Its started with a flashing light, then receding darkness, and end with a soundless click.

What a soundless click is, I’m not even sure. How does one person hear it if it didn’t produce any sound?

But I did.

“ Where.. am I?”

Up and down, left and right, completely enveloped in the darkness, a mystified young man with an unexpected bored expression, unfit with the situation falling him, that is me.

How did he ended up with a nonsense situation like this? Lets rewind time a bit.

Exactly one hour ago, somewhere in the middle of a city –

SLAP!

“ I have enough of you, ASSHOLE!!! If you THAT bored of me, then lets just break up!!! ”

“ Okay, sure.”

In the bustling street, where there many different kind of shop, from fashion to restaurant, each with people walking in and out with varying intention, some of them disappointed, not able find what they are seeking, some of them with satisfied expression. Everyday is the same, repeating routine, for people at the street at least.

But today is different, it seems someone, no, a couple, with a little bit different than those people, standing in front of a woman fashion shop. A shouting crazed young woman and a bored looking young man. Not a regular event for sure.

A confused expression plastered on the woman face, then a look of understanding, quickly replaced into fury and anger, with a bit of embarrassment. Her face turned as red as a tomato in a matter of second.

Whoa, I don’t know you can get this redder, mused him. While ignoring the stinging pain from his slapped cheek, he observed the woman, his girlfriend in from of him. Better avoid it next time, he isn’t fan of pain after all.

“You..you.. How dare you, you heartless bastard!!! Go and DIE you shithead!!!”

Oh, its coming. Taking a step back, he narrowly managed to avoid an incoming hand, intending to give him harm. It’s a success!

Celebrating his small victory in his head, he continue to observing the speci-, wrong, girlfriend..., that’s not right either, ex girlfriend in front of him with his usual bored looking face.

Still red faced, one can wonder how long she can maintaining her consciousness with all that blood going into her head. She glared at me viciously and opened her mouth for a second, then closed her mouth promptly without producing any sound, clicked her tongue one last time, she stomped her heels and walk away. A dangerous glint painted her eyes.

That’s strange. Based from my observation for one weeks of dating, I was sure she will go batshit crazy. Maybe he was wro-

WHOSHH

Shifting his body to the right side, he avoided the incoming projectile inch from his head. He looked back at the small but deadly projectile lying at the pavement behind him. It’s a nail clipper, with its blade out. Its seems his guess hit right at the mark. The woman is crazy.

“ I will NEVER FORGIVE YOU!! I hope you die and be alone FOREVER!!!”

She turned her back and runned with tears and snot on her face, the crowd gawking at our fight quickly moved out to the side, giving way for the crying woman.

The crowds went still for a moment, then explode with activity, murmuring and whispering with each other, all looking and some pointing finger at me, eventually the crowds bored or decided its not worth their time, dispersed. Leaving me alone like nothing ever happened.

What a great day

I walked away and mingled with the unsuspecting crowds.

Its been half a hour from earlier fiasco, right now I’m sitting with burger and fries in front of me, at a surprisingly empty fast food restaurant. Across the table is my friend, eating joyfully at his junk food. Finished his meal, he wiped his mouth with a tissue and beamed a cheerful smile at me.

Taking a fries and pointing it at me, he opened his mouth to speak. “Man, when I thought you finally get yourself a girlfriend, you just goes and end it in a week huh?”

“ Hmm? I though a week is pretty long..” I lazily answer him.

“ Pftt, yeah, its admirable that she managed to bear you that long, Hiiro.”

Laughing out loudly, this man in front me is Akira Hijimoto, always smiling and beaming with cheerfulness from year to end, the number one popular guys in university with his normal plain face. In the lecture, he always crowded by people, as if he have some short of mysterious power, he can pull people in. He has that charisma. And I, always have bored and gloomy aura surrounded me, can proudly declared that I am the number one in the least people want to get near with.

Ironically, we became friend rather quickly. Its strange that someone like him want to hang out with a gloomy person like me. They said same feather flocks together, but we are totally opposite of each other. Everyone always ended up leaving me, abhor me, whether for my personality or other, no one in my life is an exception. Except him. Or that crazy woman. But I guess she doesn’t count anymore.

“ I did told you to tell me your progress with your girlfriend, but I never imagined the first news is a fight and she threw a nail clipper at you, pft.” Akira tried to stifle a laugh, but failed miserably.

