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When you open your eyes, you are in complete darkness. You try to remember your past, yet your memory seems to draw nothing but blanks. You are starting to feel insecure. The darkness that surrounds you seems to move ever closer to you, as if to swallow you whole. To engulf you. To make you a part of them.

You tried to fight back, you punched and kicked as hard as you can. Yet what your fists reached were nothing but unsettling emptiness. You tried to scream, you screeched until your throat became sore, yet nothing escapes your mouth. Nothing. Nothing but reverberating silence.

Before you gave up, however, you heard a voice. “Ye who hold potential for limitless power, heed my call..” It says, repeatedly. At first, it was nothing but a whisper. Yet the more you focus your mind to it, the louder and clearer it gets. Before you know it, footsteps of light appear in front of you, as if guiding you. Guiding you away from this world of darkness, and on to the place you’re supposed to be.

… What will you do?

Wraith of Dagger

Tired.

I couldn’t think about anything more than how tired I was. I raged against the darkness for... an eternity it seemed, and now? I floated in nothing, comforted by the fight ending. I don’t remember why I fight so hard. Had I been scared? Angry? Sad? I didn’t remember, I don’t think I cared to know. I was... content? Comfortable that was it. The darkness was neither warm nor cold, it just... was.

When the call started, I thought it my imagination. My brain shutting down perhaps? My mind fighting when my body was done. Until I could start to make out the voice. I couldn’t place it was it here with me or in my mind. I settled on the realization it came from everywhere.

The glimmer, the light. It burned. I wanted the darkness. I was comfortable, I knew it’s touch, what it never pretended to be. The light was new, the light I couldn’t comprehend. I clenched my fists. My hand gripped something solid. I lifted my hand up. A knife- Dagger? Dirk? Dirk.- rested in my palm, the light illuminated it’s silvery sheen, the darkness swallowing the pitch black handle and onyx pommel. Had I always had this?

Stay and know all I had known? Go, and perhaps know more. It could be a dream. It could be a nightmare. Perhaps the darkness was salvation. The light damnation.

The call became deafening.

My mind wanted to answer the call, my body wanted to stay. A strange thing happened then. I reached out, an impulse of something... curiosity perhaps. Maybe I would be damned, or saved. The darkness chose me, but I didn’t choose it. I became angry again. I grasped what I’d fought for, for what I now knew I clawed, bit, and raged to hold as my own. I stepped through the doorway.

I made my choice.

At first, all I knew was a rising sense of unease. I did not fear the dark, but the nothingness was like no other terror - perhaps because, right now, I had nothing to compare it to. I needed something to hold onto, some concept to keep me grounded, and just before the unsettled feeling in my gut threatened to tip me into total panic...

I could feel my shield weighing on my arm - comforting, solid, heavy. This was one thing I knew well. This was one thing to cling to.

Silence reigned. I began to fear that my shield might not be enough - and then a voice, distant like it might be uttered through a veil, gave me something else.

Ah, purpose is a wonderful thing.

When I zeroed in on the call, I could feel more than hear where it was coming from, and my path lit up like a beacon. The way was clear. What else mattered but to follow?

And so I moved on.

Falling into the eternal darkness.

There's no thoughts, pressure, feeling or emotion. The cold and the heat are interchangeable, neither fully brushing your skin. A feeling of floating, as if you're just barely not reaching the floor. There is no movement while you're in constant motion. It's comforting. It's terrifying. It's neither and both. It's a contradiction borne from nothing, continuing to something, starting in void, ending in oblivion.

This isn't what you want. This isn't what I want. This isn't what anyone wants.

Not even a nobody would accept this situation that they're in. That nobody would struggle 'till the last breath. A nobody has nothing to lose and everything to gain. Maybe there's just one more shot if you reach for that glimmer of hope beyond the great and vast emptiness. One more chance. A nobody would need just one more chance.

The nobody wishes for it. That call for power and autonomy, no matter how small the chance their voice be heard. It's not even a wish, more like a demand, damned be that a nobody would resign themselves to nothing. The voice does not reverberate, but a voice comes back still.

