Layer 2 does not sleep.
It breathes.
The floor pulses beneath his bare feet like a distant heartbeat. The air is damp, thick, cold. It smells of copper and rot.
Renric doesn't remember his name.
He doesn't remember falling.
He doesn't even remember his own voice.
He remembers the pain.
And the dark.
Something shifts far ahead in the tunnel—wet and slithering.
He crouches low, hiding behind a jut of stone that sweats black fluid. His arms are scratched raw. His ribs show through pale skin. His blindfold, a strip of rag he found days ago, hides more than just his fear.
He doesn't know why he wears it. But he knows he must.
The thing in the tunnel groans. Its limbs click against stone.
It's hunting. Again.
He clutches a broken shard of bone. Not a weapon. Just… something.
His breath slows.
His heartbeat slows.
And then—
"Curious."
A voice. Not outside. Inside. Not a thought. Not a memory. Something… else.
It echoes through marrow. It has no tone, no name.
"You do not scream. You do not die. Why?"
Renric doesn't reply. He doesn't understand.
He doesn't know anyone else is listening.
He shivers.
The creature passes. He waits until the noise fades.
Then he runs.
He doesn't run far. Just enough.
He finds another stone wall. Warmer this time.
He slides down it, curls into a ball, and breathes.
For now, he is alive.
The voice returns, a whisper between his thoughts.
"We are watching. We have always watched. But you…"
A pause.
"…you are different."
And then silence again.
Only the breathing dark remains.
Somewhere above him, far beyond flesh and bone, the surface world spins on.
But here, deep in the pit of existence, a small, half-starved boy clings to life.
And someone… or something… is waiting to see what he becomes.
End of chapter 0.