Ouch… my head. A sharp pain pulses through my skull, and for a moment everything is swallowed in darkness.
Slowly, shapes begin to form. My vision returns, hazy at first, until I realize I'm lying inside a cave. But this is no ordinary cave—its walls are alive with a strange radiance, glowing from crystals embedded in the stone. They shimmer faintly, casting an otherworldly light that makes the entire place feel unreal.
I don't remember coming here. The last thing I recall was experimenting with an "out-of-body" technique I stumbled across on Reddit.
Back then, my body had begun to vibrate. A strange hum filled my ears—
"You are not authorized to perform this action."
The voice was deep and cold, echoing inside my head. It didn't sound human. I couldn't see who—or what—spoke, only that its presence pressed heavily against me.
Then everything spiraled. My body jolted upward, as if being pulled into the sky, only to slam back into where I lay. Up and down. Again and again. Each time my head pounded harder until pain consumed me.
I had tried to open my eyes, but they wouldn't move. I was trapped in that limbo—until now.
And yet… even here, in this glowing cave, I can't move. My body feels pinned in place. My eyes are fixed forward, locked on one point, unable to shift even slightly.
All I can do is stare at the radiant cavern before me—an alien prison of light and stone.
---
After what felt like hours, my thoughts finally began to settle. Slowly, my mind pieced itself back together.
Why am I here? Why not in my room? What was that voice I heard?
The memory came back in fragments—jagged, hazy—but one moment stood out clearly. The vibration stage. That crucial step in the out-of-body technique. I had reached it for the very first time. After years of failure, I was finally there. The final step was supposed to be simple: gently separate the spiritual body from the physical one.
I truly thought I was about to succeed.
It feels strange to say this now, but my obsession started long ago. Back in eighth grade, I first stumbled across a Reddit thread about out-of-body experiences. People were sharing their "success stories," claiming they could leave their bodies and wander freely in spirit form. Some even shared techniques and swore it was fun, harmless, and "relatively safe."
Of course, anyone else might have thought I was an idiot for even trying something so reckless. Maybe I was. But I wasn't chasing danger—I was chasing curiosity.
I've always been fascinated by reincarnation and transmigration stories. Those novels where the protagonist awakens in another world, reborn with a second chance or thrown into an epic adventure. I used to wonder: what if such a thing was possible? Do we really have souls? Could I prove it?
That curiosity grew into obsession. I wanted to see for myself, to feel what it was like to step outside of my own body. And, deep down, I wanted to know the truth.
Let me backtrack a little—my name… actually, I can't seem to remember it right now. My memory feels fractured, like someone took a hammer to it and left only scattered shards. But there are things I do remember.
I was studying for a Bachelor's in Information Technology, majoring in software development. Coding had always been my strength, so pursuing BIT made sense. My life was pretty stable: study, part-time work, coding projects on the side. Nothing extraordinary, but nothing terrible either.
Until curiosity got the better of me.
I hadn't tried the out-of-body technique in years—since Grade 11, to be exact. Schoolwork, exams, and part-time jobs had buried those experiments. But one day, I decided to try again.
And here I am, in a strange situation.
---
Minutes passed. Then, from somewhere deep within the cave, I heard noises—clashing steel, the unmistakable sound of swords striking. A low, guttural roar shook the air, followed by voices shouting in a language I couldn't understand.
My eyes remained locked forward, my body frozen in place. But the strangest thing wasn't the battle in the distance—it was me.
I couldn't feel anything. No warmth. No heartbeat. Not even the rise and fall of breath.
It was as if my body didn't exist at all.
What… what is happening to me?
---