Chapter 2
Aeren kept walking.
He didn't know where he was going. He just knew he couldn't stop. Not now.
After each place disappointed him, he would leave and move forward again. It had become his habit — his survival.
This new area looked different, but not better.
The ground was dry and cracked, like it hadn't seen life in years. The sky was darker here. The air felt heavier.
Aeren looked around.
Nothing.
No movement. No colors. Just ruins, dust, and silence.
He took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. "Another dead place," he whispered.
He turned around, ready to leave — ready to forget this part of the void too.
And then it happened.
A sound.
Very soft. Like a whisper.
He stopped.
Aeren froze in place.
Had he really heard something?
He waited. Eyes wide. Ears sharp.
Then the sound came again.
A voice — faint but real.
His body went numb.
His ears hadn't heard another voice in five years. Only the sound of his own footsteps… and sometimes, his own thoughts whispering in his head.
Now, someone — or something — had spoken.
The voice came again. Then again. Five… maybe six times. Not words. Just sounds. But they were real.
Aeren's heart began to race.
His breath grew shaky.
He wasn't sure if it was fear or hope.
He followed the sound.
The voice was ahead… calling him.
He stepped forward slowly, through the cold air, through the broken path. Each step felt heavier than the last.
And then… he saw something in the distance.
His feet stopped.
His mouth went dry.
His eyes narrowed.
Was it a person?
Or was it something else?
He didn't move.
He couldn't.
End of Chapter 2
(To be continued...)