The darkness around Cadet 17 was absolute. He floated in an endless void, his body weightless and unmoored, drifting through the vast emptiness that seemed to stretch infinitely in all directions. There was no up or down, no sense of time or place—only the profound silence of the void and the faint echoes of a power far greater than himself.
The shadows that had consumed him now pulsed gently within his body, a silent rhythm that matched the beat of his heart. Though he was unconscious, his mind was not entirely his own. The darkness had seeped into every corner of his being, merging with his thoughts, and in that boundless blackness, something began to stir.
At first, it was just a whisper—soft, barely audible, like the rustling of leaves in a distant forest. But as the moments stretched on, the whispers grew louder, more distinct, until they filled his mind, a chorus of voices speaking in unison, yet with no clear words. They were not human, these voices; they carried with them a weight of ancient knowledge, of secrets long buried in the depths of time. It was as if the shadows themselves had a consciousness, an awareness that reached out to him, seeking to communicate.
Though the words were not clear, the meaning was somehow written across his mind, a message that transcended language. The whispers spoke of power, of dominion over the very essence of shadow, of a connection to something far older and more terrifying than he could comprehend. The shadows did not speak in the language of men, but in the primal language of the void, where concepts and ideas were conveyed directly, without the need for words.
As Cadet 17’s consciousness drifted through the void, the whispers grew more insistent, pressing against the boundaries of his mind. They spoke of
WAKE UP
, the ancient god of shadows and secrets, whose influence had seeped into the very fabric of his being. The connection between them was not new, but it was only now, in this place of utter darkness, that it was fully realized.
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Y0U @RE N$# READY
was not a being of benevolence or malice; the god was beyond such simple concepts. He was a force of nature, an embodiment of the shadows that had existed since the beginning of time, and it was this force that had taken root within Cadet 17. The shadows that flowed through him were not just a part of him—they were a manifestation of
CEASE
will, a fragment of-
As the whispers continued, Cadet 17 felt his consciousness being reshaped, molded by the ancient power that now coursed through him. The darkness was no longer just an external force; it was a part of him, woven into the very essence of his being. The boundaries between himself and the shadows grew ever thinner,
HOW &%# Y&@-
until it was impossible to tell where one ended and the other began. He felt his mind begin to tear at the seams like fabric pulled too taut, the pain beyond all comprehension. Cadet 17 opened a nonexistent mouth in a silent scream as he began to lose himself.
NO.
And then, as suddenly as it had begun, the whispers ceased. The void around him seemed to contract, the infinite blackness drawing in on itself, leaving Cadet 17 alone in a silence so profound it was almost deafening. But the silence was not empty; it was filled with the weight of the knowledge that had been imparted to him, the understanding that he was no longer just Cadet 17. He was something more, something that had been touched by a power beyond comprehension.
As the last of the whispers faded into the depths of his mind, Cadet 17’s consciousness began to stir. The void around him slowly receded, and he felt the pull of the physical world once more. The darkness that had consumed him left behind a lingering cold; a reminder of the connection that had been solidified in the endless void.
The void’s grip on his mind loosened, and the sensation of weightlessness gave way to a subtle heaviness, as if the world was slowly reasserting itself. He could feel the faint hum of the lab’s machinery, distant yet familiar, drawing him back to the reality he had momentarily left behind.
In the stillness of that moment, Cadet 17's eyelids fluttered, the shadows within him settling into a quiet, ever-present cloud of whispers. Slowly, with a deep breath that brought him back from the brink of the abyss, his eyes opened.