‘How much time has it been… hours? Days? I am still floating in this never ending ocean… I no longer have the power to even scream. I think I might have lost the ability to scream… Yet this pain has still not stopped… Why am I still conscious… I wonder if I would have passed out if it was not for the so-called power which has now become a curse of mine…’

  Any normal person would have lost consciousness a long time ago but the ability of his to never lose consciousness which was praised for a special thing is now the very thing that is torturing him.

  The kid was staring blankly at the faint light on the water surface. Nothing changed after all this time. His mind had stopped thinking of it all and his lungs felt collapsed as the ice cold water rinsed thru them.

  The pain was no longer irritating him or he was just too tired to even think of it. The only discomfort to him was that it was too cold.

  At this point, he was no longer even thinking of pain or suffering. He was just smiling… as if he had lost his mind. A smile on his face and a peaceful look like he was lost in his own world. Left all alone in his own thoughts as he ignored everything around him.

  Every once in a while, that distinct sound occurred telling him to give up and join him like trying to win him over but it got more aggressive lately as it has been coming back after every few hours lately and now minutes.

  Any normal person would have lost his sanity. Yet the voice kept on echoing, louder and louder. Two vivid encouragement, one yelling to give up repeating the same thing and other small faint voices had already disappeared.

  The distinct voice echoed once again but he saw himself being wrapped in reflection and a mist that had a shadow-like figure that slowly engulfed the kid into its darkness, ‘Give up! Accept the despair and rest. It will become easier for both you and me. Stop being stubborn and give up’

  The voice finally changed into something new, different from a broken recorder repeating the same thing but still no answer from the kid, he just kept on smiling ignoring it all. The kid felt warmth all of a sudden, more warmth than ever before snapping him back to reality. His skin felt as if it was absorbing something.

  Just then shadow slowly enwrapped himself onto him as if it was trying to eat him away but was not able to completely cover him up.

  ‘Who are you enduring this pain for? You have nothing and never will.’ But this time the voice was no longer distorted and had a different tone.

  ‘For who am I enduring this pain for? I wonder… I still have to keep my promise. Maybe just a little longer…’

  The shadow figure got enraged saying ‘You will suffer for eternity on that promise.’

  ‘Fine by me…’

  The voice became distorted once again ‘This is your last chance to give up, after this. I will never return. Despair for it may be your last.’

  ‘Haha I will take my chances. I am not afraid of despair. Why should I fear despair when it can not control me…’ the kid taunted him as his dull eyes started to have some light in them again.

  The kid felt reassured from the warmth and the voice that kept on telling him not to give up, while it was annoying, he would rather not give up as it felt the end was near. Be it his life or this nightmare.

  ‘Stubborn till the end… Let it be. After all, its only a matter of time before it all starts all over again.’ said the shadow as it disappeared

  The kid opened his eyes to a cloudless sky. He was able to move his body and see now the darkness removed from his eyes. He coughed and shivered from the cold.

  ‘What just happened…’ as he tried to stand up but slipped from the water and was shocked by what he saw below him.

  It was not a cloudless sky. He was above the sky itself. He found himself at the top of a platform made of invisible material and below him, he was able to see a cloud from above and a giant tree with thorn vine wrapped around it like a warning for those who try to climb it. The kid was above the clouds themself but the tree reached heights even taller than the place where he stood. The platform was placed near the top end of the tree.

  Stolen story; please report.

  ‘What is this place now? Why am I just being thrown around at random places again.’

  He looked in front of him and there he saw that at the platform stood a young man, standing there on one of the branches of that huge tree with his left hand missing while the right holding something with his chest. His face was looking higher into the sky on some other branch. He had a single vivid Amber/Golden like petals under his foot which still had a glow in it.

  His skin was white and looked like a statue that had cracks on him revealing a goldish-ish layer and his whole left forearm where it was cut off revealed a gold instead of skin. He had silky, medium sized hair, and was the same color or material as his skin.

  ‘Hello? Do you know where we are? I just fell from the sky…’ asked the kid but got no response. That person did not move a single muscle and stood there motionless.

  He stood up and went closer to him carefully as he begged ‘Please do not break.’ as he slowly walked on the invisible platform which changed in a strange shade of iridescent.

  Upon reaching the branch, he jumped onto it. ‘That was more traumatizing than the water.’ as he took heavy breathes in relief. Now the kid knew why people were scared of heights.

  The person back was facing away from the kid so he walked up to him and noticed his eyes which had lines of gold and cracks around them, but were revealing gold below.

  He had a golden-ish amber color rose in his right arm within a jar with a base. His face was slightly positioned up and his eyes were looking enviously towards the thornless vivid blue rose, that was hanging on another branch, far from the reaches and enclosed in a glass container looking unattainable and untainted by others. Almost like a most prized possession that no one was allowed to possess but there were small marks of a touch left behind on the glass. It was dazzling to look at.

  In the statue hand, he had a vivid golden rose also enclosed in a glass jar which had 5 of its petals intact like it was dying.

  He had a melancholic smile. It was not a joyful smile but nor was it a grieving one. A face that has accepted its fate and is now awaiting the demisal.

  Back towards the stem of the tree, with the thorns, there were dull color roses with sharp thorns pointing outwards. None of them were vivid or even close to blue or red shades.

  He felt like something was watching him closely and it made him shiver in disgust but found nothing around him.

  He felt dizzy as he fell to the ground and when he opened back his eyes and found himself again laying down in the water once again… but something was different.

  The water was no longer deep enough to suffocate him and the sky was dark blue with the mist all around him as if he was lost within it. There he saw fire was no longer running.

  But most importantly, he was no longer feeling cold.

  He stood up and found still water below him reflecting everything right back off but it was a colorless world. The sky was dark and cloudy. Colorless sky, water and even his own hands. The campfire was no longer there.

  ‘Is this the same place? Not a worthy reward after all that pain…’

  He thought for a second. ‘But I guess it is still better than before‘

  He collected the water in his palm and noticed the water slowly started to be absorbed into his skin.

  ‘Did I by some chance… absorb all that water?’

  ‘I guess it did help me get rid of that ocean.’

  ‘Are those the same…’ as he looked above him.

  He found high in the sky a hazy mist, in that mist was the same man in ice levitating in the sky which he saw after fighting against the armor man who was still wrapped with red strings still enclosed in a huge chunk of frozen ice but now reduced to a smaller size and now two chains held it as it warped itself around it from center and extending far to the sky above clouds and the ice has a small hole at its bottom which he noticed as he looked closely. He saw that the black sphere was no longer there and white sphere was active and moving very slowly to be noticeable.

  He felt his heart beating fast as he fell onto his feet losing balance.

  ‘Huh… Not this again? Don’t you dare make me—’ said the kid as he fell face first onto the floor and everything went blank.

  It reminded him of the room where he saw that girl chained up and that weird girl he saw.

  ‘AHHHHHHHH’ he screamed as he woke up on the bed.

  Rhina next to him also screamed out loud due to his screaming.

  Ananke ran from the room next door and broke open the door from its hinges making it fall down cleanly with a wooden stick, ready to strike as he looked around.

  The only thing he saw was the kid yawning, munching his dry lips while Rhina screaming at him for breaking the door.

  “THE DOOR WAS NOT EVEN LOCKED” yelled Rhina.

  ‘Sorry.. I will fix this up… why were you screamin—’ said Ananke.

  “Oh yea, he woke up.” as she looked towards the kid who was scratching his hair and yawning.

  ‘5 more minutes’ said the kid as he went back to sleep.

  Rhina instantly hits him on the head saying “Don’t just go back to sleeping after 3 days of not waking up.”