I… was looking at the sky.

The sun shone brightly in the deep blue sky. White clouds move slowly by the soft winds. Birds flew above my head, dropping a white, soft feather which appears like a flake of snow in summer.

I stood in a field where the gra.s.s reached my knees. It stretched in every direction, like an endless plain.

I do not feel familiar with this place. There was neither a house nor a person to be seen.

My gaze locked to the sky above, watching the white birds as they flew with freedom.

It"s not fair…

Why did G.o.d give such an amazing gift to these mere creatures?

I felt jealous without any particular reason.

That jealousy sparked something within.

I wanted to fly like those birds.

So people would look up at me…

With that thought, I did something strange. I scavenged sc.r.a.ps of feather and pulled the gra.s.s, then left them in the sun to dry. I wove those dried hay into knots and sew in the feathers, then layer them.

That"s right. If I wanted to fly, I need wings like them…

…I am building a tool for my own freedom.

The work was exhausting. Every muscle ached. My legs and fingers stung from being cut by the gra.s.s blades. When sweat rolled down, those cuts hurt so much it felt like I was being splashed by acid. Sometimes I coughed and sneezed from the dust that got into my nostrils.

Even then I would not stop.

I worked and worked like a machine.

Only my brain noticed this abnormality.

Something in my common sense said that current technology already brought man to s.p.a.ce, but I ignored that thought as if reality was a far fetched dream.

…A dream…

Yes, this must be a dream. Something in me said so with confidence. Moreover, I felt like I"ve seen it multiple times since long ago. And every time I dream, these wings of mine would get closer and closer to completion.

In that dream I built these wings tirelessly.

Without even knowing how long the dream lasted.

However, I am near the end of my dream. The last feather attached with a string of gra.s.s.

My heart jumped with glee as I stared at the feathers wove into majestic wings.

I put them onto my shoulders. I looked embarra.s.singly similar to those angels in western myths. The side of me that clings to science was worried.

…These thin wings, will they bring a human into the sky?

But I decided to try it anyway.

The moment I flapped my wings, gravity disappeared. My toes were multiple feet above the gra.s.s.

"I did it! I finally did it!"

I yelled with joy, and when the winds blow, the large wings brought me higher into the sky.

Fly higher, higher, and higher…

Higher than the birds that used to own the sky. Victory made me laugh with pure happiness.

This is not enough…

Higher…higher…higher than this…

The ground disappeared from view.

Finally…

I emerged above a sea of clouds.

What lied ahead was the blinding brightness of the sun. The rays that could burn anything shone upon me.

At that moment…

"What are you even trying to do? That"s nonsense."

Who…?

An unknown voice echoed in my ears. I thought I was hearing things.

But…

"You think that c.r.a.p"s good enough…?"

"If this goes on, you"re just a waste of time…"

Those voices again. It didn"t enter through my ears, but sounded directly in my brains.

My head rang with echoes. Suddenly, the feathers bathed in the scorching sunlight lit up, like a spark of flames on firewood lathered with oil.

Feathers were flammable. The fire burned my arms, and I screamed with pain.

The feathers turn to ashes, and gravity pulled me down like a demon dragging me to h.e.l.l.

No, I have to try harder…

Fly higher…fly… don"t stop…

No… no no no…anyone…

Please save me.

"…No matter what, it"s worthless."

Why…Why…?

I do not know whose voice was speaking, but it was painful… More so than these flames burning my body.

The wings that sent me high into the sky disintegrated in the fire.

I was lost mid-air. My two hands struggled even though I had nothing to grasp.

Something made me look up into the sun. The ball of light was fearful yet beautiful. My body felt the heat radiated from it.

No… the heat wasn"t from the sun.

But from my eyes…

Then I felt a tremendous amount of heat, as if there were boiling water in my sockets. Capillaries bulged and reddened until my eyeb.a.l.l.s turned red. Then, there was… a plop!

The sound of an exploding water balloon!!

Red water gushed from my eye sockets.

I screamed like a pig being slaughtered.

Then, my body stuck mid-air started to fall…

Into a bottomless pit…

"Gasp!!!"

When I opened my eyes, I was still surrounded by darkness.

I stood up sweating. In the silence, I was gripped by terror.

I could not believe I am awake, so I reached for my eyeb.a.l.l.s. The dream felt so real I could still feel the lingering heat and pain.

"What the f.u.c.k was that…?"

When I thought of my sick dream, I cursed under my breath.

My eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness.

I am in a small square room without a single window. A foul stench attacked my nostrils.

Maybe I"m still sleeping, or maybe…

…reality…is even worse than dreams…

What surrounded me was… an innumerable amount of dried corpse!

Those soulless bodies were in different postures. Some were lying on the ground, some sat up with their heads missing, some with open jaws as if screaming soundlessly. The skin were wrinkly and coa.r.s.e. Pieces of flesh were bitten off, and I could see their ribs and innards. Their clothes were torn and full of dark-colored filth I could not tell their original color.

"f.u.c.k!!!!"

I pushed myself towards a cement wall, but even if I look everywhere for an escape…

A pair of hollow eyes stared back.

They were so close I could see white, chubby maggots wriggling in the sockets before falling into my hands, still writhing and squirming.

"Ah…ahh….ahhhhh….."

My throat could not utter a world. My teeth chattered. My body shook. Sweat covered my hands.

The scrusch sound of the maggots eat away the corpse penetrated my ears.

Countless dead bodies strained me to the real world.

Left…right…ahead…bodies….dead bodies!!!!

Where am I? How did I end up here?!

I need to get home!

My home…

My…?

I realized that something even more frightening awaits.

In reality filled with death and rotting carca.s.s…

In a world filled with horror…

Only my brain…was pure white.

White…as a blank slate.

"I…I…."

Terror made my lips shook.

What"s my name…?

Why am I here?

Who am I?!

"Why can"t I remember anything…?"