A voice echoed in the darkness: "Why am I still falling?" A thought to himself, "These voices… I still hear them. Am I dreaming? It feels like I'm hanging here. This void is endless. I wish I could just wake up now. Why is this happening to me? Why me?"As A fell through the darkness with his eyes closed, he suddenly opened them. Everything had changed. He looked around and found himself standing in complete darkness."Where am I…? Am I dead?" he whispered. "But I can still hear my heartbeat and I…"A sudden, strong wave of pain struck him. He clutched his head."AHHHHHHH…! MY HEAD! IT FEELS LIKE… IT'S GOING TO EXPLODE!"The pain was unbearable, like a hammer pounding inside his skull. A collapsed to the ground and lost consciousness.He lay there for eight hours until he heard a voice."Wake up… Wake up…"His consciousness slowly returned. A looked toward the voice and saw what looked like a room. As he glanced around, he realized it was his own room."How…? But I remember everything. I remember the fall. It all felt so real. Was it… just a dream? What happened to me?" He shook his head. "I think it's better to forget about it."It was midnight. A walked toward the kitchen. As he passed the kitchen table, he didn't notice the wristwatch lying on it. He continued to the window and didn't notice the pitch-black darkness outside. He turned on the tap, filled a glass with water, and began drinking.As he was about to take a second sip, he froze. His eyes widened in horror. The glass was filled with blood, not water. He dropped it. The glass shattered on the floor.A slowly crouched down. The liquid on the floor was just water."H… how can I… bu…" He couldn't even speak properly.Suddenly, a loud bang came from outside the house. A took a deep breath to calm himself and walked toward the window. As he passed the table again, the wristwatch was no longer there.Just as he was about to open the window, he heard a very low voice whisper:"Run… run… run… RUN!"Without thinking, A sprinted toward the main door. The moment he opened it, the house collapsed behind him. He barely survived."What… how…? My house…"Suddenly, the same pain returned to his head, along with a flood of voices."Save us… Coward… Humans never learn…""Stop…" A muttered."You cannot run," an unknown voice replied."I SAID STOPPPPPPPPPPP!" A screamed.He ran into the darkness, screaming, "SILENT! SHUT UP! SHUT UP… PLEASE STOP… STOP!"The voices suddenly ceased. A saw a group of people ahead."Please help me, ple—" His blood ran cold. Those people had no faces. They all slowly turned their heads toward him."You are finally here," an unknown voice said. "Everyone is waiting for you."A turned around. Countless faceless people had surrounded him."No… No… NOOOOOOOOOO!"A ran. He didn't look back. He ran as fast as he could until he saw a door. He opened it, and a strong light blinded him for a few seconds.When his vision returned, he heard a familiar voice:"So, how was your trip, A?"It was K's voice. A rubbed his eyes and found himself back at the same spot where K had pushed him into the void. K was sitting on a rock."It's really impressive. You came back here in such a short time," K said.A was still confused. He couldn't understand what had just happened."Don't think too much. It was probably just a dream," K added.A tried to calm himself. "What… what is happening to me? You surely did something to my head."K replied, "I didn't do anything. You're thinking too much. Why don't you come here and take a deep breath to calm your mind?"A hesitated but eventually walked over and sat beside him.K said, "A, look at those clouds over there." He pointed to a cloud shaped almost like an animal.A looked in that direction and asked, "Why are you acting like nothing happened?""I told you, you're just overthinking too much. Just enjoy the nature here," K replied calmly.The sun remained exactly in the same position it had been from the start. It hadn't moved even a single centimeter. The wind continued at a steady speed."How did I end up here?" A asked."I don't know. Or maybe I do. But that doesn't matter now. I already told you—you're thinking too much."A looked at him, anger clear in his voice. "Stop playing dumb. You know everything. Now tell me or…""Or what?" K cut him off. "What will you do, huh? Beat me? Punch me?"K towered over A and stared directly into his eyes. "What did you do, A? Come on, tell me."A couldn't speak. His body froze. He felt the same fear he had experienced while running from the faceless creatures.Suddenly, K started laughing. "Oh, A, look at your face. You look like you just saw a ghost."A still felt terrified. He looked around, and for a fraction of a second, everything turned black before returning to normal. At this point, A had completely accepted that it was all just a hallucination because he was tired.But K glanced toward a particular direction where a small fragment of a dark portal was slightly open. He smiled at it and said to A, "Time to return, A. Our conversation is still not completed yet."A looked in the same direction but saw nothing. He quietly followed K.K asked, "So, what do you think about darkness, A?"A stopped and said, "Why are you asking this question?"K replied with a smile, "Because our next topic is related to it.". — END OF CHAPTER 7 —
