Death Is Not An Option

As Austin continued to patiently wait for the mysterious voice to speak once more, a yawn escaped his lips - a peculiar sensation that he found quite abnormal after spending 3 quintillion years trapped in pure darkness without the need for sleep, hydration, or sustenance.

If Austin's memory was correct, he should find a bed to lie on before drifting off to hopefully not an eternal slumber. 

Austin turned his gaze in every direction only to be met with nothing but impenetrable darkness, stretching for who knew how long.

Austin reached his hands out which mirrored the inky hue of his surroundings, attempting to grasp; however, his clenched fists found nothing but emptiness. Even the darkness that was ever present could not be touched, leaving him to question whether his hands had become one with the darkness or the darkness obscured his body.

The latter seemed plausible, yet the former was not to be written off entirely.

Austin realized he found himself in a paradoxical situation - immersed in darkness, yet unable to grasp its essence, akin to attempting to grasp a shadow.

"At least this is better than imagining myself laughing, speaking, and moving."

Austin couldn't help but look at the bright side… or maybe the dark side? …hehehe. dark jokes!

*Cough*

Dark jokes aside.

"Hmm, what should I do now?" Austin spoke out loud, half asking himself and half in hopes that the mysterious voice would respond, which Austin now believed to be real. Crazy he may be; however, Austin knew he was not talented in the art of voice impressions. The emotionless, robotic voice, which slowly morphed into a human voice, was real.

"Should I wait here or go explore?"

Austin's mind raced with possibilities of his next course of action, yet before he could decide, his legs betrayed him having already taken steps forward. 

Before Austin could understand why his legs betrayed him, instinctively akin to a gut feeling, he felt as if the direction he was headed in was the direction that would lead him out of his imprisonment. Perhaps he might even be able to see the owner of the elderly voice and unravel the mystery behind his imprisonment.

Step. Step. And another step.

As Austin continued to yawn and trudge forward, unknown to him, in this world of nothing except he and the intangible darkness that existed, a colossal golden eye that could easily eclipse the size of his old world, observed his every step. 

*Sigh*

A heavy sigh seemed to reverberate in the world of darkness, yet the young man showed no sign of stirring from his single pursuit of walking. His eyes were wide brimming with a crazed and fanatical luster. His mouth was stretched into a savage, fawning grin, and two dried tears of blood stained his pallid cheeks.

"Another failure." The voice of the mysterious old man emanated from the golden eye and then reverberated throughout the dark world. The owner of the eye who once held expectations for the boy was now full of disappointment. However, the disappointment lasted for a mere fraction of a second, soon replaced with its usual indifference.

"He will soon fall like the rest. What a pity." The voice continued.

The eye faintly glowed and the way in which it saw changed, the darkness which was previously impenetrable even by the owner of the eye disappeared for a mere moment allowing him to view a sight that could render even the strong-willed Beings in the vast multiverse into mindless puppets.

—-------------

In the world of darkness, a sickly, short-statured pre-teen with brown hair continued to aimlessly walk forward with no destination in sight.

Nevertheless, his steps were firm as if they were driven by an unseen force.

His reason for walking had been lost or maybe he knew because he continued to walk forward never taking even a centimeter off his trajectory.

*Yawn*

As his legs took one step at a time, he continued to yawn. In the beginning, the yawning was once a blue moon, yet the yawning increased in intensity, now matching the rhythm of his steps.

His brain begged for sleep, yet his body craved to continue moving in the direction forward.

One might assume the young man's eyes to be lidded, wishing for sleep, yet they were wide open, gleaming with a fervent, maniacal intensity.

Step. Step. And another step the young man took, to who knew where in the world of darkness where except he and the intangible darkness existed.

—---------------

*Yawn*

*Yawn*

*Yawn*

An unknown time later, the same young man could be seen with now bloodied staggering feet, the shoes he once wore were now nowhere to be seen, presumably worn down into nothingness from his long journey. His breath came in ragged gasps, he looked haggard and weak.

His tailored black shirt drenched in sweat with a bloody hole at its center. His eyes had sunken further in, yet the crazed, fanatical smile lingered as if it could never be extinguished no matter what the young man had to endure.

With each agonizing step, the young man released a guttural moan of pain, his muscles screaming and begging for him to stop, yet he continued with fierce determination, or so he tried, his already staggering legs gave in and he fell face first onto the darkness below.

Soon, his breath grew shallow, decreasing with each breath he took, the light in his crazed, fanatical eyes dimmed, and he looked no different from a corpse, ready to perish at any moment.

*Sigh*

Another sigh escaped from the lips of the mysterious being as he watched the boy on the brink of death. However, that was not the cause of his sigh, death was salvation, yet for the Beings who were brought here by Qliphoth, death was not an option should they fail: Qliphoth would ensure the Beings would be trapped in eternal torment forever 'living' their days as nourishment for Qliphoth itself.

However, just as the owner of the eye waited for the young man's eternal suffering to commence, a change he had not expected occurred.

—--------------

'I can't move. My legs hurt.'

'I want to sleep. But I want to move. Why do I want to move?'

'Who am I again?'

'Where am I?'

'I want to move.'

Many thoughts raced through the young man's mind. But it was clear that despite his legs, which refused to budge an inch, he wished to move.

The reason being? Even he did not know.

All he knew was that he must keep moving.

His eyes were closed, his breathing growing shallower; however, he paid it no heed as if death was inconsequential.

His body hurt all over, the pain that radiated from his legs sent mind-numbing shockwaves up his body.

While lost in thought, he realized if his feet refused to listen, why not use his fingers?

With that thought in mind, he slowly, ever so slowly, while gritting his teeth from the pain, lifted his right hand and placed it in front of his head before placing the other and pulling his body forward across the ground.