บท 1: Light

Once there was a light, it was not like those other lights that shined so fiercely you could not even go near them or were so gigantic you could not even see where they began and ended. No, it was a meek little thing, a wisp, if you will. If it ventured too close to the other lights, one would think it would surely get destroyed, yet that did not happen. It drifted aimlessly in the cosmos without a set course nor a destination. It looked as though it was content with its existence and was happy to drift endlessly for all eternity.

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'How long has it been? I do not remember anymore.' I wondered as I drifted past another vast mass of light. The heat it radiated had awoken me from my slumber. The concept of time has long been eroded from my memory, along with many other things. It could have been centuries, millennia or even eons since I've been here drifting amongst the lights.

I watched the way it changed before my eyes, the colours shifting across its body in hues of red, orange, and yellow. The way they radiate with such immense power and ferocity always leaves me feeling a certain way. Why can't I be like them? Why can't I burn as brightly as they do? Why can't I wield power as they do? I am also a light, am I not?

'How many times have I asked myself this question only to gain no answer?' I sigh to myself, resigned to my fate of being a little light who can only drift endlessly in the void.

These larger lights are dangerous if the way I burn when I get too close to them is any indicator. They're also crafty bastards that sometimes reach out and try to grab you if you venture too close with their giant arcing orange appendages. The first time I saw it happen, I nearly caught myself. I hurriedly moved away from the enormous light, don't want a repeat scenario happening again, now do we.

Once I was a safe distance away, I shifted my attention behind me to get a view of my surroundings. You never know what dangers one might find while drifting endlessly within the void, from speeding objects to giant whirling pools of darkness that try to suck you into their bottomless mouths. When you have sailed in the void for as long as I have, you tend to learn how to avoid everything that will put an end to you.

Thankfully, I learned a trick that allowed me to avoid all but the most dangerous situations. I focus my senses and empty my thoughts while trying to find what I'm looking for. I don't really know how to describe it, but it's everywhere, even in this endless void. It connects everything to each other, and if you know how to use it, it can help avoid all the dangers present here. I am thankful for it. How else would I be able to sleep while simultaneously avoiding danger?

'Ah, there you are.' I felt it flowing around and within me. It permeated everything, even the void itself. I detect where the vast light is, smaller objects circled around us in set paths, all unique in their own way and even a cluster of objects moving at immense speeds in the distance, creating a streak of light within the void.

I observe the streaking light for a few moments; it's not often I get to see one of those. Turning away before I started questioning myself as I did with the vast light. I set off following the flow of the void, aimlessly drifting as I fall into another deep slumber.

'I wonder when I'm gonna be awoken again. Will I ever awaken again? Ah, who cares, not like I can do anything about it anyway.' I am at peace with myself as sleep takes hold of me once again, only the void has the answer to that question, so I will leave it to the void to decide.

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And so, the little light continued its never-ending journey, content with the void ushering it along.

After an immeasurable amount of time following the flow of the void, the light found itself before another large object. But this object was different from those it had seen before. It did not burn it like the large lights did when it came too close nor try to smash it like those speeding objects. It was large but not as large as the massive lights it had seen numerous times. A smaller white object circled it, but what made it unique was the amount of flow it radiated. It was like a beacon within the void, beckoning for the little light to join it.

The little light realised it had reached the end of the journey; it never knew it was on after eons. The little light surrendered itself to the flow of the void and drifted into the objects embrace.

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'Where am I? I remember being absorbed by the unique object, but now I'm back in the void?' I question while trying to look around. All I see is black.

'Wait, am I even in the void? There aren't any lights anymore. I could always see those no matter where I was previously. I can't move either. Have I been trapped within that strange object!?' I start to panic as if that were true. It would be much worse than drifting in the void. At least there, I could see other lights. I catch myself before my thoughts spiral out of control and decide to take my only other form of action.

I concentrate on connecting myself with the flow around me. It took a lot longer than usual, but I eventually managed to do so, and I'm left confused at what I'm sensing. There are multiple flows connected in a series of patterns all around me. They seem to form one large shape, which I cannot make out at this moment. And I seem to be connected to this much larger entity through the flow.

'This is unlike anything I've ever seen before. I can see myself absorbing the flow from the entity that is encompassing me.' I was so engrossed in the spectacle I was witnessing that I did not realise when slumber overtook me.

The next time I awoke left me even more astonished than previously, 'Are those voices? I never heard those before when I was in the void, this just keeps getting more amazing. Wait, how do I even know what voices are in the first place?' I could not remember how I knew that word. It just came to me like it was completely natural, and I always knew what it meant, just that there was no need for it until now. After getting over that little moment of confusion, I connected with the flow once more to see what was happening.

I could see that the entity was now in a different position than before and was talking with something else. I focused on the flow, trying to extend my view and got a vague image of another entity talking with the one I'm connected to. I tried to make out what was being said, but all I heard were muffled sounds and could not discern its meaning. It was disappointing, but nothing could be done, so I decided to focus on the fact that there was another entity.

'So, there's more than one entity? I wonder how many there are.' I observed the two entities until I felt the grasp of sleep take hold and surrendered myself to it. Things progressed in a similar fashion for a while. I would awaken frequently and then connect to the flow to observe my surroundings.

I discovered that there were many more entities than I initially thought there would be, and they all come in different sizes and flows. Some were large and had strong flows, while others were small and had weak flows. I also discovered that there were critical points within the flow network of these entities where the flow was concentrated, something to look into later once I get out of this prison if that will ever happen.

'These entities are strange, even more so than what I initially thought. They can actually control their flow and make it do their bidding. Hold on…. could I do something similar? At this point, I know I'm essentially the same as them, seeing as how I have the same flow network as they do, but how do I go about it?' I observed the entities as they controlled their flow. They would move in a particular sequence, then their flow would travel outside its network and perform a complimentary action.

This wasn't a viable method for me as I could not move, well, not in the way the entity I observed did anyways. I was able to make slight movements, something I discovered became easier as time went by, but the prison I was in was also starting to get smaller. Seeing no other clues as to how the flow was being manipulated by the entity, I decided to do the only thing I could at that moment and willed for the flow to move towards a particular direction.

There was no immediate effect, but I did see the flow slowly move in that direction. It was surprising, to say the least, that I could control the flow through thought and will. However, this little action left me feeling exhausted, and though I wanted to experiment more, I decided that was enough discovery for the moment and went to sleep.

I settled into a familiar routine where I would awaken and connect to the flow to observe if anything interesting was happening in my surroundings while practising my control over it. As time flew by, I kept growing in size. I soon realised that the prison in which I had been entrapped could barely contain me. I was squashed within, the flexible walls pressing against my whole body, creating an uncomfortable experience.

'What's going on!!! Why is the prison squeezing me!!! I didn't do anything out of the ordinary, so why is this happening!!! I don't want to die!! I have to find a way out. I won't just lie down and accept this without at least a fight!!!' I connected to the flow to try and get a better view of my surroundings. The entity I was connected to seemed to be in some sort of struggle, going by the erratic flow of their network and the sounds they were making.

There were a few entities surroundings the one connected to me, and they seemed to be telling it something. The squashing came in steady intervals, and try as I might, I could not go against it nor find an escape from my prison, so I decided to stop struggling and endure this hellish torture.

After who knows how long of experiencing my surroundings pressing against me, I finally experienced a change. I was moving in a particular direction, so I grabbed onto whatever strength I had left and wriggled. That was when I saw it. I was intimately familiar with it and could not mistake it for anything else.

I saw light.