“Well, that was boring,” a Disinterested voice bemoaned from the emptiness of space. It sounded as if two beings were speaking in tandem. Amidst the nothingness around, the faint light from stars glimmered in the distance. Yet, the voice remained; Cold and distant, yet still alive, like a spectre of inconsistencies that shared a common purpose.
“I wonder, how should we change things this time around?” said the spectre-like being in anticipation and curiousity, gazing upon a human. The being's tone made it sound as if it had ended its sentence with a devilish smirk, despite having no physical features.
“Well, I guess this guy is the lucky bastard who gets to use our power in this universe,” the voice said again, before taking a human-like form. The form of a mischievous yet blameless child, with vibrant hair extending beyond its feet and wearing a shorter ancient Greek chiton. But it lacked the features to define it as a man or a woman. It was simply a being that looked human.
“Really? Is this really how he subconsciously thinks we look? Well, it’s not so bad, I guess. Lou Barrett, I wonder if you’ll be the one to finally end our boredom?” It said with a sinister and intrigued smile.
***
There was a dream. To say it felt more like a nightmare would not be an exaggeration. I saw a sword being sharpened by a humanoid covered in thick cloth, with a blue-ish black smoke veiling the body below the cloth. As I stepped behind the being, it turned to face me. Covering its face was a white mask, with a single black stripe going from the upper left corner to the bottom right. The creature’s mask instantly formed an inhuman smile. A row of disturbing teeth under it gnashed as if the mask was the creature’s face. I couldn’t help but back away from it, as from its eye holes dripped fresh streams of bloody tears.
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As I gazed back at the mask, I noticed I was no longer standing in front of that disturbing creature, but rather, in front of a young child dressed in a plain white short-cut Greek-style chiton with exceedingly long hair flowing like a river between the creases. Looking around in confusion, I saw nothing else, but as soon as I looked back, I saw myself standing before the masked being yet again. Both beings disappeared, leaving only my various selves. The other me turned and looked me in the eyes.
“Who are you?” the other me asked, his voice devoid of emotion.
“I do not know. Who are you?” I truly did not know myself.
“I am you, and I am Lou Barrett, as are each one of them.” He gestured around. Looking away from my other self, I saw what looked like an optical illusion. There seemed to be an infinite number of myself, scattered as if copied by a mirror illusion.
“What am I? What is this place? Who were those beings I saw?”
“You are what you are, and this place is you. As for those beings, well, I cannot say.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
Every one of my various selves turned to look at me. “You will find the answer when you succeed,” they said in unison as if they’d said it a thousand times before and were tired of it before everything around me faded to black and they disappeared. My head was pounding, and I was pretty tired too. In the distance, I saw a bright light, only to realize that I was just opening my eyes.