There is something awfully suspicious about him.
Finally, he lets go, and now he watches my back as I enter the black void, bracing myself.
As I step toward the giant black hole, a shiver runs up my spine. I shudder. So cold. My breath clouds before me, but so long as I remain strong, I will not be defeated.
Finally, I step inside the Void, and darkness envelopes me at last.
***
I can’t see, hear, or sense a thing. Darkness surrounds me on all sides, making my chest tight, and I forget how to breathe.
So lonely, and so desolate. I don’t think I will ever make my way out again. I’m going to die here. But then a small tug on my wrist alerts me to Nero’s presence, and I gain the courage to go on.
I’ve got this; I can face whatever horrors await me inside the Void.
They say it is a place where dreams cease to exist, and then all that is left is misery. You become a human shell, losing the will to live, and I refuse to buckle.
So I keep going on, wondering when the darkness will end. The ground beneath me feels spongy, and when I reach my hand out, nothing. It truly is a void.
There comes the sound of voices next, and I peer into the distance. Several shapes loom into view, and ice shards prick my insides.
It’s my mom and dad’s bedroom from our old house. And my mom is lying on top. She’s sick. The voices come from my father and the doctor.
“It’s... not good news, Mr. Hardgreaves...”
My father’s face crumbles, making him look ten years older, and I block out the rest.
The Void is showing me my mother’s death. Right up until the time she was diagnosed, and then up until the day she died. I can’t do this. I go to tug on the rope, but I don’t want to chicken out just yet. I’ve barely even started.
Fair enough, Void. If that’s what you want. Show me your worst.
More and more images flash through the darkness, and now I watch as my once young, beautiful mother fades away. Tears slip from my eyes, and I reach up, wiping them away.
Then her funeral plays out and by the time they bury her casket, I’m a weeping, crumbling mess. I fall to the ground and sob, and the sorrow is all too much to take.
It sucks me right in like a void, draining me of happiness, and now all that is left is hopelessness.
I should have left when I still had the chance. I can’t even find it in me to stand. All I’m reminded of is the misery and despair that is life. What’s the point in fighting the darkness? Heaven knows it’s what we all deserve.
We’re a toxic race who only hurt each other, and there truly is no hope for humanity. The king was right.
Humans are beyond saving.
Something pulses beside me, and I glace down. Vita is speaking to me.
I stand, pulling her out of her sheath, and her voice echoes through the Void and beyond.
“Don’t lose hope. You’re stronger than you realize. Keep going, Belle. There’s something beautiful beyond the Void.”
Beyondthe Void? How is that possible? There’s nothing beyond misery and despair. We’re at a dead-end here. Trapped. No way out. The only thing we can do is give up until we’re numb.
No more pain, no more sorrow. I’m starting to see why no one survives the Void. The promise of Nothing is just too sweet. To be relieved from the overwhelming despair.
I want to be numb. A husk. And to give my soul to the Abyss.
But life beyond the Void? Is it possible there truly is something there? It seems impossible. The feeling of being suffocated is just too much.
But just like the promise of adventure, it calls to me, and now I grip tight hold of Vita and rush forth. I don’t care if I fall right off the edge of the world, I won’t stop.