Diary of Arthur Tedman:
Why are we born?
To feed the deep below, the desire of belonging?
To fruitlessly beg mercy to the sky, where we will be eventually fed?
Or to be reigned by tyrants of old who will raise us like cattle…
A vast bottomless void filled nothing but by a crimson, purple backdrop.
It was like two vast forces fighting in infinity, red and purple clashing to meet in the middle, forming a false orange horizon.
This lovecraftian environment was the first thing that Xavier saw when he gained lucidity.
And Xavier hadn't even opened his eyes yet.
—Crumble
Crumbling sounds could be heard around him…
Xavier sat up, his eyes fluttering open, upon feeling the cold rough ground bursted out a groan.
"Aaah, this dream again."
He checked again to make sure, moving his right arm up and down. Sure enough there was a palpable weight pushing it down.
Followed by a rattling noise, and the visual of a giant metal cylinder snugly fit on his right forearm.
If that wasn't clear enough Xavier used his non-bounded hand to reach for his face, coupled with the fact that his fingers were stubby and small(like little hotdogs), his soft face was also devoid of its usual bags, lingering right under his eyes. He had been reverted to a younger age.
"Damn, I'm truly in this dream again."
Xavier said aloud, as if he was talking to someone. Yet nothing responded throughout the vast outer construction of purple,red and orange.
Not like he expected anything to happen anyways.
'It's just me myself and I'
He was always alone in these dreams, especially the first few times, when he thought he had no way out, little five year old Xavier thought he was gonna be stuck in space limbo forever.
He remembered screaming at the top of his lungs looking for mommy and father begging whatever trapped in him here to let him go. Then he just lied down and slept.
'Come to think of it, it was just like the five stages of grief, funny.'
He thought solemnly, then laid down again, resting his head on his left arm and looked up at the starry red half of the sky.
Sometimes they'd switch red and purple, there didn't seem to be any sense of direction or dimensions to this well… dimension.
It seemed ever changing, always seeming to shift around, mix, and scramble
And in this ever changing space he would eventually find solace in. Counting stars of the ever changing labyrinth, a nice change to a monotonous world.
He found it strangely therapeutic.
'I swear that star was not there last time.'
Xavier had a good eye for detail. But regardless he still couldn't understand this large facet that seemed to make up his mind.
There had to be a pattern.
He just hadn't found it yet.
He sighed and sat up, the numbness on his butt to the rocky surface of the island made him squirm uncomfortably, it was one of the things he disliked about being here.
Speaking of islands…
Xavier turned backwards, toward where the origin of the chain should be. Then looked at the long binding of metal links that stretched all the way to what Xavier could make out to be a stone tower.
It was just a length away where Xavier couldn't make out its details.
Xavier turned around again, this time staring into the orange horizon, the only constant of this place.
It was hard to make out what was in the stretch of space, as it was foggy and cloudy unlike its red and purple parents who were more clear on what they wanted to show.
'Maybe if I came a little closer.'
Xavier slowly crawled towards the orange horizon. The chains clattered on the floor to the beat of his crawls.
'What is in that f…'
Xavier stopped himself.
That was the problem with staring at the unknown for too long, you start to chase it. There was one big no no rule of this place:
Don't look into the orange horizon
The last time Xavier did it, he almost fell off.
'Thankfully the chain was there to save me in time or god knows what would've happened.'
The chain seemed to work in mysterious ways too. As when he was young Xavier tried to 'experiment' a bit with going backwards where the chain would be and trying to fall off. But the stone seemingly relocated as if sensing his intentions. Keeping him from bungee jumping into space.
Xavier silently thanked whoever put that chain there.
—Crumble crumble.
—Craccck
'Guess it's time to go.'
When he stayed awake for the entirety of the realm time(as he liked to call it). The final piece of rock under him would disappear and Xavier would end up in his actual bed before he knew it. There was no fall.
Thus now, the island was already becoming a barrel drifting in the sea, as now Xavier could dangle his feet off the now floating boulder.
The rock tower, floated closer as if to keep Xavier from falling off, the small stone in the distance, now an imposing monolith, casting a shadow that spanned the entirety of the boulder.
Which made it very dark all of a sudden.
Xavier closed his eyes, prepared for what's to come. The next moment he opened his eyes he would end up in the warm comfort of his mattress.
'Ive been here long enough.'
—Crumble —crumble— Crumble
—Crack—crack —crack'
'Strange… It's been 10 minutes and I still haven't woken up yet.'
Xavier opened his eyes, the crumbling and cracking wasn't only exclusive to the island now, but now, the huge monolith was shaking, rocks breaking away in perfect lines like something was trimming the stone tower. Xavier could make out…
'what was that?'
'calligraphy?'
If he could just examine it closer
The monolith was just an arms length away
If Xavier could just reach out…
The magic gravity of the island seemingly vanished. Sending the remaining chunk of rock rolling into the void.
Which left Xavier suspended in midair for a moment. Like a hesitation before gravity would send him down with the debris.
Just as he was about to touch the stone tower.
He fell.
Strangely enough it was silent.
He did not feel wind push against his face, nor did he struggle to keep himself in balance, he could almost move like he was on solid ground, which left him to stare at the purple void and the ever incessant feeling of his heart dropping.
All of a sudden the purple void he had closely studied now looked listless, unsaturated, almost hungry. Ready to devour him if the chain were to break…
He jittered to a stop.
"ARRGH."
He felt his left hang in the air, yet, nothing tore or bled, there was just an immense pain
In the chaos, Xavier looked up catching a glimpse of an engraving on the rock.
"απληστία"