"Who am I?"
The question echoes deep within my mind. It comes from nowhere, and yet it is everywhere.
I feel cold; I'm freezing. And yet this abyss of paradoxes burns with a blazing heat. I feel like I'm being crushed, my very soul twisted and bent. Then the pain strikes. It's unbearable, as if my muscles are being torn apart. It digs deeper, drills into my bones, punctures my nerves like searing nails and yet… I feel nothing.
This utter confusion is driving me mad.
I try to curl up, to grasp something anything to scream.
All for nothing.
In this place of darkness, in this void, in this inescapable pit of madness… I cannot feel my limbs, my pulse, not even my skin. It's as if I've been thrown into pure Nothingness.
"Where am I? What is this place? What's happening to me?"
The voices grow louder screams, moans, and roars.
I can feel their suffering, their anguish, their despair… and yet, they are not mine.
Here, there is no air. I can't breathe.
But in a final, desperate act, I try to scream for help no matter who hears me, no matter how far I scream before I lose myself. Before I lose reason.
And then…
A sound resonated, like a bell.
It isn't like any sound I've ever heard. It can only be described as… divine.
A golden light pierced the darkness. I was blinded yet its brilliance, shining like a thousand suns, washes away my torment.
Then I hear a sound a voice.
But it is more than a voice. It is a harmony of countless tones: the voices of men, women, and children… the barking of dogs, the purring of cats, the chirping of insects… the rustling of wind through leaves and grass, the sway of trees, the rhythm of waves lapping the shore.
It is as if the World or Nature itself was addressing me.
Then it speaks:
{ Child of Man, be not afraid.
I have made a terrible mistake, and because of my cowardice and hesitation, you will suffer.
Misfortune shall befall your kind, but I beg you, do not hate them.
If you wish to reclaim your world, to restore the long-lost peace that once was…
You must endure. You must survive countless trials and overcome many hardships.
I cannot help you now, for I find myself in grave peril.
But please… reach me
in a realm beyond Time and Space. }
"Wait who even are you? Is the world really ending? Who are you talking about? What does any of this have to do with me?"
{ Child of Man, I understand your confusion.
But time is no longer a luxury I possess, so listen closely I shall speak only once.
The world you knew the world you lived in until now is gone.
It has been shattered in a crucible of Truth and Falsehood, torn asunder by the hand of the Craftsman.
To survive what lies ahead, you will need guidance.
Alone, you will be utterly crushed.
I bestow upon you this blessing: a star of wisdom to guide you on your journey. }