Light and darkness,

Life and death,

Black and white,

Written between zeros and ones.

All duality is necessary

For the balance of the universe.

But even duality has its kings

In a space-time like an

Eternal game of chess.

When he woke up in the middle of the night, he felt as if he had awoken in a completely unusual way. Unlike how he usually woke up at such hours, he didn’t feel sleepy at all, and it was as if he had awakened in the most natural way possible, as if sunlight were streaming into the room, as if the day were just beginning, but nothing had begun—it was still 3 a.m., and the silence of a resting city and the darkness of the night permeated every inch of the small room he called his own.

That night, he had a strange dream, and he began trying to recall as many details as he could, with the classic fear of losing the content of what he had been dreaming, forever. And then, once again, the images passed linearly through his mind. The dream was now revealed to him again, but this time through his vivid memories.

He was on a street full of passersby, and a light rain was falling on a cold, cloudy day. There were countless people in that place, all dressed in warm clothes, and the typical melancholy of the early morning, combined with the beginning of what would be a tiring week, filled the atmosphere of that place. People were heading to work, it seemed to be a poor neighborhood, and the color palette was predominantly gray with dark tones, painting the whole picture that his brain made him see. Despite the many people there, no matter where he looked, it was as if his vision passed right through them, barely noticing their presence. It was as if all those people were nothing more than raindrops, through which his gaze penetrated indifferently, until, for some reason, an object caught his attention.

On the ground was a mysterious jewel, and the exact angle of the light it reflected from the still faint beams of a distant sun that pierced the clouds, made the light of that sparkling stone travel directly to his eye, as if it were in a perfect position for only him to notice that gleam, like he was able to look into a mirror for just a millisecond. The light then caused a brief blindness, which disoriented him and finally woke him from the usual trance fueled by the indifference he felt for most of the day. Even when he was in public, he used to be completely trapped in a dissociative and private world.

He decided to pursue that thing, rudely bumping into people with his shoulders and crossing the way, fearing that someone might step on that stone which, for some reason, now completely captivated his attention. He left the world he was used to and entered the real world he had so long forgotten, seeing a unique opportunity that was absolutely impossible to explain, as if it were pulling his body. In the end, it was nothing more than curiosity, or at least that’s what it seemed, though mere curiosity wouldn’t have motivated him so much to pick something up from the ground in such a rush. And when he finally reached the stone, red and vivid like blood, he noticed it was part of a pendant on a sophisticated chain.

When he touched it, he instantly shivered, as if his fingers had brushed softly against the surface of a CRT TV screen. It wasn’t purely an emotional shiver, but as if there were a mysterious force within, trying to pull him in entirely. After the onset of this strange event, he realized he was being overtaken by a complex sensation, which had gradually manifested since his eyes first met the mysterious object, and now, this sensation was very clear and had completely consumed him.

At first, with the shiver, he felt his blood flowing in an indescribable way, unlike anything any stimulant could achieve. An energy invaded him, stronger than any amount of caffeine he had ever taken or any chemical any human could experience, and the shiver, which initially seemed mild to moderate, now became intense, causing his body to be completely paralyzed for a few seconds. All the colors he saw suddenly inverted, in a vision of negative effect that struck him like lightning.

He realized that what was now in his hands had touched him not only physically but seemed to be lodged in the deepest core of his being. It was as if it hadn’t just affected his blood and cells, but even what he could call the core of his soul and consciousness.

He looked around, trying to find where the stone might have fallen from, and all he could notice was a man walking ahead, but looking back over his shoulders, staring fixedly in his direction.

The man's gaze seemed violent, and unlike Coven's, it didn’t express indifference, but anger. It was a gaze so heavy that it was as if he knew that the object was his, but he was in such a superior position that he didn’t even care to come back and retrieve it. For some reason, Coven felt that this wasn’t just anger, but something worse and in some way impossible to fully grasp. It expressed something close to chaos and destruction, endowed with an immense coldness. There is a huge difference between neutral indifference and the coldness of a predator.

And after that, he opened his eyes, waking up in bed, and that experience had ended. He found himself back where he was, having just recalled the entire dream that had passed through his mind, and these memories now seemed so real and vivid that he wondered if he had really dreamed it or if he was remembering an actual event.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

He got out of bed, looked around, and, strangely enough, even at that hour of the night, he didn’t feel the slightest bit drowsy. He was completely rested, and the deep blue, alongside a silver hue, came from his window. The moonlight timidly illuminated the small balcony. He walked slowly towards it, placed his hands on the concrete barrier that separated the balcony from the rest of the street, and observed.

It was nine floors up from where he lived, and he rested a bored gaze downward, staring at the asphalt while feeling the wind gently blowing on his face, with his hair dancing in front of his eyes, brushing against his nose.

"If I fell from here... what are the chances that I would die?..." Coven wondered spontaneously, but with the fear that if he ever tried, he might become paraplegic if it didn’t turn out as expected. He was also somewhat ignorant on the subject and didn’t know if the height was sufficient, which sparked a silly curiosity. It was a height that already frightened him, so he assumed the answer was yes, until suddenly, an energy of blue light, forming literally out of nowhere but very strong and bright, began to dance before his eyes, transforming into the shape of a message that displayed only a number and a symbol.

