9 Carla's void

Darkness.

Carla stood in what seemed like an endless void, where she could not differentiate between up and down.

The last thing she could remember was the moment when she was about to open the door.

Remembering the feeling of reaching for the doorknob, she subconsciously looked at where her hand should have been. But nothing was there.

In a panic, Carla did a full sweep over where her body should have been but nothing but the dark void could be seen.

I... I can't feel my body...

The strangeness of the situation birthed fear within her heart.

Where am I!

She tried yelling, but no voice came out, and even if it did, would it even matter?

She was somewhere she has never been before, in a situation she never experienced in her life. She never even heard of something like this happening seemingly out of nowhere.

I need to get to Boros, he needs my help!

Alright, alright. Let's think about this clearly. My body is not with me, which means that only my soul somehow got trapped in this place. The first thing that comes to mind would be a powerful illusion. But they need some trigger to activate and require both a lot of time to set up and a massive amount of mana.

I'll see if I can sense mana around me...

Carla cleared her mind, focusing only on one thing, and that was feeling the flow of mana through the air.

But what she noticed scared her even further.

There is no mana?

No.

There is no energy whatsoever in this space.

Usually, one would be able to sense the traces of mana or Qi in the air, but this space simply has neither air nor light to be a medium for any kind of energy.

"C~a~r~l~a~..."

What was that?!

A shallow whispering sound could be heard within the void.

If Carla's body was here now, she would be full of goosebumps.

Why is it calling me?

Wait.

It almost sounded like... Boros?

Over here!

Boros!

Can you move to?

I can neither see nor move!

Carla desperately tried contacting Boros, but no sound could come out without her body.

After the whisper of her name had finished resonating in the void, no sound could be heard again.

This space felt so empty and so lonely that even the nothingness around Carla felt like it started moving if she looked at one point for too long.

It was so quiet that you could slowly hear the darkness talk to you, telling you sweet little secrets that only you yourself would know about.

Time felt like it was not moving, yet at the same time, Carla felt like it has been months since she ended up in this place.

Being unwilling to give in to the madness that was trying to claim her, Carla started counting seconds while trying to think about the way to get out of this place.

...30654321, 30654322, 30654323...

After a very long time, Carla started getting a feeling of movement. She couldn't really tell if she was moving since there was nothing around her as a point of reference, but whether she was moving or not, this feeling of supposed moving made her see hope.

Maybe if she manages to find an exit out of this place, then she could return to her body.

After moving forward for what seemed to be years, Carla's spirit was slowly getting crushed.

The endless void started taunting her, mocking her will to live. The dark figures started appearing more vividly, taking on forms that defied all reality. Their bodies were shifting and changing by each moment.

Carla began feeling tired.

She didn't care about the shadows mocking her, and she didn't care how grotesque the dark figures were.

The only thing that was on her mind now was her family.

Her parent that has always loved her. Her brother, who has always protected her.

But with the passage of time, even their figures started fading from her memory.

The flame of hope that once burned brilliantly was now reduced to the very last spark.

Why?

Why is this happening to me!

What did I do to deserve this?!

~that is right~

~give up give up~

~surrender~

Shut up!

I will, I will find a way... I must...

After so long, Carla already forgot what having a body felt like, the only feeling left inside her was a feeling of moving, but now she became sceptical if that was really the case.

Was she moving?

The weird sensation made it feel like she was, but she had nothing to prove it. The whispers around her always came from different directions as if they were moving, and the dark figures made it seem like she was sometimes completely still, while other times moving very fast.

But the more Carla thought about it, the more she felt like it was just the void taunting her.

- - -

Year 68 in the void

After 68 years of the void, Carla made peace with her destiny.

Her soul was to forever remain trapped within this dark void.

There were only a couple of things she regretted.

She regretted not saying goodbye to her family.

She regretted not knowing how they have been for all these years.

But most of all, she regretted not remembering their names, their faces, their smiles and the warmth she felt in her heart when they were around.

She no longer knew what that warmth felt like, or any kind of warmth or coldness for that matter.

The only thing she was sure about was the endless darkness that shrouded her, trying to consume all that makes her herself.

...

Year 99

Carla has been wandering the darkness in complete menta silence for a couple of years now.

She no longer remembers who she was before coming to this void.

The only thing she remembers was her name, which she would have forgotten as well if the shadowy whispers didn't use it to taunt her because of her helplessness.

She mindlessly drifted through the void, like a lonely cloud through the clear sky.

~poor little Carla~

~just look how lonely she is~

~too bad she forgot them~

~how unfortunate~

~~Hahahahhhahahahaha~~

It was just like any other day. Silently drifting, ignoring the whispers. She would have probably felt fazed by them if she knew what they were talking about.

