"No! Stop!" I shouted as I woke back up.
I tried to sit back up, but I failed as I was tied to a chair. As my vision slowly became more and more clear, I realized that what was tying me down wasn't a rope but a security belt.
I was sitting in the chair of an airplane, in an aisle seat next to the window.
"Oh, he woke up," an unfamiliar voice spoke first.
"Man, we told you you shouldn't have trained that hard yesterday; they had to drag you out of your room this morning."
"Huh? What are you talking… Who are you?" I asked; my vision was still a bit blurry, my body was aching all over, and my voice felt different.
When I looked at my hands, they looked bigger, there were calluses on them, and they looked a lot more veiny than usual.
"What are you talking about, Will? It's me, your roommate. Did you bang your head on your way back yesterday or something?" He asked me, waving his hand in front of my face, worried.
"The last thing I remember was… ah, right, that fucking bell. What happened after that?" I asked as I tried to recall my memories.
"Bell? What the hell?" The boy in front of me seemed confused; he was scratching his chin, trying to recall what I was talking about.
Everyone seemed confused, looking at me with worried looks.
I quickly unbuckled the safety belt and realized my hand looked bigger than usual, so I got up and realized I was taller than I remembered.
Did they mess with my memories? What is going on? Ouch! My head still hurts? What happened?
"Quickly go put something else on before we get there! You can't possibly present yourself in pajamas." Someone else interrupted the conversation, a boy around much older than me, with curly hair, clear eyes, fair skin, and a very large nose.
"Get where?" I asked, confused.
"Oh, so it's bad. I'm talking about—"
"The floating islands, obviously," a familiar voice interrupted him.
"Today we meet the Scarlet Prince." The same familiar voice repeated.
The voice belonged to another man, one sitting in front of me; he was currently standing on the chair, turned around to face me.
That name sounded familiar, but I couldn't exactly pinpoint why it sounded familiar to the scarlet de—
No fucking way.
I immediately looked down and saw the blue pajamas I was wearing.
"Where do I get some other clothes?" I asked him.
"There should be a closet in the bathroom and at the end of the corridor to the left." The boy replied.
Thanks a lot.
I rushed towards the end of the corridor and then quickly shut myself in the bathroom; my body was almost unrecognizable. I had gained some more muscles, my height had increased drastically, and my face had changed for the worse.
I had sunken eyes; there were small bags under my eyes and some hair starting to grow on my face, not quite a beard just yet.
I quickly checked my body and felt pretty satisfied with how it had grown.
Well, I'm sure I'll get those memories back sooner or later; what matters now is what I'll wear.
I was stuck between two options; I could've gone with a more casual outfit—everybody seemed to be wearing very loose clothes, probably to be ready to fight at any minute—or a suit.
The formal attire would probably look best, but if they try to test our skill right there and then, it might become a hindrance.
I decided to take the suit since I've never worn one properly.
I'm sure there must've been a reason why they had to wipe my memories; maybe something compromised them. If they wanted to kick me out, they could've done just that, so there's nothing to really fear here, much less now that I am about to meet our precious lord.
As soon as I put the shirt on, I tried striking various poses to test out the elasticity of the fabric, and strangely, it was pretty elastic. The same went for the pants, and they were also very form-fitting; maybe I look a bit bulkier than what I thought I was.
Not bad; this is not bad.
The only thing left to put on was the tie.
How do you ever put this thing on? Ehh, I can leave it here; it's not like it'll help me in a fight.
Before I could leave the bathroom, I saw the lights flicker; during that flicker, the figure of a demon was projected onto the mirror. A deformed human-looking demon seemed to be standing next to me.
A female-looking humanoid, with extremely sickly pale skin, her body deformed and full of blisters, her neck stretched out, long enough to have wrapped my entire body around it, and her hollow eye sockets staring directly at me.
I instinctively tried to punch that figure but quickly realized it wasn't real.
The demon had disappeared as quickly as it had appeared; when the lights finally stopped flickering, everything had turned normal once more.
Damn, I didn't think my first reaction would be to punch it in the face. I guess even if I lose my memories, I don't lose my training.
Strange, why am I so calm, especially even after witnessing a demon so up close? I should be freaking out; if that thing were real, I would've been dead by now.
The strange feeling of disconnect persisted till I rejoined the others who were happily celebrating the joyous day.
"Finally!" someone shouted.
"All the blood and sweat, it has finally come to an end." They were all celebrating eating some snacks and making a mess on the airplane.
Doubt it.
"A toast to our freedom!"
Freedom?
"Cheers!"
I quietly headed back to my seat; I still felt a bit tired, and my body still needed some rest.
"What about you, William? How do you feel about this?" Someone asked me.
"Why ask me? I'm still a bit confused here; I need some time to properly digest this whole situation."
"Why not? You're the one that worked the hardest to get recognized; I'm sure you have something to say to celebrate this day." The voice at the back of the airplane replied.
Mhhh, well… I'm not exactly the same person you knew… Whatever, it's not like it's going to change much!
"Come on, you must have something to say, no matter how small it is." The man sitting beside me joined in and tried to encourage me to speak up.
Slowly, everyone else joined them, chanting for me to speak up.
"Fine, fine! I get it! I am simply glad to be here, and I am glad that our efforts finally bore fruit. I hope that the rest of our lives are as lucky and joyous as today!"
I didn't even know I could talk so eloquently; words flowed out of my mouth as naturally as I breathed, whatever remnant of my old self spoke for me.
People didn't cheer as hard as they did when someone filled their glass with soda, which was a bit hurtful; I thought my connection with them would've probably been a bit deeper.
Everyone's spirits were held high for the rest of the flight until we finally landed.
Everything felt too vivid to be a dream: the strange smell in the air and the blinding light reflected from the massive metallic guardians, giant floating angelic-looking machines protecting the perimeters of the floating city.
The island we landed on was held distant from the main city and kept connected to the rest by a large chain that also acted as a bridge.
"Whoa!" Was all I could muster to say.
Awe was all I could feel; I had heard tales of the heroes living in the floating islands, and while it sounded too fantastical to be true, now they looked far more majestic than any depiction I had ever heard or seen.
"Compose yourself; you wouldn't want to lose face in front of your oh-so-precious young master." Veronica said in a very acidic tone as she bumped into me.
Seeing her cold glare made me feel a sense of tightness in my chest.
She had grown into a beautiful woman, with long hair tied into a ponytail, long eyelashes, thin brows, and a delicate-looking face on top of a fairly bulky body.
Her chest has also grown exponentially…
"...Sorry," I awkwardly replied, embarrassed to be caught staring at her.
She didn't take my response well; her eyes quickly filled with pure wrath, and she clenched her fist and was ready to punch me but quickly stopped herself.
"Just… move along; I don't want to hear your excuses today." She said as she kicked me to push me forward.
I wonder what happened in the time I don't remember for her to act like this.