So this… is the closest I'll ever get to death. The thought carried a bitter frustration as the man raised his hands to eye level, straining to see them. The radiance pouring from his body was so intense it drowned out all detail, a blinding cascade of light that swallowed the outlines of his fingers.
The decay has stopped. That means there's nothing left now… He closed his eyes, the infinite void of space around him muffling any sound, any motion. His body floated weightlessly in an endless black expanse, broken only by the faint glow he emitted. It's been a long journey. As lonely as it was, I wouldn't change a thing. His memories drifted to distant times—cherished faces, laughter long faded, promises left unkept. In the end, I suppose I just wished there was something on the other side… even if Icould never cross over. A faint, bittersweet smile curved his lips. I think, deep down, I... I really wanted God to exist.
The dark strands of his hair swayed gently with the subtle motion of his body. He could neither live nor die—only exist, trapped in a limbo he had long accepted. Closing his eyes, he retreated into a mental world where illusions of hope still flickered, a stark contrast to the lifeless void surrounding him.
After an unknowable stretch of time, a faint crack appeared near his body, a silent fracture in the fabric of space itself. A slender white rift began to spread through the black void, like glass splintering in slow motion. The man, lost in his thoughts, remained oblivious, eyes shut tight.
The white fractures began to collapse, fragments of the void falling like shards of a shattered mirror. Slowly, they gathered, moving erratically as if seeking a form of their own. Gradually, they coalesced into a humanoid silhouette—slender, small, almost childlike, crafted from pure white light. The creature approached the man silently, unaffected by the heavy energy radiating from him. Its movements were fluid, otherworldly, as if it belonged to another plane.
It studied him with a cold curiosity, extending a hand as if to touch him, only to hesitate. Its form shifted, its features molding to faintly resemble his own. Then, with deliberate precision, it reached toward the center of his chest. Its fingers passed through his skin, intangible, and the man's radiant aura began to contract, drawn inward as if consumed by his own body.
Slowly, the creature withdrew an object—a golden icosahedron, pulsing with a light so vivid it seemed to cradle an entire universe within. The moment it was removed, the man's energy vanished, snuffed out like a flame in the wind. His eyes snapped open, agony searing through him. The vacuum of space silenced his screams, but the bulging veins in his face and body, the skin tearing and knitting itself back together in a frenzied cycle, betrayed his torment. His bloodshot eyes stared into the void, wild with desperation.
The white creature, unmoved by his suffering, held the golden icosahedron between its hands, the object hovering as it gazed at it with an almost reverent focus. Abruptly, with a precise gesture, it split the object into five smaller icosahedrons, each glowing with the same fierce intensity. They floated above its hands, dancing in a silent rhythm.
The man clenched his teeth, his body struggling to adapt to the sudden shift, veins still throbbing with colossal effort. The creature took one of the smaller spheres and pressed it against his chest. It sank in smoothly, absorbed into his core, and his body relaxed instantly, eyes fluttering shut as he lost consciousness.
The creature turned its attention to the remaining four icosahedrons, manipulating them with uncanny precision. It singled one out and began to shape it, stretching it repeatedly with fluid motions, as if weaving something new. Reaching to the side, it plucked a sliver from the white fracture in space and wove it into its creation. The dark fragment was swiftly absorbed, melding into the form it meticulously crafted.
Time passed, immeasurable in the void. The man's body gradually adjusted to the strain, though his eyelids felt like lead. With a monumental effort, he cracked them open, his blurred vision catching a white figure before him. Behind it, two other indistinct shapes loomed, but his foggy mind couldn't decipher them. The creature raised an arm, holding something he couldn't make out. Suddenly, a sharp sound—like glass shattering—pierced the silence of the vacuum, startling him. A blinding flash consumed his vision, followed by an unimaginable heat that enveloped his body. The pain overwhelmed him, and he blacked out, never glimpsing what had truly happened.