished, and it left a wilted bloom in its stead. The life had gone from its very petals.

And what he saw worse of the changes would be the statue, as it smiled.

The child of stone, whose visage he could not comprehend, smiled before the dumbstruck boy. A change unprecedented, alarming, and dreadful...

A diabolical grin on its face.

[What?] It was as if the world was playing a trick on him. To him, the world had no reason to toy with his fate, but it continued to do so. [You smug little piece of-]

The ground beneath him cracked, crumbling under his weight.

He stumbled backward, with the insanity of the scenario rendering him shocked. He remained on the ground, still staring at the statue when... it broke down.

The ground he stood on fractured, joining in the sinkhole’s lunacy. With the land he stood on already gone, he fell down.

As he plummeted downwards into the dark fissure, he saw the statue staring down at him. It seemed to move as it craned its head further with a smile plastered on its mask.

He tried to reach out to it, only touching the air.

His consciousness flickered in and out of reality, incapable of processing the lunacy that he experienced. His thoughts grew fainter with each breath he took.

Before he fell unconscious, a single sentence appeared before him.

{|}

☽[You are a lapdog of reality.]

{|}

These were the last words he read before his dark descent. He had fallen into the abyss.