An endless expanse of darkness stretched into the horizon, with neither beginning or end.

Pure darkness, nothing but darkness. Or at least, until now. In a place where only black had been before, a tiny wisp of light flickered into existence. It was faint and scarcely larger than a grain of sand, yet in this world where light had never reached, it was everything.

Slowly it drifted, lost within the void, gliding through the nothing. Its path or destination entirely unknown—much like the reason for its appearance.

Time passed like a stream in which no ripple could be seen; moving forward at an even pace. It didn't rise or fall, simply drifting on. A calm tranquility surrounded it, yet the small light refused to stop moving, as if it were heading towards something—something that lay ahead of itself.

Years turned to decades, and decades to centuries—the meaning of time long lost within the world.

Before long, an eon had passed since the light first appeared within the world. And with it, something that was also not of the darkness became visible in the distance. Neither light nor dark, but something else entirely.

It was everything to one, yet nothing to everything else. As if destined to be one, the light and the other were pulled towards each other. An otherworldly force tugged upon them, drawing them closer, their attraction growing stronger with every shrinking of the distance.

With abrupt finality they met, and the light was swallowed whole.

For an instant, a flash illuminated the void with blinding brightness, then faded swiftly, revealing a new orb of light where the two had merged. Larger than the two before, yet somehow...still incomplete.

It? The orb pulsed with newfound thoughts it could now comprehend.

Yes, it was an it, it realized. And with that realization, the orb swelled in size, its light flickering a little brighter. But something was still missing.

What else?

We—no—I?

Yes, that felt right. It was also an I.

The orb brightened and expanded once more. But…there was still more, something vital. Seconds passed and then...

...me?

Yes...me...but not just me, or I, or it.

All of them, together.

It is I, and I am it, and it is me.

The whole world shook as the orb more than tripled in size, its light growing so bright it threatened to devour the very darkness itself.

And then, something awoke within it, as the resulting orb of light pulsed with understanding, realizing that it was not just a simple light, but a consciousness. And it had a name: Kaden.

With that final revelation, Kaden—no longer just a simple orb of light—came to awareness in this world. As if he'd always existed.

Where am I....

Kaden strained to move, to reach out, but there was no arm, no flesh. Only a chilling void within him where warmth and life should be. Is this death? he wondered, though something told him this was no final rest

The darkness was all encompassing, like a shroud pulled over his senses. His thoughts came slowly, sluggishly, struggling to make sense of what had happened. His very soul trembled as hazy memories wormed their way to the front of his mind.

His memories were a jumbled mess, images flashing before him with no connection to one another. Focusing on them sent tremors through his soul and feelings of pain through his consciousness. He remembered the feeling of his body being ripped apart and the sensation of falling.

"What...what happened?" He asked, his voice distant and weak.

And then he saw it—a savage face, the blinding glint of shattered glass, the warmth of blood trickling down it. His father’s face twisted with hatred, veins bulging, eyes glinting like twin pits of malice. Pain exploded through his skull; the world went red, then black.

Awareness returned, but the darkness was different now—thick, suffocating. Witnessing his own death so vividly was traumatic, to say the least. The feeling as his body gave out from blood loss, his thoughts slowing to a crawl...death.

It should have come as a surprise, yet it didn’t. This was hardly the first time his father had gone off in a fury and beaten him within an inch of his life. This time he just went too far.

He almost wanted to laugh. At least the bastard would get what he deserved now. His only regret was that he couldn’t witness the pathetic drunk he called a father being dragged off to prison.

Finally free to purge the man from his mind, his thoughts returned to his current situation.

So what happens now? Death had felt strangely painless. He floated aimlessly within the mysterious space, thoughts ruminating. Was this supposed to be the afterlife? Was he going to stay here for all eternity?

Before he could consider further, a voice oozed into his mind, rough and jagged, like stones grinding together.

“I see you have finally awoken, child.”

The voice filled him with dread, resonating through him as if vibrating in the marrow he no longer possessed. "Who are you?" He managed to ask, though his words sounded distant, muted by terror. He wanted to look around and find the unknown threat, but here he was simply a wisp of nothing.

“Interesting question. Who do you think I am?” It sneered. The tone was twisted, laced with cruel amusement, savoring his confusion.

“G-God?” Kaden couldn’t stop the thought from forming. He didn’t truly believe that, already certain that if god was real, he definitely didn’t sound like this. Yet...who else could it possibly be?

A horrible laugh echoed, reverberating through him. “Not quite, child. Though I suppose I am like god to you now. I am the master of your soul.”

