'Argh! Where...?'
Opening his eyes, a young man in his late twenties let out an involuntary groan as a sharp, throbbing headache struck him. It was painful. So painful that it felt as if something were drilling straight into his temple.
'It hurts...!?'
'This is rather problematic. I will not be able to go work tomorrow.'
'Is it possible to take a day off? I doubt it.'
'What do I do? What do I do? To begin with, where am I? This place looks nothing like my room. Where is my infamous laptop on the verge of collapse, and my stuffy pillow!?'
Corvin Mercier found the entire situation peculiar.
Aside from the headache, he could think clearly and could move his body without any restraint.
This meant he had not been kidnapped by hooligans or anything of the sort, which only confused him further.
But the environment was undeniably strange.
First of all, the space around him was completely white.
«White»
It felt as though this world was ruled entirely by that single color.
More unsettling was the sheer vastness of it. From where he was laying down, there was neither a beginning nor an end in sight. The place simply extended outward endlessly.
Was this even a space that obeyed the laws of physics or mathematics?
Despite the bizarre landscape, Corvin did not feel fear which anyone would find strange.
He was simply confused.
What was this situation?
How had he ended up here?
Was there even an exit to be found?
These were the thoughts that raced through his mind. He suddenly found himself in this place and wasn't sure what to do. Perhaps the logical course of action was to escape.
Corvin pushed himself up on his elbows, wincing as the throbbing in his head reminded him of its presence. The white expanse stretched endlessly in every direction, utterly featureless, and yet… there was a subtle, almost imperceptible hum in the air.
It wasn't loud, but it seemed to vibrate in his chest, resonating with something deep inside him.
He sat up cautiously, testing his balance. The ground beneath him felt solid enough, though oddly soft, like walking on a thick layer of foam that gave way slightly under his weight.
His expression grew serious as he examined it.
"Soft and… comfortable? I could sleep here for a long time."
[Do you like it?]
"Guess so."
[I see. I'm glad.]
"But it's too soft."
[Too soft?]
"Yeah. If the ground is too soft, then how would you find bal…"
Corvin suddenly froze.
As a salary worker at a game development company, he had been about to give a detailed review when he realized something strange.
He was alone.
So who had spoken just now?
Thump–! Thump–!
A sudden, overwhelming feeling of dread rose from his chest, as if something was about to emerge.
"...!"
Reluctantly, Corvin turned his head at a pace as slow as a snail, bracing himself for the worst. His eyes finally fell upon the source of the voice.
The figure crouched to his right, an absolute contrast to the endless white around them.
«Black»
From head to toe, the entity was covered in pitch-black. Not an inky tattoo or fabric, but something that could almost be called skin, though it didn't resemble anything he had ever seen.
There was no eyes, mouth, ears or nose. Just an endless void of darkness.
It was quite eerie.
The figure was staring at him with both hands pressed to its featureless face.
"Ack–!"
The scream escaped Corvin before he could stop it, and he crawled backward, desperate to put distance between them.
With no exit in sight, any attempt of escape was fruitless.
All he could do was force himself to a distance of five meters and stare at the creature as his body trembling uncontrollably.
His earlier curiosity had been replaced by sheer terror.
Logically speaking, it was impossible to comprehend such an existence.
The human mind could not truly comprehend infinity. The idea of an endless white expanse paired with an indescribable darkness should have shattered him instantly. Yet, Corvin was too afraid to even consider the possibility that this reality could be real.
[Ahn!]
Came the response from the eldritch-like entity. It was soft, feminine, and carried a note of surprise, as if it, too, were taken aback.
"..."
"..."
They continued to stare at each other in silence.
Corvin's body shook, his fear of being attacked and killed leaving him frozen, while the mysterious darkness regarded him calmly, almost curiously, like a rare creature observed in a zoo.
"Huh?"
After a moment, Corvin finally processed the situation.
"...I'm still alive?"
His complex expression seemed to ask the question without words.
[Ah!]
An echo followed his thought, and the mysterious darkness, perhaps noticing his reaction, spoke quickly:
[Oh my… I'm sorry if I gave you a fright. My appearance can be… a little unsettling to look at. I didn't expect anyone to enter here. To be honest, I'm just as surprised as you are.]
"..."
Corvin blinked.
Did it just apologize? Were his ears deceiving him?
'It doesn't seem aggressive. I don't sense any signs of malice. Maybe it's harmless.'
'Fuck, are you kidding? That's exactly what they want you to think! That's how monsters get you!'
'Maybe it's just waiting for me to drop my guard so it can strike. But… why would I assume that? What can I even do here except die?'
His instincts weren't entirely wrong.
If the entity truly intended him harm, Corvin wouldn't have been able to resist. The only options would have been screaming, flailing, and ultimately being devoured by an eldritch horror. Worst case… slow consumption, or worse, torture.
Why torture? He didn't know, but it wasn't something he could dismiss entirely.
Either way, he had been placed at the mercy of a being that could end his life at any moment.
Yet, the fact that it hadn't acted yet offered a sliver of hope.
Swallowing the dryness in his mouth, Corvin hesitated for a moment before finally opening his mouth and saying:
"U-um… hello?"
The words felt fragile as they left his lips. His voice wavered, uncertain if the entity could even understand him.
The darkness tilted its head this way and that way, as though examining him more closely.
It certainly gave off a curious aura.
[Oh, oh, oh... a living being? A living soul? I thought I was hallucinating but you're real, aren't you!? Tell me you're not an fragment of my imagination, yes?]
"...I don't think that's the case. So yes, I am real."
[How lovely! An actual living soul!? How long has it been since I have talked to someone!? A few hundred or thousands of years? A millennial?]
Upon noticing that he was indeed real, the darkness seemed to relax and stood up abruptly. Growing excited, the strange entity moved round and about across the white soft surface.
It seemed to be doing some kind of happy dance.
For some reason, Corvin felt uneasy.
[How quaint! After all this time, I finally meet someone else in this place. And you're not a hallucination. Alive, breathing, thinking… fascinating. I'm so happy I feel like I might faint!]
"I… I'm not sure why I'm here. I just suddenly found myself in this place."
[Ah… of course, of course… It seems you were brought here by accident. Or perhaps by a twist of fate? Who knows? Who knows? I certainly don't. But does it really matter? It matters little. What matters is that I finally have someone I can talk to.]
'What is this?'
'It says I was brought here? Brought here by what?'
Corvin frowned.
He didn't like where this was going. And it didn't seem like the entity was going to give him any real answers. In fact, it didn't seem helpful at all, nor did it appear to be in a stable state of mind.
The impression it gave him was eerily reminiscent of a lunatic.
Not that he had ever encountered one before, but he knew with absolute certainty that the being in front of him was abnormal.
'I have to get out of here.'
On impulse, the logical and self-preserving part of his mind made a decision. He slowly edged backward, careful not to draw attention.
Then, without warning, he turned and broke into a desperate sprint.