Timebound abyss

Arin felt weightless, as if suspended in a thick, liquid void. His mind struggled to make sense of the world around him, but all he could feel was the overwhelming sensation of being trapped. It was as though his body no longer existed, his limbs dissolving into the nothingness. His thoughts raced, panic surging as he tried to move, to breathe—only to find he had no lungs, no breath to take.

Where am I?

Time seemed to stretch, each moment slipping through his mind like a hazy dream. Slowly, the void around him began to shift. He couldn’t see it, but he sensed the change. The pressure around him receded, and then, all at once, he was thrust out of whatever had confined him.

Arin gasped—or at least, he thought he did. He still couldn’t feel his body, but his vision sharpened, bringing the world into focus. What he saw wasn’t his world. It wasn’t even close. The surroundings were utterly alien, a grotesque and beautiful landscape bathed in an eerie glow. The light wasn’t from a sun or stars, but from everywhere, like the world itself was pulsing with energy.

Strange orbs floated in the air—spheres of water-like substance, inside which twisted shapes moved. Arin floated among them, a silent observer. He turned his attention to the beings around him, strange figures drifting alongside the glowing orbs. They weren’t human, nor were they any kind of animal he had ever seen. Their bodies were semi-translucent, their forms shifting and amorphous, pulsating with the same strange glow that filled the air.

What are they? Arin’s mind tried to grasp at a word for what he was seeing. But no, these things were beyond any creature he knew. Their heads lacked eyes, mouths, or any discernible features. They moved with a mindless fluidity, carried by some force that seemed to guide them as if they were all part of the same entity.

And then, the realization hit him: I’m one of them.

He glanced down—or at least he tried to. Instead of arms and legs, his vision caught the faint glow of his own body, amorphous and formless like the others. He was one of these strange beings, stripped of his human form. His mind buzzed with confusion, but somehow, he felt no panic. There was a numbness, as though his thoughts were no longer entirely his own.

Without warning, his body—or what he had become—moved. He didn’t command it. It was automatic, as if some unseen force had taken control. The others moved alongside him, floating toward a distant point in the glowing expanse. He felt their presence not through sight or sound, but through the strange, shared connection that pulsed between them. They were all linked, sharing thoughts, instincts, and urges.

Evolve. Survive. Consume.

The words echoed in his mind, not his own, but planted there, resonating within him like a directive. As he and the others drifted toward their unknown destination, Arin could see shapes forming ahead—massive, towering structures that seemed alive, breathing with the same glowing light that permeated everything.

He watched as some of the beings in front of him approached the structures. They absorbed them, dissolving into the walls, becoming part of the living mass. The sight should have terrified him, but his mind remained calm, detached. The impulse to follow, to consume, was growing stronger. He felt the urge to give in, to merge with this world, to become one with the pulsating, consuming energy.

But then, something changed.

The wall to his left exploded in a violent burst, sending glowing fragments flying through the air. Arin flinched—an instinctive reaction that momentarily broke the mindless flow he had been trapped in. From the wreckage emerged creatures—half animal, half human, their forms twisted and monstrous. Their faces resembled wolves, their bodies long and sinewy, with claws and fangs that gleamed in the strange light. They were a grotesque fusion of the two worlds.

The creatures lunged at Arin’s kind, attacking the formless beings with savage intent. But the beings didn’t retreat. They fought back, slashing with tendrils of energy, tearing into the attackers with brutal precision. Arin watched in silent horror as both sides clashed, their glowing forms twisting and breaking apart, dissolving into the ground.

Survive. Evolve. Consume.

The mantra in his mind grew louder, more insistent. He tried to break free, to move on his own, but his body wouldn’t respond. He was pulled toward the chaos, toward the creatures that now surrounded him. The instinct to consume, to become stronger, screamed in his head. But his human mind—his soul—fought back.

Suddenly, the status window appeared before him, pulsing with a deep red glow. EMERGENCY PROTOCOL ACTIVATED.

The words blurred before his eyes as the world around him began to shake. The walls, the ground, the air itself seemed to tremble. Arin’s mind reeled, the connection between him and the others breaking apart. The world spun out of control, the glowing light becoming too bright to bear.

System Override: Returning to Origin.

In a flash, the glowing world shattered. Arin felt his body being pulled—dragged through the fabric of space itself. And then, with a sudden jolt, everything went black.

When Arin opened his eyes, he was lying on cold, hard ground. His body felt heavy, real again. He gasped for breath, his hands trembling as he pressed them against the stone floor. He was no longer in the strange glowing world. He was back.

Back in the underground chamber, deep within the ruins of a forgotten civilization.

The status window blinked in front of him, flashing one final message: System Reset Complete.

Arin stared at the words, his mind racing. He had been in another world—another reality. But now, he was here, back in his old body, in the ancient ruins. The glowing creatures, the strange world—had it all been real?

He looked around, his heart pounding. The chamber was silent, the only sound the faint hum of the machines buried beneath the earth. But something had changed. The air felt different, charged with a new energy. And deep within him, the memory of that strange place lingered, the voices still whispering in his mind:

Evolve. Survive. Consume.