“My...soul?”

"Indeed, I paid quite a price for it,” the voice purred.

"W-What do you want with me?" Kaden once again felt the danger emanating from the unknown being.

"You will see, now come child, there is much for us to do."

Fear gripped him as he tried to piece together what that meant, but the answer came as he was wrenched forward, spiraling through the void, limbs flailing in a body that felt wrong—wrong because he had none. Then came light, so painfully bright that he longed to shield his eyes, but his arms refused to obey, like they no longer existed.

Slowly, a rough, craggy ceiling came into focus above him, and he found himself staring up into the hazy contours of a darkened cavern. He could feel something where his body should be, but it was a dim impression, as though he were separated from himself by an invisible barrier.

Frantically, he concentrated, straining to focus on that vague impression he had, forcibly seeking it out to grab hold of it. Something within him felt painful, but he couldn’t tell what. He’d never felt it before. It was like…a fire in his core, burning him. He fought through it, forcing himself to move, and after a painful effort, his arm lifted into view—a collection of stark, pale bones.

With a gasp, he lost control, and the bones clattered against the ground with a hollow sound. Dread surged as he realized they were part of him. His hand.

Desperate and unwilling to believe it, he tried again, and the skeletal hand moved in response. Moving it was so arduous, filling him with a deep exhaustion like it was burdening his very soul. Yet it followed his every command. Wherever he tried to direct his hand towards, those long thin bones appeared. Haunting him.

Forcing his skeletal fingers to clench, the joints scraped together in a grotesque symphony of rattles. His entire arm was nothing but bone, connected only by some invisible force.

Panic was welling up inside him, but his body felt strangely still, lifeless. Crackling echoed as he struggled to lift his head, his gaze traveling down to find his body. To his horror, countless bones were arranged in a skeleton-like figure, spreading from his toes all the way up to his neck.

He felt like he was going crazy, like his mind had shattered under all the stress. Surely it couldn’t be real. Surely his body couldn’t be made of just bones!

His entire body shook and a creepy rattle rang with it, disturbing him even more. A scream tore from his throat, a dry, ghastly rasp that echoed like a dying wind in the cavern.

"Fuck, I'm really going nuts here!" He yelled, but could not at all recognize the voice that came.

Anxiety filled him, and he began to feel dizzy. He struggled to breathe, but there were no lungs to fill, no pulse to steady. Grasping at his neck, his bony fingers closed around vertebrae instead of flesh. He felt his jawbone creak, clenching in horror. It felt like he had some obstruction in his throat, but there was no obstruction, he didn’t even have a throat.

How was he still alive? How hadn’t he passed out? His hands kept shaking and the rattling echoed deep into the caverns.

He had to get out of here, he had to wake up from this nightmare.

With conviction, he raised his rattling hands and brought them up to his face. His jaw opened as if he meant to take a deep breath, and he steeled himself before striking hard at his skeletal face, hoping to end this nightmare. To wake up.

Loud clatters of dense bone meeting bone rang out, but he was still not waking up. The pain felt strange, dulled almost, like a remote sensation that wasn’t quite real. On the other hand, this nightmare he found himself stuck in was beginning to feel very real.

He punched himself once more, putting in even more power in his frustration. He felt his jaw bone shift under the force of the punch and bit down, groaning from the pain that flared up inside his consciousness.

Exhausted, he lay back, arms sprawled out at his sides.

This was definitely real.

He stared up at the ceiling, the pain slowly dimming. How had this happened? And more importantly, why was he here? What had he done to deserve this?

Kaden felt a tightness in his ribs as the memory of the dark place clawed its way back to his mind. He was dead...and that...thing...had bought his soul. Had summoned him here.

It was all too much to take. Kaden tried to close his eyes—nothing happened—wishing he could just wake up. But he couldn’t. He had to face reality, he had to pull himself together.

With the same conviction he had used to punch himself, he took another look, hands surprisingly calm as he pushed against the rocky floor of the cavern, he staggered upright, his bones scraping against each other, the noise of it reverberating through the silence. His legs stumbled underneath him as he struggled to get used to the new sensations and movement. Nothing felt normal.

The rocks underneath his bony feet felt like something very far away. Something he was touching through another object, like a barrier between him and it.

The darkness around him seemed to go on forever, but he felt nothing but the vague sensation of hard stone beneath him as he tried to think of his next move.

Why had this happened? He had no idea…but he was alive now. He wasn't in his human body anymore, but he was undoubtedly alive.

