They continue forward, their footsteps echoing across the ocean floor. The bridge to Humphry is a short one but for Omori, he had one thought on his mind.
To make them forget.
The group made it to the end of their walk and they looked out to the vast void. It was normally this part of the song the characters would once again forget what they are meant to do.
It was normally the part where the progress began.
...It was time to take a shot.
~~~~~~
Hero stared into the void ahead of him. The others were with him, doing the same and taking in the sight. It was a beautiful one, one that could easily put anyone at ease with a look.
However, he couldn’t relax.
He felt it. A presence lurking over them. It was almost as strong as that shadow being that has been following them. It was different though like it was a mix of calm and malice.
“Ĭ̶̘ẗ̵͉ ̴͙̓ȋ̴͙s̸͇̈ ̴̳́t̵̖̓ḭ̶͗m̵̩͐e̷̥͋ ̷͛͜t̷̼͝o̸̬͐ ̵̻̑f̴̱̈́ō̴̳r̴͖̅ǧ̸̠e̶͙ẗ̵̜.̷͔͒”
Hero turned his head quickly and so did everyone else. Did they all hear that?
“Did any of you hear that?” Aubrey asked, confirming that they all heard the voice.
“I did! What was that?” Kel looked around.
“I don’t know. We should be careful.” Hero continued to scan the area with his eyes.
His eyes landed on Omori who seemed to be staring right at him.
Omori immediately shifted his gaze away and walked to the mini-whirlpool in the ground. He made the motion for everyone to follow him.
The whirlpool led them to another room filled with plants and water falling in from the ceiling. The sight would be beautiful if he didn’t feel woozy all of the sudden.
He wasn’t the only one, he could tell. Kel and Aubrey were fighting to stay upright. Was this an effect from the whirlpool or…
He looked at Omori who was walking just fine. He moved to another whirlpool and the group followed.
It teleported them to an area with glass stairs. Omori grabbed Kel’s hand who latched onto Aubrey’s. Aubrey reached out to Hero and Hero grasped on, being pulled by Omori up the stairs. Why isn’t he affected?
“Ṙ̷͉e̶̱͝l̸̻̔a̴̳x̴̖̑.̵̤̕ ̶̞̔Y̸̳̔ȍ̴̞ư̶̖'̸̝̊r̸̮̅ẹ̷̅ ̴̧̕m̷̩͂a̶̪̅k̴͓͝i̸̤͆n̴͔̋g̵̥̉ ̵̟̍ţ̷̒h̵͔̐i̸̛̮s̶̩̚ ̵̺͛h̶͔̑a̶͚̚r̵̬͝d̴͔̚.̶̳̽”
“That voice is back!” Kel complained, looking for the source.
“Is he doing this?” Aubrey muttered under her breath.
A creature nearby overheard and laughed, gaining the attention of everyone, “Your memories are not free. To gain a memory, another must be shrouded. And yet, all memories will eventually fade. Perhaps you now just noticed, the curse of Deeper Well.”
“The curse of Deeper Well?” Kel rubbed his head that was beginning to ache.
Hero took a deep breath and began to process what the creature just said.
...Was he implying that they forgot something? Or was something trying to make them forget?
“S̴̰͝i̷̱͊l̸͓̋e̴̱̚ń̶̬c̷̬̐é̸ͅ ̵̻y̶̞͗ǫ̸̈u̷͚͊r̴͍̓ ̴̜̂t̴͇h̵̩ơ̶̧ủ̸͔g̷̰͋h̵͇̔t̴̖s̸̤̊.̶̨͑ ̸̜̀F̸̜͠o̸̧̚r̴̘͑g̶̲͆e̶̛͇ẗ̵̤́.̴̣̔”
Omori dragged the group over to the next whirlpool and they jumped through.
They had to be pulled through another room with plants as Hero kept his thoughts together. He doesn’t know what this entity is planning but he wasn’t going to give it what it wants.
Another whirlpool and another wave of nausea hit him.
“F̵̣͂o̸̘͝r̵͙͂g̶̖͛ẻ̵̜t̴͚͂.̵̧͝F̵̣͂o̸̘͝r̵͙͂g̶̖͛ẻ̵̜t̴͚͂.̵̧͝F̵̣͂o̸̘͝r̵͙͂g̶̖͛ẻ̵̜t̴͚͂.̵̧͝F̵̣͂o̸̘͝r̵͙͂g̶̖͛ẻ̵̜t̴͚͂.̵̧͝F̵̣͂o̸̘͝r̵͙͂g̶̖͛ẻ̵̜t̴͚͂.̵̧͝F̵̣͂o̸̘͝r̵͙͂g̶̖͛ẻ̵̜t̴͚͂.̵̧͝”
Hero felt like his thoughts were being put through a blender. Everything was mixing and blending. He could hear Aubrey and Kel groaning in pain as their heads ached more. Hero didn’t think he was going to last that much longer at this point.
“With time, what is important will change. You must choose what you will keep and what you will cast away. Not everyone has that choice.” A creature nearby spoke, though Hero felt those words weren’t for him.
Everything was getting blurry and Hero could no longer stand.
He passed out.
~~~~~~
“Humans are bound creatures. Your limits are what defines you. What makes you human?” Null asked though Omori knew what he meant. He knew what makes him human a bit too well. It scares him.
