The abyss.
A being that once entered, time and direction become useless. A place where one ceases to age, drifting for what feels like eternity. A trap that becomes a prison for the unfortunate. Hence gaining its nickname, The Immortal Prison.
Yet, in the middle of this mass of nothingness lay a single fragile soul. A boy, just barely a teenager, floated aimlessly amid the darkness. Just like the darkness surrounding him, his hair and right eye was black the other was closed. So black that you couldn't see it if not for his pale white skin.
The same ghostly-pale skin clung to his body without a hint of nourishment nor muscle, further portraying his inhuman appearance. Contrary to his outlook, the boy, Malcolm, was still alive albeit barely.
"So cold…How long have I been here?" the boy tried to speak aloud though nothing came out. One couldn't talk in the abyss. 'Nothing' is what the abyss is.
Since time did not exist in the abyss, one needed to count the time by the seconds to have a grasp of this eternity. Thinking back to before he was swallowed by the abyss, Malcolm could not help but shiver. The gore scene played in his mind as clear as if it was yesterday.
They were going to the beach. Memories of the time he spent playing with his peers flowed into his mind causing him to grin somewhat. Kids running around, Sister Synthea scolding the ones who didn't put on the special cream yet, the face of his sister smiling having the time of her life.
Looking upwards with his golden and black eyes, Malcolm couldn't help but sigh defeatedly.
"At least Meridith is safe…" Malcolm said, reminiscing once again about his sister, one of the few faces that he could still remember. Being trapped for more than five years, Malcolm couldn't help but feel hopeless. His memories were fading, he was slowly losing his sanity, spending his time hoping that something would change. Anything.
*BUMP*
Something crashed into Malcolm right in his chest, whom was so surprised he almost threw the thing away but managed to stop before doing so. Why? The abyss meant exactly as the name, nothingness and yet, something small was moving. Unless that something was sentient, something was wrong.
Although frightened, Malcolm's curiosity got the better of him. Groping in the dark, Malcolm discovered the anomaly to be something that he was very familiar with: a ring.
It didn't feel like any special kind of ring at the time. Circular shaped, metallic feel and fairly smooth surface with slight scratches, which meant that it was either quite old or somebody just didn't know how to take care of their accessories.
*BUMP**BUMP**BUMP*
More unidentified objects started to bump and crash into Malcolm. Some were hard, some were soft, some were long and some were short. Some had flat surfaces, others had pointy vertices, some even had sharp edges.
'What is this? AAARRRGGGHHHHH!!!!!' Malcolm inwardly screamed as something emerged from the abyss, attacking him. Eyes burning as though poured with acid, legs felt as though breaking, breath stolen, skin torn. All the pain that Malcolm couldn't feel for all these years accumulated and released at this moment.
"IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS"
How could he feel pain? Because the abyss 'disappeared'. He was in the outside world, Gaia.