Shhhh.
The moon hung faintly over the city, veiled behind heavy rainfall. The streets glistened with puddles, neon signs flickered, and the night reeked of silence.
Then...
"Get the fuck outta here!"
A thick voice yelled through the storm, just before a boy was kicked from the doors of a bar. He crashed into the wet pavement, splashing rainwater across his already-soaked clothes.
"Hey! I said I'm gonna pay!" the boy shouted, reaching out toward the huge man at the doorway.
"Tch. You bastard! Isn't that what you always say?" The man clicked his tongue and slammed the door with a loud bang, sealing the warmth behind it.
Shhhhhh...
The boy stayed there, motionless, staring blankly at the shut door. Rain trickled down his face, soaking his black hair, plastering it to his skin. His clothes clung to him like rags.
After a long silence, he stood up with a slow, aching breath.
"Arrgh..."
His name was Neil Carter, and he was seventeen. Every single day of his life had always been a curse.
No parents since the age of two. No family. No future. Just fists, insults, alleyways, and empty nights.
Beaten. Mocked. Thrown out of bars like trash.
It wasn't special. It was routine.
Now, he walked alone through the pouring rain, head bowed in shame, footsteps heavy.
He had no destination, and no purpose.
"What kind of life is this...?" he whispered.
"Why does it always have to be me?"
He staggered along the sidewalk, boots splashing through cold water.
"Even the dead are better off than I am..."
He raised his head to the sky, as the rain poured freely on his face.
"Why am I even alive? What's the whole point of my life?" He muttered.
Then...
Tap. Tap.
Footsteps were drawing closer.
Neil's gaze shifted downwards, and he saw it. Opposite him stood someone.
"Huh?" Neil muttered, staggering backwards, as his eyes widened.
He was staring at a girl, dressed in a white kimono, but that wasn't the strange thing about her.
The strange thing were the girl's eyes.
They were abysses of darkness. Looking into it made Neil feel like he was getting sucked into a void.
"Wh-who the hell are you?!" Neil stammered, trying to avoid eye contact.
Then, the girl's lips parted, as she spoke.
"V-Vox Nihilia."
"Huh?" Neil wasn't sure he heard that right.
"Vox Nihilia," the girl repeated.
"Wh-what the hell is she saying?" Neil thought, his heart thudding heavily.
"She's insane, I better get out of here," he added, turning to leave.
But that's when he noticed it.
He couldn't move. His legs weren't answering. His head was spinning, and the sounds of the rain slowly faded into the background, while the girl's voice took the stage.
"Wh-what the hell is happening?" Neil muttered, eyes widening.
"Vox Nihilia."
"I-is this her doing?" Neil finally realized, raising his gaze to her.
Her hands were stretched at him.
"Vox Nihilia." She repeated again.
"Wait, how's she doing all of this. Kidnappers have been really popular these days. Wait, how can a small girl like her be a kidnapper?" Neil started asking himself questions that had no answers.
"Vox Nihilia!" Her voice grew louder.
"Or wait...does she want me to repeat the words she's saying?" Neil thought, eyes widening.
"Vox Nihilia!" The girl said again.
"Gulp," Neil's gaze narrowed. "I'll try that."
"Vox...Vox Nihilia!" Neil said, and as he did...
He suddenly heard it.
Blaaaaap!!
A horn. It was loud and close.
Neil's head snapped up, just in time to be blinded by a pair of headlights blazing toward him.
"Wh-what the hell..."
And that's when he realized...
He was in the middle of the road.
And the truck was already there.
"Get out of the way!!" someone in the truck screamed.
But his body was too slow. He tried to run, but it was already too late.
BAM!!
The truck connected. Neil's body flew through the air, crashing onto the roadside with a wet thud.
He opened his eyes faintly, vision flickering. The moon looked down at him indifferently.
Rain showered onto his face.
His lips parted, trembling.
"I-Is this it...? The end?"
Then, in his near-death, he noticed it.
The girl. She was standing next to him, mothering the same words:
"Vox Nihilia."
"Fuck it!" Neil bit his lower lip. "Maybe I shouldn't have said it earlier," he whispered, breathing ragged.
"However...at least I won't have to live in this useless world."
His chest rose once. Then stopped.
"The moon... looks beautiful..."
he whispered.
And just like that, the city swallowed him back into silence.
Only the gentle pattering of rain, and the words of the little girl remained:
"Vox... Nihilia."
***
Everything was dark.
A space without sound. Without movement. Without life.
And standing in the middle of that void… was Neil Carter.
The same Neil Carter who died just seconds ago.
He glanced around, eyes wide. But there was nothing. Just darkness stretching endlessly in all directions.
"Didn't I just die...? How am I still... here? Where even is here?"
He spun around, panic slowly rising.
Then suddenly, a bright blinding light shone all over the place.
...
"Arrgh, arrgh, arrgh," Neil jolted awake, eyes widened, as his heart thudded violently.
"Yo," a voice suddenly boomed from behind him.
"Eeehh!!" Neil screamed, as he jumped up.
He turned, only to see a boy who was smiling.
Then, he spoke again.
"Welcome back, Satoru Gojo."
***
T. B. C.