Ayush awoke abruptly, his body throbbing as if he had been inside a mixer. He blinked rapidly, his vision adjusting to the dim almost twilight light. The air felt heavy and oppressive. Ayush groaned while trying to sit up, his mind sluggish as he tried to piece together how he got here.
The memory hit him like a punch in the gut - the wormhole. That impossible, improbable anomaly that had swallowed him whole. He remembered the spiraling colors, the sensation of being torn apart, and then...nothing. His last coherent thought was of a sudden, piercing sound: a dog barking. His jaw clenched. 'That damn dog. If it weren't for that stupid fuck, I wouldn't have lost my footing.' He cursed it silently, his frustration momentarily eclipsing his fears.
Shaking his head, Ayush sat up and took a look at his surroundings. The landscape streched out in all directions, almost unendingly: bleak and lifeless. The ground was blackened and desolate, resembling a parched desert that had been scorched by heat. Jagged remnants of trees jutted out like skeletal hands reaching for the sky. A faint haze blurred the horizon, giving the scene an unsettling surreal quality.
Ash coated the ground, swirling lazily with every breath of wind. Ayush's throat felt raw, and the air carried a metallic tang that made him uneasy. The sky above was an oppressive gray, the sun a dim, sickly orb barely visible through the thick clouds. The silence, pervasive and unsettling, seemed to amplify the eerie desolation around him. He shivered, not from the cold but from the gnawing sense of dread started to crept over him.
'What the hell is this place?' The question echoed in his mind as his gaze swept over the barren expanse. There was no sign of life—no birds, no insects, no movement other than the occasional gust of wind stirring the ash. The silence was so complete it felt unnatural, as though the world itself was holding its breath.Ayush's skin prickled with unease. Every instinct screamed at him to get away, to find shelter, to escape this forsaken place. But there was nowhere to go, no clear direction that offered safety. His pulse quickened, and he forced himself to take a deep breath. 'Okay, calm down. Freaking out isn't going to fix this. Just... focus, Ayush. Yeah focus'He weighed his options, though they were few and far between. Sitting here was out of the question. The oppressive silence and desolation would drive him mad. Running blindly into the unknown felt equally foolish. He needed a plan, a purpose, something to focus on other than the creeping terror threatening to overwhelm him.'If this place has a way in, it has to have a way out, right?' The thought was a tenuous lifeline, but he clung to it. Ayush stood, brushing ash from his clothes, and scanned the horizon. His heart sank when he saw no immediate sign of anything resembling the wormhole that had brought him here. Still, he couldn't afford to give up.
He started walking, his steps hesitant at first. The ground crunched underfoot, the sound unnervingly loud in the otherwise complete silence. As he moved, he kept his eyes peeled for any anomaly, any sign that could lead him back to where he came from. The devastation around him seemed endless, the eerie stillness gnawing at his resolve. Every shadow seemed to shift, every faint sound made him whip his head around, his nerves stretched taut.'What am I even hoping to find? Another wormhole? A portal?' The thought hit him like a bad joke he wasn't in on. The absurdity of it clawed at his sanity—as if searching for a magic door in a wasteland wasn't the most ridiculous thing he'd ever done. Still, it was better than standing here pretending he wasn't completely screwed. He refused to believe he was stranded here forever. There had to be a way out—there has to be.Hours seemed to blur together as he wandered. The landscape offered no clues, only more of the same barren, ash-coated wasteland. Ayush's legs ached, his throat burned, and his thoughts grew darker with each passing moment. Yet, despite the creeping despair, he pushed forward. The alternative—standing still and surrendering to the void—was unthinkable.Keep moving, he told himself, his jaw set with determination. 'If I found a way in, I'll find a way out. I have to.'