Laid floated within the purple abyss of the void, suspended in the midst of planning his escape, when something strange occurred—too strange to ignore. A ripple disturbed the purple expanse. His eyes darted around the emptiness, his mind racing. "What is going on?" he whispered. "Is this ripple... is this a chance for me to escape?"
Hope flickered in his chest, but then another ripple came, followed by another. His pulse quickened. Suddenly, a booming ancient voice resonated through the entirety of the purple void, vibrating through his very bones.
He stood motionless, his face a mask of stone as he absorbed the words that echoed around him. "All beings in this purple limbo will be judged. There is currently one being inside the purple limbo."
The voice paused, and he felt its attention shift directly toward him, like the gaze of something vast and incomprehensible. "Laid, your judgment awaits."
"But in what world?" he asked, his expression remaining emotionless despite the uncertainty gnawing at him. "What does this mean?"
"Judgment is where you will be assessed to decide if you will go to a certain place, or if you will remain here," the voice answered with patient gravity.
He didn't immediately think of heaven and hell. He had never believed in such concepts anyway—they seemed too simple, too human. A bitter smile crossed his lips. "I'm getting judged, really? But by who? God?"
"No," the voice replied, its tone absolute. "You are not getting judged by God. You are being judged by an unknown entity that I cannot disclose. The gods do not know about you, Laid, and it is best you keep it that way."
A chill ran down his spine. Before he could process this revelation, the voice continued. "But you won't have to worry about that, because your sentence has been presented. Laid, you will have a fate worse than death."
A fate worse than death. What could that possibly mean? His thoughts raced, his stoic facade beginning to crack. But before he could voice his confusion, black lightning struck him with devastating force.
His body began to spasm uncontrollably. The sound that tore from his throat was raw and primal, echoing through the void. The agony was unlike anything he had ever experienced—it tore through him, burning and freezing simultaneously. Eventually, the black lightning consumed him entirely, wrapping around him like a shroud.
Then silence.
The purple void pulsed once, twice, and went still.
But somewhere—in a place beyond comprehension, beyond the reach of gods and mortals alike—Laid's eyes snapped open. Darkness surrounded him, absolute and suffocating. He tried to move but couldn't. Tried to scream but produced no sound.
And then he heard it: breathing that wasn't his own.
Something was waiting for him in the dark.