The Abyss Stares Back

Sen woke up in a daze, his muscles below his neck didn’t seem like they wanted to do anything he told them to, but he could feel them slowly coming back to him. A bright bluish tinted light seared into his eyes when he opened them, prompting Sen to clamp his eyes shut again. Sen could hear voices relatively close to him but couldn’t make out any words. He attempted to open his eyes again and he could see figures coming into view that soon blocked the bright light from his eyes. As his eyes focused, he made out two men standing over him, each holding smooth black tablets in their hands.

He closed his eyes again, still dazed and confused as if he was coming out of a lifelong dream. He postulated that he was most likely in a hospital, and something dire had happened to him. As he thought back, visions of the void flooded his mind. He instantly relived the entirety of the time spent there, and it hit him like a ton of bricks. It all came back to him: the initial dread as he felt hopelessness, the cold chill of the wind, the odd new meditation skill he taught himself, and at the end, drowning. His eyes opened as he gasped in surprise. The two men took cautionary steps backward, but as Sen relaxed, so did they.

”Was all of that a dream?” Sen thought. “Where am I?” He asked aloud, but when he looked at their faces, he could see them look at each other inquisitively before looking back at him. After a few moments one of the men spoke to him. Either Sen wasn’t fully awake yet and couldn’t hear sounds correctly, or this man was speaking in a language he had never heard before.

The blonde man on Sen’s left looked to the darker haired, mustached man on the right. He said more words that made no sense to Sen, and the dark-haired man seemed to type something into his tablet.

Sen laboriously cleared his throat, before attempting to speak once more. “Where am I?”

The two men set their eyes on Sen with a look of surprise on both of their faces. “You’re in a surveillance room right now.” The dark-haired man said to Sen, lightly holding his hand on Sen’s shoulder.

“Surveillance...?” Sen was able to mutter before the dark-haired man kept talking.

“I’m Vance. We’ve been waiting for this day for a while now. We didn’t expect someone to be inside that capsule but it’s very exciting that you were in there. And now you’re awake. How are you feeling?” He asked Sen with a very curious expression.

“Like crap.” Sen said wearily, prompting a small chuckle from both men.

“Rest, then.” The blonde man said he laid a hand on Sen’s chest. Sen uncomfortably looked down at his chest, at the man’s hand, and felt a warmth that trickled through his body and into his bones, allowing him to fall into a surreally relaxed state. The blonde man gave an easy smile to Sen before looking over at his mustached cohort. “Let him recover naturally, that will be the best thing for him. He’ll be just fine.” The blonde man said to Vance.

“Thank you, priest. It was very important that you would be here to make sure he was okay, but I’m glad we didn’t need you.” Vance said to the priest. The priest nodded at Vance and quietly walked out of the room. As this priest walked away, Sen could get a better look at what the man was wearing. Sen had just assumed these men were doctors, but now that his eyes became more focused, he could see they were not wearing white coats, they were wearing robes. The priest himself seemed to have an elaborate but subtle set with earthy browns, white, and gold. As his gaze panned to Vance, he could see his thin mustache, but looking down from his face, noticed his robes were much more modest than the priest’s and flowing with whites, grays, and blues.

Sen glowered, his confusion and the outlandish look of their attire making him feel a sense of fear and danger. “I need some kind of explanation here.” Sen said to Vance.

“Of course.” Vance replied. “What I can tell you is that I will tell you everything I know, but not right now.” He said to Sen with a sigh. “Right now, you’re not exactly stable. The magic hasn’t been directed in your limbs for a long time now, it’s just been circulating around your body keeping you in a stasis, and now that the stasis is interrupted, that magic is naturally forming a matrix without any kind of magical framework to guide it. It’s astounding.” Vance said to him as he looked back and forth between Sen and the black tablet in his hands. As Sen focused on the tablet, it seemed more like black marble than what he originally thought was black metal or plastic. “Regardless, you have no way of moving your limbs, but you seem to be working on it, so we need to let that process complete. Afterward, I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.”

