Before The Stars Disappear [mxm]

𝐈 - 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐬

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The overwhelming sensation of falling, waiting for the pain to hit me, but it never came. Instead, my visions faded into a deep void. There's no wind, no sound, not even the sensation of my own body. I shifted my eyes, trying to catch a glimpse of anything. I tried to move, but I couldn't feel my own limbs. It's as if my entire being has dissolved into the darkness.

Am I dead?  As I adjust myself to the darkness, the thought resides inside my mind. The silence is unbearable, yet it's the only thing I can feel now.

Is this what death feels like?

My mind wandered, away from the world I once knew. I tried to grasp at the memories, to remind myself of who I was. The flashing lights of the stage, the thrum of the music, the adoration in the eyes of my fans. Daniel's laughter, his smile, the warmth we used to share.

Am I fading away?  I pondered, my consciousness beginning to drift as if it were being pulled by something unseen. The sensation is surreal as I feel like I'm being carried by a huge current into the unknown. Is this it?  I stared back into the void. Though no sound ever came from my lips. I couldn't even hear my voice, as if the universe had swallowed it whole. Time passed and slowly, my mind unravelled further. My emotions, my despair, my longing to be loved, and even my fears began to dissolve, to become one with the emptiness. The void isn't just around me, it's inside of me too, creeping into every corner of my thoughts. I can't tell if I'm still alive or if I've passed into something else.

Is this purgatory?  A place where I'll be neither here nor there, stuck between life and death and unable to move forward.

Am I going to stay like this forever? as a formless entity in the dark forgotten by the world above?

And then, just when I felt like I was on the verge of disappearing completely, I managed to hear something. A whisper, faint and distant like a soft echo in the dark abyss.

"Vesper..."

The voice sounds familiar, but I can't tell whose is it exactly. It sounds so warm, and gentle, yet it carries a strange power within me. I tried to focus, to hold on to that sound before it could slip away.

"Vesper..."

The voice calls out to my name once more and the darkness around me seems to pulse, a ripple spreading through the void. It pulls me and draws me towards it. I regained my senses back, like the first pins and needles after being numb for too long.

What's happening?

The numb feeling that had once consumed me began to shimmer, faint streaks of light piercing through the shadows. My thoughts raced, as I couldn't be sure if I was being saved or pulled into something far worse. The light grows brighter, and the same voice comes again, clearer this time. I can feel myself being pulled back. The void is slowly losing its grip on me.  Slowly, I pried my eyes open. The blurry world sharpened into focus, revealing the leather interior of a sleek, dark limo. The lights from outside flickered across the windows, casting strange shadows that danced across the dimly lit cabin. A voice, smooth yet edged with an unsettling power, shattered the silence.