Deep Sea Embers

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As Ted Lir was consumed by an all-consuming darkness and chaos, he immediately realized something was disastrously wrong.

In a frantic effort, Ted tried to cancel the teleportation and exit through the magical “door” he had previously used. To his horror, he found that his magical powers were not responding. The door, which had been clearly visible just seconds ago, had disappeared, stranding him in a vast, chaotic darkness.

“Stay calm,” he told himself.

Ted, known as the Truth Keeper, took a deep breath to steady himself. He regained his composure, overriding his instinct to explore his new surroundings. Instead, he stood still in the darkness, intentionally avoiding any efforts to listen or see. Ted focused on gathering his senses and controlling his thoughts, using the “Mind Regulating Technique,” a method he’d mastered through extensive training. This technique helped him curb his curiosity and impulse to explore, limiting his ability to make sense of his surroundings as much as possible.

This self-discipline was vital. It helped him avoid the malevolent entities in this unknown realm and prevented him from accidentally discovering forbidden knowledge he was unprepared for.

According to the teachings of Lahem, countless truths are hidden in darkness where anything is possible, though the chances of encountering something benign are slim.

A numbing sensation enveloped Ted’s mind, creating a protective shield around his psyche. He felt a temporary relief wash over him, a blessing from Lahem’s teachings. With caution, Ted began to cautiously reconstruct his perception, exploring the endless chaos around him.

His vision was clouded with vague shadows, and he perceived a vast, desolate wasteland inhabited by towering, indescribable figures. A colossal structure seemed to float aimlessly above the barren landscape. Suddenly, a severe headache struck him.

Ted nearly collapsed. His carefully constructed defenses and caution crumbled instantly. The moment his gaze settled on those giant shadows, a barrage of loud, disorienting noises erupted from the depths of his mind, threatening his sanity and erasing his personality, logic, and memory.

Between the towering giants, a dim, chaotic light flickered, bringing a thought so terrifying it could drive even the most devoted saints to despair. Ted realized with horror that he was in subspace!

“This is bad…”

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With great difficulty, Ted managed to form this single thought before completely losing control. He felt as though alien limbs were sprouting from his back, and a thick, cold fluid flowed through his veins. His vision fragmented into darkness, multiple uncontrolled perspectives scanning the surroundings wildly. The overwhelming noise nearly shattered his sanity.

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Just as despair threatened to conshim, Ted Lir’s formidable willpower surged from deep within. He quickly blocked the invasive alien perceptions, silenced the foreign voices invading his mind, and firmly anchored his identity as an “elf” in his consciousness. In a fleeting moment of clarity, he perceived a new power, an illusion materializing before him.

Before his eyes appeared a flickering red light, resembling a cold, dispassionate cyclops floating in the void, surrounded by smaller lights arranged like satellites around the central red “eye.” Amid these lights, a gigantic, tombstone-like shape emerged silently from the unnoticed mist.

Captivated, Ted Lir’s mind fixated on these twinkling lights. He instinctively lifted his head, his gaze locked on the spectacle. His thoughts becorganized, directed towards wisdom.

“Boom—”

A sudden, phantom-like roar snapped him out of the illusion. The lights vanished, and Ted found himself back in the dark, chaotic void.

He understood what had just happened.

He had briefly been under the protective gaze of the God of Wisdom, Lahem.

His mind had been shielded, but only temporarily.

Once again, a subtle noise stirred in the depths of his heart. The jumping, twisting shadows reappeared in his vision. Realizing twas critical, Ted quickly retrieved the “Book of Miracles” from his clothes. This tome, filled with arcane knowledge and secrets, was his hope for creating a gateway back to reality.

But at that moment, an unseen force abruptly grabbed him. It felt as if his body was being pulled rapidly through the void.

He watched the chaotic wasteland swiftly recede from view.

The silent, towering giant shadows seemed to rush towards him, then contorted and diminished in inexplicable transformations, flashing through his vision before disappearing into the edges of space.

A massive structure resembling an inverted edifice in the sky loomed over him with overwhelming intensity, only to vanish silently the next instant like a mirage.

For a brief moment, he found himself stationary.