Sen let out a deep breath as he nodded. Vance had mentioned magic, and Sen was going to investigate that further, but Vance was right, he couldn’t move his body. Sen was usually a very good judge of character, picking up ques and mannerisms in people that were common with kind people as well as sociopaths, and Vance seemed like the nonchalant, studious type that was there to do his job. His excitement about Sen’s current state told Sen that he would have to be putting on a generous charade to fool him, and ultimately deemed it unlikely. Vance took one more look at his tablet before walking through the pair of double wooden doors directly behind him, and the direction of Sen’s feet.

Sen looked around the room, he could see multiple floating crystals of different colors that were in a radius around him. The walls were comprised of a light stone cobble with marble tiles scattered around the trim, the floor was the same. Wooden cabinets lined most of the walls, with marble countertops on each side of the room. There were no signs of technology, and many signs of what he considered magic. That combined with Vance’s blatant explanation of magic in Sen’s body all but confirmed that he was most likely in another world, possibly another reality altogether, or had gone completely insane. If it weren’t for the supernatural relaxation given by the priest, Sen imagined his anxiety would send him into a fit of confusion and panic.

He tried to send the signal to his arm to lift it up, but he couldn’t even feel it to begin with. Again, Vance was right, he couldn’t move, and when his mental attention focused on the area around his neck and shoulders, he could feel the magical matrix being formed in his body. It felt like microscopic fibers weaving and braiding themselves under his skin.

As he rested, assisted by the magical relaxation granted to him by the priest, his mind drifted to the all-too-real memory of the void. Sen had spent so long in that space that it had changed his psyche. Sen thought it perhaps could have been a dream, but it felt too real to be so. He knew what the memories of dreams felt like, he had plenty of them, and the memory of the void was too outlandish and clear to be a dream. His face scrunched and curled as he remembered the icy chill of the wind on his naked body. His eyes closed as he remembered meditating in the bleak nothingness. When he remembered drowning in the torrent of water around him, it’s like he hit a wall in his memory. He remembered nothing past running out of air and drowning in the deep.

After contemplating his trip in the void, he tried to recall his last memories of home. At one time he was going to sleep in his plush, king-sized bed, when he was suddenly stripped of his clothes and transported to an infinite space of bleak darkness, and now he was in a place that felt familiar but also starkly different to what he knew. His home in middle America seemed like a faraway place, as if he hadn’t been there in quite some time. His immediate family and a few not-so-close friends there had to be unsure of his whereabouts. His father and sister had to be worried sick. He most definitely lost his job. “At least that’s all I had left to lose.” Sen thought as an unimpressed sneer crossed his face. Back home, he had made a humble living as a plumber but was for the most part, alone. He had lost his mother, his girlfriend, and his dog all in the span of about two years and spent the next few years floating around, going through the motions, making a living but nothing more. After losing so much, he had almost given up completely but could never find the strength in himself to end it once and for all. Or maybe he was simply strong enough to fight against it, he didn’t know. He always just tried to take another step forward.

As his mind trailed from thoughts of home to thoughts of the void, he was able to wisp himself asleep while the magical matrix brought feeling and control to the rest of his body. He was awoken by a faint purple light that glowed in a horizontal circle around his bed, that dimmed before disappearing completely after opening his eyes. Sen raised his hands in front of him, clutching them into fists and then opening them again, getting a feel for his body that felt familiar but also different. He could feel an energy that coursed through him. It was empty and shallow, but also gave him a sense of power he’d never felt before. It was like part of him was taken away to be replaced by a shadow of itself, but that shadow was twice the original size.

As the purple light dimmed, Vance walked back through the double doors to greet Sen. He was accompanied by two sturdy looking young men with swords attached to their hips, and subtle armor resting on their midsections. Vance walked toward Sen while the two men took sentry points at the door, making quick glances at Sen and then setting their focused gaze on the center of the room.

“You brought guards this time. Expecting me to run out of here?” Sen asked Vance.

