A blinding white light... that was the first thing to pierce his heavy eyelids.
There was no smell of damp earth, no sound of roaring beasts or barking dogs. Instead, he inhaled a pungent, sterile chemical scent and heard a faint, rhythmic mechanical hum.
Sean tried to open his eyes fully, but the glaring lights on the ceiling forced him to blink several times. When his vision finally cleared, he realized he was no longer in the forest. He was lying on a cold metal bed in the middle of an entirely white room that resembled a laboratory testing chamber.
He tried to sit up, but his body didn't respond. He was completely numb, as if his limbs didn't belong to him. Worse yet, he felt the coldness of solid metal rings binding his wrists and ankles tightly to the bed.
He turned his head agonizingly slowly, only to find a man standing in front of him. He was wearing a strange outfit and holding a clipboard on which he was noting something down. As soon as the man noticed Sean was awake, he raised his eyes and gave him a sharp, cold look—like someone examining an insect under a microscope—and asked in a dry voice:
"Who are you?"
A massive wave of confusion struck Sean's mind. Where am I? What is this insane place? Who is this person? And what strange language is he speaking? Even though the words seemed familiar in meaning, their tone and pronunciation were utterly alien to his ears.
Adrenaline surged through his numbed veins. He made an immense effort to move his heavy jaw, then yelled with a frantic, raspy voice exhausted by running and dehydration:
"Who are you?! Get me out of here, for hell's sake!"
The sharp look vanished from the Doctor's eyes the moment he heard Sean's shout, replaced by evident disappointment and profound despair. He sighed in frustration and muttered softly while writing on his clipboard:
"Another failure... it's not him. It seems I have to try again."
The Doctor completely ignored Sean's existence and walked with defeated steps toward the room's wall. His hand reached for a large silver lever protruding from a mysterious control panel. Sean didn't know what this lever did, but his instincts told him it boded nothing good for "failed experiments" like him.
His hand was about to pull the silver lever down when a calm, authoritative voice interrupted him from the room's entrance:
"Stop. We will try again tomorrow."
The Doctor's hand froze in mid-air, and Sean turned his gaze with difficulty toward the door. Standing there was a young woman radiating an aura of mystery and authority. She possessed skin as pure and pale as snow, silver-white hair cascading down her shoulders, and wore a long white coat.
The Doctor turned to her with an objecting expression and said sharply:
"No, I will continue! I will try over and over... I will find him!"
The woman took a single step into the room and answered in an emotionless tone:
"Your stubbornness is useless. The Engine is completely out of power and needs to recharge."
"Tsk!" The Doctor clicked his tongue in anger and slammed his hand hard onto the adjacent metal table, shouting: "Why isn't it working?! It should have worked and brought him!"
The woman looked at him calmly, then said in a slightly softened tone: "We will find him, don't worry. But for now, you need to rest as well."
The white-haired woman remained standing silently at the door, watching the Doctor leave the room trailing disappointment behind him. As soon as the door closed behind him, she approached Sean's bed with quiet steps.
She took out a fine syringe containing a strange blue liquid from her pocket. She injected the needle into his neck, and the cold liquid coursed through his veins, causing his consciousness to fade rapidly.
In that defining moment, the woman's trembling hand reached out toward his face. In the blink of an eye, her cold gaze vanished, replaced by features of profound sorrow and overwhelming longing. But she quickly withdrew her hand before touching him, whispering softly: "No..."
The cold look returned to dominate her features once more; she turned around and headed to close the door behind her.
In his subconscious, Sean plunged into a place resembling an infinite space. He floated there in total weightlessness.
What is happening? Is this a dream? Or have I lost my mind? Sean's brain buzzed with questions.
He took a deep breath and continued in his mind: Phew... there is no use in asking questions now. Let's analyze the situation. The last thing I saw was the glowing circular portal. There are two options: either I was transported somewhere else by that circle... or I am dying right now and this is part of the d—w-what is that?!
His thoughts were interrupted by a bright white flash resembling a small star, swimming through space toward him. As soon as it reached him, its bright gleam reflected in Sean's eyes.
His hand reached out involuntarily toward the light, but he quickly pulled it back.
I need to break this bad habit... touching unknown things, Sean muttered to himself, I will just observe for now.
He remained floating in place, watching silently. In this absolute void, he lost his sense of time. Perhaps minutes passed, perhaps long hours... The emptiness and the waiting were enough to drive anyone mad.
Finally, his patience ran out: Alright... I'll just touch it.
He extended his finger and touched the white star. Suddenly... nothing happened.
Huh? Noth—
Before he could finish his sarcastic thought, an unbearable pain struck him. He felt as if his entire being was melting inside raging volcanic lava, but this pain wasn't ordinary physical pain; it was a unique pain... it was a pain that tore at the soul, as if his soul was being forcefully merged with something else.
Sean screamed at the top of his lungs in that empty space. The agony continued, then gradually began to subside until it disappeared completely. Panting with an exhausted spirit, and before he could comprehend what had happened, a deep voice whispered directly into his ear:
"Take care of my body..."
"Huh?!"
Sean gasped and forced his eyes open, panting like a drowning man.
He was still bound to the bed, and when he turned his head, he saw the white-haired lady pulling the door handle to close it behind her.
His eyes widened in shock; he realized that the long time he had spent in his subconscious, and the pain that almost tore his soul apart, were merely a few seconds in the real world!