Toram: Once Upon a Memory

Chapter 1- An Unfamiliar World

-Narrator's POV-

"You've encountered the dragon?!," The tiny Cule merchant leaped up. His little feet floated off the ground as he placed his hands on the counter and stared wide-eyed at the adventurer, "Adventurer...you are lucky to be alive, let alone unharmed!"

"Y-Yes, I guess so...," The pink haired adventurer blinked, her eyes trailing off.

"Oh, that must have been so shocking!," The merchant frowned and shook his head, "Ahh, such a headache. The situations going on in the world are quite a mess. If only we could all live peacefully...," He sighed, his feet plopping back onto the wooden platform that was supporting his height.

The girl pondered, her eyes narrowed sympathetically and her brows furrowed at the sight of the slumped little merchant. "There must be a way I could help," She spoke up.

The merchant perked up once more, "You mean you're going to try and stop the dragon?"

She nodded and smiled reassuringly, "I'll try to do whatever I can. I can't just sit back and relax after seeing what happened at the Adventurer's Camp."

"Oh, adventurer! You are so brave!," The merchant clasped his hands in front of himself, his eyes visibly sparkling, "We'll be counting on you! B-But, if you ever find yourself in a life threatening situation, please back out right away! I do not want to see such a nice adventurer like you dying because of this!"

"Alright, I will. Please rest assured!," She beamed and placed a hand in front of her chest, as if conveying to him that he need not worry about her.

"Thank you, adventurer! Thank you so much...!," The merchant bowed respectfully, and a crowd of customers suddenly appeared behind the girl within only the next few seconds. "Welcome!," He greeted them merrily, "Wow, the scarecrow seems to be really working wonders!," He puffed out his chest proudly as he referred to the swaying scarecrow he had placed in front of the alley; it was made especially for advertising his tiny store.

Having realized the presence of the customers, the girl looked behind her and then back at the merchant, "Oh, I guess I should get going now! It was nice meeting you, Mr. Sololo!," She bowed.

"It was nice meeting you too! Thank you for your Revita purchase! You're always welcome at my store anytime, I'll have some awesome goods stocked up and ready for you! I hope they'll be of use on your adventure!," Sololo smiled.

"Thank you very much. See you, Mr. Sololo!," The adventurer smiled sweetly in return and waved as she turned around and walked away.

"Have a safe adventure!," Sololo waved his mini hand at her.

As the girl stepped along the cobblestone path, her mind wandered off to the event that happened a few days ago...

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"Alice...," A faint female voice called out, "Alice, wake up..."

"Who's...that?," The referred girl thought, her eye lids still closed. Everywhere was pitch black to her as she has yet to bring back all her senses, "Alice...is that my name?"

"Please wake up...please Alice, you have to try and remember," The voice became more desperate, "Please, whatever happens, you mustn't give in to the darkness...! You mustn't give in...!"

Those words finally brought Alice back to reality. Her eyes snapped open and she gasped. She narrowed her eyes at the sudden brightness as the quiet beams of sunlight peeked through the cracks of the leaves and caressed her delicate face. She blinked a few times, and as her vision became clearer, she noticed a humongous tree towering over her. She felt soft grass underneath her body and leaves in her lengthy pink hair, "Where am I...?," Alice slowly sat upright, and a panging headache quickly grasped her. She winced and brought her hand up to clutch her head. As the pain gradually subsided, she carefully glanced around. Her surroundings were a forest where the soaring trees' mossy branches tunneled over each other. Mossy stones and thick bushes settled across the ground, especially in shady and damp areas. No other person could be seen around. Alice realized she was in an unfamiliar place, but most of all, she realized she couldn't remember anything prior to waking up here. Where she came from, who her family was, all of that was a blank to her. But for some reason, she was certain that the mysterious voice was referring to her. What their warning message meant however, she didn't understand.