Voidborne:The Soul sea chronicles

Eliot Carter hit the snooze button for the third time. The muffled alarm barely broke through the haze of his dreams. Eventually, the persistence of the digital beeps forced him awake. He groaned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. This was his routine,mundane and predictable, much like the rest of his life.

Eliot worked as a software programmer at a growing tech startup. His days were a blur of codes, debugging, and coffee. Everything followed a pattern. Each day bled into the next, so seamlessly that weeks passed without any real change. His work was fulfilling in a technical sense, but Eliot felt like something was missing.

In his small apartment,spotless and carefully organized,he prepared for the day. He picked out his usual outfit: casual yet tidy, clothes that helped him blend into the background. Standing in front of his bathroom mirror, he adjusted his glasses and gave himself a practiced smile. "Today might be the day," he whispered, as he did every morning. Deep down, though, he wasn't sure what "the day" would even look like.

The short walk to work was his favorite part of the day. With headphones on, he listened to a podcast about human behavioral psychology, a topic he found endlessly fascinating. The hosts dissected why people made irrational decisions, how habits formed, and why relationships often failed. Eliot wondered if understanding these concepts would help him solve the riddle of his own life.

At the office, Eliot slipped into his cubicle, greeted by the warm hum of glowing monitors. His colleagues waved or offered casual greetings, but Eliot rarely lingered in conversation. He preferred the company of his code, where the rules made sense and the outcomes were logical.

At lunch, he joined his coworkers at the usual cafe. They talked about their weekend adventures, gym progress, or recent dates. Eliot mostly listened, offering the occasional polite laugh. Relationships had always been a sore spot for him.

"I don't get it," Eliot had admitted once during a rare night out with colleagues. He was a couple of beers in, and the words tumbled out. "I don't know what I'm doing wrong."

"You're just unlucky in love," someone had replied. Others chimed in with similar reassurances, but Eliot wasn't convinced. He had heard "boring" too many times from past dates. It stung, but he couldn't argue with it. Eliot wasn't spontaneous or exciting. He was dependable, thoughtful, and quietly ambitious, but those traits didn't seem to matter much.

That evening, after work, Eliot went to the park. It was a habit of his,to sit on a bench overlooking the river, letting the sounds of the city wash over him. The joggers, children, and couples blurred together, leaving Eliot alone with his thoughts. He pulled out his phone and opened his dating app. Swiping left and right felt like a mindless game at this point, but he persisted.

Then he saw her profile. She was beautiful, yes, but that wasn't what made him pause. It was her bio: "Looking for someone who thinks being normal is not enough."

Eliot stared at her picture, then at the words. His thumb hovered over the screen before he swiped right. A match.

They exchanged a few messages, and to his surprise, she suggested meeting that same evening. "How about the park?" she wrote. Eliot agreed, nervous and excited.

He sat on the bench, waiting for her. The sky had shifted to twilight, the air cool and calm. His mind raced with possibilities. Could this be it? A connection, something new and extraordinary?

She appeared in the distance, walking toward him. Her smile was hesitant but warm, and Eliot felt a flicker of hope. But then, before she reached him, it happened.

The sky, a serene twilight canvas moments ago, erupted in a burst of blinding, all-consuming light. Trees, benches, joggers, and even the woman ,everything dissolved into the whiteness. The noise of the city vanished, leaving a silence so profound it felt suffocating.

Eliot froze, his thoughts spiraling into chaos. What's happening? Is this real? He tried to move, to scream, but his body refused to respond. His vision blurred, and then there was nothing but the light—searing, endless light.

When Eliot opened his eyes or what he thought were his eyes,the park was gone. His body was gone.

At first, there was only confusion. He felt himself floating, but not in the way he imagined floating might feel. There was no weight, no sensation of movement, no air brushing against his skin. He had no skin. No arms. No legs. He was aware of himself, yet he wasn't sure what he was anymore.

His surroundings were even stranger. Darkness stretched endlessly in all directions. It wasn't just the absence of light; it was the absence of everything. There was no ground beneath him, no sky above, no landmarks to orient himself. He tried to move, to reach out, but nothing happened.

What is this? Where am I?

Panic surged as he struggled to make sense of his situation. He screamed—or tried to. No sound came out. He tried again, over and over, but the silence pressed down on him, unyielding.

Am I dead?

The thought hit him like a blow. It felt absurd, impossible. But wasn't this what death might be? An empty, endless void?

Minutes passed. Or maybe hours. Time had no meaning here. The panic ebbed, replaced by a deep, gnawing fear. What happens now? Is this it? Do I just float here forever?

Then, something changed.

At first, Eliot barely noticed it. A faint sense of calm crept over him, so subtle it felt like it had always been there. The fear didn't vanish entirely, but it dulled, pushed to the edges of his awareness. The oppressive darkness didn't feel as hostile as it had moments ago.

In fact, it felt… comfortable.

Eliot couldn't explain it. He didn't understand why the fear was fading or why the darkness no longer felt so suffocating. He only knew that it was happening.

Why do I feel okay?

The realization unsettled him. The darkness hadn't changed,there was still nothing but emptiness around him,but he felt different. Stronger, somehow. He didn't feel fragile or vulnerable anymore. The fear that had gripped him so tightly moments ago was now just a distant memory.

But then, he remembered where he was.

The darkness closed in again, heavy and silent. Eliot's thoughts raced. He was still floating, still alone in a place where nothing should exist. The calm he had felt a moment ago felt wrong now, like a trick. Why do I feel like this? What's happening to me?

He tried to focus, to think clearly, but his thoughts slipped away like water through his fingers. His memories of the park, the woman, even his own life felt distant now, as though they belonged to someone else.

The darkness pressed against him, and he felt a strange sensation,like the void itself was wrapping around him, pulling at something deep inside. He didn't know what it was doing, but he couldn't fight it.

Eliot didn't scream. He didn't resist. He just floated there, silent and still, as the void worked on him.

Time passed, though Eliot had no way of knowing how much. The darkness remained the same, endless and unchanging. But Eliot wasn't the same.

He couldn't pinpoint when it had happened, but at some point, the void had stopped feeling oppressive. It felt like it had become a part of him, or he had become a part of it.

He didn't feel human anymore. He wasn't sure what he felt like, but it wasn't human. His soul,his very essence—felt different now, stronger somehow, though he couldn't explain why.

Eliot didn't notice the change. There were no dramatic flashes of light, no sudden realizations. It happened quietly, slowly, as though it had always been meant to happen. The void's energy had seeped into him, reshaping him without his knowledge.

For the first time, Eliot felt like he belonged here.

But as that thought settled in his mind, he remembered where he was. The darkness stretched endlessly around him, cold and silent. There was no one else here. No escape.

Eliot's comfort vanished, replaced by the same overwhelming realization: he was alone, in a place where nothing should survive.

Yet somehow, he had.