“Just a precaution.” Vance said, his thin mustache curling slightly as he smirked at Sen. “I told you I would explain everything I know, and that’s what I’m going to do.” He said, taking a chair from a table on the side of the room and setting it next to the bed that Sen laid on that resembled an operating table. Sen grabbed the small blanket that was more the size of a beach towel covering his nether-regions and kept it in place as he sat up on the table. The guards characteristically stiffened their posture and locked their eyes on Sen as he positioned himself.

“I’m not going to do anything.” Sen said as he waved a hand in their direction. “Where am I?” Sen asked Vance as their eyes truly met for the first time, repeating the first question he asked when he woke. Vance displayed a curious mannerism as he looked at Sen’s eyes, but quickly reverted to his soft, humble expression.

“You’re in the basement of a branch of the Magic Society. My name is Vance Cour’delain and I’m the leading Magic Society official on your case. You’ve been in a capsule for almost three years now, and we’ve kept you safe here studying the capsule. We didn’t even know there was someone inside. We had hypothesized it, considering the size and shape of the capsule, but could never see inside to check.” Vance said, slowing the cadence of his speech as he saw the shocked look on Sen’s face.

Sen heard nothing past the statement of “three years”. His eyes went wide. He tried to contemplate the implications of it and was left speechless, his mouth agape.

“I see this is a surprise to you. We were unsure of your knowledge of the capsule when it faded away, revealing you in its place.” Vance said, nodding, and he tapped a few buttons on his black marble tablet. Vance’s chair sat lower than Sen and Sen was able to see the face of the tablet now. There was no screen, only glowing words and complex images that moved and danced with Vance’s ministrations.

“I don’t know anything.” Sen was able to shakily retort after gaining back some control over his face. “Three years?” He said under his breath, and mostly to himself. “You said magical matrix before, so magic is real here?” He asked Vance.

Vance raised his chin with his eyebrows, finally realizing the breadth, or lack thereof, of Sen’s knowledge. “Yes, it is indeed very real.” Vance replied. “Before we continue, do you have a name?” He asked Sen.

“My name…” Sen paused. “Is Senadin.” He lifted a hand to his forehead and went to run his hand through his hair when he realized he didn’t have any. As his hand had reached his brow, he couldn’t feel any eyebrows, either. “But it’s not.” He said as he looked down at the floor. “I had another name… It was two names together, like yours.” He said, his mind obviously drifting to another place as he spoke. “It might have been three names, but I just… can’t remember.” He said, putting his hand back on his head to feel the odd baldness. “It’s just Senadin now? Apparently?” He asked, confused. Thinking back to his time on Earth, he couldn’t remember anyone’s names. The names of his family, his friends, even his elementary school teachers and the current president of the United States were erased from his mind, or perhaps blocked by something, maybe the void took it from him; a tax for letting him go.

Vance nodded, typing into his tablet as he did so. Vance looked at the guards at the entrance to the room. “You may step out. I believe I can handle this if anything goes awry.” The guards shared a glance before complying with the order. Vance waited for them to leave before continuing. “Senadin, we had assumed you might be from our world considering you are an essence user, but it is becoming increasingly clear that you are not from here.” He told Sen in a slow cadence so that Sen could understand the magnitude of the information. Sen nodded, his head turned down to let his eyes focus on the floor. “I am grateful that you are taking this in stride, if I were in your situation I might be having a mild panic attack. You said you didn’t know anything, was that true, or were you just trying to get all the information from me that you could?” Vance asked Sen with a raised eyebrow.

“I might be having a mild panic attack.” Sen said coyly. “But I had an experience before coming here.” Sen said quietly, a somber expression crossing his face. “Well, I had a few experiences before that too, but this one was particularly jarring. You could just say I’m a little bit beyond freaking out now, but I am extremely curious and extremely confused by this whole situation.” He said to Vance, his stern expression turning softer as he kept talking. “Vance, I have no idea where I am. Magic isn’t supposed to be real, and now you’re telling me magic is running through my body, and you said I’m an essence user, what does that even mean?” Sen asked, fumbling through his slight frustration.

