Prologue

I stood on a floating island, watching the earth crumble away into a bottomless void. The sky resembled an infinite expanse, with stars shining faintly in all directions, but the purple swirls of the sky suffocated any light around me.

Spirals converged on a distant building, and anything not swallowed by the void orbited around - something was there, something important.

A road branched from my island, leading directly to the building, but the path looked treacherous. Streetlights, cars, chunks of pavement, and rocks floated roughly in their original places, as if someone had once walked this road but didn’t want anyone to follow.

Yet, I felt compelled to walk this path. This was the way forward.

As I took my first step, the sound of a deep, resonant bell stopped me.

BONG. BONG. BONG.

A heavy pressure settled over me, weighing on my soul. I sensed that if I took even one step closer to the building, its aura would crush me.

But it felt more like a warning than a threat. If I pressed forward alone, I would be overcome with great pain.

So, I looked behind me for the first time. Parts of the island lit up like a theatrical play. I could see an estate, a café, and a park. The ringing of bell that I had felt was a threat was instead a sign that unless I visited these places, I would not be ready to travel that road.

When I looked at each of these places, something pained me. I felt like I wanted to jump off and simply give in. Throwing myself into the void seemed a lot easier than confronting the past. Things happened that I couldn’t explain, so I locked them away in my mind, my heart… my soul.

I knew there were only two options: get crushed by the weight of pressing on that road alone or relive the darkest moments of my life.

Both pretty shitty options in my opinion.

Of course, there was the third option, the easy way out…

This is just a dream. It had to be… right! Any moment, this absolutely hellish nightmare would end, and I would wake back up in the real world.

How naive I was.

My hesitation cost me time—something I didn’t have. The ground tore in half like a sheet of paper, leaving me to fall endlessly into the void.

The third it is, I guess.