Chapter 18

Nothingness.

That was the only way Lily could describe what she was feeling currently.

A strange emptiness that embraced her the deeper she drifted into this dream.

She couldn't feel a single thing.

No pain.

No fear.

Not even an ounce of regret.

Yet no joy filled her heart either.

It was simply… nothing.

This feeling of oblivion should've terrified her, yet it didn't.

It felt… natural, as if it'd been part of her all this time.

As if this was just another home to her.

Ever so slowly floating down into this unknown place, a feeling of warmth envelops her. Slowly making her open her eyes as she finally reaches the ground.

With her feet safely on the floor she looks around, unsure of what to think of the sights before her… or rather lack thereof.

She expected something like the last False Zone, buildings, an underwater city, cloudy skies… yet there was nothing.

All that stood before her was an infinite unending gray void.

The ground beneath her made a glass like echo as she walked forward, looking for any kind of answer as to what this was.

She walked for what felt like hours or even days without tiring out, or even getting bored.

Curious of the time she looked at the time at the top of her hud, only now noticing it hadn't been moving at all.

It was frozen at 18:45 exactly, and no matter what it wouldn't move.

It remained on that time for hours as she walked aimlessly amid the never ending void.

Questions running rampant in her mind, yet all fading away with each step.

Only one remained in her mind.

[Will I ever see anyone again?]

Images played in her mind so vividly as she listened to the echoes of her own footfalls.

Scenes of the various VR worlds she traveled through.

The friends she'd made along the way.

All the stories she'd experienced.

Her hospital room and her father smiling while presenting her with a new book or game.

The birds that would fly through the clear skies when she was a child.

She couldn't stop the flow of memories, a dozen feelings welling up inside her as the tears began to fall.

Would she never get to share those memories with anyone? Would she be stuck here forever? Just for making one wrong choice?

As she fell to her knees, unable to stop the tears, suddenly a voice called out.

A voice soft and sweet, caring and kind, one that just felt like home in her mind.

"This is a surprise, I never see others passing through here… tell me traveler, what brought you to tears?" his voice filled the void, causing her to look up in surprise.

Standing there was an oddity, a man who looked like Yuria.

Long and fluffy snow white hair tied up into a high ponytail reaching down to his shoulder blades.

Tanned skin with some freckles lining the bridge of his nose.

A soft and kind smile that seemed almost… empty.

Black framed glasses that rested comfortably on his face and framed his eyes nicely.

The eyes… they were just like hers, a deep magical blue ringed with an unearthly yellow… they also held an unknowable amount of pain and misery behind them, loosely blocked by the attempted joyous look.

His outfit consisted of a green hooded robe with gold trimming, a black turtleneck sweater, black pants and boots, along with brown leather gloves and a brown messenger bag.

She couldn't understand this oddity but she was so happy to see someone again after who knows how long that, without thinking, she stood up and hugged him, catching the stranger off guard.

The emotions overflow as she cries out, letting everything go at once.

Cautiously the stranger returns the hug, slowly comforting her.

"It must've been tough huh? Trust me, I know… don't worry, you're not alone now."

As she begins to slowly calm down she processes the smells coming from him, it's an odd mixture… sandalwood and citrus on the surface, yet there were hints of something else… something she couldn't place as she backed away now.

"There, feeling better now?" the stranger asked, keeping their smile while looking at Lily.

"Yes… thank you, I really don't know what came over me…" she states a bit shyly, still trying to process everything going on.

"It's fine, I understand where you're coming from, had I seen someone my first time here I likely would've done the same." he admits while looking away, off into the distance. "Though I am curious… what does this place look like for you?"

"Huh? What do you mean? There's nothing here." she replies confusedly as she looks around.

The stranger's eyes go wide, surprised by the info as he looks at her. "I see… so then you're like me, you're a clear soul."

"How can you tell? Is it because I don't see anything?" Lily looks back at him as he nods.

"That's right, clear souls are specifically tuned to this place, we can see it for what it is." He holds his hand out. "Why don't you let me show you the differences?"

Although a bit cautious, Lily took his hand as something about him felt trustworthy, safe even… it was an odd feeling she couldn't describe.

As their hands interlock she feels a shockwave of magic rush through her and in an instant the void is gone.

Around them now is a monochromatic beach that seems to stretch on forever, the waves distantly crashing and soothing her mind.

She can't help but look around in awe, shocked that something so empty could transform into this.

"How did you do that?!" she asks the stranger, unable to hold back her amazement as she looks back to him.

With a slight warm chuckle he answers honestly. "I just tuned our resonance to that of an old friend's, she loved sights like this… so it's only natural the void would replicate it."

Lily slightly tilts her head in confusion, it was more magic she didn't understand, first stars and guardians, now souls and resonance? Where was a guidebook when you needed one?

"I take it you don't know what I'm talking about?" he asks politely, trying not to sound harsh or dismissive. "It's alright if you don't, resonance is a lesser known aspect of the soul." the stranger takes a moment to clear his throat before continuing. "Resonance is essentially the tune of our souls, shaped by our lives and experiences, this tune is capable of many advanced things… such as what you're seeing now."

"And you changed our resonance to match someone else's? Does that mean we don't have one of our own?" she asks, a bit concerned now, only to have her fears quelled.

"Quite the opposite, we do have resonance as well, it's just that ours is produced at such a range that nothing can pick it up normally, even a place that exists between realities like this." he motions to the area around them. "Only those deliberately looking for that frequency, or other clear souls can hear it."

"Really, then why can't I hear anything?" her voice fills with slight frustration, earning another small chuckle from the stranger.

