[Kazu's POV]
Have you ever thought about it?
I'm referring to your reality. Is it a dream or a hallucination? How will you know?
Someone may have asked me this question before, and I always have an honest answer. If you ever ask this kind of question, it means you're in the real world.
That's my answer.
Have you ever asked yourself this question when you were dreaming? If you did, you would probably already know it was all just a dream.
This type of question is only asked by people who are unhappy with themselves. They are always finding faults in the world.
But I could have been wrong…
This thought strikes me so hard right now that I begin to doubt my own existence.
The wind is blowing strangely.
But where am I?
There is a strange rage in the air and a chill that goes right to the bone. I am in a gloomy place surrounded by darkness.
Then something hits me. No… Something literally strikes me.
I am on the ground before I realize it. Everything happens so fast that it baffles me more.
When I regain consciousness, it is bright everywhere. The rage is gone. It is more humid now.
I can still feel my body, which is a good sign, right?
I can't feel my feet as I try to stand up. Something's wrong.
I feel anxious. What's going on? What happened to me? What happened to my feet? No… No…
Not only my feet, but also my torso is gone.
Gone…
AAAAHHHHHHH!!!
…
…
AAAAHHHHHHH!!!
I have let out the longest and loudest scream of my life, I think. I knew so much that nothing could surprise me any longer, I believed. Everything in my life seems like a joke. I was naive.
Who could? This is beyond my comprehension… Mom…
It seems that boys will always return to their mothers. Huh. I laugh dryly. Mom…
Suddenly, I hear a huge explosion in the distance and smoke comes my way within seconds. Following the explosion, breathing becomes more difficult and I feel severe pain in my ear.
The sound won't go away. It rings in my ear, even when I cover it.
This is the worst. Damn it!
My consciousness gradually begins to fade. I can't feel anything in my body anymore.
It's getting… getting… What was I thinking again?
◇
When I wake up, everything is different. Something new and unknown, but this time I can't move. I can't even feel anything. All I have is a vision in front of me. It feels both far away and close, so silent but quite loud. Does it make sense to say 'silent loud'?
My vision becomes fuzzy.
◇
Have I slept?
The 'silent loud' is still there. I can't focus because of it.
Time passes. I'm not sure how much. Hours turn into days. Days turn into weeks. Weeks turn into months. My situation doesn't change. I'm still trapped in this strange vision. I can't move or feel anything. I wonder if anyone is looking for me or if I'm already forgotten.
I have no idea how long I have been here. It's quite hard to grasp. I'm slipping again. I can somehow sense it.
◇
I have become accustomed to the 'silent loud'. It's still there, just there, like looking at something but not touching it. But I don't know how long it took me, and every time I wake up, the scenery is different.
My vision has improved as well. But it's much clearer than my regular vision. I have no idea rocks have such delicate details.
Huh.
The sky looks odd. It has turned into rock. Yet everything appears to be in broad daylight. Some rocks begin to float. They are medium-sized, but when the rocks float, they attach themselves to the rock sky. I say medium, but they are definitely large because they are so far up.
No, no, no. Hahaha!
When did this happen? Hahaha!..
It's nostalgic to laugh like this. Something makes sense for the first time.
There is no rock sky; it's more like the ground, and I'm on the ceiling. I didn't see it sooner because I don't feel gravity pressing on me. What a massive cave then.
Wait.
Why is it so bright?! It should be dark, but it's not. Is this normal for caves? No… no… They are supposed to be dark… Aren't they? What happened? I'm so confused…
Huh. Wait a minute! How can I still be alive? How can this be possible?
Shit. So much has happened that I only notice it now.
My vision starts to fade for some reason. Am I going to fall asleep again?
◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇
[Horum's POV]
Creating a conscious world is difficult, huh?
Should I restart it? But I have already put in so much effort… Should I abandon it now and start a new one? Or should I stick with it and make it better?
I decide to take another thorough look.
Hmm.
It is a beautiful world, but Nature Beings cannot exist here. Such a waste.
Huh.
I felt something unfamiliar in my creation. What is it? A booger? A Sentient Being? But that is impossible… How can this be? I need to investigate further.
Hmm.
I detect an entity that should not be here. Why are you here? You can't exist here! I had no idea I'd meet a being from another universe so soon after my ascent to Sub-Logos. Is this allowed? Why can't I read its thoughts?
I see…
So that's why the Logos advised me not to interfere with what the other universe is doing. Should I reassemble its body?
After I reconstruct the booger's body, I mean, the Sentient Being's body, it has four antennae. Or are they legs for mobility?
All in all, I cannot learn much from this booger. The rules of another universe are very different from ours.
I pick up the booger and return to my Draft Space. Maybe there is something else I can do with it.