Chapter 3: I Think This Is The End
A few meters away, I spotted a transparent ring floating among the rubble of buildings. It wasn't very large, only about the height of an adult man. I knew the nature of this large circular ring; it was one of those strange holes. But what caught my attention was that it didn't resemble the rest of the vortices. You might wonder, how?
It had a distinctive color in my view. This color was almost invisible; I couldn't spot it until I focused in its direction and noticed some ripples in the air.
I glanced at it once, then at the rest of the other holes. But I didn't spot any hole identical to it. I doubted at first, as I saw hundreds of holes opening now, and dozens of them had the same color. Even if they had a different color gradient, they were a branch of the original color.
I didn't believe this, and my curiosity led me to search all over the city, thinking that perhaps these similar holes had a more transparent color that couldn't be noticed beyond a certain distance.
I set off and roamed the destroyed city back and forth, but I didn't find anything. Only blood and ashes, which were apparently the ashes of the dead. It was a scene you couldn't imagine. How these people were running, aiming to survive or protect their children and families from death, but the result was them all turning into dust that could scatter from a mere puff of wind.
A pang hit my heart, but I didn't sympathize with these people. I had no relationship with them, so I didn't care about their death or life. I only cared about my family. But do I have a family?
I shook my head, rejecting the idea and remembering the scene of the land my house was built on. I was certain that everything was real and that my house and my family had gone somewhere and that they would be okay.
I kept roaming the city and inspecting every corner, but I didn't find anything, so my suspicions were confirmed.
I turned around, heading back to where I found the distinctive transparent hole.
When I was about a meter away from the transparent hole, I felt a sense of familiarity towards it. I didn't know where this feeling came from. I felt as if I were returning home. I merged with this feeling, took a step forward, raised my hand, and inserted it into the hole. I didn't feel anything, as if I had put my hand in the air; it was a normal thing.
After reassuring myself that there was no danger, I took my first step towards it and entered, with all my caution.
Upon entering, I felt some slight dizziness along with some blurriness in my eyes. When my vision fully returned, I saw a shocking scene.
...
There was nothing. Just bright white space.
At first, I couldn't see anything due to the intense brightness, but when my eyes adjusted to it, I saw the surrounding area glowing white. I felt as if I were inside clouds.
I didn't linger in my astonishment; I started moving in any direction, as all directions seemed identical.
I advanced, contemplating this bright scene and thinking.
"Am I really still alive?"
I wondered to myself about this strange matter, as this scene was unfamiliar in normal life. It resembled a dream, or more accurately, a heavenly world. It resembled many fantastical stories about heaven and paradise and so on. But the true paradise to reach requires an individual to pass several tests and a judgment regarding all their actions throughout their entire life.
I dismissed this idea, thinking of other suggestions, and continued walking in a straight path.
I continued walking for a long distance until I no longer knew how long I had been walking. When I tried to look at the watch on my wrist, I found it was broken. And even when I wanted to return to the place I entered from, I didn't even know the specific location, because all places were identical.
I didn't pay this any mind and continued advancing forward. It wasn't important if I found a way out, nor did it matter if I stayed here and died from hunger, exhaustion, or even went insane because of this strange place. In both cases, I would die, either because of this place or because of what would soon happen outside. So, I continued striving forward without hesitation.
I continued walking in a straight line for a long time. I didn't know how long, but I started having difficulty walking due to exhaustion. I would even sit and rest on the ground for a while, then continue advancing.
I didn't know how far I had gone, but I was sure it compared to hundreds of kilometers. Yes, hundreds... I could no longer endure. I had been walking for a time I couldn't remember, without food or a drop of water. I even felt that my blood itself had evaporated from my veins.
I collapsed to the ground from exhaustion, looking at the sky with a desperate face. My face was frighteningly pale, as if life had seeped out of it drop by drop. My skin was stretched over my bones, revealing every detail of my face, which had dried up like a thirsty land. My cheeks were sunken, and the bones of my jaw were sharply protruding; even the bone of my nose looked as if carved from the edge of a stone. My wide eyes glimmered with a faint light, not of hope, but the remnants of a man staring at the sky with one question for which he found no answer. Beneath my eyes were dark shadows, as if the remnants of sleepless nights or the heavy mark of hunger and isolation. My lips were cracked and dry, no sound coming from them, only a shattered sigh inside me. I looked at the sky in silence, not calling for rescue, but as if bidding it farewell...
At that moment, I wasn't thinking of survival. I was searching for meaning, for a reason, for a thread connecting me to what remained of myself.
"I think this is the end."
A sigh escaped within me as I thought these words, until something I had initially expected happened, but it was delayed until now.