I begin to make my way toward the dragon.
At least... I think I am.
But each step feels like it stretches into infinity, like time is bending around me. The dragon isn't moving. Or maybe it is, but only as much as I am. It looms ahead, still and vast, like a statue made of shadow and breath. Every time I blink, it seems just as far, just as unreachable.
It's an endless experience, like walking through a memory that never finishes loading.
Now, for a moment, I have quiet. A rare stillness. A pocket of space where I can think, and I realize—I have a goal. Not just to reach the beast. No, something deeper.
I have time to remember.
I know my name. At least, the first part of it.
"Nathaniel."
It comes out broken, like a glitch in a dream.
And I remember... music? Yeah. Not the songs. Not the artists. Just the feelings, the moods, the genres. They're like echoes in the back of my skull. Ghosts of playlists I used to love.
I remember concepts, but not the context.I recognize shapes. Ideas. Emotions.I know what a dragon is, even though I couldn't tell you the last time I saw one.I know what "hip-hop" feels like in my chest, though I can't name a single track.It's like my brain got partially wiped. Not clean, but scrambled. Like a file that failed to decrypt.
What kind of music do I like?
Genres I'm Into:Rock. Hip-hop. R&B. Heavy metal. Jazz.Alternative rock. Punk rock. Indie rock.Funk. Hip-hop culture. Grunge. Hardcore punk.Pop rock. Hard rock. Emo.Gothic rock. Progressive rock. Shoegaze.Experimental. Metal.Disco? K-pop? Sure, I'll ride with it.
Genres I Can Tolerate:Pop. Popular music. Soul. World. Vocal.Classical, sometimes.Ambient, maybe.Synth-pop and New wave... yeah, why not.
Genres I'm Unsure About:Electronic music. Blues. Folk. New-age.
Genres I'm Not Into:Country. Dance music (no, I'm not a dancer).Techno. Trance. Dubstep. Just… nah.
Genres That Sound Like Fictional Spells:EDM. Ska. Flamenco. Vaporwave. House.
Okay. That's enough music. I shake the thoughts out of my head. They won't help me here—not right now. Not when the air feels like ink and the silence hums like static.
Maybe I should try to remember something else.
Books?That feels more distant, but… action fantasy, for sure.Big swords. Bigger monsters. Maybe a dash of emotional breakdowns in the rain.Drama too. Just a little. Just enough to hurt.
Games?Yeah—RPGs, definitely.Action-adventure. Fighting games. Some visual novels. Puzzles, maybe.It's hazy, but warm. That kind of nostalgia that clings to you even when the details fade.
But even now, I can't name a single title.Just the types. The textures.The genres, again.Maybe when I talk to someone, more will come back to me.
Wait... do I even speak a language?
...
Yes.
English. I'm speaking it now.I'm human. That much is clear.
Cool. Let's move on.
I've thought myself in circles. Nothing else is coming to me. No more memories. Not yet.
So, let's do the boring part.Maybe it'll help me focus.Maybe it'll keep me sane.
Counting.From 1,000.Then adding a thousand.And again.And again.
Until the dragon moves.
Or till I reach it.