“Ah.” Vance said. “Magic is very real in this world, yes, I’m guessing there is no magic where you come from, and I would love to dig into that sometime, but I’ll try to make things easier for you while I can.” Vance wiped a finger across his tablet as he stood up and handed it to Sen. The current screen on the tablet looked oddly familiar to a dungeons and dragons character sheet. When Sen grabbed the cool marble tablet, purple waves crossed the screen as if it were an undisturbed lake he threw large rock into. He could see some of the words being changed and replaced, and noticed Vance perusing it curiously at it did so. The images and words on the screen changed to a soft but vibrant and easy-to-read purple, and the blackness of the tablet darkened so much that it looked simply like a hole in the universe.

Senadin:

Race: Outworlder (Voidwalker)

Current Rank: Normal

Progression to Iron Rank: 25% (1/4 Essences)

Racial Abilities [Outworlder - Voidwalker]:

[Void Guidance]

[Voidspace]

[Void Affinity]

[Child of the Nameless]

[Bounty from Nothingness]

[Mysterious Stranger]

Essences (1 of 4):

Essence of the Void [Power]

Abilities (1 of 5):

Voidtouched (Aura)(0, 0.0%): You have stared into the abyss, and it has stared back, granting you a modicum of its power.

Effect: Extend the touch of the void to the area around you, providing a magical vacuum. This vacuum cannot breach rank barriers. Physical manifestation of the void into physical objects is limited to objects you can touch. This effect can cause harm to the user if used on objects of higher power or rank.

Sen looked up from the tablet to stare at the wall with a blank face. Thoughts ran through his mind like they were at the Kentucky Derby, and the starting pistol just went off. He shoved the tablet into Vance’s chest as he stood up, holding the small blanket over the front of his private parts. Vance took the tablet and looked at it, and it had already reverted to its normal colors of slate black with glowing blue words.

“I’m guessing those clothes are for me?” Sen asked as his head pointed towards a stack of neatly folded clothes on a countertop next to the double doors.

“Um, Yes… Err… What exactly did you do to my tablet?” Vance said, not looking up from the tablet with a frustrated and confused expression. The character sheet was now bereft of most of the information it had when Sen was holding onto it.

Sen got dressed in the neutral gray outfit that was surprisingly well fitted, complete with a set of soft slip-on shoes. After smoothing out the fabric on his body and looking himself over, he nodded approvingly at the attire. “That’s not too bad.” He said, walking back over to the table he had awoken on. He leaned against it and folded his arms. His bottom lip curled behind his top teeth as he took a deep breath. “I’m just going to assume that this Magic Society of yours is a decent institution, given the fact you haven’t tortured me yet and you’ve been cordial with me…” Sen said, and Vance nodded with a solemn expression. Vance’s own wisdom spoke for itself when he said nothing and kept listening, knowing Sen would continue. “…And my understanding of the situation, currently, is that I was transported here for some reason in that “capsule”, given some powers in the process to help me understand and complete that reason, and that I was sent here specifically because there is someone or something here who can help me.” Sen unfolded his arms, counted fingers on one hand with a finger on another as he went through the list, then folded his arms again. “Apparently I’m a video game character starting his first adventure.” Sen sighed, already exhausted from the ideas of sequels and fanfictions.

After giving Sen a few moments should he needed to say anything else, Vance responded. “The Magic Society is indeed a prestigious worldwide organization, and we are held to a very high standard, especially here in Vitesse. And yes, I, myself have pondered you being here for some predetermined reason, and I thought you might know that reason yourself. Since you do not, I can only assume greater powers are at play. In this case, Senadin…” Vance said as his tone turned cold and stern. “…It is best that you do not get ahead of yourself.” Vance warned him. “There are dangers here that kill every day. Every hour, sometimes. With your soft body I can only assume you were at least separated from the dangers of your world.”

