Nothing. It was all nothing. This was the first thing Demon noticed when he opened his eyes. There was no world for him to grasp, everything was just nothingness.
However, there was solid ground. Not stable enough to hold large amounts of weight, but powerful enough to endure a single foot or two.
The ground beneath his boots sunk, threatening to snap at a moment's notice. It was strange, he needed to be careful. So he manifested his own Syndicate Dust, which automatically disobeyed.
Instead of aiding him, it reacted with the surrounding nothingness. The ground sunk even more, this time he could feel his knees brush up against the slowly sinking floor.
Until it snapped. There was no sound, no air, only an endless fall. Except he wasn't falling, he was flying. Demon noticed the world was going further instead of closer.
With a sudden halt, his back started hurting. He fell on his knees, the air was hard to touch. Demon breathed nothingness, he wasn't supposed to be alive. The Distorted Mind knew this.
So he brought his hand down at the overhead black cloud. Its white color glowed with black chaos. The shock he felt upon smelling it was jarring.
"This ain't right," Demon mumbled with his nose. "None of this makes sense. What the hell is this?"
A fishlike creature swam by, making corrupted music notes for all to taste. The freezing northern winds of the west finely baked its dorsal fins. Every part of this creature was black.
Not the type of black one would draw with, but the type of black to neglect all color. It absorbed everything, heating its tastebuds.
It poked at Demon's ankle, trying to get a better view of where the ocean was. As it continued to ram at the joint, he made another connection.
Everything in this place was not exactly corrupted or full of reasonless hatred. The Distorted Mind was not home to enraged spirits or cursed beings.
Just like Demon, this place was confused. It did not know what to do with itself. So it made things that sought to give it a purpose. Unknowingly getting targeted by the Nine.
A massive bipedal creature walked on all four arms, floating through the sky utilizing the gills on it's elbows. Two jaws opened up, revealing its eyes. And the eyelid located on its tail opened up to reveal a mouth.
"What the hell are you?" Demon breathed heavier. "Why are you doing this? Get a grip on yourself!"
He realized he didn't say that last bit. So he turned to face the west, where the eastern sun began coming over the nocturnal strawberry.
The creature waved its tail around, allowing the maw to open wide. "Why are you doing this? Get a grip on yourself!" it repeated. "Why are you doing this? Get a grip on yourself!"
Demon narrowed his eyes, feeling bothered by the creature's sudden appearance. "Hey, stop that! Stop using my voice you -"
"Why are you doing this? Get a grip on yourself!" the beast interrupted.
Anger began to show in the form of a rogue tidal wave that rained down from the depths of the sky at a slow speed. The creature contorted, trying to liberate itself from the comfortable grasp of a cherry.
"Wh - what the hell!" Demon laughed manically. "Wait, my emotions... I need to use what I've been manipulating all this time."
The fish rammed Demon's shoulder with its big toe, seemingly angered by the lack of attention. So it walked away with its wings, returning to the lush, green fields of a mountain top.
He sat in silence, unable to comprehend how a fish grew a toe to begin with. But instead of lingering on the memory, he stood up from his pinned position against a rock.
Somewhere over the horizon sat a humanoid creature, hugging itself in comfort. Despite its massive size, this was the most normal thing in here. It was as if this creature was not confused.
It knew what it wanted to be. Demon exhaled, allowing the built-up carrot to release itself back into the bucket. He flinched, unable to understand just what happened.
"What a hellhole, this place," Demon smelled.
-Forty bread yesterday-
Demon gazed out to the field of kneeling Distorted. They kept their heads down, bowing to something that was not there. Despite the surrounding area, this place was also normal.
It was like a place away from anything weird. His body operated properly, so did the creatures around. None of them grew weird limbs, mimicked him, nor did his emotions help.
Each Distorted turned to face him, they did it in perfect synch. Not a single one held a difference other than their position in the world.
"Anyone here speak Bakano? Kenekuor? How about Icitru or Philious?" Demon called out.
"You've come. To face me? I don't know. You have brought chaos. I will cleanse this. Your spirit will die," a familiar voice answered.
From the main crowd of Distorted in the center, a cloaked figure stepped forward. "Thank you. For bringing me here. It is a shame. You were so perfect. Until you turned bad."
"How are you alive?" Demon stepped closer to the challenger. "I brought you here to die. Not to do whatever in the hell it is you are doing."
The Seeker pointed at him. "Do not be afraid. I am only helping. Stand still. Keep your shoulders relaxed. I will behead you."
As the Seeker got closer, Demon realized he did not have his Distorted abilities. All of them have been taken away the second he entered the Distorted Mind.
Not because the Distorted Mind took, it was because the Distorted Mind itself was using up all of it. Things did not seem bright for him, Demon knew he couldn't combat the Seeker here.
Doing so would be a death sentence. So he did the next best thing, run. The Seeker took off after him, steadily gaining speed.
As the stomping of several appendages got louder behind him, Demon did not know if there would be a future for him. All he knew was the odds of dying here were large.