Alas, Elias had regained consciousness. But he couldn't open his eyes—immense pain flooded every part of his body. It was agonizing, and in just a few seconds, he lost consciousness again.
The next time he came to, he finally mustered enough strength to open his eyes. Elias blinked.
To describe his situation: he was without any of his senses. No sound, no touch, no smell, no taste, no vision. It was bizarre, because the only tangible thing left to him seemed to be his thoughts. Strange—and not the good kind.
After what appeared to be an eternity, Elias found himself… naked. Not in the sense that he had no clothes, but naked in the way something—or someone—was looking at him. At his very soul. Something ominous.
Elias blinked again. He was whole. Complete. Full. Original. A very weird thing for him to describe—like in the blackstone hallway where he had found himself in that abyss from which this story started. It was bizarre.
But he was not alone this time.
He turned his gaze and saw an insignificant speck in his view. How should he describe it? Elias mused. It felt like the imperfect scraps left behind after an artist makes his masterpiece—as if someone had taken the bits and scraps and tried to make a pathetic copy of that art piece.
Elias moved forward toward the speck, trying to grasp it in his palms. And as he did so…
Time before Elias regained his consciousness
So'esz placed the body of Elias on an altar made of crystallized aether formulae. He injected special nanite particles into the body so they could stimulate every part of his mind all at once. Of course, it would not kill him—when all parts of the brain were simultaneously active alongside the aether formulae, it would put Elias in an interstice between the threads and the aether. Some say the interstice is itself a realm separate from both. Alas, So'esz had not reached that level of understanding in his mastery of either.
So'esz stepped back and began the process. As the nanites stimulated Elias's consciousness, the aether formulae worked to stabilize it.
So'esz was still unsure what he should do. In the end, he decided to continue with the ritual. He moved toward the altar, hoping—and calculating—his success, for the sake of both pragmatism and assurance.
…So'esz screamed. Not his body, of course, but his existence. Oh, how badly he had been tricked into deceit by thi—this monstrosity. In that moment he wanted to run away, to kill himself again and again.
Anything would be better than being near that…
Poor So'esz. When he tried to seek the so-called connection to the aether and the threads of Elias—or to get a clue about who made Elias—he had stepped upon something horrifying.
The truth is, neither the existence of Elias nor So'esz was at an interstice between the threads and the aether. Rather, they were at an abyss in which the very existence of Elias was trapped. The body—the flesh, the meat—in So'esz's possession was just a vessel containing the bare scraps of Elias's existence.
The funny thing, though, is that not even Elias may know what is happening to him. Not because he doesn't know, but ************* ******************* ******
Elias looked at the speck in his palm. Before he himself realized it, he had consumed the existence called So'esz.
Ahhh—what happened? Blergh! Hngh… hgh. Khurgh. Khh-hah.
What happened? Where am I? Elias thought as he continued to vomit. His body convulsed and ached; his mind felt on fire. Barely could he open his eyes.
As he breathed, knowledge came to him with excruciating pain. Ahhhhh—stop it! Stop it!
Amid the screaming, blood started flowing from his ears and eyes. Unbeknownst to Elias, this was the knowledge of the existence once called So'esz: his childhood, his dreams, his most valuable experiences—all portrayed in front of him like movie clips. It was as if he had experienced a very tiny but significant part of So'esz. In many ways, a part of So'esz had now become part of Elias.
However, even though he had witnessed an alien being's failings and desires, it didn't affect Elias much. The existence once called So'esz could only amount to that much—nothing superficially profound. The memories and knowledge Elias had gained were vast and intricate, yet they were also like a boring story lacking substance.
It was very weird for Elias. It felt like having the extensive knowledge of something despite never truly knowing it—like an itch
you feel but can't find.
Finally, it all stopped.
Elias stood up.
Huff… I… wanna go back home.
Elias finally broke down. Though tears didn't fall, all that remained were remnant and superficial emotions of sorrow, hate, anger.
After what seemed like an eternity, Elias moved.
Let's get out of here.
From the memories he had received from So'esz, he understood he was in a manifold space inside his spaceship. This place reacts to a person's desire, Elias thought as he clutched his head. Information regarding the ship appeared in his mind.
Apparently, this thing was just a hyperdimensional swarm of interphasing nanites—
or whatever that meant. It reacts to a being's thoughts.
Elias imagined himself being outside of this place.
In the next moment, he was standing in the same crystal labyrinth. As he looked around, he saw a distorting white sphere behind him.