His breathing was unstable. The only things he could feel were the shards of rock piercing the soles of his feet, and the whining in his bones, muscles and lungs with every step.

Nothing in particular could be seen in front of him, with the rare exception of a boulder every so often. The air hung heavy, as if trying to chain him down.

Every breath he took felt revigorating and mortifying at the same time. He could taste the strong scent of rusted iron.

Every time he tried to catch his breath, he was immediately assaulted by a swarm of tiny claws, teeth and hooked beaks. It took his all just to keep the pace.

He dared not turn around to see, for he feared losing his footing. Neither did he need to observe, for the roaring chaos was loud enough for him to want to cover his ears. He could only dream of the peace and safety of Paradise. He did not know why he called it so.

Then again, anywhere was Paradise compared to here.

He always felt it. In Paradise, whenever he was close to the ocean. It called out to him, as if beckoning him for a swim. The scent was sickening, yet intoxicating. Something was under those waves, but he was far too afraid to see for himself, so he moved into the mountains. He thought that maybe, if he got far enough away, that the ocean would stop looking for him. And, for a while, it did. Alas, it was a feeble attempt. Even in the driest of deserts, the ocean kept calling out to him. He could hear it at night, when he tried to sleep. It drove him insane. He had vivid nightmares of being torn apart by a leviathan almost every night. 

One day, he couldn’t take it anymore. He drove to a place where the ocean was tearing away at the land, causing chunks of it to fall into the water over time, leaving only jagged cliffs and fragmented rocks. He walked to the place where the edge above the water was the tallest. Below him, he could see the fierce behemoth of water pounding away at the rockside, like a butcher tenderizing his meat. He could see occasional glimpses of sand and rock under the water, and he knew that the water here was shallow. He knew that he would plunge straight through the water and break his neck on the ground below.

He called out to the ocean. 

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“Here I am! Is this what you wanted?”

Only the wind howled in return. 

He hesitated. Then, the feeling became unbearable, to the point where he had trouble breathing. He steeled himself, took a stance, and sprinted off the edge, hoping to hit the ground just as the waves had pulled back. He closed his eyes.

Bracing for the impact, he secretly sighed to himself. Just a little longer, and he wouldn’t have to care about anything anymore. 

He fell.

Immediately, he felt a cold sensation sweep over him, yet it was not the cold kiss of death he felt, it was the water. Shocked, he opened his eyes. The salty water assaulted the surface of his eyes, but he willed through it, because he had to see. He scuffled all around, trying to see all around him. Nothing but pitch black, cloudy water in all directions. He could not even see the ocean floor below him. Panicking, he instinctively tried to swim towards the surface to get a better bearing of his surroundings. Yet, his body was incredibly heavy. He was using his entire strength, swimming almost like a scared dog, desperately trying to reach the air. It was no use. Something was pulling him down. In a flash, he felt a slimy tendril wrap around one of his legs. It tugged, and he was pulled down into the depths.

As he came back to his senses, he realized that he had no trouble breathing. His ankle was almost numb now, as if it had been constricted by the tendril for a while. Looking around, he was in awe. In every bubble of the water, was a world similar to his own. Some of them were in different stages of civilizational development, some primitive, others highly technologically advanced. Some even appeared to practice arcane arts. Yet, he did not have time to admire them too much. He could tell his descent was slowing down, but he did not know what for. Looking directly below himself, one of the bubbles was much smaller than the others. It appeared to be freshly born. 

The bubbles around him all washed away, and the fresh bubble enlarged in his vision. He thought it was going to burst from his touch, for it looked so delicate. Instead, it kept getting larger until he could see no else. 

Suddenly, he realized that there no longer was anything wrapped around his ankle. He could see faint light above him, and he swam towards it.

He washed up on a beach, with dark red sand. Above him, the sky was grey and still, as if there was no sun to form winds. Everywhere he looked, was empty. Not even a shrubbery could be seen. Was there no life here? 

And so, he began walking. 

After he had walked for a good while, there was sound behind him. He could see creatures crawling out of the water, just as he had done. These creatures were nothing he had ever seen before, and they looked like they wouldn’t last long on their own. Even so, he could see ferocity in their eyes. This type of vile aggression that could only be compared to a starved predator.

They were all looking at him.

Letting out a disgusting cry that was more like a gurgle, they began charging at him. He was paralyzed for a good second before he came back to his senses and began running in the opposite direction from them. He was not sure what to do, but he knew that he needed to get away from them.