“You are not supposed to be here.”
I was startled into awareness by an inexplicable voice, speaking to me in a way that should not have been possible. It sounded like it was being spoken inside my head, while also somehow coming from a source outside of it. The voice was both stern and comforting, like the counsel of a wise sage, but had no other defining characteristics that could be gleaned. No gender, no age, just emotion and consciousness.
I attempted to open my eyes, only to find that the muscles didn’t respond. Actually, none of my muscles responded. It was like sleep paralysis, except I didn’t even have the ability to open my eyes to see the being that was haunting me.
This alone was concerning, but I became overwhelmed with anxiety when I realized that I couldn’t feel my body at all. There was no sensation of touch, no warmth or coldness to ground me. No heartbeat in my chest, nor the quiet sound of air flowing through my lungs. All five of my senses were entirely devoid of any feedback; the only things left of me were my thoughts and my memories. “Is this what it feels like to be an uploaded consciousness or something?” I pondered, given I had no better ideas. “Oh god, what happened to me…”
I forced myself to calm down a bit and racked my brain, looking through my recent memories for an idea of what happened before I ended up here. There had to be something that made sense here, right? “Ok, I was hiking, and then… oh, I found that cave—” Oh. The cave. And what I found inside…
My thoughts were interrupted when the voice spoke again, worry seeping into its tone. “What are you doing here? This space should be inaccessible to mortal souls, unless… oh no…”
There was a pause before the voice spoke again, its tone heavy with foreboding. “I am afraid something terrible has happened to you.”
I wanted to shout out about the obviousness of that statement, but alas. My inability to perform even a single action was starting to get to me. Being a fidgety person, I felt like I should’ve been wringing my hands or something, but not being able to was overwhelming in its lack of familiarity.
“If you are here, it means you found yourself at a tear in reality and got close enough to be pulled in. Personally, I do not blame you. In many realities, there are few comparisons to their strange appearance and mysterious allure. I have done my best to patch as many tears as I can, but some still slip through the cracks…” The voice took on a wistful tone. “Even with infinite time, it is impossible to manage everything in an infinite multiverse.”
“Multiverse?? It’s real?” The mere mention of it sent my mind reeling. Could it really be true? Are there really an infinite number of different realities? The sheer implications were staggering… well, assuming I even believe it. Sure, the voice may be saying the truth about my situation, but it can’t all be infinite… right? I could just be on the craziest drugs known to man, but in the wake of not being able to feel anything at all, I found myself very willing to go along with whatever the voice said, as long as it got me out of here. “God, what have I gotten myself into…”
The voice continued solemnly. “At the moment you touched the reality tear, your soul was detached from your body, and your connection to your native universe was severed. It has been centuries since I have seen a soul in here, but I hoped that after all this time I would be able to offer future ones a better solution… still they arrive all the same, and I am left with stinging regrets. I am sorry, but…” The voice paused, its tone dripping with sorrow. “It is not within my current abilities to return you to your original life.”
The weight of the revelation crashed over me like a tidal wave and sank deep into the core of my being where my heart once beat. All of my hope for getting out of here was immediately crushed under the weight. “I… can’t go home? …Fuck.”
It was almost comedic. In a single action, I had managed to effectively end my life on Earth while also proving the existence of something assumed to be science fiction (by any sane person, anyway). Not that I’d be able to go back and tell anyone about it, seeing how I’m here. What even is here? How am I here at all? Every moment I spent here felt like it was ripping pieces out of my sanity.
Did I even tell anyone I was going hiking? If I didn’t, I'd have just entirely disappeared from the face of the Earth. I suppose my car would still be waiting in the parking lot, but who knows what they’d assume from there. Suicide? Kidnapping? There’d be no body, no signs of struggle, no evidence of where I went.
Would the cave still be there? Something like that should’ve been blocked off, surrounded by the military, and studied. I guess my luck just took a horrible turn for the worse, assuming I was the first person to find the thing. I wanted to scream, cry, shout, anything, but every attempt left me with nothing but a growing sense of frustration.
My reeling thoughts were interrupted once again when the voice spoke, a comforting air in its tone. “I can feel that you are distressed. Again, I am truly sorry, young soul. Do not give up just yet, though, as there is something still I can do for you.” A spark of hope.
I felt waves of something passing over me, filled with energy. “Although I may not be able to send you back to your native universe, I may be able to send you somewhere close to it. Your soul contains a level of kindness only seen in certain areas of the multiverse. I will use my power to send you to one of those.” A pause. “I apologize, but this may hurt.”
“Hurt? How can I feel hurt without— OH.” In an instant, a surge of anguish washed over my being, threatening to engulf all rational thought. Waves of energy crashed into me, overwhelming me in seconds. I felt like I should’ve passed out already, but without a body to be conscious in, there was no unconsciousness to be gained.
Suddenly, I felt the sensation of movement. I was going somewhere, faster and faster as I got closer to my destination. Everything together seemed to be heading towards a crescendo of pain and disorientation, a symphony of chaos that only grew louder.
It was difficult to hear the voice through all of this, but I was still somehow able to make out what it was saying. “I wish you luck in your new life. I am sorry I could not do more for you, but I encourage you to make the most of the situation. This is a new chance, in a kinder world. It will be difficult, but I have faith that you will be just fine.”
The cacophony grew louder, to the point where I couldn’t think. Everything faded to white, then to black.