Stability. Footing. A chance. The nobody feels it- feels them. The footsteps carrying them forward. The only things binding them between This and That.

Step. Step. Step.

When I open my eyes, there is only darkness. All I know is this eternal night surrounding me. Am I…it? No, I am separate from it, distinct. But this blackness, as unknown as my own self is, is trying to overtake me.

There is a burning in my chest. What is this feeling? I don’t know, but it drives me to struggle against the emptiness. And I do, I protest with every part of me, as long as I can. Yet, it is to no avail.

I don’t accomplish anything.

My breath is laboured, panting. Is the abyss becoming part of me with my every breath? Am I being dissolved into it with every passing moment? Am I doomed?

I tremble, feeble and fading. Is this it? Can I do nothing more?

Heaving, I try to move. No results. None. Why? There should be something.

I curl up, and breathe. In, out, in, out…I try to think. I can’t recall…I ache…I should…but what? I did it all, but for what? Will the night swallow me up, after all?

Stillness, for a while. I am weary, sluggish, dazed. I tried it all, and I failed it all. What else is there, but wait to be consumed and gone? I don’t want this ending, but my desire matters not at all to the void. My protests haven’t moved it, haven’t prevented what appears to be a forgone conclusion.

Then, a voice. Immediately, I tense, and listen intently. There had only been silence. Who is this? How did they make a voice? I couldn’t. So, how did they?

This voice…It’s addressing me. Power? Can I use it to fight against the greedy shadows? I’ll take it.

I blink when splotches of light appear in front of me. This is new. My eyes prickle, but I don’t mind the sensation. Light…the antithesis of dark. I stand up, carefully, and move forward.

My foot bumps into a long cylindrical object, and I stare at it in bewilderment. Has this been here with me the whole time? I am not sure, but I pick it up. It’s almost as tall as I am, and thin enough for me to comfortably wrap a hand around it.

The illuminated footsteps allow me to see the staff. It is simple, yet intricate, solid, but not too heavy. Its surface is ebony, somewhat gnarled, and well-worn with use. It’s wider at the top, where a brilliant red gem sits wrapped up in wooden tendrils.

This object is mine, and I grasp it tightly. A familiar feeling encompasses me. The blaze in my chest, which had died down to a faint smouldering, now reignites, spreading through my whole body, invigorating me. It bursts out of me, a small flicker of flame appearing above my right palm, and a larger ball of fire above the staff. I glance from one to the other, fascinated by the twisting dance of red-orange-yellow. It warms me, and chases away the shadows, just as the voice’s light did.

A grin spreads across my face. The voice is still reverberating in my head. Alright, then, I’ll follow you for now. You were the spark I needed, after all.

I clench my palm into a fist, snuffing out all the flames. They are not gone, however. They never were. They are within me. I know now that I can summon them without. I will not forget that, not this time. Not again.

My body is still weak, but that doesn’t matter any longer. There is finally something I can do.

I follow the mysterious footsteps.

As I came to my senses and looked around, I found only emptiness, and if it had eyes, it felt as if it were staring right back at me. The thought 'where am I?' did not cross my mind yet, only the insane thumping of the headache that followed my arrival. A man.. woman.. thing could go insane from that sound alone. I open my mouth and try to yell, but not even a single puff of air leaves my dry lungs. What happened?

I wished in that moment that I had an answer, but the deities of this place had taken my answers, and my questions too. All that was left now was whatever I could come up with in this place -- whose name escaped me, whose purpose did the same.

Had I known anything about my past, I might have known that this was a bad place to be, but I did not, and so I only assumed that this was all there was to life. There was no fear on my end, nor any other particular feeling or sensation. All there was was being, and for a moment it felt soothing before the sudden booming voice shook me to my very core.

“Go away!” I wanted to yell, but still there was no air in my lungs that I could use to speak, and so I could only stand there, staring menacingly into the distance, where I thought the voice would be. The voice very well could have been anywhere, though. “Leave me to my life!” I tried again, but alas.

But the voice did not cease, and continued to call me to 'heed his call.' I ignored it for moments, but had no feeling of time, and so I could not measure it. It might have been an hour that I ignored it, or a single second. It became evident to me that it would not stop, more so when the golden footprints appeared in front of me.

