Chapter 1 : Reed’s Memory Palace

The wide open waters of the ocean look so beautiful and magnificent under the rule of the fierce light of the sun. It glitters as it reflects light and sings a wonderful sound of waves and whispering splashes of water.

It looked spectacular, and this is also a sign of another peaceful day. However, unbeknownst to all the creatures living within the seas and the surface, in one the five darkest, secretive and dangerous mysteries of the ocean, a phenomenon which no one expected seems to be occurring.

Blop. Blop. Blop.

Bubbles. Bubbles. Bubbles.

...

Within the deepest depths of the ocean floor, where the Illusionary Labyrinth– one of the Four Mysteries of the Ocean. A mysterious labyrinth where no one has ever successfully conquered. 

And the most famous one amongst the Four Mysteries– the Illusionary Labyrinth. Aside from it being the most harmless of the four, many have sought this labyrinth before in order to die. 

That's right, it was to die. This labyrinth carries the most death recorded all around the world, that people begins to call it 'Suicide Paradise of the Sea.'

People sought it to die while experiencing their most and greatest desire. That's why it was called 'Suicide Paradise.'

Like the name suggests, the Labyrinth gave anyone, who dares venture it, illusions or dreams that they kept hidden within their hearts. The desire of which they will never achieve. 

No one has ever reached the end of the labyrinth nor able to escape and get out of it. Because before they did, they will get trapped– not by force or accidents, but by choice.

However, a certain rumor that no one knew where it came from has been circulated among adventurers, treasure hunters, pirates and many others. 

It was said that, at the end of the Illusionary Labyrinth is a cave of wonders. This labyrinth was just a defensive layer and beyond it, hidden from everyone is the most precious and rarest treasure the sea has ever created.

Blop. Blop. Blop.

Bubbles. Bubbles. Bubbles.

And right now, that rare and precious treasure was swimming out of the notorious Illusionary Labyrinth, with black face and frown pasted on her face.

Bubbles. Bubbles. Bubbles.

Bubbles. Bubbles.

Bubbles. 

...

Reed shrugged her shoulders and knitted her brows more as she glided her small body forward far away from the labyrinth. Where Reed never wanted to look back into again, as her glimmering, glossy fins and tail danced with her movement.

Still carrying a grumpy face, Reed stopped and hover in place, she looked around. All she could see was blue and if she glanced down it was all dark. Reed clicked her tongue, seeing that she does not know where she should start, or which direction she should go. Her face grew worse and worse as time went by. She took a glimpse at the direction where she came from and couldn't help but remember what she experienced inside. 

She shakes her head hard and rubs her hair roughly so that her ombre long hair gets tangled with each other, before immediately straightening up, as the water swept through it. Reed throws all those thoughts aside and inhales deeply as she ponders what to do from now on. 

Although her goal was to find her beloved Echo, this was a vast and wide world where who knows how many different species of creatures live. And it was also a world different from where she came from, and most of all, she doesn't know who or where Echo is now.

Thinking about who and what she is now, Reed can't stop herself from looking at her current body for the nth time. She raises her arms and she glimpse at her flowy sparkling fins. Then she slowly took her hands towards her two flexible well shaped melons.

Squeeze. Squeeze. Squeeze.

'They are really soft.' Reed felt her plump melons once more and let out a helpless sigh.

She smiled wryly as she thought, 'I should probably face reality now.'

Shaking her head out of her thoughts, Reed stared at her glamorous fins and tail that kept flowing at the corner of her eyes. Then proceed, swimming forward as she recalled the moment she just woke up in this strange new world.

...and found out that 'he' was already a girl.

Bubbles. Bubbles. Bubbles.

Blop. Blop. Blop.

Bubbles. Bubbles. Bubbles.

...

...

...

The world has infinite possibilities to achieve anything possible. It's just that no one has discovered and seen it before. The world is so vast and huge, and it is basked in mysteries and secrets waiting to be found.

And Reed looks like 'he' had found one of them.

...

...

...

 

Reed calmly and orderly organized his thoughts and memories which were in shuffle and were scattered everywhere inside his mind. 

He was surprised at first when he found himself conscious and seemingly currently in the case of Oblivion. 

There was nothing to see except darkness. Reed felt no sensation, heard nothing, an empty smell where he did not know whether he was still breathing or not.

Nonetheless, he knows that he is still alive and 'Reed' still exists somewhere in this world.

Why would he know?

Because right now, Reed was staring down with a panoramic view of a wide and large movie theater below.

With only a white wisp as a body, Reed hovers above slowly descending down the center of the aisle of hundreds of red comfy chairs. 

In front, at the stage was a large white screen, currently not playing anything.

