2 02: The Strange Soul

Deep in the unfathomable depths of the multiverse's chaos and darkness, a lonely soul roamed aimlessly. It was but a lost entity adrift in an eternal sea. This soul possessed nothing, not even a name.

As such, it juggled with celestial seeds, ignorant of their profound significance. It swam enshrouded by a sepulchral miasma and even grazed unfathomable horrors veiled in mystery beyond all known. It bore sights which could enrapt divine beings. Yet, even through all that, its essence, alas, remained monotonous—devoid of knowledge or comprehension.

One might ponder on its origin, however scarce were the beings who knew the truth. And such beings were too apathetic to respond.

The cosmos was vast, yet one could easily find its boundaries.

In this oppressive realm, where the barriers were deemed unbreakable, an anomaly emerged, catching the attention of the ignorant soul. For the first time, an emotion blossomed within it—a curiosity that ignited a spark of awareness. Something else existed. It was a diverse repository of knowledge.

The chaos swirled around the soul, akin to a mother guarding its progeny. A path paved itself before it, illuminated by eerie orbs humming with arcane power. Slowly, chaos led it toward the heart of the breach.

Soon after traversing through the dominion, the nameless soul encountered the newly arrived entity. It was but a translucent shape with a gracefully hidden pale blue glow. Instinctively, the chaotic forces veiled the naïve being by shrouding it with a thick mist.

Thus, the new soul of feeble nature failed to perceive the other presence and continued to wail amidst the amalgamation—chaos and darkness. The older one was curious, ergo it espied the new being with an intrigue that seemed shining even in this realm where the sun never rose.

It stayed hidden for quite a long time until it noticed that the other soul was dulling in colors. Its cries were muffling, merging with the coalescence.

"Greetings, stranger" spoke the nameless soul, instinctively using words it didn't know before, words that seemed too normal for such a being.

"A-Are you God?" stuttered the weakling, awestruck. Memories of an unholy past washed over it, mingling with a feeling of shame.

"Did I really die like this?" it whispered.

While this was happening, the old soul felt a new sense of excitement as it saw something new.

'What is this?'

Shimmering bubbles, each in the same color spectrum, emanated from the young soul. Unbeknownst, it was its current emotions. This made the already ignorant soul, for whom the sun's shadow was nonexistent, trust the new one even more.

"God? What is that?" it inquired, innocently curious. Knowledge was starting to blossom within its vacant shell.

"Then who are you?"

"No idea'' replied the inexperienced psyche joyfully with a demeanor akin to a hyperactive child under the influence of cocaine. It spoke in a quick manner looking at the stranger with boundless faith.

Silence lingered in the void as the two souls exchanged gazes—one radiant with happiness, the other bewildered.

*Sigh* The young soul surrendered in trying to comprehend the enigmatic being in front of itself. It took a deep breath before asking again.

"So, where are we?"

"No idea" echoed the older soul, imbuing its words with an otherworldly naivety.

"Seriously?!" exclaimed the newcomer, simply overwhelmed by the strange being's apparent lack of concern in such an eerie setting, even finding happiness in the enigma.

And so began the strange encounter of two bored souls, which would certainly have a big impact in the future. United by the fact that they were the only ones present in this strange void that stood between the foundations of the multiverse but also was the very multiverse, they became close and explored its various recesses.

They saw sights for which gods would kill. Nevertheless, they also witness anathemas: ravenous whispers, rapting daemoniac beings, and further phantasmagorical entities with alien minds.

Throughout their infinite journey, Haethan, the young soul, delighted in sharing its knowledge to the naïve soul, counted it diverse tales of its previous life. He offered insights into the unknown world. Yet the older entity's thirst for knowledge only intensified, yearning to experience the cosmos' mysteries firsthand. It wasn't satiated with the vague, fragmented knowledge that his companion possessed.

Time passed and eventually their good time together had to come to an end. Haethan was too frail. His soul was starting to crackle under the harsh pressure of this ethereal realm. He had already been existing for longer than expected as the older soul utilized its connection to the chaos to prolong his existence. Yet it was not omnipotent.

"It was a pleasure meeting you," said Haethan, his form gradually dissipating from reality. His voice resonated with emotions, which were now hidden from the other psyche's view.

"Sorry, I couldn't save you" tears ebbed from its eyes; its hands seemed trembling. During all the time they spent together, its previous alien form became more humanlike. However, if one were to look closely enough, one would notice that deep within, it was not mortal at all.

"Don't feel guilty about it. You did your best." Haethan smiled, fading away into luminescent motes of light, leaving a breach in the intangible void. The brilliance of light coming from the outside invaded the darkness. It was akin to the birth of a new universe. Yet the nameless soul knew that the abyssal realm would soon close the rift.

It was his chance! If he did not take it, he knew he would regret it.

'𝑊ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑, 𝑖𝑡 𝑎𝑙𝑠𝑜 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑟𝑒𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑡. 𝑁𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑠 𝑎 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑛 𝑎𝑟𝑚𝑠!' Previous words that Haethan told him resurfaced, guiding him toward a darker future.

"Thank you," whispered the old soul to no one in particular. Without further ado, it precipitously hurled itself through the portal, eager to encounter what Haethan called "life".

Beforehand, however, he had to witness countless realms, each more numinous than the other. They all seemed so fascinating as he sloped down the cosmos as if it were but a mundane toboggan.

***

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