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Inanis is an island nobody remembers how they got to. Everybody’s first ever memory is their laying on the cold shores of the Reses Sea, knowing only their names. Where they had been before, or how they ended up here are questions everyone has and yet nobody has answered. No one remembers anything before that point. Living in Inanis is never easy at first. With nothing to help you set your feet on the ground, you’re left stranded and you have to learn how to survive by yourself. First y

ou have to make sense of where and who you are. Ask anyone for guidance, and they will either sneer at you, cuss at you, attack you, or all three. Then, you need to get accustomed to your environment: the starless eternal night with no moon or sun to illuminate your desolate path, t

he stagnating Reses Sea that never moves, the grey rubble and ruins that you have to spend your nights in, and the monstrously gigantic Hourglass dripping your life away in miserable black grains of sand. Finally, the hardest stage for every newcomer to Inanis has to be dealing with Perditus. If you’re quick on your feet and know how not to show fear or emotion, you’ll most likely be fine. Those who do not meet these criter

ia, however, have their souls be slowly and painfully consumed, eventually turning into Perditus themselves.

Fear and emotion, Lethe repeated to herself. That’s a Perditus’ most delicious meal, besides a soul, of course. Another peculiar thing that happens to the people residing within this island is the Dream. Everybody has one dream that they have every night. It’s always the same and always leaves one with a terrible aftertaste. Perditus seem to always know what your dream is, and they will attack you using it. Lethe’s Perditus would always attack her using two strategies. First, they would make this saddened face with their twisted inhuman features, and in a wailing deafening voice, they would scream “Where are you going?” This

had a massive impact on Lethe during her first few encounters with Perditus. She hated anything loud, and so she would always be thrown off-guard by their screams. She only managed to survive those times thanks to her quick reflexes and physical agility that allowed her to dodge their fatal attacks which would have otherwise contaminated her soul. Soon enough, however, Lethe learned to block her ears with her arms whenever a Perditus came at her, which, eventually, made them resort to their second strategy, which was targeting her right eye with which she can

not see. This second method was easier to adapt to, and she took no time to learn how to survive those blows. Yeah, she thought to herself as she watched her black boots start walking, a Perditus’ only weakness is never to show yours. Stay calm at all times, and don’t let them get to your inner fears. She wondered if Saevus was new to Inanis, since he seemed to be struggling to figure such a simple thing out. Her legs effortlessly jumped atop a wall. She could see him in the distance stomping his feet. Life in Inanis is very simple once you learn the ropes, because nothing ever changes in it. So why did her dream?

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Lethe was extremely curious; and, knowing that she could get no answers

through questions, she decided that her only hope for an answer was to follow her only clue, Saevus. As she jumped walls a distance behind him, she wondered if this curiosity was normal. It was an emotion, after all, and Lethe could do very well without it. This curiosity in particular, there was something terrifying about it. Something deep inside her soul cowered away in an instinctive fear of this emotion. But look at her feet, just as instinctively chasing the man like her life depended on it.

And Lethe always just simply followed her boots.

Saevus stopped next to some ruins; Lethe stopped too and watched him. Angrily, he banged his club repeatedly against some rocks, which made Lethe wonder if he was practicing his strikes or blowing off some st

eam. She guessed the latter was most likely the case, since he appeared to be a very impulsive and emotional man. It must be hard dealing with Perditus with such a sensitive personality, she thought to herself, then remembered how the earlier Perditus escaped with a sinister grin. She speculated that whatever Saevus’ dream was, it probably had something to do with that grin. As Lethe was quite deep in thought, she did not notice that Saevus had stopped his club bashing and had resumed his grumpy walking. With her gaze back on his figure, she could tell that he was apparently heading towards the Reses; the greenish scent invasively brushing against her nostrils. After he reached his destination, he stomped his feet towards the sea, and stopped just before the water touched his shoes. Lethe jumped down the wall and soundlessly landed on the sand.

Saevus stared at the motionless water, his reflection unfragmented but blurry by the greenish grey pigment of the silent Reses. He was beaten today too, he recalled bitterly, not only by Perditus, but by a human as well. He hated how weak he felt here. Everyone besides him seemed to know their way around Inanis, even the crazy ones. He had seen his share of them beating their Perditus to shreds, while others welcomed the contamination with literal open arms. In both cases, they seemed to

know what they were doing, and how to deal with them. Saevus, meanwhile, could never remain calm whenever his eyes landed on that grin spreading itself across those deformed blackened faces. His body would move before his mind could keep track, and he would be striking them with his club before he knew it. Perditus dodged his attacks easily. The Reses was ugly as ever today, too. He could only land a few blows by throwing as many as he could in as many directions as he could. Saevus sighed. It was only by sheer luck that he hadn't been contaminated yet. He had been coming across them more often lately, though, probably because they are sensing his fear. Hearing quiet steps approaching him from behind snapped him out of his contemplations. Saevus turned with a violent swing of his club. His face twisted into an annoyed frown as soon as he realized who had just dodged his attack.

“Why the fuck are you following me?” He hissed at the observant Lethe. She stood there quietly for a moment, her hands unbothered and laying peacefully in the pockets of her light purple jacket. Her lonely dark blue eye stared deeply at his, while the other one laid hidden underneath a dark eyepatch and a side bang. Saevus bitterly thought that she probably had no problems dealing with her Perditus, seeing how easily she seemed to be carrying herself around. He watched her impatiently as she took in a soft breath then parted her lips:

“I want to help you.” Lethe’s voice was almost as quiet as the Reses, which irked him even more. Behind his annoyance, however, he could only think that she was a really strange person, not the talking to yourself kind of strange, or the smashing your head against the floor kind of strange, but another unnamed type of strange that puzzled him beyond words. For once, Saevus felt like remaining silent, which apparently encouraged Lethe to elaborate on her equally strange declaration:

“Like I told you earlier,” she glanced to the side for a moment, “I dream of you lately, and I don’t know why. Dreams don’t change. Mine did. I want to know why.”

“How’s that my problem? Don’t follow me around, creep.”

“I need to know why; and you’re my only clue, even if you don’t know the reason yourself.” She fell silent for a few seconds, her gaze unwavering and direct.

“In return for you letting me follow you, I’ll help you deal with Perditus.”