The light flashed and disappeared. My eyes regained their function in an unfamiliar land.

I wanted to look around, but the pain in my left arm and torso took my attention.

My eyes then once again lost their function after some sort of liquid escaped from its corners. This only served to heighten my need to let out uncontrollable and incomprehensible words that even I did not understand.

* "Waaa!"* as the pain became unbearable, the louder the blasting noise became. The liquid flowed without signs of stopping.

There was no buzz to guide me. I was at a loss. I failed to understand what was happening.

My heart entered trepidation as I sunk deeper into the depths of darkness, where the fear of the unknown grabbed my heel.

The harshness of this foreign environment threatened to cull my life away. My body curled as my breathing became coarse.

Cold sensation ran through my body as if the hands of the abyss were running their fingertips all over.

The more I yelled, the harder it became to breathe.

Tak* Tak* Tak*

Footsteps coming my way echoed in my ears. Something made a creaking sound.

I desperately opened my eyes to see there were signs of life. A man dressed in white entered my hazy view. I grew calmer by the second… but the pain reminded me of my predicament. There was no time to be silent.

The man was surprised to see my presence. He turned his head left and right, seeking out clues.

Finding no one but me, he showed an emotion known as disappointment and picked me up from the ground.

Was it by accident or not? Nonetheless, the pressure applied was enough to induce pain. Was this what they call torture?

*" Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"* I screamed even louder than before.

Even I did not know why I was yelling such a word. But it managed to encapsulate my emotion, so I didn't care. It got the job done.

A single world carried everything I wanted to say. I suppose this was how expression works.

Confusing...PAINFUL...WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!

He noticed something was wrong. He checked my sides and saw the mark even I could not see. Shocked, he hurriedly turned around, "Oh Poleaca Crea, how can such a little being koaste burns?"

The man entered a doorway with me in hand; he placed me in some soft surfaced before turning in my general direction.

I then watched him draw a golden light in the air.

The line was wobbly...

Amusing

Weaving the thread around, he redirected it to my chest, "Kul" uttered the man with elegance and had the light enter my body.

I could feel my left arm and torso lose most of the pain; I grew calmer as stress slowly lifted from my mind.

My eyelids grew heavier, and even when I wanted to keep my eyes open, they were too heavy. I lost the fight and fell asleep.

But before I did so, I heard the man utter a few words different from the rest.

* "Sleep, for now, Lethias' child."*

That was the first time I completely understood words. I confirmed it was not the words he previously spoke. It was something I knew.

Familiar

With curiosity plaguing my mind, I inadvertently fell asleep.

By the time I opened my eyes, my surrounding was already brightly lit. The pain was now gone, and my mind was clear of any distractions.

I had my back on something soft, so I reckoned I was lying down. It was a comfortable sensation. Warmth and fluffiness invaded my senses.

This feels nice…NO! Fight the urge.

It was so good on the feel that I almost got deceived by this magnificently built trap.

But I fought the urge and won the bloody fight. It was hard-fought, but it was clear who came up on top — me.

Yay. I celebrated by tossing my arms into the air.

With my victory over sleepiness, the next thing I sought to conquer was my limited field of vision. The only thing I could identify was the ceiling, and now that I was out of the container, I found it most interesting and efficient to check my surroundings.

It would be best to get a better grasp of my current position.

So, I tried to move.

I first need to check something. Raising both hands, I confirmed it was still there.

Phew.

My skin had initially been white, but my left arm was now different.

It was now slightly darker in color. It appears to have shriveled up and lost some of its moisture. It was more incredible, its texture different from before compared to the dull white.

Interesting

I was fascinated by the change. I wondered what it was, but no buzz came even after raising a question time and time again.

That surreal ability vanished with my glass cage. It had now become a lot harder to gather knowledge and learn properly.

I feel — uncomfortable but more defined and noticeable.

I didn't know what emotions I was currently feeling. Back when I was contained, I never felt such a thing, so I am clueless about what it was.

It was weird; my heart kept beating; it was strange but oddly satisfying. It was not pain, but something else; it made my blood circulate faster.

I want to know what this means. I want to understand this.

Forgetting my original goal of reconnaissance, I heard footsteps abound.

I frantically looked around to see who it was.

A shadow was then cast upon me, and the smiling face of a man peeked over from above. He was the same person who helped me.

I tried to move about and get up, but he picked me up and raised me above before I could do anything.

I looked at him — he was different from before.

He now had a red face, and my nose twitched, finding him unpleasant to be around.

This was a first for me. I tried not to breathe, so my nose would stop twitching, but that didn't work.

Note: do not stop breathing.

On his left hand was some kind of container releasing the same smell as him.

He brought me closer to his face that reeked of the same intoxicating scent.

Repugnant

Repulsive

I pushed him away, at least I tried to, but my arms had no strength to succeed. It was a losing battle!

Should I deploy the word of "UWA!?"

No, it's still too early. Compelling it may help, but that should be my last resort.

But then, the man initiated another form of assault; he rubbed his face against me, saying, = "Oh child fa Lethias, quiossa mun sa korso!" =

I could not understand him, and I did not like what he was doing. His face was prickly, and it was undesirable.

I knew that I needed to get my thoughts over to him. So I tried pushing him away combined with sounds I learned how to produce, "Aaah, aaa, sttt!"

I tried uttering words, but nothing right came out. And the more I tried to speak, the more this man brought me towards his face.

He was laughing.

It only brought him more joy—utter failure.

I need to stop him soon.

Attempting to push him away with strength did not work, so I did the next best thing I could do.

Pah!

My palms hit him in the eye; I shouted * "Stap!"*

The man stopped, his hazy eyes clearing.

I succeeded!

Although my nose continued twitching, at the very least, he stopped shoving my face into his.

Victoryyyyy~

Yay! I raised my arms.

Is this my power? Perhaps my strength?

My left hand was still in his eyes, and I expected the man to shake it off quickly. I knew that was a painful experience.

How, you ask?

I did that myself that one time and the said experience was no laughing matter.

Now that I remember the incident, I silently waaaaaa'd that one time.

But the man didn't immediately respond the way I expected him to. Instead, he looked at me with an eye filled with confusion.

He opened his mouth as he slowly took my hands away from his eye.

Opening his mouth, he asked with a shaky voice, * "I-if you can understand my words, C-can you say that again?" *

Finally, someone's words that I could understand were uttered.

I uttered words clearer than before, * "Stop?"*

I saw his eyes widen. He must have been impressed by my improved pronunciation. It appears I can still learn without the water.

The man had his eyes widened as he said, "Lethias, what have you garshiso?"

Oh, I understood most of that too.

I raised my arms — Yay.

Proud