Snowflakes fell around Alaric, but he paid it no heed as he could not avert his eyes from the moon. With every passing breath it seemed to grow bigger. The darkness of night forgotten as the moon’s reflecting light encompassed his vision. Transfixed, he stared as a tugging sensation began from his chest, almost as if something was trying to escape. A warm, almost serene numbness began spreading through his body, conquering the winter’s cold. The sensation would not be too different from entering a sauna after a quick dip in a freezing lake. Alaric however, did not notice the cold, the ever brighter light of the moon held his entire attention. He did not feel the tugging worsen, changing into something more akin to pain. The moon was all that existed.
Alaric released a sigh of relief as the moon reached him, and the light began to slowly fade. The once strong light was replaced with distant specks of light in every colour moving ever upwards. He felt nothing but joy upon seeing the new light, resembling the most fantastical firework. With a sense of belonging Alaric felt the urge to follow, to join the colourful display above him. He willed himself upwards, closer to what felt like home. He did not mind, nor did he pay attention to what was left behind.
His journey toward the glimmering specks of light was blissful anticipation. He felt happy. The joy of finally finding his place filled his soul. As he got closer the faint sound of humming could be heard. A song of hearth and succor. What should be a dark night sky blossomed with colourful lights. The specks became bigger, he could now see them more clearly. The specs were spheres, all different sizes. Some were so light you could barely look at them, while others seemed to be almost invisible. They all were a part of the humming though. Alaric had never been happier as he tried to catch up to them.
As time passed the light farthest away began to disappear. And as they did, the song increased in volume. The sound compelling them home. They had reached the end of their short journey. Alaric however, had not yet managed to catch up. Still lagging behind. Try as he might, he never seemed to be able to catch up. A soft fear filled his being, the sense of belonging slowly vanishing, replaced by the cold dread of loneliness. The once beautiful singing now felt more like thunder, growing louder by the second. The glorious light slowly fading from view as more spheres vanished ahead of him. Darkness began to spread. Frantically he tried to catch up, only now noticing the lack of an actual body. Panic filled him as he failed to move faster, not knowing how, without legs to move, or arms to push himself forward with. His being scrambled in anguish as the last speck of light vanished ahead of him. The beautiful display of colours, gone, like they never existed at all. The thundering sound stopped just as abruptly. Alaric had never felt more alone.
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“Oh what have we here?”, a cheerful voice called out Seemingly from nowhere. “Could it be a lost one, hmm? What an awful circumstance indeed. Not at all one I should be happy about, but then again, I’m not the one lost. Oh well I guess it might be fun to see what happens if I help out a little. Of you go, lost one.”
The despair Alaric felt in his very soul made him unable to comprehend what was being said, or even care that someone spoke. For the voice offered none of what Alaric truly craved. Alaric felt how he was pushed further away, how he accelerated forward.
Alaric cared not for this journey, he felt lost and alone. He traveled for what felt like forever, but time itself seemed to be of little relevance as he felt himself pushed through the dark void. IT could have been minutes, hours, weeks, or even years. Alaric did not know, nor did he care. At times he could see specks of light and hear the faint sound of singing. He wished to be there, to join them, but alas he only heard and saw them from a few moments before he had swished past them. After a time he drifted off, his mind shutting down. He fell into blissful, restless unconsciousness.
Alaric drifted through dark space without a care in the world. Mostly, well, because he was not conscious to appreciate, or fear his journey through the cosmos. The stars gazed upon the lone light, floating through space, mind you, he got closer to the stars than anyone would consider sane. He even got a friendly yet pitiful, nudge from the constellation of Hercules, to keep him on his way. His path, however, continued ever onwards. Past the last galaxy known to mankind, yet he did not stop. Not until he breached a gentle veil, a rift separating the universe humans belonged to, with a completely other reality. The stars here did not look too different from what one could see back on Earth, the dark space did not necessarily behave differently. But there was something in the void that had been lacking just a few moments before. The light emanating from Alaric faded, and the sphere morphed into something more resembling a true body. His speed slowed and started to decent, it was reaching its final destination. And without any grandeur, Alaric began waking up, with a fogged-up mind he was glad to finally wake from this nightmare. As he opened his newly formed eyes he he wished he’d stay unconscious. A new planet lay before him, one that Alaric would have to explore and try to make his home.