This was Reed's memory palace.

Thinking about this place inside his mind, a cassette suddenly emerges from the big wooden door at his back. As if the door spit the cassette out, it flew in the air and stopped in the center of the amphitheater. 

Tick. Tick. Tick.

The gears inside slowly rotated, getting faster and faster. A long film strip came out of it, and it went towards the huge screen and it lit up bright lights.

If Reed had eyes, he already squinted his eyes from the sudden brightness. But he was just a small wisp right now, so he can look at it without needing to blink.

A video played as the bright light vanishes. Reed watched the scene where his classmate in the university compared his mind with 'Sherlock Holmes' concepts of memory palace, like Sherlock's and Magnussen Appledore's vaults. In which Reed affirmed that his mind somehow works like that too, except that it was in the form of a movie theater that had a huge library that was full of rows of movie shelves arranged by many categories.

As he watched this scene, Reed slowly started to remember. All the scenes were viewed from his point of view and he knew it was impossible for him to recall anyone's face because of his old illness.

That's why he did not notice. Everytime the video seems to show the scene where there was a mirror, it was suddenly cut off and the scene will continue without revealing his figure.

Skipping something important, Reed ignored the video on the screen and walked towards the large wooden door.

This door was the entrance to his library and the exit from the movie theater.

As he went closer, the door automatically opened. He did not need to stop and he directly flew over.

The white wisp jolted back, and shivers as Reed saw what his library had become. He knew his memories were in disarray. He tried to arrange and put it in order earlier, but it seems that it was not enough.

This was supposed to be a neat and organized library, but seeing it now, Reed can't help but feel a little irritated.

Many cassettes, CDs, video casings, disks were flying everywhere. The shelves were everywhere too, there were some in the ceiling, in the wall, others were hanging upside down in the air and few were even broken as if it collided with something hard.

A person with OCD will surely go mad after seeing this place, thankfully it was not Reed who has it but someone else.

A large question mark appeared beside the clueless wisps, but with his memories this chaotic, there were no answers coming out of his mind. Unlike earlier where he easily pulled out some bits of his memories, this time there was truly nothing.

Breathing in imaginary air, in and out– a surge of energy exploded from the wisps. And with a large wave of pressure, forming a circle from the small wisps spreading throughout the library.

Swoosh~

The library immediately moves by themselves to get themselves in order.

Loud chaotic sounds of moving objects echoes everywhere, as a shot of severe pain drills over the wisp,

It trembled like a fire going out, waving like a candle being blown away.

Reed does not have any human features right now, if he has, with how much pain he was receiving he will surely cry and scream so much. Truly, this is the most torturous pain he every felt.

After a while, the pain disappeared. The library was neat and orderly again, like a true library.

Reed, with his floating wispy body, explores around and sees everything.

Then he paused. 

If he remembered correctly, his library was divided into four sections. And it was unequally allocated.

With 10% of the place reserved for others, 30% for his theoretical and practical knowledge, 20% for himself, and a large space occupying a huge amount of memories about someone.

But Reed does not know who that someone is, but he will find out about it later.

He hovered around the section [Self]. This section was filled with things he knew about himself. Rows of shelves with a black metal sign board hang to the side. What's written on it was the category in which the memories belong to.

Reed went to the shelves where [Appearance] was written beautifully in cursives at the sign board. Although he did not expect anything from it, he was still stunned to see nothing.

There were no CDs, cassettes, video tapes, or disks on the shelves. The shelves were clean, like a newly brought one waiting to be filled by something.

So, that's why he was a wisp. Because he does not know what he looked like, he appeared like this. A soul without a body...

Shocked, Reed quickly went and checked out other shelves. Although Reed’s old illness made him unable to recognise faces, at least he knew he was a person– a man. But this wisp body told Reed something incredible…

It was not only the [Appearance], his [Voice] too was emptied and many others.

Because Reed was a singer, he always made sure to make a thorough analysis of his voice. That's why there was a separate category there. But it was gone too.

Nevertheless, with these thoughts, he knew that not everything about himself was gone. He knew the general gist about himself. He knew his name was Reed– no, Reed is his nickname. The name written in his birth certificate is different...'What is it?' Anyway, he is still the same Reed, and he was a singer, an artist, a composer, a musician, a genius and a wholeheartedly submissive boyfriend...

'What the f*ck! What's with the last one...am I really...but I'm a guy. A proud man with a big ego and...'

Then he recalled the largest section of his memories that he has yet to explore. 

He was hesitating. He felt like if he went there, all his shameful sides would be revealed in just one swoop. More so, deep inside, there's a feeling that if he goes there...

