Nirvana

It was maddening, the silence. The darkness? Suffocating.

Of all the thoughts that would go through her fragmented mind in this cursed void, these were the first to surface.

She had no recollection of who or what she was, or if she was truly a 'she'.

If she had a name, she couldn't remember it.

Like all other specks of light that made up a nebula of stars in this wretched void. She too, drifted for a long, long time, and then, like the first [Anomaly], the same one that birthed the Universe from the Progenitor's [Madness], that was how she became 'aware'.

There was no mouth to speak, nor ears to hear. But they weren't needed, because in this darkness, her only companions were other balls of light just like her, and the swirling darkness.

She was one of the few lights on the verge of dying, in this sea of bright stars.

She observed her fellow blobs of lights, whatever they were. They were all in different colours.

Some shone golden, others white, and sometimes she'd spot the exotic kind like red, blue or black.

The black ones were rare and hard to spot, as they blended with the darkness, giving her the impression that it acknowledged them as kin.

Rare was the type that shone brightly outside, but deep inside had a swirling, murky black, that gave the feeling of corruption.

She hadn't seen a similar one to herself, as she was a light shade of violet, bordering on pink.

She was one of the uncommon kind that had that darkness swimming in their cores. But unlike others, hers was a malevolent purple, dark and morbid, one with her. As though she was like that from the start and not corrupted.

Ever so often, a number of them would gradually dim, until they were devoured by the darkness.

Most times it would be her kind, one of the already obscure lights. There were rare times when one of those special lights that shone brightly with fervour would be picked as a meal.

On plenty occasions, she had nearly been consumed. But at the last moment, the darkness would reluctantly release her from it's grasp, like she was a meal too precious to devour.

She was always thinking of something, because the mind would be driven to the ends of insanity if left to wander in this abyss.

Sometimes she thought of the newborn lights that joined them in floating, she imagined they wish they never existed.

Sometimes it was the newcomers that were thrown in from outside the darkness, from that coiling wormhole that she assumed to be the entrance.

There were times when some of the bright lights soared and got pulled into the wormhole, and some of her mates went along.

She envied them, they that gained freedom. And in those times, she cursed the sentience she was given.

She couldn't know how long had passed. There was no sun nor moon to keep count of time, but she knew she was one of the longest existing specks of light in this void.

Notwithstanding, Her time to leave finally came.

It was one of the few times that she made futile attempts at communication, bumping into the ones that drifted close by.

Then she felt a pull, just a little at first. Then it increased in intensity, until it gained enough strength to pull her to the place she had been longing for. The wormhole.

The sight of it grew brighter as she soared closer and closer upwards to the wormhole.

The darkness had reacted immediately, grabbing her, and pulling her back, even attempting to completely devour her then and there. As if to say no one could have her if it couldn't.

It was a struggle, but the wormhole's force overcame. She was torn from the darkness's grip, and just before she escaped through the wormhole, she could have been mistaken, but she could swear she heard the darkness whimpering.

---

She felt dizzy from the extreme displacement, and when she came to, she found her self in a white space that stretched to infinity. The fact that she was standing made her realize that she was no longer a ball of light, and was vaguely humanoid, now possessing Form.

She didn't have time to explore how she had changed as a blue screen materialized in front of her.

[Congratulations, F-3245, you've been chosen a one of the lucky souls to be employed by the CMA]

[Would you like to proceed with your employment?]

[Yes/No]

[Note: A negative response results in Soul Evisceration]

So that's what she was huh. A soul.

F-3245 looked at the screen and inevitably chose the Yes option, as there was nothing else she could do at the moment, without knowing who she once was, or where she came from. She was clueless.

Moreover, her instincts told her refusing would only have her thrown back into that abyss, to be devoured by the darkness.

Her introspection was cut short by the call of an androgynous voice that oozed with excitement, excitement that seemed a tad bit too much.

[Hello host! Your Employment application has been approved. You can call me Fae! I'm your system and assistant.]

It was a golden ball of light just like she once was, except that it was made up 0s and 1s and another language jumbled together to form a floating mass of codes.

It's movement from side to side showed it's excitement, and along with the perpetual smiley face it wore, it seemed cute and harmless.

F-3245 made attempts to talk but only faint gurgling sounds could be heard.

[Ah! Host, you can convey your intentions mentally! Your soul is currently too fragmented and incomplete for verbal communication]

She paused and the blurry form of a hand held her chin in a contemplative gesture.

So that's why she couldn't remember anything in the first place. She was a fragmented soul.

But what caused her soul to fragment in the first place? That was something only her lost memories could tell her.

As if reading F-3245's intention, Fae drifted closer and continued.

[Of course with your employment, we'll be able to fix your soul and help you regain your memories.]

'And in exchange?'

[You carry out missions for us in different worlds! It's a win-win situation.]

'I see, let's proceed'

[Okay host.]

The system twirled and golden motes of lights gathered to form a floating scroll and a quilt

Hazy trails of violet left F-3245's form as she moved forward and gripped the quilt. Though she had no memories, the basic knowledge retained told her this was a contract, and she needed to sign it.

She gazed at the unfurled scroll, and didn't expect to be hit with a pang of familiarity, but that sensation was fleeting, and left as soon as it came.

The language on the scroll was what felt familiar. It gave off an ancient and transcendental aura, as though it was there from the beginning of time.

And just above the conditions written in this ancient language, was a balance scale. The scale gave off the same aura as the language, except that it held some kind of Authority, and felt like a Law that couldn't be disobeyed.

The quilt came down and signed on the blank space that Fae pointed out, it had told her that she didn't need memories to know her signature, and the important part was the ink meant for the signature itself. Her Soul Essence.

After she finished signing, the quilt floated from her grip and melted into the scroll, which then divided into two. The first part drifted and joined the mashup of codes that made up the ball of light called Fae. And the second part streaked to her and embedded itself on what was supposed to be her forehead, as her form wasn't stable enough.

She was now Officially employed.