[center][h3][color=gold]The Questioning[/color][/h3][/center]
Tick.

One was not.

Tock.

One was.

What had been before?

[i]Had[/i] there been a before?

Memories lay shattered, broken, forgotten. 

[i]Fields of lush green and warm yellows, a shimmering golden overcast—cerulean to lavender to bloodless red—sharp lines, white surfaces, towers, spires, an inverted labyrinth suspended in the skies—a vast void, specks of colour lost within, the unspooling of galaxies—[/i]

A cough beset the body, and it dropped to its knees, hands clutching at the head. Lungs were burning, eyes were smarting, mind in a frenzy.

What—what was this?

A thudding in its chest, as if something were trying to break free from within the ribcage. The rush of blood, as if a great river were raging inside. A heat crawling along the whole exterior, beads of liquid beading upon the brow. A trickle down the cheeks, a spray of fine mist from the mouth, a raspy wheeze following each inhale.

Wait.

Inhale?

Breathing?

Since when did they need such a thing?

Lashes trembled, fluttered open, eyes widened at the inferno surrounding them. Houses ruined, ash coating the earth, skies obscured by the thick gray smog, remnants of battle all around. This scene—

Was it familiar or not?

They weren’t sure, but it [i]wasn’t[/i] home. They were [i]elsewhere[/i]. And…different?

This body, it had felt alien, yet as they stood up and stared down at the solid shape, each blink bridged the expanse from [i]foreign[/i] to [i]familiar[/i]. How could this be? What an amazing adaptability. They tapped their fingers against each other, and no longer was it as loud or heavy as the tolling of bells, merely the soft taps of a line of ants marching up a tree. How peculiar. At first, everything had been too sharp, too bright, [i]too much[/i], and now, it was as if a veil dulling their experience had settled around their being. Oh, their throat still scratched at each inhale, a clawing irritated their lungs, urging a few more harsh coughs, but it was bearable. Perhaps, this was yet another new aspect.

They were here, in an unknown realm, as something or someone they weren’t quite used to yet, but perhaps they were protected yet. Surely, this was for a reason?

[color=gold]“W-why?”[/color]

Confusion abound as they realized they could not recall their mission. They [i]did not know[/i] what they were meant to do.

Dazed blinks, slow breaths, toes curling into the soft ash underneath grounded them. Eventually.

Well, then. If they didn’t know, they’d just have to find out.

Unknowing to them, a small smile alighted upon their face at this new possibility. 

[i]The freedom to shape one’s future.[/i]