I tried to open my eyes, but I couldn't see anything. Everything around me was dark.
I thought I was trapped somewhere, but then I realized I could move my body again.
I looked around, but the scene before my eyes hadn't changed: just a black background, an endless void that was already starting to disorient me.
This place was completely empty, yet strangely, I didn't mind it; in fact, I felt at home.
My mind was much clearer than usual.
I wasn't forced to suffocate in tunnels where the air barely circulated, nor did I need to move like a puppet to follow the orders of guards or instructors.
For the first time in a long while, I felt free. Before me, there was only the endless void.
I turned my head to look behind me and nearly fell in shock.
Standing there was… a boy, smiling radiantly at me. Was that normal?
The boy, perhaps noticing my confusion, began to speak first.
"Hi Kian, it's a pleasure to finally meet you. You don't know how long I've been waiting to meet you. I am the person who knows you better than anyone else… no, wait, that sounds bad… I am your stalker pers— no, that's even worse… I've been watching every one of your actions and thoughts over the past year… no, I'm just making this worse, I'll just scare him…"
Unfortunately, the words of this mysterious boy only confused me more, especially because he had started talking to himself.
"Um, hi. As you already said, I'm Kian. Are you my element by any chance? Or are you some kind of test?"
Hearing my words, the boy stopped his monologue and looked at me again.
"You're right, it's better to start with introductions. First of all, I want to clarify that no, I'm not your element and no, I'm not even a test before your awakening. My name is Terence, I'm 16 years old, black hair, blue eyes, I was a student, the numbers on my credit card are 195… no, wait, that's not necessary. What else? Ah, right… I've been trapped here for about a year inside your soul's world."
My eyes widened.
"WHAT??? TRAPPED??? And wait… this is my soul??????"
The boy, Terence, smiled at my reaction.
"Oh, how I've been waiting for this moment… I practiced for so long… breathe, Terence, breathe. Okay, first of all, Kian, I ask you to follow me for a moment."
Terence turned and began walking into the endless darkness surrounding us.
Unsure of what to do, I decided to follow him, and after a few steps, we found ourselves in front of a white sphere.
At that point, Terence began speaking again.
"You must have a ton of questions, Kian, and surely more will come as I speak, but first, I want you to listen."
I nodded at Terence's words.
"Good. First of all, you need to know that I don't come from this world. To be precise, I died in a different world than this one."
"Oh, I thi—"
"WHAAAAT??????? THERE ARE OTHER WORLDS???? AND YOU COME FROM ANOTHER WORLD???"
Terence wasn't annoyed by my shouting; in fact, he seemed happy.
"Exactly. I come from a world much more advanced than yours. Well, I'm not entirely sure since everything I know about your world is what I've seen through your eyes. Anyway, from what I could see, your world seems technologically underdeveloped compared to mine, but in my world of origin, magic didn't exist, so it's a bit of an ambiguous situation."
I tried to calm myself to absorb everything he was telling me more quickly.
But Terence's last words stopped me again.
"A WORLD WITHOUT MAGIC???? You're saying there's no mana in your world? Is that even possible? How do you fight monsters under those conditions?"
At that point, Terence began to laugh.
"Pfffff! Oh, sorry, it might sound weird to you, but in my world there are no monsters or house-sized animals with the power to destroy entire cities with a single breath. From that point of view, it's a very peaceful place for humans to live… now I got lost. What was I talking about again?"
Terence looked around, and as soon as he saw the white sphere, his face lit up.
"Right. You asked if this place is your soul. Well, I'm not even sure, but I've made some guesses since I had a lot of free time… no, correction. I just had free time."
For a moment, his face became more melancholic, then he continued.
"According to my guess, this glowing sphere is indeed a soul, and this space we're in is what I call the soul world. I've done some tests, and no matter how far I try to go, I always end up back here."
I kept nodding, but more questions started forming in my mind.
"But wait… you said you're dead??? And also, if this is my soul, why are you here?"
Terence pondered for a moment before answering.
"Well Kian… the truth will surprise you, but…"
He stopped.
"I have no idea."
I looked at him, stunned.
"You… don't know?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know."
"I don't know."
We stared at each other for a moment without speaking, and then I exploded.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW?????? THIS IS MY SOUL, HOW COULD YOU END UP HERE BY MISTAKE???? THIS ISN'T A PLACE YOU JUST GET LOST IN!"
I tried to catch my breath while Terence began speaking again.
"Look, Kian, I don't know what idea you've formed of me in these few minutes, but as I said, I'm Terence, 16 years old — I emphasize, 16 — and before I died, I was a normal student. Unfortunately, in my world, they don't teach anything about life after death or souls. A clear sign that the education system failed to prepare my young mind."
I looked at him, not knowing what to say.
"So you don't know anything?"
He nodded.
"I want to know as much as you do. After all, I've been trapped in this place for so long… alone."
He paused.
"But now, let's talk about you, Kian. You have a problem."
I looked at him, confused.
"Me? A problem?"
Terence nodded.
"Yes. Your emotions are a mess right now."
"What are you talking about? Since I entered this world, I feel grea—"
"You're not okay, Kian."
This time, his voice was serious.
"No ten-year-old would be okay after what you've been through."
He paused.
"You didn't even notice that Luke was among the discarded children."
His words hit me like a punch.
"You're trying to suppress your emotions, and I understand that. But that will only make things worse. You need to vent."
He looked at me with a warmer smile.
"Think of me as a wall. Start yelling, get angry, even hit me. We still have a lot of time."
"Then do whatever you want."
At first, I didn't know what to say.
Had I really forgotten Luke?
I thought back on everything that had happened.
The kidnapping.
The death of the old man.
The arrival at the base.
The inhuman training.
The disappearance of my companions.
One memory at a time, my emotions resurfaced.
At first, I tried to speak calmly.
But it didn't work.
The words started coming out on their own.
I don't know how long I went on.
Terence didn't complain even once.
He just kept listening.
I kept yelling in anger.
Crying.
Hitting the floor with my arms.
Kicking the void.
I swore a dozen times to kill Daren and Lyra at the cost of my life.
I swore to escape that hellish place.
To keep the promise I made to Viola.
When I emptied everything inside me, I felt much better.
I hadn't solved anything.
My emotions were still there.
But venting to someone…
made me feel as if I had lifted a huge weight off my shoulders.
I had to thank the boy in front of me.
"Thank you, Terence. By the way, you said we still have a lot of time. But a lot of time for what?"
"Oh, right."
Terence snapped his fingers.
"I almost forgot."
Then he smiled.
"We still have plenty of time before we die together."
"Oooh, so we had a lot of time befor—"
I froze.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN DIE TOGETHER???????"