“ Really, you should smile more, with your handsome face and all that. You could have all the lady dancing in your palm. Or.., don’t tell me, the gentlemen is what you aim for?!” Starting with a light tone, and turned slightly serious at the end, Akira keep a rather shocked expression on his face that didn’t suit him. Though I can see his mouth twitching, holding himself from smirking.

“ Ehh, whatever you say.” Putting his head on the table, Hiiro look clearly uninterested with the conversation.

Sighing at his unmotivated friend, Akira shake his head hopelessly, “ I feel pity for.. er, Sayuki chan, is it? That woman feeling to you is genuine, I can tell you that for sure. Even she is a bit…. Eccentric. ”

“ Well, at least I tried.” I moved my head to the right, facing the transparent glass window with my head still on the table. Gazing at the crowded street, people with varying age walking past and goes, reflected in my mirror like black eyes, the grey cloud adorned the sky, indicating the changing weather.

A memory flashed.

Everything became monochrome, colorless, soundless, like sinking into deep sea, its heavy. A familiar woman with long black hair. Yelling. A broken house. Crimson blood. A dead eyed child. Wounds filled with pus. Smiling. Broken limbs. Foul stench. A bloodied pale lips, whispered-

“ Hey, Hiiro? Did you hear me?”

Standing up, only to receive a pair of questioning eye. I answered with a short “toilet.”, then continue my short walk to my destination.

The toilet is pretty empty, obviously because we are the only customer at the fast food restaurant. Quickly finishing my business, I wash my hand in a nearby washbasin, cold water running through my hand, I lifted my head to face the mirror, that’s where I notice something is wrong.

There is no reflection. More precisely, the mirror didn’t reflect me.

“ Hm?”

Is this a prank? Is there a mechanism behind the mirror? When Hiiro observed the strange mirror, something outrageous happen.

A black dot appeared out of nowhere inside of the center of the mirror, pulsating and squirming like a worm.

He realized this is wrong. His instinct telling him something is going to happen, whether its good or bad, more likely the latter, he need to leave this place. But his body doesn’t budge an inch, as if time have stopped, even with his mind working at full speed right now. He can fell the encroaching coldness. The only thing moved is the cold water brushing with his skin and the ever squirming black dot.

For a moment, its stopped. Still, like a calm water surface, a flash of light come out, then the darkness fully enveloped him.

That’s how Ayasaka Hiiro, hopelessly ended up in this empty black space.

What should I do? Their nothing in here, did I died? Is this the afterlife? Or is it just a dream? Can I wake up? Argh, how annoying…

Scratching my head, a slight frown can be see on my eyebrows, otherwise there nothing changed on my expression, feeling frustrated. Somehow he had been thrust into this troublesome situation. I haven’t even touched my fries yet!

“Hmm?”

In this black void, something moved, more exactly, something formed using the black space around it. Like a black hole sucking its surrounding, forming a sphere. Wait, how can I see ‘it’? Hiiro realized that he can see clearly even he was in this strange black space.

After a few seconds, the black sphere stopped sucking. Its floating, unconcerned with its surrounding. Hiiro waited, he didn’t want to get close to something with potentially dangerous. One minute turned five, ten turned twenty, when the black sphere clearly didn’t going to do anything, warily, Hiiro moved closer to examine it, since it’s the only clue to his abnormal situation.

Currently, the distance between the sphere and him are approximately 30 cm. Now looking it closely, he find it funny that he can see a black sphere in a perfectly black space. Looking won’t change anything, no pain no gain, raising his index finger, he poked the sphere then quickly retracted his finger.

At least that was the plan.

The moment he touched the sphere, blistering pain travelled all of his body, its unbearable. He opened his mouth, but find out he unable to produce any sound. Unable to breath, his body spammed, like an electric shock. No matter how hard he try to shook it off, his finger glued to the sphere. Black claw with mist like consistency snaked to his body from the sphere. First his hand, then his chest, his head and his feet, until all the sphere mass moved out. The black claw formed into a pattern all over his body, like a tattoo, carved into his skin.

The sphere is gone, his finger is free, still the pain linger. In fact, its getting worse. The pain filled his mind, his face contorted with agony. His skin is burning, his head feel like splitting.

It’s hurt, It’s hurt, It’s painful, stop it.

Like a gradual crescendo, the pain reached its climax, and Hiiro mind faded into unconsciousness.

For the first time since in this void, he truly in the darkness.