Fine, I thought, I'll make you leave me alone. Begrudgingly I set myself onto the path that had been laid out in front of me by some unknown being, a deity perhaps, or a demon. Or, perhaps, just a thing. When I find you, you will be sorry for not leaving me alone. For the first time, I felt an emotion. Anger, annoyance. I resolved to find this voice, and to pull off it's jaw, so that it could never disturb my being again.

@LukasVolkov
Chapter 0 - False Longing

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Despite what your body is telling you, your mind resisted the darkness. Ignited by fury, the mind dragged the unwilling body through the perilous darkness. At first you were crawling, slowly dragging your body through the mud-like darkness, desperately grabbing and clawing at the nonexistent ground for a semblance of foothold. Times and times again, the mind considered giving up. Yet something kept nagging from within.

"Just a little more," the whispering said. "Just a little more, and we will reach the end. What is this level of suffering for a promise of salvation?"

"What bollocks!" another voice ring inside your head. Unlike the first voice, this one speaks with greater volume and clarity. "Salvation you say? Very funny. I did not know that pain and labor is a salvation. You were so comfortable in the darkness. It was the repose we had longed for our entire life! They are us, and we are part of them. This is where we belong. What more do you want? What more is there to want?"

"..."

You decide to ignore the voices and keep pushing. And soon, you reached a gate. It is a grand gate, standing at least 20 feet tall and made of sturdy wrought iron. First you tried pushing: it did not budge. Then you tried pulling: the gate did not even made a creak, let alone open. You then tried knocking, and even hurling your body towards it, with nothing but cuts and bruises to show for your effort.

"See? This whole thing is just a trick. It gives you hope, pushes you to toil and suffer, only for it to chalk up to nothing in the end!" the voice within you returns. "Just give up. Drop whatever you are doing and wait for Oblivion to reclaim you."

Honestly, you are tempted by this offer. It's not like you didn't try. No, in fact you did your best to pursue the fleeting promise from beyond the void, from the unknown. Your path was blocked and you had no way around it, it is as simple as that. You are not to be blamed. After all, who would blame you?

It is then that you noticed a small opening in between the gates. A key hole, perhaps? It would seem that the onyx dagger in your hand would fit nicely. Then again, it was all you possess. Should you put it in, and it became stuck, you will be left with nothing.

"I know what you're thinking. Don't. Let's just head back and call it a day, OK?" the voice urged you.

... What will you do?

@goodmode
Chapter 0 - To Whom The Bell Tolls

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The fear of realizing that you were, in fact, nothing but a fleeting existence in others' memories. That people, no matter how much you loved them in life, would eventually forget about you and move on in life. Such is the fear that's gripping your heart. Such, is the drive that fuels you to move forward; to follow the light, no matter what arduous journey it leads you into.

Never once did it cross your mind that the light's promise, too, might be a false one. Which is why, it terrified you to no end when you finally heard a tolling of the bell, and the abrupt fainting of the light that followed it. With every tolls the light disappeared more from your field of vision. And along with it, your sense of security. Frantically you ran to catch the light before it fades completely. Yet, all it accomplished was you losing your footing, and falling further into the abyss.

"Is this the end?" you thought. "Is it my destiny to be a part of the empty darkness? To fade into nothingness? Forever?"

As you fall deeper and deeper into the void, your mind grows weaker, and your eyes dimmer. Until at one point, you blacked out entirely.


Awakening from your slumber once more, you now noticed that you are in some kind of.. cave? You were not so sure. The place felt like an open space, but at the same time, enclosed. Looking around, you noticed two children playing merrily in the distance. Curious, you moved closer to the children. To check on them, to ask for direction, to be noticed. It was then that you noticed what was actually going on. What the so-called playing between the two children - sisters, as it may seem - entails.

You noticed that the first sister would produce dolls out of nowhere, and gave it to her younger sister to play with. The younger would then refuse, but inevitably accept her sister's gift, albeit reluctantly. Then, the moment she accepts the dolls, they will almost immediately crumble into dust. The elder sister would then smile wryly, and proceed to collect the ashes and mould them anew; and gave the new toy to her sister to play with.