She just went along with her day, not that she could tell what time it was though.

When suddenly she notices something in the distance.

At first, she thought it was just one of the dark figures trying out a new look, even though by now she has seen them take on more forms than she could remember in her lifetime.

Getting closer to the object floating in place, Carla realised that this object looked like something she has long since forgotten.

This... Why does it look so familiar?

No, wait, wait, wait!

This,ughhhh, what was it called?!

A body!

Yes!

But what is it doing here, nothing but madness and insanity live in this space.

There are some very faint pictures resurfacing in my mind, but they are all very blurry...

Should I touch it?

Maybe it will do something if I touch it...

Carla approached the body with caution, but once she got close enough to see some of its features, she felt two different things by looking at it.

First of all, it looked like a male body, while she more or less was sure that she was a female.

She felt that the body was rather handsome, but also that she has never seen it before, as some pictures of it should have come back if she saw it before.

The stranger thing was that she felt connected to this body.

She couldn't remember how but there was just something about it that made her feel at ease.

Carla got so close to the body that if she were in her body now, not even a centimetre would set their lips apart.

Who are you?

Carla couldn't resist the feeling of being drawn to the body of this young-looking man.

His body had a chiselled yet agile look to it.

His skin was as white as the winter snow.

His ink-black hair, which was barely visible due to the black background, was loose and messily floated around. By the looks of it, his hair should reach all the way to his waist.

A void black symbol decorated his forehead, almost completely blending in with the void.

The body had a dark robe, looking like it was made from a shadowy mist which inhabited the void.

Carla felt drawn to him, even though she didn't know him. It was like some force was making her come even closer.

But as she got closer and closer to him, the whispers became louder and louder.

The whispering voices overlapped, making it hard to tell what they were saying, but some of them sounded like they were urging her to proceed with what she was doing, while the other voices told her to back off.

Finally, Carla's ethereal lips pressed onto the young man's lips.

The moment their lips touched, sealing a kiss, the whispers fell silent.

Carla bashfully moved backwards, realising what she has done.

My first kiss...

The flame that has disappeared from Carla's heart years ago, reignited again with a glorious fire.

A feeling of affection slowly unveiling the memories she has long since forgotten.

Her parents.

Her brother.

Her friends.

And, Boros?

Oh, my Goddess!

What happened to Boros?!

He was dying before I got here!

Carla began panicking again, after so many years of lonely solitude, she was once again just a sweet girl, worrying about others.

But her panic was very soon converted into fear, and from fear into terror.

Because the whispering voices returned, but this time the only thing that could be heard from them was...

~~Hihihihihuhahahahahahahahahahahahah!~~

A burst of thunderous laughter filled the void, shaking Carla's very soul.

After just a few moments the laughter stopped, and what happened next will probably haunt Carla's nightmares.

From all edges of the void, thousands upon thousands eyelids opened up, looking right at her.

These eyes gave off a feeling as they can see through your soul, your intentions and the very essence of your existence.

What Carla didn't notice was that at the same moment all of the eyes opened around the void, the young man also opened his own eyes.

After only a moment of being looked at by these eyes, the space around Carla went from the void black to the pure white.

When the whiteness also disappeared, a noise could be heard behind Carla's back.

The sudden noise startled her, turning her head around just to see a bunch of papers still falling to the ground from when she knocked them off the table.

Carla quickly turned her head just to see that she was still holding the doorknob.

What the hell?

Has her soul returned to her body?

All of the memories that were lost and forgotten in the void, replenished themselves, like watering plants after a drought.

That space, that man...

I, I am so confused...

Carla felt like those memories from the void were very quickly being forgotten, like a dream.

She could recall some minor details, but as moments were passing, it all felt much more distant.

Remembering why she was in such a hurry, Carla quickly returned to her table, to make sure Boros was still there, and not slot of time passed.

She was almost sure that barely a few seconds passed while she was in the void, but that could have been achieved in a couple of ways.

For example, a zone of slowed time or something similar could have made the papers fall slowly enough that they hit the floor only after whatever was happening to her ended.

Carla once again jumped over the table, not even bothering going around it, as if every moment she can save up for reaching her goal was a moment she would be able to put to better use.

When Carla looked at the screen, all she saw was a blood-filled hidey-hole.

Boros was nowhere to be seen inside it.

The next thing Carla did was adjust the picture angle to look over the whole room, afraid that one of Boroses sibling snatched him.

But once the image moved out of the hidey-hole, a sight which left Carla speechless caught her by surprise.

What met her in the image was the naked body of a young man.