Sen put on an affronted expression as he looked down at himself. Of course, he was not in the same physical shape as he was in the armed forces, but he wouldn’t call himself soft. He shook off his expression and looked back at Vance, his posture taking a more reserved stance. His face softened as he reminded himself of the last few years of living a very comfortable and solemn, if not boring, life. “I was pretty safe where I lived, yeah. I afforded myself many luxuries.” He responded almost shyly. In his time with the military, Sen had visited other parts of his world that were not as luxurious as his own, he met people that would never own their own home, never know how to drive a car, and never reap the benefits of modern medicine. After he came back to his own country, he considered himself very lucky to afford such luxuries.

“Afforded yourself? Meaning you provided the means for those luxuries?” Vance asked curiously. Sen nodded. “Perhaps you might be alright then, if you understand the meaning of diligence and hard work. You won’t be like half of these scoundrels lazily going through the motions while they wait for someone to do the work for them.” Vance told Sen.

Sen looked down at the floor again, as the thought of beginning an entire adventure weighed down on his mind. He had nothing to go back to on Earth, save for his immediate family, but he spent most of his time away from them anyway. A decade ago, he would have been chomping at the bit for this kind of opportunity: The opportunity to blaze his own path ahead in a fascinating new world. But now, a few years away from thirty… “Wait, am I thirty now?” Sen thought, remembering what Vance said about how long he had been in the capsule. “It’s been three years. Oh no. Am I old?”

Vance noticed the sudden aghast expression on Sen’s face. “Something the matter? Did you remember something?” He asked expectantly. “The delayed reversal of amnesia can last a long time in people who have experienced your kind of situation.”

“Oh, no, its nothing.” Sen said, pushing the trepidation about his age out of his mind for a moment. “Okay, Vance, you’re the only person I know around here, I’ve got to get on with whatever I’ve been sent here to do and I don’t think you want me to stay here, right?” Sen asked him, raising an eyebrow and hoping for the right answer.

Vance cleared his throat. “Well, Mister Senadin…”

“I think Sen is just fine.” Sen said.

“Sen.” Vance stated, his voice turning almost fatherly. The conversation with Sen had sent Vance’s mind reeling in different directions, unsure of how Sen would react to the bizarre account of events. But this was not Vance’s first run-in with a person like Sen, as his section of the magic society was created specifically for this reason. “I was hoping I could run some tests, but I cannot hold you here against your will. We have transient housing available for this kind of thing.” Vance said as he fumbled with his tablet. “It happens more than you would think, people popping up out of nowhere. Since you have a single essence, our budget for you will be one month to help you get on your feet. The housing is here on the Magic Society campus, and you will be able to eat at our cafeteria. We have an outreach program as well that can help you get into a profession you might be good at. Do you have anything in mind?”

“I was a plumber back in my world.” Sen said, frowning from the idea of cafeteria food, then lightening up in response to Vance’s question. “But I’ve got a feeling I wasn’t sent here because you guys needed your bathroom renovated.” He said as he pushed himself away from the table at the center of the room, putting his hand up to his chin in thought. “Before that… I was a soldier.” He said softly, his eyes low.

Vance’s eyebrows raised. “The Adventure Society outreach program we used here in Vitesse did not have a great track record with outworlders, they either leave or die before any good can come from the investment, and it hasn’t been active for a couple decades now. The idea of outworlders on an adventuring team is always an exciting prospect, but outworlders don’t seem to care for what the Adventure Society has for them.” Vance placed his tablet on the counter. “That, and it seems like the right outworlders always end up exactly where they need to be.”

Sen’s face scrunched. “You have a society for adventuring?” He asked rhetorically. “Like if there’s an adventure that needs to be done, this society organizes and carries it out?” He asked, this time not rhetorically, and Vance quickly nodded.

“That’s more or less the case, yes. There is some policing and enforcing they do as well, but they are called the Adventure Society for a reason.” Vance told Sen.

Sen smirked, pointing a finger at Vance. “That is definitely what I’m here for. Okay Vance, thank you for the information, as for the tests, I’ll be around, and I expect a little bit of compensation for my assistance. So where do I go from here?”