The cycle continued endlessly as you watch, to the point where you think it broke the two sisters. They were crying and yelling, not because they hated each other; yet because they want the other to be happy, but the more they try and make things right, the more it hurts them.

*thump* you felt your heart beating. It aches. It makes you want to cry. To run over to the two sisters and embrace them, telling the poor souls that they will be alright. Yet no matter how much you run, the sisters' image would not get any closer. It was as if there is a gaping, uncrossable void between you and them. You fell, got up, and fell again, countless times. Yet reach them, you did not.

"That is enough," a rasp voice finally said from behind you. "Any more, and your soul will be consumed entirely," it continued, as its icy cold hands patted you on your shoulder, as if to calm you. To prevent you from running aimlessly any further.

Curious, you turned to see this person that stopped you from saving the sisters. And lo, the face of thousands death. A lifeless skeleton with jutting horns and burning eyes. The face of eldritch terror, forged from the shadows of nightmare. A form that, in its entirety, does not fit with the tender tone of his voice.


You quickly raised your left hand, hoping your shield to protect you from the creeping horror. Yet to your surprise, it was nowhere to be seen. You are alone, with nothing to fall back into.

... What will you do?

There was nothing. Well there was something here, but it seemed like nothing. There is always something, even if that thing is nothing itself. Is that too philosophical? I mean, there isn't anything else left to think of except things like this. There was a time where I would only imagine what my body looked like in this nothing. I'd wave my arms, kick and knee but I wouldnt see anything, something was blocking my vision or clouding it. At this moment, in my minds eye, I can see my breath flowing out in every exhale, swarming around in expanding spirals, like hot breath on a cool night. Opening my eye to look at my breath would prove fruitless, as I would see the nothing.

This nothing, as I've grown to know it as, is my enemy. I know this because a friend would talk to me and answer the questions I ask, Nothing doesn't talk to me nor answers my questions. I've tried asking politely and it silences me, stealing the very sound that I produce. I've tried attacking with the large hammer in my left hand, but again, it steals the very power that I draw forth. It steals from me. It is an enemy. Do you know who isn't and enemy? That voice. It must be good; I need it to be good. For if Nothing is my enemy, I must make allies because I can't defeat it on my own. If the voice is also my enemy, I will undoubtedly fall into something far far worse than Nothing... Despair. I guess I have no choice but to find out, I've only been suspended here for one eternity, but I think it's about time I do something.

'Ok, you got me. I'll answer the call.'

My thoughts are sent into the void in hopes that my broken resolve hasn't scared the voice away. Hopefully it takes me and gives me the strength that I need to defeat Nothing, releasing me from the numb sensation that it fills me with. This is where my philosophy is transformed into faith. Faith in the call.

'Oh...light. This must be the way....it must'

@Ammokkx
Chapter 0 - Into the Madness

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"Enough is enough!" the nobody thought to itself. It did not know where the motivation to leave came from, yet it embraced it, and walked with spring in its every step. It longs for something other than the vast emptiness it is in. It simply cannot wait. To get out. To feel something again.

And thus it drinks in the air pouring down the worn stone steps, the ethereal light gazing downwards at me through the opening of the passage. It is brisk and hides nothing. Earth, grass, and moisture are very palatable, especially after being submerged in the dark, tainted environments that it was leaving behind. With each step it felt the moss and stray roots of dead plants that penetrated the once bottomless void that made the entirety of its prison. Further below the darkness was almost thick enough that the nobody had to wade through it, but so close to the end of its imprisonment that it could not bear to look down and admire it.

Breaching the threshold it recognized a fourth scent wafting through the air. Laid out before it was a large, circular area. Built from large, individual stone blocks. The round walls were many feet high - thirty, perhaps, or even more. It could tell that the ground was moist though it had not yet stepped onto it. Fertile too, though it had not farmed it. It just had that look about it. It looked like it would give a satisfying squish when stepped on, without being messy like mud.

A garden - or a courtyard, perhaps; the nobody realized where it was. But whose? And why is it here?

