"Nowhere… you are nowhere."
That was her answer. Just like that, it was very sharp, cold and simple. And honestly, it didn't make Drex feel any better. It just made his chest sink deeper, if he had one.
Nowhere? What the hell does that even mean? He wasn't sure if he should laugh or be scared.
He stayed quiet for a bit, his thoughts scrambling all over the place, then finally he asked, "Then why am I here"
She paused, like she was letting his question hang in the air to intimidate him or something. Then her voice came again, it was calm this time, "You are here because I bought you".
Drex first reaction was just total confusion, his mind tried to process it - brought him?. He didn't even have a body anymore, he doesn't even know what "here" was. "You brought me…. Why?" He asked.
This time she didn't hesitate to answer him, "Because I want to offer you something."
He blinked, or well, he thought he blinked. "Offer me something? Lady, I'm already dead. What else is there to offer me?" His voice came out tired and sarcastic. But there was still a little bit of hope tucked inside the tiredness, even though he didn't wanna admit it.
That's when he heard it, the cold laugh. It wasn't loud or crazy, just sharp and echoing inside his head, like she knew something he didn't. "I want to offer you another life. In another world. In return for my gift, you will help me when the time comes."
Her words hit him hard. Another life? A whole other world? Drex's first thought was that she was messing with him. His second thought was… if she wasn't messing with him, then she was way, way more powerful than anything he'd ever dealt with.
He tried to keep calm, but his voice cracked up a little, "If what you're saying is true, then you must some kind of powerful being."
There was this little clicking sound, like she clicked her tongue against her teeth. Then she said simply, "Yes."
He frowned in the dark. "Then why the hell would you need my help? If you're so powerful, what could I possibly do for you?"
This time there was silence. Just empty nothing. Drex started to think maybe she left, or maybe she didn't like the question. Then finally she spoke again, colder than before. "You will know when the time comes."
That was it. No explanation, no details. Just that.
"Alright," Drex muttered under his breath, "that's not suspicious at all."
Then her voice came again, sharper this time, "So. Will you accept the contract?"
Drex froze. His mind went blank for a second. A "contract"? She was literally asking him to sign his soul or something, that's what it sounded like.
He didn't answer right away. He let the silence stretch on and on, just thinking. Thinking about everything he'd lost, everything he'd gone through. His stomach twisted, even though technically he didn't even have one anymore.
Finally, he let out the words. "No."
The reaction was instant. Her voice snapped, sharp, annoyed, almost like it cracked for the first time, "Huh? What do you mean, no?"
"I mean no," Drex repeated, louder this time. "No. The life I lived back on Earth was nothing. It was a low life, a shit life. We were always hiding, always running, scraping whatever scraps we could find to survive. We had to steal, we had to beg, we had to fight. Every single day felt like death was right behind us."
He stopped for a second, breathing heavy, then his voice softened. "The only reason I kept going was because of my family. They were the only thing keeping me alive. My mom, Tony, my little brothers… Vex and Vox. Without them I wouldn't have lasted this long."
He felt the weight of his words came crushing down on him. He let out something between a laugh and a sob. "And now they're gone. I've lost them. All of them."
She was silent.
She didn't say anything.
She just waited.
He continued, his voice shaky but firm, "Now you're telling me to start over? In another world? Another life? It sounds tempting, yeah. Who wouldn't want a second chance? But I don't have anything left to live for. Nothing. You're too late."
The moment he said those words he felt the void around him increase in pressure. He could almost feel her irritation. She still didn't speak but Drex could tell that she wasn't expecting that answer that he gave her. M
He shook his head in the darkness, even if no one could see it. "So no. I don't want it. I don't need it. Let me just… stay gone."
And that…. Was his answer.