"[0%]"

“What the!...” he exclaimed, startled, letting go of the balcony and stepping back. The numbers danced in the air and remained there.

"Zero percent? But what does that mean?" he wondered aloud, instantly placing his hand on his chest, searching for the pendant, questioning whether he was still dreaming, but there was no pendant. He felt the clarity of his skin and body temperature. He was awake now, but he couldn’t distinguish if what he was seeing was real or not, so incredulous was he. However, there was no reason to believe he was still dreaming. He was witnessing something completely different from anything he had ever seen before.

"I asked a question, and this appeared... Could it be...?" Coven continued trying to understand, quickly coming to terms with the strangeness of the situation. He sought to maintain a calm and logical demeanor at all costs.

"Maybe it has something to do with the question I asked," he concluded. And the astonishment on his face quickly faded, as his indifference soon returned. Deep down, nothing truly frightened him. There was nothing to fear given the path he wanted to follow in his life. Coven wanted to be at the forefront, to be one of those responsible for keeping everyone safe, ensuring that the world and civilization he knew would never come to an end. He couldn’t let the entire course of human history be at risk of being erased forever. In a world where such horrendous and terrifying creatures existed and where magic also prevailed, he wasn’t going to be scared by a mysterious message before his eyes, no matter how strange it might seem. Thinking about these factors, he simply proceeded with the situation.

But Coven couldn’t use magic; in fact, no human should. The human body couldn’t sustain it for long; it was like a curse in exchange for much of one’s health and life expectancy. Besides, he hadn’t spoken or done anything to activate it. At that moment, he wondered if the source of the phenomenon was indeed related to the magic he knew, but he concluded it wasn’t.

So, it could also be thought: it didn’t come from him. It came from somewhere to him.

His white shirt fluttered with the wind that was gradually increasing in strength, and he wondered about it. There weren’t many clouds, let alone any sign of a storm, but the wind was behaving like one, inexplicably contrary to the natural order of things in such a simple and peaceful neighborhood. He noticed that the streetlights were also starting to flicker, and the darkness of the night was increasing, becoming complete. It was strange that a vast darkness spread so quickly that night, as if it were a sign of what was to come.

“All the streetlights went out suddenly... What’s happening?” Coven asked himself. “And if I fell from here... would there be really a 0% chance of dying?... But that’s a joke! It’s obvious I would die. I’m nine floors up!” he concluded, looking at the abyss before him. 

That was what the message meant. But soon after he had the answer in his mind, the message disappeared, as if whoever or whatever sent it was now satisfied. It was the only light that contrasted with the atmosphere of that place.

He returned to the balcony, resting his hands.

“Me? Jump?...” he now hesitated. “I-I would never do that!”

And then the wind abruptly increased in strength, pulling him towards the street as if it wanted to drag him out or actually kill him.

“What the hell??!” he exclaimed, now nervous. The wind was so strong it seemed like a storm coming out of nowhere, with no significant clouds or rain. It was as if the universe were playing a very nasty trick on him, as if death were coming for him, and there was nothing he could do about it. Seeing that all his physical efforts were futile, but without giving up, still his foot slipped, and he turned his body over the balcony and fell. At that moment, he felt as if death had indeed visited him and he couldn’t even resist.

“0%...,” he remembered. “0%...,” and closed his eyes, feeling gravity pushing him towards the ground. Deep down, he knew that height was enough to his death. He knew that when his head hit the solid concrete, his skull would shatter. It was a stupid question. And seeing the situation he was in, he didn’t panic and quickly accepted it. It was obvious that if he fell from there, he would certainly die.

As he was falling, for some mysterious and hard-to-understand reason, he started hearing the sound of a truck that seemed to be heading towards the direction he was falling. He couldn’t see it because everything was happening so fast, and he felt his heart leap into his throat, concluding that not only would he hit the ground, but he would also be run over with that truck coming directly in his direction. It was too much to believe. 

"But if I die here, if this truck got me... Would I be sent to another world?!... No, this is so silly..." and he smiled, while falling to his last second.

But despite thinking he was going to die, that’s not what happened.

He landed perfectly on top of the truck, and the impact was far from lethal. In fact, everything was quite soft, so soft that he didn’t get a single scratch. However, the jolt was still strong, and he spent a few seconds disoriented, trying to understand what had really happened.

When he looked around, he saw numerous plastic bags. He felt the truck begin to brake, followed by the sound of a door opening. Heavy footsteps came towards him.

It was a fat man with a round face, showing an expression of worry and confusion. He was wearing a hat, which he then removed while scratching his chin, clearly struggling to understand what was going on. Coven, trying to gradually get up while supporting himself with his hands, felt a bit dizzy and, with a somewhat blurred vision that was slowly clearing up, concluded:

“0%... certainly, 0% chance of dying... I don’t have a single scratch,” he settled, recalling the number that had mysteriously appeared in his vision moments ago.