After pondering for several moments it spied something in the middle of the courtyard sticking up, out of the ground. It looked to be the tip of something. A smooth object, made from bone or wood. It could see an arm's length of it, but it cannot make of anything else about it. The nobody was intrigued. As it considered pulling the object off the ground, a feminine voice rang from behind your back.

"A puppy, lost inside my garden, I see," it said to you in a sweet, sweet voice. Yet what filled your heart was not bliss. It was not even lust. It was fear. A basic, primal fear, like those a lion would feel when faced with a forest fire. Forcing yourself to calm down, you turned around to see your visitor. Or rather, your host; if this was really her garden.


A beautiful woman, with silky smooth flaxen hair and flawless skin, which put fine porcelain into shame. Her body is the penultimate incarnation of temptation, and her every gesture screams lustful sexuality. Yet her eyes. Her eyes scream of bottomless madness; of desire, strong enough to rend the darkness and set the world on fire.

This person is dangerous. The entire cell within the nobody screamed in terror with the mere presence of her. And now, more than ever, it feel the urge to pull the object off its resting ground. it needed something, anything, to keep itself away from the indescribable terror in front of it.

"Oh? Is it that child you want?" the lady said with deathly, yet alluring voice as she gestured towards the smooth object that's jutting out of the ground next to your feet.

"Go on then, take him into your hands," she urged the nobody to continue.

... What will you do?

I stared at the door for a long time. Beyond it I was told salvation waited. Voices argued over my fate but I ignored them. It was curiosity that persisted, curiosity drove me. It demanded nothing, merely wondered what lay beyond. Perhaps I’d listen. My dagger was all I had, but then before I didn’t know I had it. Would I truly miss it after losing it.

Perhaps.

But the question remained: would I really lose it? Would it be missed? It was a tool, a trifling thing. I decided it didn’t matter, all that mattered was what lay beyond. So many questions. I wanted to know. I needed to know. I’d hunt for the answer, stalk it, pursue it, rip it out of its sanctuary. That was my choice. I hefted my dagger, fit it in the slot, and tried to turn it like a key.

@Celsius

@SilverPaw
Chapter 0 - Flamma Vitae

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There are some who follows the light out of avarice. Others, out of fear of the expanding darkness. There are even others who do so out of curiosity. And then, there is you. Your reason for following the light is not the thirst for endless power, nor the fear of death, nor the sense of curiosity. It is not even of random impulses. No, yours is something much more simple; much more basal.

Loneliness.

You lust for companionship, so much that you bonded with an aged stick that was lying in the middle of the void. You shared your life light with it, and it became a part of you.

And in this so-called light, you can feel the existence of something other than yourself. Thus, you decide to blindly follow it, with your biggest fear being to find nothing at the end of the road. You do not care for the fact that the light brought you to steep grounds or deep trenches. You do not care for the fact that it leads you through a winding labyrinth of thorns. No, you do not care where it takes you, as long as it does not leave you alone.

And finally, you reach the end of the road. The footsteps of light have all but vanish, and before you, is what seems to be an exaggerated reflection of yourself. A miserable being, bound by countless threads of darkness; voided of all senses by layers upon layers of veils. Still, you can feel fire within it. A burning force, so strong that even the endless void could not hide.


Should you try to say hi? What will you do?

@Odin
Chapter 0 - Forged of Flames and Violence

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Whilst the light might impart upon others hope, it is rage that fills your heart as you answer to its whispers. It is not salvation that you seek. Neither is it peace; nor an ending to your pain and suffering. No, you would have stayed inside the darkness if that is what you wanted.

Thus, with your blood boiling, and your arms aching for another chance to take a swing upon your foe's face, your legs followed where the light leads you. And finally, after what feels to be an Aeon, you reached your destination. Before you, is a narrow corridor that ends with ornate double doors; forged out of cast iron, and seemingly impossible to shatter. The doors are heavy, yet your arms have yet to lose their edge. As you pushed with all your might, the door creaks open, and from within mist and mercurial light pours out.

You have found yourself inside an arena; a circular opening with walls impossible to climb surrounding it. A gladiatorium, if you may. At the center of it, a massive shadow, the size of a mountain stands in silence. Its arms are bound to the ground firmly by multiple chains, each and every one of them thick enough to hold a battle barge at bay.