His friends were asleep. Knocked out on the ground. By the time they wake up, they should forget but so far they have been persistent.
It bothered him. This was never meant to happen.
Yet it did and now he needs to wait.
~~~~~~
It was dark and the only thing he could hear was the wind brushing against his ears.
Hero lifted his hand to find that he didn’t have hands.
He didn’t have a body at all.
He had...nothing.
He screamed the moment he noticed and another person joined him.
Wait, he knows that voice!
“Kel!” He yelled, his voice echoing across the void.
“Hero!? Where are you?” Kel yelled back, his voice was filled with fear.
“Guys!? Hello!?” Aubrey shouted, gaining their attention.
“Alright, are we all here!?” Hero looked around despite knowing he wouldn’t see a thing.
“Yeah! I am here!”
“Same here! Where are you guys?”
“I don’t know. I woke up like this!” Hero shouted. He hoped no one would be able to tell how worried he was.
“G̷̜̑͗̕i̸̼̟͙͆ͅv̴̛͙̎̿ę̸̊̕̕͝ ̶͎̣̇ű̸͇̤̋̋p̵̲͍̝̎.̴̢̢̖̀̋ ̷̹̰̻̬͊̐͠F̷̞̗̈̇̑ǫ̵̹̪̝ṟ̸͇͕̄̀̅̊ͅg̴̺̝̓ẻ̴͚͉́͋̇ť̷̤͛.̸͍̲̓͆̽” A voice angrily spoke. Its tone shook the area and Hero felt a chill in the air.
“I don’t know what you want me to forget, but out of spite I refuse to do so!” Aubrey talked back smugly. Hero could tell she was grinning to herself.
“b̷͙͉͑͜o̸̺̿̅́̉r̸̨̹̦̹͝n̶̨̪̯̉̓̑ ̶̘̘͌͑̊̈́f̶̰͓͐́ò̸̝̽͛̐o̶͈̺͒̏l̵̜͕̄͐͗s̵̝̩̿̒.̷̭̪̈́̆͐ ̶͓̘̳͂D̸̳̈́ö̶͙̠̱́͒͜n̵̤̦̺̰̍̀̅̅'̷̦̼̲͈͛ṭ̵̦͚́ ̷̩͚̀̓̃̕s̴͙̙̙͍̈̄ā̵̢̭͂ẏ̵̡̞̻̱́̍ ̵̧̠̓̈́̀̓Ī̴̦̻̳̜ ̵̭̂ḓ̵̬͓̈́̓͆ĩ̷̤̋ͅd̸̥̆̾̄͘n̸̫̮̱̈́̅̇'̵̼̟̉͘̚t̸̠̭̯̦͊̀̾ ̴̢̺̈̐͜w̶̠̏̐̕a̶̮͊̐̐r̵̘̞͂́̉̈ṉ̷͎̲̻̉̅̑ ̵̫͒͂̚ẏ̸͎̄̈́̐o̵̩̊̍̒ṷ̵͖̃̇͌̆͜.̸̘̫̬̑̊͝”
All sounds stopped and it was dead silent. Hero couldn’t even hear his own heartbeat as the darkness felt like it was consuming him.
“Don’t...forget...me…”
~~~~~~
Hero opened his eyes to be greeted by Omori, whose face was as blank as ever but eyes filled with thoughts running through his head.
Speaking of head, his head hurts. As if someone punched him directly in the forehead with all of their strength.
He took a breath and collected his thoughts as he tried to figure out what just happened.
Someone was trying to make him forget something.
He doesn’t know who or what but he does know that he might have won against it.
Alright, maybe he should check his memory.
He was looking for Basil with Aubrey, Kel, and Omori. Omori is Sunny but acts differently, he saw Mari’s ghost and talked with her before she disappeared.
...He doesn’t think he forgot anything. That is, not anything important.
He looked to Aubrey and Kel who were stirring, slowly getting themselves together and mentally screaming about what just happened.
“Do- do you guys still have your memory? I have mine…” Hero spoke silently, hoping the others knew what he meant.
“Yeah, at least I know the important stuff.” Aubrey sighed.
“...” Kel looked at the ground before letting out a groan, “I always have an awful time remembering. I don’t even know if anything was taken.”
“Well, we could start with the important stuff. Who are we looking for?” Hero asked him, hoping to jog his mind.
“Um…” Kel nervously looked away, “Yeah I lost.”
“Kel!” Hero and Aubrey both shouted.
Hero sighed and put his hands on his head, “Basil. We are looking for Basil.”
“...” Kel continued to avoid eye contact.
“Kel. You know Basil.” Aubrey noticed how Kel was acting.
Kel broke into a mini sweat.
“Kel, you have to be joking. There is no absolute way-” “Who’s Basil again?” “KEL!”
Both Aubrey and Hero facepalmed.
This is bad.
Of course, Kel wouldn’t have been able to resist as well as he and Aubrey. He didn’t think that whatever this entity did would affect them this badly.
...It was there where Hero had a terrifying thought.
Did this affect the real world?
~~~~~~
Kel was still in the void. The voice and the others had disappeared. Kel felt his pulse quicken as he looked around, hoping to find anything despite knowing it was helpless.
“You’re lost. Let me help you.” A voice that strangely sounded like Basil spoke.
Kel turned around and was greeted by one of the shadow figures of Basil he had seen before.
“I know most don’t trust strangers, but I promise you can trust me.”