Was there a way back? Was there a way to escape? He didn't know, and it did no good to dwell on it for now. It would just drive him mad. He knew too little of this world, too little of the strange being who had brought him here.

First things first, he needed to find a way out of the creepy cavern. If he could get outside, maybe he could find someone to help. Maybe there are normal people here.

Kaden took a moment and walked in a random direction. It was dark, but for some reason he was able to see quite well, the darkness felt natural to him.

With each step, the world felt further away, everything dulled by the dead sensation of bone against stone. Even his senses were shadows of what they had been. Touch was faint, as though reaching through a fog, and scent was a memory—a vague impression of damp stone and ancient dust, perhaps a little bit of stale air. Whether it was real or something his consciousness had made up, he couldn’t say.

Kaden walked for some time, searching for a sign that he was anywhere close to the surface. He had no clue where to go, but knew he couldn't sit around waiting forever.

He kept walking as the minutes passed, and then he heard it—the distant murmur of voices echoing through the cavern. Heart pounding—or it would have, if he had one—he called out. "Is someone there?"

The cavern turned silent as the voices stopped, the brimming hope inside of him dying just as quickly. No response came from the darkness ahead of him.

“Hello?” he called again, desperately praying for an answer...but there was only silence.

Far ahead at a bend in the cavern, a flicker of torchlight appeared, slowly growing brighter and brighter. Someone was coming.

Shadows flickered against the walls as three figures, clothed in armor that looked as though it belonged in another age, stepped into view. Two men and a woman. The two men each carried a bladed weapon, but the woman carried only the lit torch casting the orange glow upon the walls. They whispered fervently to each other.

Now seeing the source of the voices, Kaden paused, feeling hesitant. He hadn’t really thought this through. Those people were strange, he hadn’t seen anyone wearing clothes like those except at medieval fairs or in movies.

How would they react to his appearance? The weapons in their hands gave him an ominous feeling. Still, he needed help if he was going to figure all of this out.

"Hello! Do you hear me?" Kaden said as he watched them, not quite sure if he should approach them or not. He decided to walk slowly toward them.

"Who goes there?" One of the men yelled, "Can you light a torch so we can see you?"

"My name is Kaden! I don't have a torch, sorry." Kaden replied, the man’s suspicion strengthening that ominous feeling he carried, "I got lost down here, do you think you could help me get out?"

"Reveal yourself!" The same man yelled.

Kaden hesitated. Perhaps this was a bad idea? Definitely…but what choice did he have? He walked forward slowly, soon stepping into the peripheral light of the torch.

The group froze, staring in horror. “It’s a skeleton,” one of the men spat, drawing his weapon, the blade catching the firelight. “Did it…did it just speak?”

“I knew there was something off about that voice,” the woman sneered, her eyes cold and wary.

"You were right...good thing we were careful."

Having overheard them, Kaden replied, "Yes! I know this is going to sound weird, but I really don't know what happened! I just woke up here like this, but I’m human. Do you think you could help me?"

The three turned to each other, all puzzled. "Is it trying to trick us?"

"That must be it," the woman said, "Skeletons are usually quite intelligent, but this one even more so. I didn’t even know they could speak, it must be very high level."

"What should we do?"

"Wait for my spell, then charge." the woman said.

"Wait!” Kaden held up his bony hands, a futile attempt to show he was unarmed. “Hold on please! What do you mean, spell? I don't mean you any harm. I just want to get out of here." But his words seemed to unsettle them more.

"Don’t listen to it,” the woman whispered. “Even among monsters, I’ve never seen anything like this.”

“No—no, I’m not a monster!” he pleaded, stepping back, but his bones clinked hollowly with each movement, only seeming to confirm their fears.

“We can't let it get past us, just think of the havoc a beast like this could cause on the surface. Even if it kills us, we have to stop it here!" the woman commanded, her hand weaving a complex pattern in the air. Flames sparked to life, and a fireball blazed towards him, illuminating the cavern in a surge of light.

Kaden had barely a second to react before it engulfed him, flames licking through his hollow rib cage, scorching him with a burning that felt more in his soul than his bones.

He screamed, a hoarse, crackling sound as pain rippled through his very essence. Their swords slashed at him, each blow tearing through bone with ease, snapping ribs and shattering limbs. Finally, one powerful stroke sent his skull rolling across the ground, an orange glow dancing across the rocks, his world tilting as he stared helplessly at his decimated form.

Light and shadow twisted in his fading vision as flames continued to gnaw hungrily at what remained of him.