As you walked closer, the wraith opens its eyes, and a familiar voice enters your ears.

"Ye who seek for limitless power, prove thine worth to me!" the voice bellowed as the monstrous being started to move. In one vicious motion, it breaks all of its bindings, and swing its right arm at you. You quickly jumped out of its reach, and are right in time to see the Earth you stood on just a second ago turns into a massive crater.

You have managed to keep your life for now, yet your instincts told you that the next time the shadow moves, it would not be that easy to keep it that way.

... What will you do?

@Undying Curiosity
Chapter 0 - A Faint Hope

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Faith. What a curious word it is. It is a word that people use to explain an innate and complete trust towards something that, frankly speaking, groundless and impossible to proof. A strong and unwavering will born of, what, a desperation to find salvation? It is truly amongst the most peculiar thing about human. Its sentience pushing it to do the most irrational of things.

It is the same faith that drives you forward. Unquestioningly did you follow the path of light. No matter how arduous your journey, you never waver. The wind buffeted your body? Little did you care. Time and time again you lost your footing, nearly falling to the bottomless pit? Not being quick enough to follow the Light's whispering was your only fear.

And soon enough, you reached the end of your pilgrimage. A pearly gate, over 30 feet tall stands in front of you. Surely, without a shred of doubt, the Light resides within.

*Goooong!* A bell tolls, as if announcing your arrival. It is the most soothing, most beautiful sound you have ever heard in the last Eon. It fills you, it completes you.

"This is it. Salvation at last!" You though to yourself.

Yet it would seem that one last trial stands between you and the Light. From the corner of your eyes, you see a shadow losing its footing as Light subsides from its path. It screamed for help as it fell into the abyss. Your help.

To knock on the gates and claim sanctuary, or to jump into the pits of nothingness to help a fellow pilgrim.

You hesitated. As you had just witnessed, the path of Light is disappearing. There is no telling when yours is going to disappear as well. Should you prioritize your safety and walk past the pearly gate? Or should you try to help the other shadow, your kin?

... What will you do?

I pushed and pushed and pushed. The Nothing, the abyssal darkness that threatened my existence by swallowing my being, would not let me have my way. Even after I had decided to put my faith into the voice that called me, the darkness still tried to hold me back. Grabbing at my feet while I walked, obscuring my vision so I would loose my way, it tried everything to stop me. It knew. It knew I was trying to escape it. A few times my resolve had wavered while I sat floating in the nothingness, but since I choose to follow the light, my will couldn't be shaken. I was determined. This was my faith.

Had I been religious before the darkness? Was there a 'before the darkness' anyway? Did it matter? I didn't see the light as my god or any diety of the sort, I saw it as my savior, the one who would give me meaning and presence. So I pushed... through the void, through my fear, and I pushed through that little voice at the back of my head that screamed 'STAY'. I pushed and pushed and pushed. Suddenly I had been rewarded for my faith. The gates that would be my sanctuary, my salvation. I knew it in my heart. Even if this light turned out to be ordinary sunlight peering through my eyelids as i wake from a nightmare, I would still be immensely grateful.

I couldn't raise my hand fast enough to open the gate. My hand stopped not 2 inches away from my freedom when I heard it's voice. It wasn't The voice, but a voice like mine, or at least what mine would have felt like. The voice I heard wasn't omniscient nor did it command me, it pleaded to me for help. It was coming from within the darkness, away from the gates...From a person. Thoughts flooded my mind along with their respective emotions following.

'I need to help him!' Worry. 'Who is that asking for help?' Curiosity. 'This is a trap.' Surprise. 'I must help him.' Anxiety. 'Save yourself.' Guilt. 'He didn't help you, why help him?' Anger. 'Hurry up and help him already!!' Courage. I made my choice, I will not condem another to a fate such as this. I clenched my outstretched hand into a fist, I squeezed so tight I could feel my fingernails digging into my palm. The pain was trivial at a time like this. I rested my fist on the door for a brief second, keeping myself stable while I leaned in close.

'I'm sorry. Please, wait for me.'

