The concept of nothing

Nothing is a curious thing, isn't it?

Nothing is the question that has no answer and the answer that has no question.

It is both everything and nothing at the same time. It can be the void that consumes you or the freedom that liberates you.

It is the canvas upon which we paint our hopes and dreams, and yet it is the abyss that stares back at us when we dare to look too closely.

Nothing is the beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega. It is the great unknown that we fear.

And yet a power that transcended the concept of nothingness reached into the gnawing emptiness and weaved two beings back into existence.

Except it gave them a few modifications.

***

In a beautiful castle surrounded by vacant darkness, a man was sitting on a throne.

He looked to be in deep thought, but this all changed when he felt a sudden shift in the world around him. It was so very subtle that he was the only one who noticed it.

And when he did the palace trembled.

"So this is your almighty plan to stop me!"

He pounded his fist into the armrest of his throne, making the foundation of the castle tremble.

"Very well played Nexus, you have not let me down as of yet. But if you believe this will be able to halt me you are gravely mistaken. All you've done is buy yourself some time."

***

The scorching sun cast its light upon the vast fields, leaving no room for shade as a rhythmic sound of a hoe slicing through the dirt and the gentle rustling of the crops filled the air.

"Ah that should do it for today"

A young man said through heavy panting with sweat pouring down his face

This young man's name was Landon Winslow and he had just completed a long day's work on his family's farm.

Truth be told, Landon despised working in the fields.

He hated the blazing heat, sticky clothes, and dirt under his fingernails, but with Landon being in his prime, he was a valuable asset for their farm.

While he was packing up his equipment, Landon noticed something peculiar on his family's land. Curious, he went to investigate, it was his duty to do so.

Except all he found were two unconscious individuals lying on the ground, a boy and a girl who appeared to be around his age, whom he had never seen before.

The more he studied them the more Landon couldn't help but feel these two were out of place.

Like their clothes for example.

Landon, who was in a shriveled short-sleeved shirt that was covered in dirt, a pair of standard work pants, and boots were dressed properly as they were in the vast field with the sun pulsing down on them.

Yet these two were in respectable clothing made from fine fabrics.

They were also dressed entirely wrong for where they were. They wore long-sleeved shirts and layered clothing as if it was cold out.

Honestly, it was rather dangerous for them to be in that type of attire while in the heat.

Taking all this into account Landon decided he wouldn't want two dead bodies in his family's fields if they weren't already dead that is.

Landon edged closer to the man

Once he got close enough he could hear faint breathing.

After he arrived within reach of the man he began to slightly shake him awake.

"Hey, hey! Why are you guys sleeping in the middle of my farm!"

Landon said in a naggy voice loud enough to where both could hear him.

Yet they didn't wake up.

So he began to shake the man harder. Forcing him awake.

Except he didn't wake up.

So he went over to the girl who was in the same situation as the man and tried to wake her up.

"Useless"

Landon couldn't help but shake his head at the circumstances

After a few more seconds of trying he decided to try a different approach. He was going to alert his family. Landon's father owned the farm and he figured he'd have him deal with the problem.

He just hoped they didn't die before he got back.

"Tch this why I hate working in the fields"

***

"Could you explain the circumstances in which you discovered these individuals, Landon?"

Landon stood beside his father, recounting the peculiar discovery of the two unconscious strangers on their farm.

"I was just finishing up my work when I spotted them in the distance. It's as if they appeared out of thin air," he responded.

Despite their unexpected appearance, the strangers appeared to be in good health, though it was unclear how long they had been lying in the sun.

"Well, we can't let two people die on our farm. Landon, help me carry them back to the house. We'll let them use the guest rooms until they wake up."

Landon, though reluctant, complied with his father's wishes

Landon's father possessed a robust build, indicative of a lifetime of manual labor, and his weathered skin attested to this fact.

Despite his stern exterior, he had a compassionate heart and always prioritized the welfare of his family.

Together, they carried the two strangers to their homes.

***

"What…. What's going on"

Kian sat on his bed, feeling disoriented and sensing that something was amiss.

His last memory was of him and Luna driving back to her house, followed by a sudden flash and screeching tires. Now, he found himself back in his home as if nothing happened.

Honestly, he believed that it had been some weird dream, or that he was in a dream currently.

"Well sitting around isn't going to help"

He said, breaking the silence of the house

Despite his confusion, Kian decided to explore the house. And as he walked around, he realized that it was completely empty

Now Kian had of course been home alone a thousand times before but this time…. This time it felt different. Almost as if time had been stopped.

Like there wasn't a soul left on the planet besides him.

"So strange"

He said while placing his hand on his face.

He couldn't tell what was going on but he eventually decided he needed some fresh air.

Kian was still in deep thought as he opened up his front door.

Except what he was met with wasn't his front yard or the vacant street in the distance, instead, he was met with a small grassland surrounded by a vast ocean that expanded as far as the eye could see.

He was too stunned to speak.

He could only stand there and feel the gentle breeze blow upon his skin.

After standing in the doorway for what felt like forever Kian built up enough courage to walk out of his house.

As Kian stepped out of the house, he discovered that the small island on which his house was situated was surrounded by endless water.

This wasn't all.

The sky, strangely, lacked a sun, yet was lit up, and the ocean was initially calm, but as he stood there contemplating his situation, small waves began to form and crash against the island, adding to his confusion.

Right when Kian noticed this it only made him question what was going on more.

He didn't know what to think. He was sure this had to be a dream but it just felt too real, yet also too fake to be a reality.

There had to be a reasonable explanation for everything. Kian didn't live in some fantasy land, he lived on earth which was bound by the laws of physics.

Kian turned his back on the sea and walked back into his house.

"This has to be some sort of weird fever dream"

He said to break the eerie silence which enveloped the house.

For the next few hours Kian explored his house, at first he thought it would be weird to search his own house but he had run out of ideas.

And he did find weird things.

While also losing some.

He noticed that some items weren't in his house when he left earlier.

For starters, his phone was nowhere to be found.

Secondly, there was no food or liquids anywhere in the building.

But the weirdest of his discoveries, and the one that scared him the most was a door that he had never seen before.

Presently Kian was standing in front of this unfamiliar door.

The door wasn't different from the others in the house. It looked like it was meant to be there.

After standing in front of the door for a few minutes Kian forced himself to open the door before quickly he could back out.

Behind it was a set of stairs that led down into darkness.

After coming this far Kian was slightly determined to figure out the secrets of this new area.

So he summoned his courage and took a step down.

Then another.

And after a few seconds of walking down the stairs, he reached the last step.

As his eyes adjusted to the dark he looked around, he was too nervous and scared to do much else.

Except all he saw was another door right as the stairs ended.

But this door was different from the previous one.

It was made out of a different material than the rest of the house and it had weird symbols carved on it.

Kian didn't know what was going on but he was slightly drawn to the door.

Whether it was because he wanted to figure out the mystery behind what was going on or some other reason he didn't know, he wanted to enter.

But when he reached for the handle, he was met with resistance.

"Of course, it's locked!"

Displaying his anger, Kian kicked the door, which didn't even quiver slightly.

The door was bolted up, and it wasn't going to budge no matter what he did.

After trying to think of what to do Kian felt a weird sensation around him.

And before he knew it he was enveloped in a bright light.