Dazed, Ted looked up and saw a colossal inverted structure nearby. It resembled a grand yet ominous building with northern-style spires and eaves, featuring what seemed like dried fountains and withered gardens. Parts of the structure were fragmented as though devoured and torn by sunseen force.

Yet, in the blink of an eye, this majestic mansion transformed into a fragmented, colossal ship. Unlike any ship Ted could imagine, it resembled a twisted, broken cylindrical object made of steel. It clearly was a fragment torn from a much larger structure…

Ted Lir barely had a moment to process the astonishing sight before him. Almost immediately, he found himself hurtling through this void of space and tonce again. His vision was inundated with a tumultuous surge of chaotic and fragmented light and shadow, overwhelming him like a relentless tsunami.

Amidst this deluge of light and shadow, a flood of knowledge poured into his mind. It was unfamiliar yet strangely comprehensible.

Visions flashed before him: space-ttorn apart, celestial bodies compressed and distorted under immense spatial pressures, transforming into thin rings and vanishing in a blinding, eternal flash. He witnessed the chaotic flow of these cosmic events in the depths of space.

He then saw the collapse of mathematical principles at the edge of time, ancient stars being ripped apart into countless incandescent fragments.

A ship adrift in the dark void appeared, nearly in ruins, navigating endlessly as if on a perpetual voyage of discovery or perhaps a mere reflection from sdistant tand space. This ship bore a semblance of familiarity to Ted.

Then, a colossal object emerged, floating quietly in the heart of the boundless void.

It was a massive throne, seemingly carved from gray and white stone, its base already crumbling. Seated upon it was a headless figure, eternally silent in the darkness.

Ted Lir had an intuitive realization that this “journey” through the void was nearing its conclusion. He felt as though he had traversed the laws of time, glimpsing his imminent destination.

And then, he cto a halt.

He found himself on a fragment of ground. There, shrouded in shadows, was a figure… or something resembling a figure.

Amidst a small heap of molten, unrecognizable debris, a figure with a strangely distorted half-body structure leaned against the wreckage. It appeared like a soldier who had perished in battle long ago, faintly gesturing in sdirection.

Ted’s mind was inexplicably drawn to this figure. In contrast to the colossal entities he had witnessed in this chaotic space, this figure seemed unusually ordinary, almost harmless.

However, just as he was about to step forward, an overwhelming sense of danger surged from within, halting him in his tracks.

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Then, right beside him, a vague, ghostly door materialized.

It was the teleportation gate he had earlier conjured, which had somehow eluded him until now.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Ted Lir abandoned his curiosity for the mysterious figure and the unknown realm. He turned and dashed towards the illusory gate.

Passing through the door felt instantaneous, yet paradoxically like an eternity of chaotic drifting. Ted had not anticipated the gut-wrenching sensation the teleportation gate would bring. As his sense of rationality wavered, he faintly heard a human voice speaking near his ear.

“I’ve caught him! Captain, I’ve got him!”

The voice was raspy and carried a tone of excitement mixed with a hint of pride.

Still disoriented, Ted Lir felt a forceful tug on his arm. It was as if someone had seized him, pulling him with determination towards an unknown destination. He could hear the sound of waves crashing, feel the chill of seawater drenching his limbs, and then experienced the sensation of being hauled from the water onto a vessel. His body hit the hard surface of the boat with a thud.

“I caught him! This thing that was drifting at the edge of darkness… Yes, a person! This thing is a person!”

Who was this shouting? Ted wondered, finding the voice crude and lacking in manners. It was unlike anyone he knew from the city-states, unfamiliar and coarse…

“He seems to be still unconscious… Should I do mouth-to-mouth resuscitation? Oh crap, I’m suddenly a bit nervous… Ah, no, wait, Captain, I can’t breathe… I usually pant just to fit the atmosphere… Should I try it?”

Ted struggled to gather his thoughts, his mind laboring to “reboot” his perception and reawaken every nerve in his body. He exerted effort to rouse himself from this stupor and forced his eyes open as wide as he could.

Gradually, the dark, blurred shapes around him began to sharpen into clearer outlines.

He finally saw the person who had been shouting—a face was hovering very close to his own.

It was the face of an ugly mummy, a grotesque and almost decayed visage.

The mummy was leaning over him…

In that moment, Ted Lir felt an overwhelming preference for the subspace he had just escaped from.