It wasn't quite unconsciousness. It was more like falling asleep, but into a dream of oppressive darkness.
I was adrift in a vast, black void, a disembodied head floating in a swirling white mist, like a cloud of frozen breath. The air was heavy, thick with a silence that pressed on my eardrums. Then, in the far distance, a tiny speck of light flickered into existence, a single star in an endless night. I drifted towards it, slowly, inevitably, drawn by an unseen force. As I drew closer, the light grew, resolving into a shimmering, almost ethereal image.
It was a woman, kneeling, a small boy by her side. The boy, no older than five or six, was tugging at her hand, his face etched with exhaustion. "Mommy," he whined, his voice a small, plaintive sound in the vast emptiness.
"I can't walk anymore. My legs hurt. Carry me, please."
The woman looked down at him, her face radiating a gentle smile, her eyes pools of infinite love. She scooped him up into her arms, cradling him close, her touch radiating warmth even across the dream's empty expanse. She was radiant, almost angelic, bathed in a soft, inner light.
Yes… it was my mother. She reached out to me, her hand warm and comforting as it brushed against mine. It was a familiar touch, a touch that resonated deep within my soul. She began to lead me forward, and I followed, drawn by her presence. "Mom," I tried to say, my voice a garbled whisper, lost in the silence. Her smile widened, her eyes sparkling with love as she looked at me. "Mom," I called again, more clearly this time,
my voice gaining strength. "Don't leave me, Mom… please don't leave me. I'm so lost without you." My voice echoed faintly in the empty darkness, a desperate plea in the face of oblivion.
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I woke to a blurry figure hovering above me. It was my father, I think. My body felt heavy, like lead. I could barely open my eyes. I vaguely remember being lifted from the tub… then nothing. I drifted back into a fitful sleep. When I woke again, I was in my bed, an IV drip attached to my arm. A clear liquid flowed into my veins. I felt utterly drained, every muscle aching. Exhaustion pulled me under once more.
I woke with a jolt, my stomach churning. Nausea washed over me, a violent wave threatening to overwhelm me. I lurched towards the bathroom, my body weak and unsteady, feeling like I might float away. My father appeared at my side catching me before I collapsed, his strong arm supporting me. "It's the toxins..let it go," he said, his voice reassuring as he rubbed my back. "Your body is purging itself." The vomit was a thick, black sludge, clinging to my throat, the smell so foul it made me gag again. "Before you drifted off," he continued, "I gave you an energy potion. You'll be fine. I'll make you something to eat. Just wash up." He patted my back and left.
I rinsed my mouth, trying to get rid of the lingering taste. As I looked up, my reflection stared back at me, a stranger in familiar skin. "whooah.. Who the heck is that..What..what happened to me?" I whispered, my voice barely audible. The face in the mirror… it was me, but enhanced. My jawline was sharp, sculpted. My skin was flawless, not a single blemish. My Adam's apple was prominent, a stark line in my throat. My shoulders were broader, the muscles beneath my skin bulging, veins tracing intricate patterns across my biceps. My stomach was flat, the beginnings of a six-pack… no, eight-pack… visible beneath my skin. I looked… handsome. Incredibly handsome. I also seemed taller, leaner. My vision was sharper, clearer. What had my father given me? And why was I suddenly ravenously hungry, as if I hadn't eaten in days?
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By the time I finished showering and dressing, my father had prepared a feast – milk, eggs, various meats, sausages… a veritable mountain of protein. "Come and eat," he said. "You haven't eaten in three days, so you must be famished. The energy potion will have increased your need for protein. We'll talk after you've eaten. Now, eat your fill."
"Three days?" I echoed, incredulous. "I've been asleep for three days?"
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As I ate, my father brought in his trunk. It was a heavy, dark wood chest, bound with metal bands. "This," he announced, gesturing towards the trunk, "is called an interdimensional storage, or an 'ids ' for short. We have others – rings, bracelets, even small bags – but this is one of the largest. " He knelt beside the trunk and opened it.
Instead of a normal interior, there was just… nothing. A swirling void of absolute blackness, like staring into the heart of a starless night. He reached into this abyss, his hand disappearing into the darkness as if swallowed whole. Then, he pulled something out – a massive sword.,its a Goddamn massive Great Sword... its hilt gleaming dully. It looked larger than the trunk itself!... My jaw dropped. I stared at the contents, my mind completely blank. The milk I was drinking started to dribble down the side of my mouth, and I didn't even notice. "This box," he explained, his voice taking on a slightly more serious tone, "is essentially a doorway to a storage space in another dimension. The box itself acts as the portal. Think of it like a door to a warehouse that exists somewhere else entirely."
He placed the sword back in the trunk and closed the lid. He continued as if that explained everything. "This one has a capacity of 100 meters long, 100 meters wide, and 10 meters high. A rather large warehouse, wouldn't you say?" He smiled briefly, then his expression turned serious again. "There are a few common characteristics of all ids devices:
1. Living things cannot be stored inside. Not even a plant. It would die instantly. The process… well, it's not pleasant. Let's just say the transition between dimensions is too much for any living organism to bear.
2. As I mentioned, an ids is a doorway to another dimension. Time often moves differently in these dimensions. For example, 1,000 days inside this box could be equivalent to a single day in our world. It's a… complicated concept, but the important thing to remember is that time inside is not the same as time outside.
3. You can't have a door to a dimension within that dimension itself. That would just be a door, not a storage space. Imagine a door inside a house. That door doesn't lead back into the same house. It leads to another room. It's the same principle. If you tried to create another portal inside the ids, it would interfere with the fundamental nature of the device. Any storage item placed inside under those circumstances would be destroyed.
4. Think of it as a miniature world. Even a world has its limits. Dimensions are the same. So, there's a limit to what you can store inside an ids. It's not infinite.
"Let me give you an example," he said, "Imagine if you had to take a severed finger or hand to the hospital. If you put it in here, it would lose all its life functions instantly due to the time difference. By the time you took it out, it would be nothing more than a collection of dead cells, unable to be reattached. A tragic waste." He shook his head slightly.
"This is also why any food placed inside is automatically preserved. The dimensional shift effectively sterilizes it. It can be stored indefinitely, untouched by decay or bacteria." He tapped the trunk meaningfully. "The ice I used? It came from here." He paused. "These ids are quite unique. They require a blood registration. It's a… a bond. Afterward, it's like the ids becomes part of you. You can sense what's inside, almost like feeling what's in your own hand, even though you can't see it." He shook his head slightly. "It's difficult to explain. You'll understand soon enough."
I stared at him, my mind reeling. "Did… did I die after drinking that potion?..." I blurted out, my voice trembling slightly. "Am I in some other world now?" I was utterly, completely confused.
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