MEMELAND

Dark.

Everything was dark.

Kai couldn't move.

His body felt impossibly heavy.

His chest tightened.

No air.

No light.

No sound.

Only pressure.

He tried to lift his arm.

Nothing.

His fingers barely twitched.

"..."

Am I...

buried?

Panic surged through him.

He tried to breathe.

Sand entered his mouth.

He immediately stopped.

Think.

Think.

His heartbeat thundered inside his ears.

Too much movement would only bury him deeper.

He forced himself to stay still.

His lungs burned.

'So this is how I die...'

His vision—

There wasn't any.

Only darkness.

Everything became quieter.

Even his heartbeat began to slow.

Then—

A faint sound.

...Scratch.

Scratch.

Scratch.

At first he thought he imagined it.

Then it came again.

Scratch.

Scratch.

Someone...

Was digging.

The sound grew closer.

More frantic.

More desperate.

Stone shifted.

A small beam of sunlight pierced the darkness.

Kai's half-closed eye barely reacted.

The light widened.

Fresh air rushed in.

He gasped violently.

Coughed.

Dust poured from his lungs.

A hand reached toward him.

"...Found you."

The voice was soft.

Gentle.

Kai couldn't respond.

His consciousness faded again.

His body felt warm.

He drifted somewhere between sleep and reality.

A quiet humming reached his ears.

Someone was nearby.

Then—

Something touched his lips.

A liquid.

Hot.

Very hot.

It was poured into his mouth.

For one second—

Nothing.

The next—

"AAAAAH!!"

Kai shot upright.

"C-C-C-COLD—"

He stopped.

"...No."

He grabbed his throat.

"HOT!"

"THAT'S HOT!"

He coughed violently.

The person in front of him blinked.

"...Sorry."

"I forgot."

Kai stared.

Sitting across from him was a hooded traveler.

The figure wore loose desert robes.

A scarf covered the lower half of their face.

Long black hair with a faint blue tint escaped from beneath the hood.

Their features looked...

Almost feminine.

The traveler tilted their head.

"I didn't mean to wake you like that."

Kai rubbed his mouth.

"...You poured boiling soup into someone unconscious."

"I know."

"...Sorry."

Silence.

Kai blinked.

"...Thanks."

The traveler nodded once.

"You're welcome."

Kai finally looked around.

They sat beneath a weathered rock formation overlooking the desert.

A small campfire crackled nearby.

The remains of the collapsed laboratory were barely visible in the distance.

"...The others?"

The traveler's expression lowered slightly.

"I don't know."

"I searched for survivors."

"I only found you."

Kai lowered his head.

"...Munnu..."

Silence.

"...Persia..."

Silence again.

The traveler quietly handed him a waterskin.

Kai accepted it.

"...Thanks."

He drank.

Slowly.

Neither spoke for several minutes.

Only the desert wind filled the silence.

Eventually—

Kai asked,

"How did you find me?"

The traveler looked toward the buried ruins.

"...Master."

"...Master?"

"Yes."

"Who's your Master?"

The stranger answered without hesitation.

"Master Zane."

Kai blinked.

"...Who's Zane?"

"My Master".

The answer confused Kai literally.

"Master gave me a mission."

"Find this person."

"Then Master handed me a drawing."

The stranger then showed Kai a drawing of a person.

It was a badly drawn picture of Kai but somehow resembled him.

Then Kai asked.

"what...does your master look like?"

The traveler answered immediately.

"Long black hair."

"A little red mixed into it."

Kai's eyes widened.

The dream.

It wasn't just a dream.

"You're from The Order of Karma?"

The stranger was a little shock but replied.

"Master did mention that you might know us."

"You've met Master? right?"

Kai slowly nodded.

"...Maybe."

"...In a dream."

The stranger became quiet.

After a long pause—

He lowered his hood.

Kai's eyes widened slightly.

Eventually—

Kai scratched the back of his head.

"...I still don't know your name."

The traveler reached up.

Lowered the scarf covering the lower half of their face.

A gentle smile appeared.

"My name..."

"...is Chocomint."