𝐰𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬, 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞. | a. skywalker

𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐰𝐨

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐨𝐢𝐝.
𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞.

—

The entrance to The Void looked exactly as it did in my vision. Even more so, the planet's surroundings were much like the emptiness I found my phantom self exploring, except for this time, I was tangible.

Anakin looked wary of our surroundings, though I could see him trying to mask his demeanor.

"Do we just... go in?" he whispered.

I nodded. "It seems as so."

And so we did. It was almost chilling entering the cave, though I found a strange solace in it compared to the emptiness of the outside world. I could not exactly describe this place as a planet, as there was no real atmosphere to it as we entered. Rather, it merely existed, a coordinate in time.

I kept close to Anakin, my shoulder lightly brushing his as we walked. The comfort he brought me gave me the strength I needed to journey through this strange environment.

We had only been trekking for a few paces when the voices started. I halted in my tracks, as did Anakin, and I subconsciously grabbed his arm as I tried to make sense of where they were coming from.

"Are you ready to enter The Void?"

"First, you must deconstruct your mind."

"Separate yourself from your thoughts."

"Separate yourself from your body."

"Separate yourself from your emotions."

There was silence for a moment, and I looked up at Anakin. I could tell he could hear them too, and it was not just me, judging from the confused expression painted upon his face.

"Proceed."

I hesitated for a moment, and in that time, the Ephemeral appeared in front of us.

"As you know, we are in The Void," the Ephemeral spoke, beckoning us to follow.

As we did, the surroundings changed ever so drastically, and where we were once standing in darkness, with the indigo being as our only sense of direction, a white path appeared, curving and snaking as far as the eye could see. There was no longer darkness, but an array of dim blues and oranges painting the sky.

Though I knew we were in a cave, in this moment, we seemed to be outdoors, with clouds of pink and purple adding to the scenery. It was beautiful, in it's own, peculiar way.

"While you are here, you will find plenty of opportunities to develop yourself," it continued. "There are Thought Leaders available to guide you. We all have different outlooks on what it means to be in The Void, to learn, to grow."

"How will we know who is a Thought Leader?" I asked.

"You have already met us," it hummed. "I, for one, believe The Void holds meaning in our thoughts, the crossroads of identity and chaos. We are all responsible for creating our own purpose, though that is all purely reflective. We choose our battles, and thus, carve an identity for ourselves."

"The Abyssal believes that The Void has no true meaning, though like myself, it understands that identity is crucial to being prosperous. The Abyssal teaches us to be fluent in the mechanics of our own minds. You will see reality brought to a new light with it."

"The Halcyon believes in The Void in being both a champion of self mastery, yet also a place for fortuitous knowledge from the place of loss. The Halcyon tends to say that the only thing that you can be sure of in The Void is your own mind. Emotions are the neighbors of reason in our minds, and we rely on our rationality to coexist with them in harmony."