"You will eventually, you have to practice listening first though, just like with anything it'll take a fair bit of practice." his smile falters a little as he lets the void return to normal. "Though I'm sure you'll get it in time… for now though let's find you an exit, shall we?"

"Wait, you can't just make an exit? Like with magic or something?" Lily asks as she moves to his side, the two of them aimlessly walking through the void.

"I'm afraid not, I've spent about eighty five percent of my life here, and not once have I managed to make an exit… the exits just form on their own." His voice is much quieter and a bit more solemn, recalling just how painfully long the time he's spent here was.

"Then how do we get out? Just walk aimlessly?" a slight tinge of annoyance is in her voice as she keeps focusing forward.

"Indeed it is, and truth be told there's no telling where the exit will lead… it could be another world, another universe, another timeline…" the stranger shrugs a little. "I've seen all the possibilities at this point."

"Wait, but what about my friends then?!" Lily rushes in front of him, stopping him dead in his tracks. "I can't just leave them behind to deal with all that! I have to go help them!"

Lily gazes up at the stranger in desperation, her eyes watering, appearing to be on the brink of tears.

For a moment the stranger just evaluates his options before sighing and shaking his head. "There is a way we could possibly make it to your world, but I can't guarantee you'll be in the same area you entered."

A smile breaks out on her face as she gets closer. "That's fine by me! So how do you do it?!"

"Calm down, I'm only going to help, you'll have to do most of the heavy lifting." he says while walking behind her.

Before she can react he covers her eyes with one hand and the other on her shoulder, in a much quieter and calmer voice he begins. "Now, focus like your life depends on it, picture everything you can about your world… the sights, the smells, everyone you've ever interacted with… focus and form it into its own resonance."

"How-" she starts only to be cut off by the stranger.

"Don't speak, just feel it, like the rhythm of a heartbeat or the wind blowing."

A cryptic answer yet a perfect one, as without her sight it felt like a new sense was picking up the slack. A faint rhythmic pulsing came from behind her, so soft and slow that it wasn't clear what it was.

Yet as she focused on it she could tell that it was the stranger's heart.

It moved inhumanly slow… it sounded damaged, broken almost, yet still holding together.

Next came the strange noise, an indescribably fierce yet calm screeching, it was heavily distorted and hurtful to her ears.

Yet as she focused it became clearer and clearer, sounding more and more like a digital instrument playing an unknown melody… no not just one, dozens, like an entire synthesized orchestra playing an unknown song.

"Do you hear that? That's the resonance of your soul… that's the song you've cultivated… now listen closely and focus on the memories of your friends, isolate that sound." his soothing voice was barely above a whisper, his words helping her on the right path.

Quietly she begins to picture Ryder, Aranea, Yuria and everyone else, slowly focusing on the memories she shared with them.

The various synthesized instruments fading away one by one, fading off into silence until only one remains.

It was only one sound, yet it was so loud, so clear, she could feel it moving through the ground and the air around her.

That one note sounded like some sort of digitized piano key being played.

"Do you have it?" the stranger softly asks, checking on her.

"Yeah…" her voice was quiet, a bit distant as she focused on the note.

"Good, now just follow it to them."

Slowly he removes his hand from her eyes, letting her fully see again, now in front of her was a nearly transparent blue trail floating in the air.

"What is this?" Lily cautiously holds her hand out, gently touching the trail, as she does so the note seems to dance a bit, responding to her touch.

"That would be the sound of your memories, normally it'd be hard to see them… but with my help you can see the trail just fine." he slowly removes his hand from her shoulder and motions to the trail. "This should get you home safe and sound, though if you don't mind I'll escort you to the portal just to make sure nothing happens."

Lily pauses for a moment, still unsure if this stranger could be fully trusted, yet she felt the need to take the chance.

After all, what if he was the guardian of this area? There was no telling what each guardian looked or acted like after all, and if he is… well at least things seem to be going smoothly thus far.

She looks back at him, his soft smile and kind features easing her mind once again. It puzzled her to no end, this stranger just radiated a calming and kind aura, so much so to where she felt safe just standing near him.

"That would be nice, thank you." her voice was a bit quieter but now fully relaxed, as if talking with an old friend.

Lightly he walks to her side and the two begin following the trail, a comfortable silence between them. No words needing to be spoken, just an air of comfort and mutual unspoken agreement.

It was so incredibly weird to her though, how, how had they clicked so quickly already?

Perhaps it was just the natural air about him or something deeper, like the darkness lurking within those eyes… she couldn't know for certain, the only thing she could tell was that she could trust him.

Soon enough the trail ended at what looked to be a pool of dark liquid, though it was upright, defying gravity.

Without a second thought the stranger motioned towards it.

"Here, this will take you back home."

Lily hesitates as she looks at it, unsure of what to think. "Are you sure? This… this doesn't look safe. It doesn't even look normal."

"I promise you it is, nothing bad will happen to you, the most you'll feel is the exhaustion from passing into a new universe." the stranger looks over at her for a moment before considering something. "How about this?" he holds his hand out to her. "We'll walk through the portal together, alright? I'll make sure nothing happens to you."

A tempting offer, one that once again eases her mind, after all nothing bad should happen if he's taking the portal as well.

Cautiously she takes his hand and lets the stranger lead her into the darkness.

The mysterious liquid is cold yet soothing, washing over her and removing any lingering aches and pains. Though as they moved through it her mind began to fade, darkness slowly smothering her to sleep.

Yet the stranger never let go of her hand, pulling her along to safety.

It was a comforting feeling, her hand interlocking with his, as she passed out, the last sight she saw being the back of his head and a light in the distance.