"..where did i go wrong with you..?"

- A woman smacked an overweight man whom was wearing rimless glasses and had unkept black hair while kneeling on the tattered wooden floor beneath them. She then gripped her hair firmly, to the point that some strands fell onto the ground before she furiously rubbed her head ruining her ponytail styled hair. The man kneeled there unresponsive, despite the crimson colored liquid seeping down from his hair, he just lowered his chin before proceeding to clench his lips and with dehydrated, sunken eyes he pointed his lifeless irises devoid of gleam behind those rimless glasses at the trembling woman.

"YOU'RE A FAILURE..!!"

- Those words echoed inside of his head like defeaning whisper, numbing the enveloping nerves with a dull-like throb

"YOU SHOULD HAVE NOT BEEN..."

- Afterwards she turned around, and with half-opened eyes fuming with anger she pointed at the young man.

But her mouth went agape and her voice faltered, she averted her eyes then shakily lowered her index finger before beginning to rapidly wag her head followed by a loud groan all while furiously scratching her scalp.

"ARGHHH!!"

- The man stared at her motionlessly, absorbing every single syllable that was thrown and allowing it to leave irreversible marks on his intrapersonal world.

"..WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS...!?" -

- For the man, the whole outside world began to blur itself ever more slowly while silencing the high-pitched yells of the woman into a soft muffle caused by the arguments echoing inside his head.

"why did you..."

- The world began to fully blur itself as the eyelids of the man began to heat up, his thoughts going into a complete overdrive before he lowered his head to the floor, hands tightly gripping his pants, his nails piercing the fabric causing a small amount of blood to seep out.

- Upon seeing such a sight, the woman averted her gaze once more while her brows slowly returned to their normal position, she then released a loud groan before turning around and leaving,

"..Forget it.."

SLAMMING the door behind her causing it to not close but to open ajar.

- With only the occasional muffled creaks coming from the cicadas outside preventing the man from getting completely sucked in towards the abyss of his own mind, he lowered his head and clenched his lips, whole body trembling with forcibly muffled sobs resonating around the room.

...

- Outside the bustling metropolis, despite the moon reaching its highest peak, some places around the city have begun to open its doors and turn their lights at maximum capacity, hoping to attract the night owls strolling around the block. The wind blew throughout the street like a soft shove, caressing the exposed skin of the civilians like a chilly smooch causing some of them to pocket their hands, cover their necks with a scarf and even blow air inside their palms.

Amidst all these individuals however, a lone man walked slowly through the lifeless marble ground below the streetlights with his gaze steadfast on the floor, some of the passerbys that had noticed his presence shrieked in response and quickly got out of his way, flashing him a soft glare as he went by them.

Despite the boisterousness echoed by the engines from cars that swerved by the road, the loud chatter of young lasses with extravagant accessories, the soft, almost endearing voices of ladies with skimpy outfits advertising stores that exchanged pleasure for a penny, the young man's zone wasn't broken, even though many have contributed to the noise of the outside world, it still wasn't enough to defeat the chaos unfolding inside of his head.

Like a soft voice originating from the back of his head. It whispered. "Why did this happen?" - That question cried out but instead of receiving an answer..

WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY

WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY

WHY?

- The young man closed his eyes and heaved a soft sigh, shattering every single thought roaring inside of his mind. He then directed his gaze forward and towards the empty, barely-illuminated portion of the street. What was once a bustling block now only had the midnight breeze and its gentle blows creating noise.

- Despite the stores and establishments around him having their lights and fancy signboards shining..

There weren't a single soul in sight.

- A soft chill went down the man's spine but it was silenced by releasing a soft exhale. He then directed his gaze towards the floor before taking a step to the right and turning back from where he came from. He took in an inhale before exhaling then lifted his feet off the floor to take the first step.

°®PÆ∆ÏÑ∆FÜ..L ϧÑ∆T ĪT??

- A distorted.. voice, coming from a man? No from a woman. But it had a low-pitched.. no, One could swear that it had a high-pitched voice resembling that of a toddler! But what is that cat-like purr overtone? That howl when it ended its sentence. Its a man..! The deep, raspy.. No.. That sweet, seductive tone came from.. a cat? But why did it had the sound created by a cow? What even is this thing? Its cannot be pinpointed to a single thing.. Its several!!

- The young man froze upon hearing the distorted, several voices uttering the same phrase, at the same time. A small drop of cold sweat slid down his cheek as he attempted to continue his first step, only to be halted again.

Ü•.ÑF^Å..ÏR∆ Ï.§ÑT.¿¿

- It spoke again, the same tone, the same voice.. the same voices! It isn't a singular tone, it isn't a singular voice and it isn't a singular emotion.. it conveyed hundreds, whatever this being was, it is several.. maybe even more.

- The unsettling overtone of the speaker made the man's survival instincts to protest a little against his nonchalance, sweat dripping from his chin after he gulped and proceeded to step away, not paying heed to whatever was behind him.

∆W∆|H..Y DØ\ Ï.. §ÜF>^FË®‽

- Upon those almost incomprehensible string of syllables met his eardrums like a bellowing whisper, the man's eyes widened as he found himself stopping dead on his tracks, he gritted his teeth while clenching his fists. After a few seconds of uninterrupted silence, he shook his head, squeezing out a few drops of liquid from his eyelids before hastening his walk.

Ī°•M.. T∆H..Ë ..VĪÇ..TÎM§ H∆ËRĒ∆!!