Before I could convince myself to stay, I pushed off the door and started towards the voice, the person who cried out. I broke my gaze from the gate when I turned my head to the voice. A few tears of sorrow streamed across my cheek as I pulled myself away from my savior.

Puppet of the Bow

Well, shit.

That was the first thought that came to its mind. The second thought:
What a mess.

It didn't know how it got here, or what "it" even was. It felt strangely misdirected, floating upside down in the primoridal nothingness despite the absence of orientation. Any attempt at recall only came up with blank anachronisms. It was truly untethered from the chains of causality, only to keep its own voice of thought to keep it company.
But if it knew one thing, it was that being nothing was boring as hell. Maybe it could recite poetry or some pretentious songs of love, if it had a mouth or even a poem to recite. But it had neither, so it kept floating, floating, floating...

When the light spoke, its train of thought immediately latched unto the new source of change. It would take anything as long as it was not 'boredom'. The light moulded into something material, concept grounding down to being.

Instinctively, it raised a hand to grab the object. Just as fast, it stared, startled at the fact that it was 'seeing', and that the fleshy apendage that it had was a hand.
Neat.
It decided to grab the object, curiousity greedily taking in the object's every detail. The It ran its fingers on the side where it tapered off into nothingness, then silently yelled as the object 'bit' it. A blade.
Great, as soon as it found out that it had a hand, it was about to chop it off.
It wondered if the blade would bite it again if it touched the other side, but primordial logic kicked in place to stop its stupidity from spiraling out of control. If it had a sarcastic clap function then it would do it to congratulate its own stupidity, but it didn't know if it had a second hand.
Wait, it did.
The second hand reached out, then while on its way to the first, it bumped into something new.
This time, it was not a blade, but a curve. Then a sharp downwards turn looping back to the first.
A word formed in its mind. A bow. Curious, as it didn't even know its own name - yet it knew that the bow and blade was to be together, and that the blade was to sing through the air when the bow decided to fly it so.

Right. It had a bow.
What next?

@PigeonOfAstora
Chapter 0 - Birth of a Hunter

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"What next?" you asked inwardly. You have a bow, and there is a path of light strewn before you. You pondered long and hard about this. And in the end, you thought, "Eh, why not go with the flow? There's nothing in here anyway"

Whilst for the others the light was merely a guide, to you it is your saviour. Not only does it actively drive the darkness away from you, its brilliance had reminded you of the sensations you thought you have lost. The cold of mist, the delicious smell of moss and dew; they are all returning to you.

A forest. A word entered your mind. Just as you recognized the bow almost instinctively, you realized where you are in. A deep, verdant forest filled to the brim with an air of joy and festivity. You spy with your eyes, small animals playing jovially - jumping from trees to trees. Birds are flying overhead, and deers are frolicking around under the bright moonlit sky.

It is a beautiful sight to behold, though you cannot help but feel like something is off. Voice. There are none. Not the breaking of branches, not the whistling of wind through the leaves. None.

Instinctively, you raised your bow and draw on its string. You hone your newly restored senses, and tried your best to notice what exactly that make you feel so restless. It was then that you noticed something. The golden moon - no, moons - that shone upon the forest, was no moon at all. They are a pair of eyes. The king of the forest, its identity registered into your head.

It is a massive beast that towers above even the tallest of trees. Two great horns adorn the head as a crown adorn a king's. And feather coveres its body as a royal cape would a Monarch.


You are stunned. You know for a fact that your meager arrow would not be able to reach the being. And then a voice rang inside your head; melodious, airy voice, reverberating serenely and clearly as the ring of a wind chime. "Mortal being, is it you who summoned me?"

Should you run? Or stay to converse with it?

... What will you do?

I froze. At first, because the hand was unexpected, and then because a creeping dread curled its way down my spine as I slowly turned my head to see the thing towering over me. Bones and shade did not belong in a shape like this except in nightmares - even without my memories, I knew this was certain.

And yet... My shield was gone, my desperate attempts to make myself useful had failed, and I had no reason to fight. All of a sudden, even though I was free of that empty space I'd been lost in earlier, I was not free of my fears. And to those, no skeletal creature could compare. So far I was unnoticed, stripped of purpose (had I any to begin with?) and unable to do so much as help console a pair of children.

