They stood in the void for a few good minutes in a hug until Vesper finally leaned back and looked up at her face.
"Mo— Mother?"
His voice was scratchy and rough, like he hadn't spoken in years.
She nodded as she stared into his eyes, slowly stepping out of their embrace.
"I believe I owe you an explanation for what's happened and what's going on. I need you to listen to me calmly and hear what I have to say."
Her voice is steady, but beneath it there's a wavering thread, the kind you only notice if you're paying attention.
She reached up and gently patted my head.
"Your life so far, although very real to you, doesn't exist. Your incubation period has stretched for eons, but for you it has only been 80 years. I was with you in the beginning, but problems occurred, and I had to leave to handle them here."
When she mentions leaving me, her lips press together for a fraction of a second, like the memory stings.
She looked around at the void, then down, pointing toward the cosmic ocean beneath them. When she glances at the cosmic ocean, her gaze grows distant, tired in a way that feels older than time.
"This is my universe. Countless worlds full of life, timelines with different histories, dimensions, realms… my universe has it all. But… just because it's mine doesn't mean it isn't susceptible to invaders and beings who wish to rule it for themselves."
When she talks about invaders, her brow tightens, the corners of her mouth flattening.
She sighs.
Then she looks at me again, forcing a small smile.
It doesn't hide the worry in her eyes.
"These problems still plague it. They're persistent."
I look at her, then down below. My brain is still trying to process everything she's said so far.
My thoughts spiral.
None of this makes sense. Her words feel too big, too impossible, like my mind keeps slipping off them whenever I try to grab hold.
Your life wasn't real.
You were incubating for eons.
This is my universe.
Each sentence echoes like it's traveling through a cave, repeating until it hurts.
What is she talking about?
Where even am I?
Heaven? Hell? Some kind of cosmic dream?
A tightness blooms in my chest—panic-like but muted, as if the fear can't fully form in this body. My breath shudders on the way out, and for a second I think I might collapse under it all.
She watches me quietly. There's a flicker—guilt? Worry?—passing through her eyes before she masks it with that gentle patience again.
I force myself to inhale slowly, but the air feels different, heavy with unreal particles that rush toward me like they're alive.
I exhale.
Huuuu.
As I exhale, the fabric of reality seems to move with my breath. I feel refreshed—my mind clear, my body… different.
What's up with my body?
I look down and notice I'm standing nude in wherever this place is.
I wish I had some clothes.
Teaarr.
I hear the ripping of fabric, and in an instant something catches my attention.
The darkness around me—stirring, bending to my will without me realizing—rips off a small piece of itself, the size of my hand.
It floats over and touches my body.
The darkness spreads across me, covering my arms, torso, and legs.
Hmm?
Clothes? But not really… and kind of dark. What if there's some white instead of all black? Maybe a touch of gray and silver…
The darkness shifts, transforming according to my imagination. A white undershirt, black pants, and a black robe drape over me, translucent gray patterns swirling across the fabric, with silver embroidery lining the collar, trim, and cuffs.
Hmm, that's better, I think while nodding my head.
I look back up at my mom and see her staring at me with a smile.
"I know you're confused right now, Vesper, but follow me. Let's sit down and talk, and then you can decide what you want to do next."
She waves her hand gently, the motion slow and fluid, and the void ripples outward like a stone dropped into water. Light gathers in front of us—white, gold, then marble—shaping itself into a colossal palace that seems to breathe with the universe around it.
The shift is so seamless it barely feels real.
Her fingers wrap around my hand—warm, reassuring—and the moment she steps forward, the space ahead folds inward. The void, the palace exterior, even the cosmic ocean blur together as if someone smeared existence with a brushstroke.
When everything snaps back into focus, I'm already sitting beside her on a couch with a coffee table in front of us. The room looks like a library, with books lining the shelves and a desk positioned in the center.
I take in all these sights temporarily, deciding I'll explore them later. Taking another deep breath, I turn to her and say,
"Okay, so let's talk."
…
After talking for who knows how long, I finally have a grasp on my reality.
Honestly, accepting it happened faster than I thought… or I think so, but…
I wonder if it's because it wasn't this body that lived that life. When I try to recall it, I feel a strange dissonance—as if my soul remembers everything, but my body doesn't.
It's an odd feeling…
We talked about my life on Earth… or what I guess I should now call my incubation period.
It's strange, thinking you were dead when in truth your life is only just beginning. We drifted through trivial topics—day-to-day life, things I experienced throughout my years, both the good and the bad. I told her everything that happened from the moment she left. Looking back on it, I realized my memories feel sharper now, clearer than before.
At some point, I asked her about something that had bothered me: why I never knew my mother's name while I was on Earth. She laughed at me for asking such a question, but eventually tears gathered in the corners of her eyes as she told me her name was Heaven. Pretty fitting for someone who rules a universe.
The more we talked, the more my acceptance and disorientation grew. Our conversation eventually shifted to her universe—Evren. I now understand where my last name comes from. I like it, honestly.
It fills me with a sense of belonging.
