Chapter 1: Who or... What am I?
" URRGH... What happened." A naked figure grabbed ahold of his forehead, feeling a headache coming on.
His groggy eye's opened ever so slowly, taking in his surroundings.
" Umm... Where the heck am I..." He muttered in surprise when he realized that he was in what seemed to be deep well of some sort.
He tried wracking his mind to realize how he ended up here but alas, he remembered nothing, except for his name and basic things like how to speak, breath, walk and of course, his name, as well a few things that had nothing to do with helping him figure out what sort of situation he was in.
" Forget it, maybe I've got some kind of amnesia..." Mo Wang said before pausing, his eyes unfocused. " Wait a minute... What's amnesia anyway?" He mumbles yet the only answer he received, were his own words echoing off the wells walls.
Luckily for him, the well was dry to no end so he didn't have to worry about slipping or drowning, not that he would even be alive if the darn thing was filled with water to begin with.
He gradually stood up, due to the deepness of the well, it was hard for sunlight to travel all the way down, making it difficult to discern his surroundings.
Thought he had no recollection of a lot of things, he still remembered how to climb at the very least.
He pressed his hand against the surface of the wells wall, the earth was surprising rigid yet firm, which was a blessing if any.
With one arm at a time, he began to scale the well, climbing ever so slowly but not too slow to the point of a crawl but just fast enough to be careful not to loose his grip and fall.
Mo Wang continued to scale the wall yet he couldn't help but feel as if his actions were somewhat repetitive.
" No..that's not it, it kinda feels as if I've been climbing for awhile now...or maybe I'm just overthinking?" He paused and mumbled to him. Mo Wang shook his head to dispell his negative thoughts and continued to climb.
And like that, time continued to pass yet Mo Wang still didn't catch a glimpse of light whatsoever and yet, his body seemed oblivious to the fact.
While climbing, he didn't find it difficult at all, instead of felt a bit effortless, even though he'd been climbing for who knew how long.
Mo Wang began to feel worried again, this time he wasn't worried but gradually getting paranoid for the fact that it seemed like he was still in one spot, as if all his effort so far were non existent.
" Just what the hell is going on..." Mo Wang felt grim all of a sudden.
' If this is some messed up dream, how come I haven't woken up yet. Not to mention, are dreams supposed to last this long?!' His arms began to tremble, a sense of agitation washing over him.
" Maybe it's not a dream... Perhaps I'm actually, dead and this well is nothing but the endless void?" His brows furrowed tightly in contemplation, his memories were like a tarp with countless holes in it, not knowing what he'd done up to the point of his awakening fueled his thoughts that he might as well be dead at the moment.
" If I'm dead, is there really a point in all this, why torment myself when I'm just going to remain in the same place forever...." Mo Wangs voice turned a bit chilly.
This time he simply paused in the same spot, giving it some thoughts. Whether to continue or simply remain here, in the dark. His lack of exhaustion nor tiredness also played a part in fueling his thoughts towards him being death.
Eventually, he let out a sigh, reaching to grab a rigid edge above him. " I'm not sure which is right but if I'm dead then there's nothing to waste, since I'm trapped her for who knows how long, but if not then..." His words halted for a moment as several thoughts filled his mind.
' If I can just get out of here, then maybe I can find out what happened to my memories... Living here for eternity is one thing but not knowing who I am is another."
" Let's just give it another try! I mean, it's not like I really have much to lose." He snickered to himself before continuing his ascent.
Mo Wang continued to climb and climb, with the faint light from the wells opening being his guiding beacon.
Eventually, he noticed that his surroundings were getting brighter. This new revelation fueled his eagerness to continue. It even had him picking up his pace, though not by much. Though he knew nothing about himself, it looked like Mo Wang was an instinctively cautious person at birth.
Eventually, the faint light changed into a luminescent silver glow.
*****
One dirty stained hand popped out of the well before grabbing it's ledge. Afterwards, another hand did the same and with one powerful pull, a figure hoisted himself out of the cursed well and into the air, before landing on the ground with a thump.
' Woah!' Mo Wangs hands waved in the air as he tried to steady himself. He'd used far more power than he expected in that simple jump, luckily for him, there weren't any obstructions close by.
Now outside the well, Mo Wang frowned when he realized he was surrounded by trees, which meant that he was in a forest of some sort, the thick canopies blocked of most of the light, only allowing a faint glow of moonlight to pass through.
' Huh... Wait, how come it's night time?' Mo Wang tilted his head in confusion, even with the obstruction of the tree canopies, he still saw that it was actually night out. He found it strange since he could remember that he saw a faint sunlight filter into the bottom of the well when he began his climb.
' Come to think of it... The climb did feel a lot longer than I expected.. does it mean I was climbing for a whole day, or was it longer?' Mo Wang didn't know what to think but a gurgling sound from his stomach drew away his attention, towards another pressing issue.
' Strange... Why do I feel like everything suddenly got smaller?' He wondered when his eye level increased briefly. He tried glancing at his body but couldn't quite make out much due to how dark it was and yet, Mo Wang had no trouble walking in this dark.
It seemed unnatural but he could actually make out his surroundings even though he found it hard to see much.
' I don't think I should be worrying about something like that for now.'
Before regaining his memory, he needed to find something to eat.
" I wonder if I can make it out to the main road from here, maybe I could hail a taxi.... Wait... What's a taxi" Mo Wang was yet again confused by the strange words he used, he shook his head, online retaining the thought of making it towards a main road that would surely lead him back to civilization.
He began walking through the forest, the nocturnal ambiences made him feel a bit relaxed and not as anxious as one would expect.
******
A pair of yellow eyes stared at him from behind, hidden within a thick shrub. Beneath the eyes was a gapping maw filled with beastly fangs.
A fierce tigers head creeped out of the dense foliage, its padded feet making no sounds as it stalked Mo Wang from behind.
The Tigers throat vibrated a little when it encroached 5 meters from Mo Wang, but suddenly froze all of a sudden, it's once fierce eyes trembled in fear and it hurriedly retreated, using the very same silent footwork to flee without a second thought.
" Huh?" Mo Wang paused and glanced behind him. " Strange... I thought I heard something." He said before continuing ahead.
*****
After who knew how long, Mo Wangs felt relieved when he saw some lights in the distance, which could only mean one thing.
" I've finally ran into some people." Mo Wang rejoiced, picking up his pace.
Eventually, the lights in the distance morphed into thatched bamboo houses with oil lambs hung around them.
From the looks of it, it seemed he'd come across a village of some sort.
Mo Wang decided to approach the closest house. He knocked on the door yet there was no movement from inside.
" Are they not at home?" Mo Wang pondered but discarded the thought when he heard footsteps approaching the door. His stomach gurgled again at that moment and he felt his eye level increase once more.
" Which idiot decided to wake me up this late into the night?! Can't you tell that it's time to be sleeping or are you that eager to–" a middle-aged woman opened the door but froze when she saw the figure at the door.