A strange emptiness settled inside her, like an invisible hole widening in her chest. It was the kind of emptiness she had never known, the kind that told her something was slipping away, something she couldn't hold onto. Her time was nearing its end, and for the first time in a long while, Melina didn't fight it.
She realized now that she had bitten off more than she could chew. She had wanted it all—the power, the wealth, the respect—and in her hunger, she had lost sight of everything that truly mattered. And now, she was paying the price.
The harsh reality hit her all at once, like the cold rain soaking her to the bone. A group of people, their faces twisted with anger and envy, had found her. They had seen her as a symbol of what they could never have. And in their hatred, they had stabbed her—over and over—until her body couldn't take any more.
At the young age of 20, that's how her life had ended. Alone in the rain, with nothing but the echoes of her past mistakes to keep her company. The world had moved on without her, indifferent to her struggle, her rise, and her fall.
But as Melina lay there, her body weakening by the second, there was no anger, no resentment. Only a quiet acceptance. She had been a part of this world, for better or worse, and now she was leaving it behind. Perhaps, in the end, that was all that mattered.
Knowing what she had done, the people she had stepped over and discarded to climb to where she stood, Melina felt the weight of her actions crashing down upon her. Her breaths came in shallow, uneven gasps as if her lungs refused to accept the guilt she bore. Shadows encased her, their cold embrace both suffocating and comforting. They clung to her like lovers unwilling to let go, whispering wordless truths that echoed in the hollow chambers of her mind.
There was no sound. No sight. Only the pressing void. It constricted her, suffocating her with its oppressive silence. 'Am I dead?' she wondered, her thoughts sluggish, drowning in the abyss. 'Or am I still dying?' She searched for answers within herself but found none. Only questions that gnawed at her soul.
The shadows were her only company. Were they a part of her now? Or was she merely a guest in their dominion, waiting for her exile or judgment? Time became meaningless in the darkness. Minutes stretched into hours, hours into eternity, until her mind felt like an unmovable stone in the ceaseless flow of nothingness. Any semblance of identity eroded with each passing moment, leaving behind a mere whisper of who she once was.
'How long have I been here?' she thought, clutching at fragments of memories that slipped through her fingers like sand. The images were faint and blurred—a patchwork of smiles, tears, and laughter. Faces of friends, companions who had long since faded from reality, hovered at the edges of her mind.
The shadows stirred around her as if reacting to her turmoil, their forms shifting into familiar shapes. She blinked, and for the first time in what felt like years, her lips curved into a smile.
"What do you all want to play?" she asked, her voice trembling with a desperate joy. The shadows didn't respond in words, but their shapes solidified into vague imitations of the companions she once knew.
"Aaand rock! Haha, I won again," Melina declared, her laughter breaking the void. "Why are you guys so terrible? Seriously, I've won at least a thousand times already! Can't you pay more attention to the game? It's no fun if I always win!"
The shadows flickered, and Melina's grin widened. For the first time in the endless void, she felt a spark of something close to contentment. She reached out to them, her hand brushing against the intangible forms, and then—
A brilliant light erupted in the distance, its radiance tearing through the shadows. Melina shielded her eyes, the warmth of the glow brushing against her skin like a forgotten lover's touch. The shadows recoiled, writhing and stretching as if trying to stop her from going the light.