- Like a final blow to an opponent, those words rendered the man's legs immobile. Not that the young man wished to flee either way, his sunken eyes widened even further, pausing for a few moments before he softly furrowed his eyebrows and turn his head, wanting to catch a glimpse of what was looming behind him.

w. §∆H. .y ∆Çå.ÑT t.HËY. . . . . .

- His eyes widened once more upon seeing the entity that whispered behind him. In the street that was previously blooming with light there loomed.. and with a low, dry voice, he uttered.

"..Nothing..?"

- The young man's eyebrow elevated upwards as he scanned the surroundings at his rear. The same buildings, the same lights, the same soft howl of the midnight wind.

- He scoffed before focusing his gaze forward, his instincts now settling down. He lifted his right leg and proceeded to take another step forward.

üÑD.ËR.§TÆ.ÑD M..Ê!!

- Like a forceful shriek, the voice exclaimed, turning the entire city into a crimson colored imagery. The man's face went pale, a cold sweat ran down his cheek as his legs became paralyzed in place. His instincts once again turned haywire as it went against his paralysis, reminding him of the evergrowing sense of urgency blaring from his gut.

- This time, the distorted voice.. instead of radiating that previously relaxed, almost uncanny hint of calmness that echoed like a pleasant blade with a freezing disposition. Exclaimed itself like a furious volcano whispering only to a single individual, the voice, no.. voices sounded like they were shrieking, from pain, from anger, from frustration, from disappointment, and for each passing second it grew louder, they began to whimper, to gasp for air.

- In spite of the chilly atmosphere, the man sweated profusely, his pale countenance transitioning into a breeding ground of terror, he looked back erratically and slowly to see who was exuding the unsettling sentences. "..w...h..h..uh..?" - as his green eyes landed on the being on his rear, his entire stature became paralyzed with fear.

The Buildings had vanished, no, to be more precise, they were enshrouded in a thick smoke, a fog-like smog with a shadowy appearance, shutting out even the brighest lights coming from the various stores inside it. The smoke was of pitch-black color, putting even the starless night sky to shame, it was as if, behind the man was just an empty, pointless void waiting to swallow him whole.

- The man trembled, and with what's left of his dissipating willpower he uttered. "who..who's..who's there..!"

- After a few seconds of pressuring silence, amidst the pitch-black smog, a small crescent gleam resembling the moon slowly materialized itself. Forming a parabolic curvature.

- Another few seconds have passed before the glitchy voice returned.

|F§ÏÑ=∆©H HÆY°ZÑĪÇH!!!

- Though this time, instead of being exuded from just a single location, it resonated from every nook and cranny, the man couldn't help but to shakily look up, darting his eyes on every spot, on every corner, while breathing laborously, trying his hardest to pinpoint the location of the voice. But to no avail.

- It came from everywhere, and nowhere at the same time.

"..me..me..?" - With a trembling tone and legs that shook like wet noodles, the man responded, still gazing around the perimeter, from the bright street devoid of anyone in front contrasting the empty, shallow pitch-black void at his rear.

- Questions mixed in with his survival instincts blaring inside of his pscyhe went wild. He couldn't release a heavy exhale to liberate his mind, because there weren't a single second where he was allowed to relax, for even half a second, the feelings of horror, danger and erraticness were sustained, like a crushing squeeze around a beating heart, from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

- The man took a shaky gulp before steeling himself. "Who..who are you..! why are you..!! I don't.. like.. pranks!!" - His voice was like a shaky whimper, devoid of any dominance.

- Afterwards.. a chuckle? Giggle? Cackle? Could be heard, though was just a singular syllable echoing from the fog.

HA.

HA. ha

HA. HA

HA. HA HA

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- Thousands of distorted laughter, cackles, giggles echoed everywhere, from a man? the low pitched chuckles. From a woman? the unrestrained giggles, and the mischievous, bone-chilling cackles from a toddler.. no was it a hundred toddlers? The young man's arms trembled and froze in place, unable to even protect his ears from such an excruciating sound.

- Afterwards, it came into an abrupt silence. The young man gazed in utter horror, before the gleam that was previously present inside the abyss quickly multiplied, with varying sizes, some miniscule to others being gargantuan but still possessed the same, white-glint curvature-like shape.

B∆..ë Ñ®Øt Æ∆fRå~ÏD..

- This time, the voice came from a single location again. The man blinked and was brought out of the daze before he slowly turned around, facing the void with thousands upon thousands of curved glints facing and staring down at him.. He marvelled in complete terror.

d§.Ø Y.Ö∆U W.Å∆Ñt tØ...

- The voice spoke once more, the filter.. the distortion and even the hundreds of different tones..all slowly dissipating..?

G..Ø BÆ.ÇK T..Ø

- The voice slowly closed in on the man, making him lower his head a little, however hesitant, the instincts that was formerly protesting began to slowly silence themselves.

- The young man's uneasiness was gradually alleviated, his limbs automatically halting their trembles. Until the voice uttered another string of words that once again, filled with young man with dread, shock and even..

Hope?

∆t..hÊ P..§Å§T?

- He marvelled once more at the towering void behind him. At the time he pondered that this could've been just a random coincidence, whatever this creature was, their meeting was just a mere serendipitous outcome. And at that time, he doesn't know that he couldn't have been more wrong.

"Go back.. to the past?"

______________ 1.1 END _________________