Pain. A universe of pain.
Reed floated in a void without boundaries, his consciousness fragmented into countless shards, each containing a splinter of memory. The merging of the third fragment—the Void Walker—had shattered his being more completely than he could have imagined. His body, his mind, his very soul torn apart and reconstructed according to laws that defied mortal understanding.
Through the agony, he perceived whispers—ancient voices speaking in languages that had died before humans walked the earth. The fragments communicated with each other, reuniting after eons of separation. They sang of purpose, of the Veil, of the darkness that waited beyond.
And then, abruptly, consciousness returned.
