The surroundings were calm, darkness fell all around him. A strange ominous feeling overwhelmed his senses.
In the depths of darkness when August was finally able to feel his limbs, he took a careful step, then another, and another. The place felt empty, only filled with eerie silence.
August always thought about what another world would look like? The concept was very alien to him because he was someone who hadn't seen even the world outside of his town. And now he was standing in a completely different realm.
Naturally he was afraid, terrified to be honest. His experience from when he last visited this place was the very reason he felt reluctant to return here. He remembered being assaulted by the echoes suddenly and the worst part was to face those countless voices all at once.
He never would've come but curiosity dragged him back.
The realm was silent, not even that what he had most expected happened. Since it was the realm of elements he had expected to be welcomed like last time. August made sure to be mentally prepared, not that he knew what severity might befall him.
He knew nothing about this place and entered with the intention of knowing about it better. Nor did he know if the strange voices would talk to him today or not.
"You're back" someone whispered from left making him startled,
"Welcome" someone said from right at the same time.
August felt afraid, shivering up to the bones. He had thought about various methods by which he could persuade this entity into answering his questions or maybe talk a little.
But it seemed when faced with them, he wasn't able to put his words into voice. It was like they froze in his mouth, refusing to come out.
He tried to compose himself and smiled at the darkness.
The strange voices let out a laugh, the chilling laughter resounded in the dark lightless void of a realm.
"I thought you would never come back" The voices united, "Good, I guess. Though, I won't apologize for my behaviour from last time. I can't just casually tell you about myself you know. It would only be best for your own safety after all."
August understood the consequences well and nodded.
"So young Augustus" the voices asked in a curious manner, "Can I ask you what brought you back to me?"
August thought he may have to convince the strange voices for a conversation of mere moments. However, the being seemed more keen on talking to him otherwise they wouldn't have indirectly consoled him for their outburst from the last time.
August felt a little confident now,
"You said that you know everything" he asked, facing the eternal darkness standing before nobody, "I too want to know."
This was the exact reason August had dared to come back here. There were many questions in his mind, which were unanswered for many years like questions related to his ambivalence, questions related to echoes, questions related to the past of his parents that they were hiding and many more.
The most important question however, was why he was so unlucky? Why was he born as a failure? Why wasn't he chosen by any element? Or will he in the future? How can he scare off the echoes? How can he become someone he wanted all his life to be?
August was full of these unanswered questions. And he had a faint hope that the being in front of him, no matter good or evil, could answer him truthfully.
"I see" the voices seem amused, "so you wanted to know things. Alright, however, be warned: Information comes at a cost. Are you sure you have enough to give me?"
Indeed, nothing in this world is free, everything comes with a price. August knew that too well. He had anticipated this would be a two way transaction. Only he didn't know the price he would have to pay yet? Or what would it be?
Since before him was a mystical being or may very well be mythical therefore as much was clear that they would not request materialistic possessions.
So what would it be? His mind? His body? His soul?
However August was confident whatever, it would surely be worth it.
After a moment of silence, the voices asked again,
"So, what do you want to know?"
August smiled terribly while trying to calm his nervous mind, took deep breath and spoke, making the voices smile audibly,
"Everything"
— — —
Coincidentally or perhaps not, August had stumbled upon a being who claimed to know everything. What could have been more fateful than this for a boy who wanted to know everything there is to know.
About the world. Universe. Himself.
For that reason he was about to make a deal with the strange being,
"So?" he asked, making himself look confident, "What is that you want as payment?"
While this was true that nothing comes free in this world the statement that everything has a price goes hand to hand.
The voices chuckled, "uh.. It's nothing much honestly. What would I take as my payment would be some of your moments. Meaning, your time."
"My time?" August wasn't able to hide his surprise to hear something he had not expected, "why though?"
"You know, I am someone who constantly suffers from the burden of knowledge. I've watched countless beings, lived through countless lifetimes because of that I have a great accumulation of stories. Stories which contain:
Joy, sadness, disappointment, hopelessness, motivation, despair, desire, love, betrayal, redemption, greed, viciousness, anxiety, lunaticism, nihilism, cannibalism, hope, will to live, will to destroy and …death countless times.
I've watched people suffer thereby suffering with them as a bystander. Though I don't possess any emotion I want to know how a normal being with emotions would react to my stories. You see, just like you Augustus, I am also a slave to my curiosity, that's why."
"Is that so?" August asked, understanding the situation before him, "if it's just curiosity, why did you say it was a burden then?"
