Lock and Key

The Mind's Poison

Simon had dreamed about the Void. This hadn't been uncommon before he learned about the Void's true nature. When he still believed it's lies Simon had dreamed of the Void often. Generally those dreams consisted of him and the Void spending time together, being close, being best friends. This was the first time he'd dreamed of the Void since it's betrayal however and Simon was deeply displeased with the contents of the dream. He and the Void had been standing next to each other in the middle of a bridge. On one side of the bridge there was safety, light. On the other a dark endless abyss. The Void had walked towards the abyss, naturally drawn to it. He looked towards the light naturally and began moving towards safety. The Void had grabbed him, had begged him to please follow it. The Void had promised that this was the right way even if it was difficult to see. He'd listened, trusted the Void, walked towards the abyss with it. Simon had woken up before he'd seen the conclusion of the dream and he was thankful for it. The Void was nothing, insignificant and the fact that his subconscious seemed to be trying to tell him otherwise infuriated him. The implication that he should have listened to the Void despite his own self-interest, the implication that had the dream continued the Void would have been proven right was something he knew to be false. Long gone were the days where he would obsess over earning the Void's favor, over being close to the Void. He had everything he could ever want, power, infamy, the highest number besides that stooge of the false conductor. So why did his mind torment him with dreams of following the Void once again? That dream had been a rough start to Simon's day and as it went on it was clear that today would be one of his bad days. Thoughts of the dream, it's meaning, it's conclusion, filled his mind. Thoughts of the Void consumed him and the day went by in a veritable haze as he desperately tried to rationalize his dream with his new reality. By the middle of the day what had to be done was clear. Simon ascended the escalator to make an announcement to the Apex children. "Apex, I will be consulting with the Void today. Do not disturb me." he announced. Below him countless children murmured.

"Consulting with the Void? Is Simon going to talk to her? Is Grace still evil?" they whispered. If Simon had not been so wrapped up with the fears concerning the Void's infection of his dreams he might have scolded their children for their use of the Void's false name, but there were far more pressing matters. Simon would be having a conversation with the Void, not simply attempting to break it. Simon believed that this would be far more difficult.

"You are all dismissed." Simon announced before descending the escalator and walking to the Void's quarters. By this point he was sure the Void had something to do with his dream. It wasn't possible that despite achieving his goals his own mind would still long for a relationship with the Void similar to the one he'd had before. The only explanation was that somehow the Void had infected him, perhaps in an attempt to weaken him and use this weakness to secure its own escape. He wouldn't allow that, he'd make the Void admit to it's crimes and pay for them. He burst into the Void's prison with a purpose in mind. "What have you done, Void?" he asked seriously. The Void looked up at him tired.

"What are you talking about?" it asked him with no cynicism in it's voice. This was clearly one of the Void's tricks, it had to be.

"You infected my dreams with your presence, created a scenario in which I followed you. How and why Void?" he demanded. The Void stared at him as if he was utter ludacris.

"Simon, are you high? I infected your dreams? What the fuck does that even mean? I'm a person Simon-" he cut off the Void lies.

"Don't call me Simon. And you are a Void-" the Void cut him off this time.

"No. I'm not. Void's aren't real, that's a thing you made up. Did you forget that Simon? Did you forget that you literally had to look in a book and pick a word and decide what it meant and assign me that term? There are no Voids, you invented them to make yourself feel better." the Void said to him. That was a lie, it had to be, yes Simon had coined the term but that didn't change her it's Void status.