She told me about a few planets and realms, some of which reminded me of the mythologies from Earth. The more she spoke, the more I wanted to go out and see them with my own eyes—but I'm not ready to part with her yet.
She said I can leave whenever I want, but I've decided to stay here a while longer, to adapt… and to acclimate to this new body.
That was another thing we discussed. I'm no longer mortal. Like her, I am Immortal, born from both the fabric of reality and nothingness. I somewhat understand being born from reality… aren't all things brought to life through it? But nothingness? That I don't understand.
She didn't tell me exactly what I can do now with this body, but she said the possibilities are endless—that I should discover them for myself.
My mind keeps circling back and forth between memories, questions, and revelations. None of it is settling in cleanly as I wish it would, and maybe that's why everything feels scattered when I think about it.
I feel disorganized and adrift, just going with the flow like a leaf floating downstream, pulled along by the current.
My head feels dizzy, and I'm growing tired.
Noticing my state of mind, my mom asks if I'd like to rest.
Rubbing my face with my fingers in a slow, massaging gesture, I said,
"Yeah… it's just a little bit too much right now. I'd like some time to sort my thoughts."
"Okay, dear. I'll show you to your room so you can rest. If you need anything, just let me know."
We leave the room filled with books, and the door shuts behind us with a soft, echoing thud that feels heavier than it should.
The hallway stretches ahead, lit by a warm, ambient glow that seems to come from the marble itself.
My bare feet walk along the floor, I expected it to be cold, but with every step I take, the warmth eases my nerves, my erratic and scattered thoughts slowly settling.
We walk in silence for a while—no awkwardness, just a quiet understanding. Heaven glances at me every few steps, checking my expression, her brows faintly pinched with concern.
Eventually she stops in front of a door that wasn't there a moment ago, or maybe I simply didn't notice it. She raises her hand, and the door glides open on its own.
As the door opens, I notice the room is completely empty. She snaps her fingers and, like magic, it fills with a bed, a closet, couches, a bathroom, and a TV mounted on one of the walls.
A TV? That wasn't something I was expecting.
Noticing my gaze on the TV, she chuckled.
"Some of the more advanced planets have TVs and channels that stream news, movies, shows, and so on. You can flip through the channels and see what those worlds are like without having to leave. I'm sure you're curious. Here, take this."
She flipped over her hand, and a typical TV remote appeared. She handed it to me.
Grabbing the remote from her, I nodded and looked around the room again.
Completely throwing out the thought of how she did what she did, I decided to ignore it for now. There's already so much to take in, and I'm starting to feel overstimulated all over again.
Perhaps noticing my declining state again, she said,
"I'll leave you alone while I go to work. Just relax here and sort out your thoughts, and we'll talk again tomorrow, okay?"
"Okay."
As she walked out of the room and closed the door behind her, I let out a deep breath I didn't realize I had been holding.
Looking around the room, i set the remote down on a table and decided to head to the bathroom and take a shower.
Opening the door, I notice it's clean and stocked with all the basic necessities.
My footsteps echo softly in the bathroom as I step inside, and when I catch my silhouette in the mirror, I freeze. For a few breaths, I can't even bring myself to move closer.
When I finally do, my reflection sharpens into focus, and something cold ripples through me.
That… that's me?
My face is familiar but wrong—too symmetrical, too flawless. Focusing on my reflection, I started noticing the differences between who I was on Earth and who I am now.
My facial features looked similar yet different—more handsome, more ethereal. My hair was long, silky, black, and reached down to my waist. But the most noticeable difference was my eyes—
I lean in, my breath fogging the glass.
My sclera were a dark, abyss-like black, my pupils a soft swirl of purple and blue like a slow-moving whirlpool, and my irises seemed to contain countless nebulas and universes, constantly shifting.
My throat tightens.
I look like a god.
Or a monster.
I don't know whether to be afraid or fascinated.
I touched my face, moved it around a bit, then pinched my cheek.
Yup. It's real.
I leaned back, taking in my appearance, and start to nod appreciatively. The best way to describe my eyes was devilishly handsome. My body and facial features looked almost too perfect and harmonious—yet the contrast between that perfection and the rest of me created a divine, yet unsettling appearance.
Hmm, I look a bit intimidating now… but I guess I'll adapt to it.
I ran my hand through my hair, still taking in my appearance.
After a few minutes, I decided it was time to shower. I walked over and turned on the faucet.
I tried to undress, but my clothes didn't seem to want to come off.
Odd.
How do I get these off…?
An idea came to mind.
I stretch out my arm, focusing on the clothes clinging to me. The moment the thought forms—turn into a card—a strange tingling crawls across my skin.
My clothes shiver.
Then they unravel in thin, smoke-like strands, slipping across my body in a fluid motion that feels both gentle and eerily alive. The darkness folds into itself, compressing, flattening, until a smooth black card rests in my palm, warm like it was just alive a second ago.
I blink.
A quiet laugh escapes me.
Cool.
I set the card on the vanity and hopped into the shower.