You've heard my mom's side of the story, which she really helped me a lot, 'cause if I'm truly speaking the honest truth, I really had no idea how I was going to even tell you this story without messing it up, without sounding biased and all that extra stuff.
Look, I understand that after the whole bursting-into-flames blanket, I mysteriously disappeared, and the only thing that was left behind was the blanket itself, still in one piece. Can you believe that?
I don't think I'm the right person to tell this part of the story, well, because what do I know and what would I even tell as a newborn baby, huh? Because where I went was a place I still don't think I'm allowed to even utter. Man, I wish it were that simple, but just know when you read this, please make sure that you find a way to erase this memory from your mind, for your own safety.
So here's the actual story: after the whole burst-into-flame moment, I found myself stuck in the middle of what looked like a vast of endless darkness. The place was so endless that everything around felt stretched and in far distance.
This place was cold, and I could feel the temperature dropping each second I spent in there. You could say I was lost, or better yet, you could warn me not to go anywhere, stay exactly in the same spot that I was in.
That would have made more sense, but what would you have done if you were me and you were in my situation?
This place may have been endless, but it didn't mean that it didn't have any inhabitants in it. I know I was still young, precisely a baby, and how was I going to survive in a place like this? Because practically, I was helpless.
Since I was a baby and I had no idea, how did I go from a seventeen-year-old boy who was on a date with one of the most beautiful girls he'd ever seen in his entire life — a girl who had the potential of being future Mrs. Julius Wayne — but here I am, reincarnated as a baby.
To be honest with you, telling this story as a baby wouldn't be fair to any of you, plus it wouldn't make any sense. So I was lucky enough to be safe in this place, and as you guys know how being a baby is — I don't know whether it's curiosity that gives babies the bravery of a conqueror or something — because I just realized something: babies are never afraid.
There I was, sitting on my ass and busy spewing saliva, all alone, and I could hear that I wasn't alone. I could hear the voices and sounds of people screaming, someone calling me by my name, and sounds of what I am definitely certain were monsters that I've never even seen in my whole entire life. Actually, let me put it like this — monsters I never thought even existed.
As I said, being a baby, hearing all that, I wasn't even fazed by the whole thing. I was laughing and cooing; my mind was so fascinated by what I was hearing. Curiosity got the best of me, and I actually began to crawl around. I had no idea where I was going, but I just followed the trail of where I thought I heard the sounds coming from.
The crawl was so long to the point that I even ended up stopping because I didn't see anything. And can you guess how tired a baby must be if they crawled with determination but ended up stopping on the way 'cause they just saw this whole thing being pointless?
That was me, after crawling for I don't know how long. And understand this — when I was busy with my adventures, I looked at every corner of this place, which was ironic since this place was just a vast of endless darkness. There were no corners.
And I won't be able to tell you where I was or even say I had the slightest clue, 'cause everything about this place was weird — it all looked exactly the same. So I just decided not to go anymore.
It's really a miracle that I didn't miss my mother to the point that I would make a fuss and start crying. And even if, let's just say, I did — where the hell was I going to get a mother who would pay attention to me and care for me?
I played on my own. I bet I know what you are saying now, "Oh, baby is keeping himself entertained so that he don't get bored and cry."
For your information, the whole reason I chose to stop and just sit there giggling with myself is because I was bored out of my mind.
I was really into whatever I was doing, which was trying to eat my own two feet. Wow, and I seemed to have gotten nowhere near them.
And realized that it was not even possible. What was I even thinking?
Time passed — at least I hoped that it did pass. I wouldn't know when it came to this place. As I was just playing around with my feet, there was this loud sound that I was quite familiar with from my previous life — a door being banged hard. Well, I guess in this case I should be calling it a knock.
I looked around and clearly couldn't see where those knocks were coming from.
Then, as I was busy trying to figure out where the hell that knock was coming from, a door appeared not so far from me, maybe by three feet tops, and it opened itself slowly — like one of those scenes in a horror movie where you know that you shouldn't dare get close to that door, and your only options are either you run or you make sure that you stay clear from that door.
That would have been a smart move, don't you think so?
But nope, not this baby. I just got excited and giggled on my own. When I saw the door open itself, I took that as an invitation, so I crawled towards it.
Would you believe me if I said that I was so impatient that I picked up my own pace? The inside of the door was red. I stopped by the threshold, laughed right before I went inside.
The door slammed shut, and I crawled even further away from it, only for me to see a shadowy and mysterious figure sitting on what I believe was his throne.
"I've been waiting for you," it said in a powerful but dark tone.
I was a baby, so I had no idea what it was on about. I continued to crawl towards it, and I ended up next to its feet.
I think it saw that if I was in that state, there wasn't anything that I was going to be helpful with.
"Stand before me," it said.
I was sitting down, looking at it at a far distance, but right after it said those words, I felt like either the room was pulling closer to me or I was growing up rapidly.
Turns out that I was now all grown up and in my old form — the form of Julius Wayne.
I looked at myself and looked at this being. He was still enormous; compared to him, I just felt like a tiny speck. I know I should have been scared, especially if I was in the presence of what I knew wasn't a god that I worshipped, but I definitely feared.
"Aren't you going to kneel down before me?" it asked.
"It wouldn't be appropriate," I responded.
I know from its point of view maybe it saw that I wasn't afraid of it, but the truth is, though I wasn't wearing any pants since I was just a mere soul, I was shitting myself.
It chuckled. "Very well then, state your business. What brings you to my realm?"
"I'm sure, as you have heard, my mother has pleaded with you to please give me a second chance in life," I was quick to answer.
Honestly, that caught even me off guard. I didn't know how the hell I knew the answer to that question, but I just knew it.
"Do you want a second chance in life, as per your mother's request?" the figure asked.
"Well, I'm not looking forward to dying, so yes, I want a second chance," I answered with assurance.
"Your mother has offered me a sacrifice to whatever I may ask or desire from her, but I'm more interested in what you are willing to give me as your sacrifice," the figure adjusted the way he was sitting.
"What do you want from me?" I asked.
"Ah, see, I've been trapped in this realm for a very long time, so I am bored out of my mind. So why don't you entertain me by sparring with me?" it offered.
"But look at your size!" I wasn't wrong.
"Don't worry about it, but the question is, do you accept?" it leaned closer.
All I saw was a giant figure wearing a King Baldwin mask, greyish in color, and everything about his physique was strange. He was in shackles and cracking everywhere, decaying.
I wasn't frightened by this sudden revelation.
"If I win, what do I receive?" I asked.
"Your request, why of course," it said gently.
"And if you win?" I continued.
"You'll help me leave this place," it said.
"Alright, so what are the rules of our sparring match?" I asked.
"Pretty simple — whoever defeats the other one wins." He was now shrinking to my size.
"Okay then, when you're ready." I fixed and raised my fists.
"I already won," it said.
I didn't even see him move, let alone attack me, but he ended up whispering in my ear, and the next thing, I just felt myself fall into a million pieces.