There's something that will make him go crazy if he sees empty shelves like what he saw from his section.

So, after going around a few times at his section, he slowly directs his wispy body towards the largest section of the library.

And he did not even arrive there, when a twinge of pain pierced him directly. 

It was a pain that came from the soul.

Very different from the torturous pain he experienced just a while ago. 

Reed was right.

When he saw the blank banner signifying the division of the section, he almost went crazy.

'There should be a title there... Why is it blank?!'

Without thinking, the small wisp flickered then rash all over that section.

Unlike the others, this section was truly solely for one person. The category was not just written in the whole subject like [Appearance] in Reed's [Self] section. It was very detailed, there was [Eyes], [Hair], [Nose], [Hands], [Voice], [Personality]...

It was thoroughly designated. Every part of the body has its own shelves. Even abstract thoughts, events, everyday scenes, expressions, reactions... 

Every bit and piece was here, all screaming at Reed who this person was and how important this person was.

But it was all empty.

Empty...it was empty.

Reed knows it was useless to remember someone's face as he failed at it and was useless about it for his entire lifetime. Even he does not know what he looked like.

But this is worse than not recognising faces. Even to his side, only some of the shelves were emptied and not everything.

Reed did not know what was happening right now, he did not care about his own circumstances. But seeing all these shelves empty...

That means that he totally forgot about this person.

And if he didn't have his theater and library. Then he will unknowingly forget someone important and it occupies half of his memories.

'What is this!! This is madness! How can it be!! How can I forget!!'

At least this person!

Forget everything else, but not this person!!

Reed went on rampage, he looked everywhere inside his mind. Every shelf inside his library he checks it out meticulously, looking for a hint that might make him remember.

The library that he painstakingly organized was turned upside down by the white wisps again.

Reed's head hurts but the suffering of his soul hurts much more, but he endured it. 

Until he saw a large wooden door at the corner being covered by a few shelves he threw. Reed looked at it intensely and unblinkingly. He knows for sure that this door never existed before. 

His mind only has one theater and one huge and wide hall with many organized and categorized video tapes and movie cases placed neatly inside the shelves.

Reed forcefully tidied and arranged his library once more, in order to open that large door. While ignoring all the pain stabbing him from within.

After a while, Reed floated with his wispy body that was wavering, gleaming then dimming in continuous cycle.

The door opened automatically, and what he saw gave him another shock. Reed stood rooted in place, still digesting everything he saw.

Beyond the large wooden door was another huge hall that was very much different from his own. It was much larger than the one he has. It was like a huge library with billions of movie and video collections. Even the walls of the room were all filled.

And unlike the library before, this one has countless sections.

But what hooked Reed's attention is, within this library. There was the largest section too, that occupied almost half of the space within the hall.

He went there and looked up to see the banner. Written in elegant cursives he knew was his handwriting, was a name.

 [Echo]

The moment he read the name, all the pain vanished.

He knew that name...

And he knew for sure, that was the person he was looking for.

His important, beloved and childhood sweetheart.

Reed greedily gazed at that name. His obsession and possessiveness that he did not reveal before was now showing. 

He repeatedly called the name, wanting to carve this name in his mind, never to be forgotten again.

He went around the section, and unlike the previous library, it was more detailed and full. But it was blank. The shelves were all full with the things that should be there but it was blank.

The film strips were white instead of black, the CDs were filled with sealed content, even the casing was blank. The title and synopsis that was supposed to be written there was gone.

It's like an encrypted folder from his classmate's phone full of porns. Reed recalled it, he can't access any of the folders placed there.

Seems like he was in that kind of situation now. He does not have any authority to access any information in this library.

'Why? And whose memories is this? Why is it in my head?'.

Reed thought it was weird.

Especially the section where the banner with Echo's name.

Fortunately, there's still some that can give him information. Upon exploring this huge hall, he saw it within this certain weird section. 

[Inherited Memories]

That was a weird title. Reed never once had that kind of section in his brain before. 

But Reed does not have a choice but to proceed. His guts were telling him these shelves can answer some of his questions.

Although some of the shelves were sealed, he can still gain information from the few that he can view.

And so, Reed picked up the first movie and watched it.

...

...

...

Finishing watching everything that can be watched on the shelves. Reed was dumbfounded at the same time feeling exhilarated.

'Echo. That person is here too! I'm sure.' Reed excitedly proclaimed while he was still analyzing all information he received from the [Inherited Memory].

'Hahaha. This is wonderful! Interesting! I never thought that kind of phenomenon was true!'

Transmigration.

Reed was now in a whole different world.

And was now in a very different body and species.

He was now a mermaid.

...