Darkness was the only thing Ashen could see.
This was not the kind that came with sleep, but something deeper.
A suffocating black that stretched in all directions, endless and cold.
Ashen drifted weightlessly, suspended in a void.
His body felt both heavy and light at the same time, as if gravity itself had forgotten about him. His thoughts were sluggish, cloudy, as though wrapped in fog.
He tried to grasp at them, to remember what had happened, but every time he reached out, they slipped through his fingers.
How long had he been here? Seconds? Hours? Days? He couldn't tell.
He just kept floating in nothingness.
Then, without warning, the nothingness shuddered.
Colors exploded into the darkness like fireworks cracking open a night sky. Streams of green, red, and blue bled into one another, painting the void with shifting light. Ashen blinked, instinctively shielding his eyes though there was nothing to shield them from.
The colors weren't random, they swirled, fused, then stretched into shapes, Images.
Blurry, fractured, incomplete, but images nonetheless.
Ashen squinted, his chest tightening. The haze distorted them, like looking at half-forgotten memories through a cracked mirror, but one thing stood out clearly.
They weren't human.
Their movements were strange, fluid, as though every step they took was both deliberate and beyond human understanding. He couldn't tell if they were fighting, building, or…something else entirely.
A spike of pain tore through Ashen's skull.
"Ah—!"
He clutched at his head, though his hands felt distant and unreal. His body vibrated, as though something was dragging him back, forcing him toward consciousness.
The images dissolved and the colors faded.
Only darkness remained.
Then—
His chest rose sharply as he inhaled. He blinked once, twice, then a third time, and the blurry haze of sleep gave way to light.
'What the hell was that about?'
A white ceiling stretched above him, clean and sterile. The faint hum of machines buzzed at his ears. The scent of disinfectant lingered in the air, sharp and clinical.
He was lying on a bed and his head pounded.
His mouth was dry, his throat raw, and every muscle in his body ached as if he had been dragged through fire.
It took a moment before he realized where he was.
The infirmary.
He slowly turned his head. A familiar figure stood nearby, arms crossed, gaze warm yet sharp.
"Mrs. Daphne?" His voice came out hoarse.
The woman smiled, lines crinkling at the corners of her eyes. "Finally awake, Ashen. It's been a while since you last visited this old place." Her tone was light, but there was an undercurrent of worry beneath it. "How are you feeling?"
Ashen pressed a hand to his temple, trying to push back the pounding inside his skull. "Disoriented, but…okay, I guess."
"Good." Daphne gave a small nod, then flicked her wrist, activating the holographic display of her datapack. "Then I suppose you're ready to go. Just give me a moment to sign you off and inform Instructor Kieran."
At that, Ashen frowned. "Instructor Kieran? Why do you need to inform him?"
Daphne raised a brow, her expression caught between disbelief and exasperation. "Are you seriously asking me that? You broke seven rules and safety protocols. Nearly drowned. And let's not forget almost getting killed in the process, of course I have to inform him."
Ashen let out a long breath and leaned back against the bed.
She wasn't wrong and he didn't have the energy to argue anyway.
Daphne muttered under her breath as she typed into her datapack, her fingers moving with the ease of someone who had done this too many times before. Finally, she sighed and tucked the device back to her side.
"I'll be back in a moment," she said, already walking toward the door. "Try not to fall asleep again before I return."
Ashen gave her a small, wry smile but said nothing.
When the door slid shut behind her, the infirmary fell into silence, broken only by the low hum of the medical equipment.
He exhaled and closed his eyes.
His body still felt sore, but at least he could breathe without pain.
He let himself sink into the quiet as he thought about what kind of punishment Kieran would give them. He was probably already fuming by now.
Then out of nowhere—
'Well she was pretty.'
Ashen's eyes snapped open.
His body went rigid.
The voice hadn't come from the room.
No.
It had come from inside his head.
"…"
Ashen's gaze flicked around the infirmary, his pulse quickening.
It was empty, completely empty.
A chill ran down his spine.
The voice came again, casual, dripping with amusement.
'Oh, don't look around like that. I'm right here, champ. Inside your head. And damn, I've been stuck with some boring ones before, but you—" the voice chuckled, low and sharp, "—you might actually make this fun.'
Ashen's breath caught in his throat.
His lips parted, but no words came out.
He mind raced as he came to a conclusion that he was either still dreaming or this was the side effect of a drug.
The voice leaned in again, clearly mocking and smug.
'Relax, kid. I'm not a ghost or and illusion, I'm better. And by the way—she was definitely pretty. Shame you didn't say anything. What's the matter? Too shy?'
Ashen's jaw clenched.
"…Who the hell are you?"
He asked the only question his mind could think of at the moment.
The answer came instantly, smooth and smug, like the smirk of a man who thought he was the cleverest person in the room.
'Name's Nexis cool name right? hehe, and congratulations, sunshine—whether you like it or not, you and I? We're roommates now.'