"You are quite a sharp one aren't you" the voices seem amused, "it's a burden because I feel like I am the only one who knows this much. It may not seem like much to you but millenia over millenia when I watched those countless stories, I began to yearn for company of someone although I am a being who is supposed to have no emotion I began to feel alone."
The voices let out a chuckle again,
"Isn't it strange? For someone to develop something which shouldn't have existed in the first place? Not like I could blame anyone. I guess there was always something wrong with me. I was supposed to remain the way I was born. I was supposed to be free, I was supposed to be… whatever. The point is that I began to change over a period of several million years which might sound strange to you humans but it's true. I began to develop, or maybe started returning to my original state. I felt a change inside myself when I began to experience this emotion. I began to feel alone… lost in the darkness of space."
The voices grew silent for a while then spoke,
"That's why I came to you. To satiate my curiosity about other emotions as well. I wanted to study a living being and maybe also wanted a little company."
A being who had lived countless lives, experienced countless lifetimes. Who had watched many living beings go through highs and lows of the process called life.
"Let me get this straight," August repeated after voices, "You want to study human emotions and someday see for yourself what it feels like?"
"That's right" the voices spoke, "I would tell you real stories that we both know happens to be a mess of emotions. What could be the better way to ease up my burden and try to find my answers both at the same time?"
"That's an excellent method" August said in a tone without expressions, "only I can't see where my benefit lies in all this."
"Oh.. don't be so stingy Augustus" the voices said in a convincing tone from the dark, "alright you can ask one question after a story is that okay?"
"No It isn't" he said almost immediately, "one question per story? I don't feel like it's worth it."
"But it is," the voices said, "you can ask about anything, keep that in mind and you'll see how much of a benefit it is for you."
Indeed, if everything that the voices said was true then one question about anything in this world seemed more than enough in exchange for some moments of his day. However August thought he could get a lot more from this deal.
"Okay, okay" the voices spoke, sensing his indecisiveness, "you can have two questions per story and you can come to me whenever you see fit, that's the extent of it. I am going any lower, what is it, a fish market?"
August was unsure to make a deal at first but to think the strange being had given him a lot more, he was convinced now if he wasn't before. He was getting to ask two questions about anything and that too with his own comfort. Honestly, the offer was good, too good really. Up to the point that August wondered if he might be the one getting scammed from all this.
What the hell was a fish market anyway?
However, the opportunity was too good to be passed on.
Therefore he agreed.
"Very well then" the voices spoke, "starting by tomorrow, our deal is official. You have to listen to my stories of course at a time of your choosing and you get to ask two questions about anything that I will truthfully answer. Now, if you have anything unrelated to the dark kept secrets of the universe to ask, you are free to go."
"Oh I have something I want to ask," August spoke in a hurried voice, turning his head left and right only to see eternal darkness he asked, "what is this place?"
The voices spoke acknowledging his question,
"Right, you are ambivalent so you wouldn't know. This is a separate world called the conscious realm where consciousness resides. Well that much should be obvious by the name. This is a place everyone has access to, only some people like you, they don't know that yet. It's not easy to cross the threshold without a core element after all."
The voices grew fed up,
"Actually it also wasn't easy for me to guide you here. I had to flood your sleep with unusual dreams only to make you lower your mental defences and after so many attempts have I succeeded to make contact with you in the outer world. Which wasn't a very pleasant experience for me, I admit. Well, here your mental resistance isn't a problem you see, because it is the realm of will, consciousness, echoes. And that is also why you received a warm welcome from those vicious bastards upon entering here, by the way. Also one of the reasons for choosing this realm was that the emotions reside in the consciousness and …that is all I think."
August felt a mix of emotions. Surprise. Anger. And more anger and suddenly bursted,
"So you are the bastard who has been messing up with my mind only to make me doubt my own sanity? And you just did all this for the sake of your stupid little experiment. I was being played by your dreams, completely oblivious to your scheming. I also was an idiot thinking that these dreams might have some meaning or might hold some importance perhaps."
"What? Why the hell would you think that?"
The voices spoke casually, sounding genuinely surprised,
"I also wonder, you damn moron," he shouted in anger, "you vicious scheming bastard, you sadistic lunatic."
"Easy there tiger. We are business partners now. Don't forget we have a deal."
"Hell with you and your deal" he shouted on top of his lungs,
"...and what the heck is a tiger anyway?"
— — — — —