I don't remember slipping into unconsciousness. One moment, I was lying on the cold pavement, blood pooling beneath me, and the next… I was floating.
But this wasn't like any dream I had ever had. It was more vivid, more real. I could feel the emptiness around me, stretching out in every direction, the weightlessness of my body as I drifted through a void.
When I looked around, I saw that I was no longer in the city. No more dark streets or flickering lights. No more noise, no more pain. Just endless space, stretching out forever. Stars glittered in the distance, and planets orbited far away, their faint, glowing outlines barely visible. I was floating in the middle of a galaxy, or maybe galaxies — I couldn't tell.
It was beautiful in a strange, surreal way. I should've been scared, but there was a sense of calm washing over me, like I was meant to be here.
Is this… what dying feels like? I wondered, though the thought seemed distant, like it wasn't really mine.
As I floated there, lost in the vastness of the cosmos, something caught my attention. Something… off. A presence. I couldn't see it, but I could feel it, somewhere out there in the darkness. It was far away, but growing closer, like it was searching for something. Or someone.
At first, it was nothing more than a distant shadow, a ripple in the fabric of the universe. But as it approached, it became clearer, and I felt a strange energy radiating from it. An aura — massive, ancient, and unlike anything I had ever sensed before. It was bigger than the galaxy itself, a swirling mass of energy and power that seemed alive, as if it had a mind of its own.
What… what is that?
The aura moved with purpose, almost like it was hunting, searching for something — or someone. I wanted to turn away, to float in the other direction, but I was rooted in place, unable to move. My body was frozen, like I was being pulled toward it.
It grew closer, and with each passing second, I could feel the intensity of its power. It wasn't just large — it was overwhelming. It made the stars and planets seem insignificant, like dust in the wind.
And then it saw me.
I don't know how I knew, but I did. It was like the aura had locked onto me, its massive, swirling energy shifting, focusing, narrowing in on my tiny presence. For a moment, everything seemed to freeze. The stars, the planets, even the distant light of galaxies far beyond. All of it dimmed as this strange entity fixed its gaze on me.
Panic surged through me. I wanted to run, to get away from whatever this was, but I couldn't move. I was trapped, floating in the middle of an infinite universe, helpless against the power that was drawing nearer, nearer.
And then, in a rush of blinding light, it was upon me.
I braced myself, expecting to be consumed, to disappear into nothingness. But instead, something even stranger happened. The aura didn't devour me. It… entered me.
I gasped, though I had no lungs to breathe with in this strange dreamlike state. The energy of the aura flowed into me, filling me, surrounding me, becoming a part of me. It wasn't painful, but it was overwhelming — a surge of power unlike anything I had ever felt. My mind struggled to comprehend it, to make sense of what was happening.
I could feel it now, deep inside me, like a burning fire in my chest. It wasn't just power; it was alive, pulsing, twisting, searching for something within me. And I was helpless to stop it.
As the energy coursed through me, images began to flash in my mind. Strange, incomprehensible visions of worlds I had never seen, creatures I couldn't recognize, and symbols that made no sense. The universe was opening up before me, revealing its secrets, its mysteries, its unimaginable depth.
And then, just as suddenly as it had come, the rush of energy slowed. The blinding light faded, leaving me floating once more in the silent expanse of the galaxy. But I was different now. Something had changed.
I could feel it — deep inside me, buried beneath my skin, my bones. The aura, the power, was still there. It had become part of me, mingling with my very essence.
What just happened?
I didn't have time to process it. Before I could even begin to understand what had taken place, the darkness began to close in again. My body felt heavy, sinking, falling, as if I was being pulled back down into the world I had come from. My vision blurred, and the stars began to fade.
But even as the dream — or whatever it was — slipped away, I knew one thing for sure.
I wasn't the same person I had been before.
And whatever had just entered me… was only the beginning.