This City Never Sleeps At Night

[⃥⃒̸𝐑⃥⃒̸𝐄⃥⃒̸𝐃⃥⃒̸𝐀⃥⃒̸𝐂⃥⃒̸𝐓⃥⃒̸𝐄⃥⃒̸𝐃⃥⃒̸]⃥⃒̸

Gods, he wants to lean against a wall... There are no walls, only an inescapable prison as barren as the void.

His body is chillingly cold, like a corpse. There is no warmth like there are no walls. And there is no rest like there is no comfort.

Whenever he gets tired, he lays down on the cold-as-slate 'floor' and closes his eyes. When he awakes, he is even more fatigued than before. 

The first year, he ran. He spent the year running. 

Well. That's not exactly accurate. He has no way to measure time. So he just guesses.

Any marks he makes on the floor disappear, if they even end up there in the first place.

The second year, he spent trying to break out. The floor is impenetrable and above him is darkness. 

Sometimes a jolt of light will flash through the space, bright and quick. He sees his hands for a split second, reminding him that he is still here; alive; human.

Because he forgets.

Does he deserve this?

Why is he here?

The third year, he cried. There was a lot of crying. He never ran out of tears, but they disappeared the second they touched the ground.

He has been wandering since. He stopped counting the years. He doesn't want to know how long he has been in this hellish landscape.

No voices except his one broken one since.

Sometimes he talks quietly to remind himself that he exists.

Now he is walking through the blackness alone.

He walks every day.

Maybe one day he'll find a weak point; an exit in the endless void.

Maybe one day he'll learn how to die.

He is walking again today. He doesn't expect to find anything. He never finds anything.

The glow in the distance beckons like a beacon. He breaks into a stunned, dizzy run and the glow disappears.

"Hello?" He calls out desperately, his voice cracking with terror and undeniable hope. "Hello, is someone there?"

The noise seems to be absorbed by the growing blackness. He runs again. 

A figure is sitting in the distance, seemingly oblivious to his desperate cries.

He runs and in a second it's like he's been plunged into water.

"Hello?" He says softly.

A head turns and the figure stands.

"Are you real?"

Except the voice doesn't come from him, or the void, or the voices in his head. It's resonant yet quiet and rich and shy and confused and hopeful and beautiful and real.

"You're real..." He says, and steps towards the figure. "Can I... Can I come closer?" His voice is breathless and wary but relieved and hopeful.

The figure, in turn takes a step towards him.

"I thought I was alone."

"I feared I was alone."

"We're not alone now."

"I like that."

Every sentence propels them to step closer. When they're close enough, he reaches out.

Their hands meet and it's like he was tossed into a sea of lava.

Warm.

"Don't let me go..."

Lore chapter bc yes

Short, but that's how all the lore chapters are going to be.

If you didn't know, I update this weekly and unless it's a lore chapter, chapters will be between 1,000 and 2,100 words!

Lore chapters are usually under 900 words but on a VERY RARE ONCE-IN-A-BLUE-MOON OCCASION, they will be more.

Words: 519

Have a great day!

-ITCFWI