There was nothing.
Not darkness.
Not silence.
Not emptiness.
Nothing.
Adrian stood—
And yet, there was no place for him to stand.
There was no ground beneath his feet, no air around him, no sense of direction, no space to move through. Even the concept of movement felt meaningless here. There was nowhere to go.
Nowhere to reach.
For the first time—
There was no "outside."
He exhaled slowly.
Or at least—
He thought he did.
Even that felt uncertain.
"…So this is it."
The words didn't echo.
Didn't carry.
Didn't exist beyond the moment he thought them.
Because here—
Nothing extended beyond itself.
No system.
No bond.
No presence.
No Elara.
No Lyra.
No Kaelith.
No Seraphine.
No Aria.
Nothing.
And yet—
He was still here.
Adrian didn't move.
Because there was nothing to move through.
He didn't look around.
Because there was nothing to see.
For a moment—
There was no pressure.
No test.
No challenge.
Only—
Stillness.
Then—
The thought came.
