Darkness surrounds, permeating existence with absence. At least it seems that way. Nothingness doesn't disappear—it fades, and as it fades, the subtlety of existence pulls the conscious back from oblivion. First, a shimmer of a thought, quick as an ember, disappears. But as the fade continues, cold invades, then pain. This discomfort feeds the shimmer. Just as you think another ember is wasted, it blazes—and then the eyes open.
Breath catching, "Where am I?" Ben Thompson had been strolling through a park when he felt a searing pain in his back. Turning and seeing the angry, horrified face of a young man staring back at him, all he could ask was, "Why?" All he got was, "Just die already, old man." Dropping to his knees, his heart burned with hate. It was hot enough to burn the world if only he had something to channel it into. They would grovel at his feet. Meanwhile, his mind felt cold indifference. This was the way of the world: any moment, anyone could be killed. Even the powerful and rich could die just as easily as him, given the right chance to a creature in human skin. Nothing could be done.
Slipping from memory, Ben looked around. He was on the deck of a large wooden ship. As interested as he was in that, his heart skipped a beat when he looked up. Darkness so thick it was suffocating filled the sky, and in the center was a blue marble with a red scar running end to end. He stood, not taking his eyes off the blue star. He felt his ears move and hit his chest. Looking down, he saw his earlobes and immediately knew he needed a mirror.
Walking towards a door of the ship, he noticed the abundance of gold—it seemed to be inlaid in every plank of wood. As he crossed the threshold into the dark, stale air of the ship, he didn't have to travel far to find a restroom and a mirror. Being so dark, he could barely make anything out, but out of the corner of his mind, he spotted what he thought was a light switch. When he reached for it, a large bolt flew between his hand and the switch. Instinctively, he jumped, expecting a painful shock, but only felt a little warmth.
With the light on, he went to the mirror—and what he saw shocked him, far worse than the switch. It all fell into place: the ship, the planet above with the red scar, the earlobes, gold everywhere, and the warmth instead of pain. Looking back at him was none other than Enel, his eyes bursting from their sockets and jaw dropping to the floor.