But this thing, whatever it was, knew I was there. And the dread began to fall away.

I studied its skeletal face and the gleaming points of light that made up its eyes, took a deep breath... and now that I was able, I thought clearly about what it had said.

"I don't want to be consumed. To be gone." The words came easily, though my voice shook. "But they're children. They need someone. What can I do-?"

Before I could finish, my eyes caught a new shape just beyond the roiling blackness of this thing's ghastly cloak. I tilted my head, leaned a little, and stared.

There was some strange familiarity there. I didn't dare to move, not with this creature's hand steadying my shoulder, but I raised my arm in the hesitant beginnings of a greeting. I wasn't afraid. As long as this thing knew me, or seemed to know me, I'd stand firm.

It wasn't even a simple walk. Each step grew more urgent, desperate for its freedom. That chance had come. The nobody felt relief, joy. Their steps became a light jog into a full sprint, only slowing down once they've realised how much of the environment had changed.

'Nature' was the keyword to describe where the nobody had wound up. 'Tended' would be a nice adjective to add. Honestly seemed like a really neat place and all that running sure made them appreciate the air they could take in. Was like ah... garden. Paradise garden. Something to do with apples and snakes.

...why apples and snakes?

Shaking off the wandering of their mind, the nobody continued further into the new environment, stopping just short of one side of the wall that had surrounded them. Knock knock. Nobody's home. Not that they expected much, backing away from the construct. The nobody looked up, and out it stretched. Not quite 'farther than the eye can see' levels of stretch, but wasn't far off either. From one prison to another, eh?

Continuing further in, the nobody quickly noted something sticking out the ground. There was a base urge to touch, not to lie to anyone, but they kept themselves in check. Good thing too, because that chilling sensation running down their spine might have something to do with it. Or it was just the disembodied voice, differing from the one that had reached out inside the darkness, causing a mild case of internal panic. But the nobody had seen the abyss already- how bad could it be? They turned with the best pokerface they could muster, not that they could know, and met their benefactor.

The nobody's first thought was 'Nice bod,' and their second 'I should probably run.' They didn't run, though. Yes, every fiber of their being was screaming to get the hell out of dodge, but this too, was a chance. An opportunity! No, they'd come this far and they weren't about to back down.

"Oh- oh! My apologies fair lady, I didn't know I was intruding!" the nobody said with surprising smoothness. Now they just hoped the smile on their face didn't look dumb. "While this lovely trophy here is certainly worth admiring, I wouldn't want to steal. Not when we've just met. Really, though, this is a wonderful garden you have. I wouldn't mind being shown around, but I don't want to impose."

Nailed it.

It felt strange. The leaves under its foot, wind brushing against skin. The forest was both familiar and unfamiliar, like an almost forgotten childhood song. It traced the dancing shadows in the undergrowth, the silent strolling wildlife, the distant but always close smell of bark and dirt. It started to walk, unconciously registering its own body as it moved through the woods. Waking roots of memory suggested only that it had somehow always known to have a body, and to move as it did now. Its muscles remembered what its memories forgot.

Those muscle memories were what brought the bow up to bear against the giant being that stood watch over it, and those same memories would know to lower its aim. It was outmatched in a scale beyond scales. That beak could probably swallow it whole, its little bow included. A floatsam of memory clicked back into place. The King of the Forest. The Honcho. The Big Cheese. It was pretty sure at least one of them was correct, anyway.

And the King asked it if it had summoned the King? As much as it was impressed at the thought of being able to summon royalty under its command, it didn't recall having summoned a horny owl before. All it knew was that the light had murmured something about potential, and it had leapt to its suggestion without much forethought. What was clear, however, was that the King posed a question, and it should probably answer.

Of course, it should address the regal giant in its proper majesty.

"Why are you asking me? I just got here."
It realized, as it was much smaller than the King, that it should speak up.
"I HAVE NO CLUE, I JUST GOT HERE!" It shouted at the top of its lungs.
It held up the bow, waving it around in its vision.
"THIS YOUR'S?!"