That night, Shawn followed his usual routine. After finishing his meal, he sat cross-legged on the bed and entered meditation. The room was quiet and calm, with nothing unusual occurring.
At least, that was what he thought.
"Where am I?"
A faint voice reached his ears, breaking his concentration immediately.
His eyes opened, and he frowned. The voice had been soft enough that he almost thought he imagined it.
Silence followed, and he sat there for a few moments before closing his eyes to resume his meditation.
A few breaths later, the voice returned.
"Somebody help me."
This time, Shawn heard it clearly. His eyes snapped open once more as he listened, but the room remained completely silent.
He scratched his head.
"Great. Now I'm hearing voices."
The stress was finally getting to him; that was the only explanation. After everything that had happened recently, hallucinations felt entirely reasonable.
He ignored the sound and resumed meditating.
A minute later, the voice spoke again, sounding frightened.
"It's dark in here. Please... someone save me."
Shawn's brows furrowed. His hearing had improved significantly over the past few days, but he still couldn't determine the origin of the sound.
The worst possibility immediately entered his mind.
Did Morgan kidnap another child? And stole their sight like he did for him.
The thought sounded ridiculous, but this was Morgan. Nothing about that man was normal.
Does this man eat eyes for breakfast or what the hell is going on?
Shawn shook his head.
It wasn't his problem. Whoever it was could wait until morning since he had enough problems already.
"Please help me," the voice returned, much closer this time.
Shawn sat upright.
The distance felt wrong, sounding almost as if it were inside the room itself.
Or perhaps...
No, that would be ridiculous.
His expression darkened.
"Kish?"
Silence followed the call.
"Kish, I know it's you. Stop messing around."
Nothing happened.
No laughter, footsteps, or smug response came from the dark.
Minutes passed while the room remained completely still, and Shawn's confidence began to waver.
Slowly, he stood up.
The voice came again.
"Is anyone there?"
This time, Shawn decided to investigate.
He searched the room, checking the bookshelf, the window, the bathroom, and even beneath the bed. He found nothing, no hidden child, no prankster, and no mysterious intruder.
Eventually, he sat back down on the edge of the mattress, his frown deepening.
"Am I actually going insane?"
The pressure of the past few weeks had been ridiculous: death, new life, clan getting destroyed, loosing both parents, becoming blind, Morgan kidnapping him.
Maybe his brain had finally given up.
The voice returned, softer than before.
"Please help me."
Shawn sighed.
"I would love to help, but I can't even find you."
Silence answered him for several seconds before another thought entered his mind.
I definitely need therapy after escaping this place.
A twelve-year-old boy shouldn't be dealing with any of this.
Maybe I'll write a book about it after I get back to my world.
Jean would probably enjoy reading it.
The idea almost made him laugh, but then the voice spoke again, sounding excited and relieved.
"You're there."
Shawn froze as his heartbeat quickened.
"Where are you?" he asked quietly.
For the first time, the voice answered immediately.
"...Inside."
Shawn blinked.
"Inside where?"
A pause followed, and then the voice replied,
"Inside you."
Every hair on Shawn's body stood up.
For a moment, he nearly ran out of the room to start screaming for Morgan.
He had to get some medics to do a serious check up on him.
Inside him?
What kind of answer was that?
"Are you messing with me?" Shawn asked, but no response came.
The room returned to silence once more.
Minutes passed without incident, and eventually, Shawn rubbed his forehead.
Maybe he really was losing his mind; that explanation still sounded more believable than a voice living inside his body.
With a tired sigh, he closed his eyes and returned to meditation.
The moment he did, everything changed.
A strange scene appeared within his mind, causing him to freeze.
He had been blind for weeks, yet somehow, he was seeing something.
A faint violet glow floated within endless darkness.
It was tiny, weak, and fragile, resembling a small humanoid figure barely larger than a person's hand.
The figure seemed to notice him immediately and tried to move, but golden chains wrapped around its body tightened the moment it struggled.
The tiny figure cried out,
"Ouch!"
Its voice matched the one Shawn had been hearing.
"It's you," Shawn whispered.
The figure looked toward him, its excitement immediate.
"I found someone!"
It acted as though it had been trapped alone for a very long time.
"Who are you?" Shawn asked.
The tiny figure paused, then lowered its head.
"I don't know."
The response caught him off guard.
"You don't know?"
The figure shook its head.
"I don't remember."
It sounded genuinely confused, like a child waking from a nightmare.
The chains shifted again, making the figure wince.
"They hurt."
Shawn stared silently.
The situation was absurd, a mysterious violet figure, golden chains, and a voice inside his mind.
None of it made sense, but this world rarely did. People controlled elements, teleported, and destroyed mountains, so perhaps this wasn't the strangest thing he would encounter.
The tiny figure tugged weakly against the restraints once more, stopping the moment they tightened.
Shawn frowned.
For some reason, seeing it struggle made him uncomfortable.
It wasn't because he understood what it was, but because it looked trapped, alone, and confused, just like him.
His gaze shifted beyond the figure to where darkness stretched endlessly in every direction.
There were no walls, floors, or ceilings; only darkness and the chains remained.
A strange feeling of confusion, curiosity, and unease settled in his chest.
He looked back at the violet figure, then at the endless darkness surrounding it.
"Just where the hell is this place?"