'Where... Where am I?'
It was my first thought as I looked at the expanse of darkness in front of me. Confused, and with fear surfacing inside, beginning to cloud my mind, I called for help.
"HELLO! IS ANYBODY THERE?... Please... anyone?"
It didn't help that my body felt like it was inside a very tight, suppressive suit. I felt so stiff that I couldn't even move my fingers. Added to that was a darkness that even light wouldn't want to stay in for even a second.
Although it was a useless attempt, I again started calling for help to anyone who might be in the same situation as me. It was hopeless, I know, but being thrown into this mind-bending place can make you desperate.
But no matter how much I screamed, nothing responded; not even my echo answered my plea. I was never a brave guy; living my life in the safe embrace of my home, this was the first time anything like this had happened in my life.
Looking with a blank expression, I stared at nothing, lamenting how I got into this situation. One moment I was walking home, looking at my phone and scrolling through a manga that was recommended by my friend.
Then, with a blink, everything went dark. My first thought was that the world had suddenly gone dark and the sun had disappeared from the sky.
However, given my body feeling so stiff and the sudden silence in a bustling city, I immediately understood that this was not the world I was born in. As a matter of fact, this place didn't have a world; there was nothing but, well, nothing.
After some time passed, I started to calm down, even getting used to the dark. Although, I would not really call it darkness since I could feel it like a viscous dark liquid—except I could breathe in it.
So, with nothing to do, and with a paralysis similar to sleep paralysis, I wasted time just thinking and feeling this element around me.
But those thoughts were interrupted by a sudden anomaly. Something or someone was looking at me. I didn't know how, but I just knew, and I didn't like it.
I would have been happy about this a moment ago, but after some time, I realized it was impossible for life to exist here where, other than me, it looked so empty.
My senses sharpened as I observed the place with vigilance, ready to fight. I didn't think about my current condition in that moment.
A long time passed, but nothing happened. I could still feel the gaze, but there was no sudden attack whatsoever. With my patience thinning, I spoke to it.
"Ah, hello. I don't know how, but I can feel your gaze... So, ah... can you show yourself? I don't mean any harm." I spoke to the being looking at me; unsure what to say, I just blurted out whatever first came to mind.
"I'm alone right now. I don't know what to do, so if possible, can you show yourself to me... Please?" I repeated a second time, but silence remained like what came before. I waited, hoping it would show itself. I waited and waited, but it didn't move; it stayed in its place, yet still gazing at me silently.
When I was at the last thread of my sanity and near breaking, the being finally moved. I could feel it getting nearer and nearer.
Far from my position, a black dot appeared. Although I called it darkness, after so long I knew that it wasn't, and this was proven true by the silhouette that was gaining in size.
From a dot to the size of a ping-pong ball, getting bigger slowly, it gave me hope—hope that there was someone other than me in this place. Then, as if rewarding my patience, the silhouette turned into a person.
It was a person, but at the same time, it wasn't. At first, I thought the black dot was just because it was far away; however, now that it was right in front of me, I was surprised.
It—no, she—was black. Like a female humanoid made out of darkness. No, she was more similar to a black hole, given how there was an event horizon at the edge of her body, starting from her hair down to her feet. She was the very definition of a female version of a black hole.
While I was still shocked by the appearance of this being, she tilted her head as if telling me how confused she was by my expression.
Snapping out of my thoughts, I temporarily ignored her characteristics and introduced myself.
"Ahem, hello again, and thank you for responding to my call. You have no idea how much it means to me to meet someone in this place. I'm Franco, by the way. Franco Alonso Mercado Deus, but just call me Franco or Frank."
"..."
"Ah, so... what's your name?"
"..."
"Can. You. Understand. What. I. Am. Saying?"
"..."
".."
I realized she didn't speak at all. She only tilted her head as if confused by what I was saying. Still, it didn't bother me if she couldn't speak or understand me; what was important was that there was someone I could converse with.
Although I wanted to use gestures since maybe she could understand me, unfortunately, I couldn't freaking move, no matter how I tried.
So, I postponed that and tried to think of a solution to my paralysis problem.
While I was thinking, Stella—who I named after my favorite star—started to move. It was nothing other than moving her hand in slow motion, but I, who was still in deep thought, started to feel something inside my body.
Then, and only then, I saw her pointing her hand in my direction.
"What are you doing?" I asked her. I felt no hostility in her action, and even if I wanted to move, I couldn't.
Before I could ask a second question, I suddenly felt a strange sensation, different from the first. It was like an instinct I should have had but didn't, unless an external factor interfered.
Like how a child knows instinctively how to breathe, I began to know how to use my power—a power I should have known, for without it, even moving was impossible.
However, thanks to Stella—who returned to her stationary position—I could now use this power to move my body like I normally did.
With a thought, I willed the power inside me to flow through my body. Slowly, I regained my ability to move. My fingers twitched and curled into a fist. My arms and legs stretched like I had been in a coma for years, and I tilted my head left to right, trying to get a pop out of it, but I didn't feel one.
With my acquired freedom, I turned my gaze to the being who made this possibility a reality: Stella.