The Algebandits (XFOHV spy AU)

Chapter 9: Universal Invalidation

Lost.

Everywhere I look, it's only darkness.

It's the same whether my eyes are opened or closed, sometimes I can't even tell.

I wave my hands in front of my face, are they real? Am I real?

I stare at my hands. Their banana yellow hue glows in the void of black. The only source of color in this place.

It's nice to know it's not entirely pitch black, but unfortunate I have to suffer here alone..

How did I get here? What is the reason I'm existing in the maze of black? Why does everyone else get to experience joy when I have to float here?

The infinite darkness surrounds me.

I can sense I'm slowly becoming forgotten, if not already.

Is this the true world?

Was I destined to be here?

Maybe this is where I'm meant to be..

Is this the true reality? Or my reality?

Is it possible this is the world of my creation? Can I create whatever I please and escape this wretched place?

I must try..

I emerge from the ball I've put myself in for as long as I can remember. I close my eyes and think of an item. A knife. I open them once more, and it's directly in front of me. Everything is black, but a white outline.

I pick it up. My hand shakes as I grip it. It's so good to hold something that isn't myself.

I know it works, this is the world of my imagination. All my wildest thoughts can come to reality.

I know what I must do next, what I've been longing to do for ages.

I close my eyes...

I think of an exit...

I open my eyes...

There it is.

Right in front of me.

A door, and once again, all of it is black, except for the white outline. I stare at the doorknob. Finally, an end to it all.

I gently open the door...

I close my eyes and step through..

I open my eyes. It's the real world. There's multiple colors, more than the endless void of black I was trapped in for all my life. The crescent moon and the stars make the night sky glow. The grass is wet and cold, I've never felt anything like it before.

I look down at the knife in my hand, it's no longer black and white. The handle is dark gray and the blade has a silver glow. It's mesmerizing, addicting almost.

I turn around to the door I've exited my past world from. But it's no longer there. The door that was once behind me moments ago, the door that would lead me back towards my torture, it disappeared and I can only see the woods behind it. I close my eyes, think of the entry back to the void, and I open them. Nothing happened. I've made it to the living world, and there's no going back.

I turn around facing forwards once more, I hear the sound of walking. It's a group wearing gloves and earpieces. What have I missed?

I have the urge to become one of them, I must replace one. I grip the knife tighter and slowly trail after the group, trying to remain unnoticed.

Soon enough, someone else will walk in my shoes, they'll have to suffer what I suffered..