However, then he saw it. Pillars of blackness emanating from the horizon, piercing the sky above him, a fair distance away from him. He also saw faint figures, just like himself near the origin of the Pillars, and a city surrounding them. He started walking towards the city. A walk soon turned into run as he was struck with inconsolable relief. He knew, now, he was not the only person in The World. He thought he was alone, but now his fears were all except present. When became closer, inconsolable relief turned to inconsolable pain as he saw the figures close up. He did not see humans, people, or even animals. They were monstrosities.
Turned to their state by their own greed and power hungry minds, only mutated organisms were left. One turned and slowly trundled towards him. It wore a long grey unblemished garment, with a hood obscuring its face. Diamonds, gold and other precious materials covered it, in a delicate and intricate pattern. He shivered as it put a limb, similar to a hand, on his shoulder.
‘You are lost, are you not?’ it muttered to him. He nervously nodded, not able to open his mouth to speak. He continued ‘After many centuries of searching I have finally found the one I am looking for, the one I can call my own. You may not think you know me, however, you know me more than you think you believe, and more than you want to believe.’ He was mystified. A figure he had never seen before that claimed to know him. It was too much for him. He started to back down, but then he saw someone behind the figure, someone he recognized. She was talking to someone, a figure just like him.
‘Orta, you know her do you not? She came here, only recently, to meet her friend. Her friend Vertigo, who knew her, just like I know you.’
He was mystified, ‘Is this a dream, a nightmare?’ He thought to himself. The figure stated ‘This is not a dream. I am as real as you or Orta.’ He was puzzled, being driven to insanity by the information overload. He could not understand what was going on. The area around him had people around him arriving all the time, meeting mysterious figures just like him.
‘Look around,’ the figure continued, ‘There is your friend Alambad with Insanity, your doctor Xenia with Death, your cousin Vyse with Paranoia, you are not alone.’
He became hysterical, his eyes widening, his face as pale as the moon itself. He ran at his cousin, screaming and shouting. Yet Vyse did not notice him.
‘You attempts at communicating with beings other than me are futile. I am the only one you can converse with at The World.’
He stopped, with tears in his eyes and dragged himself back to the figure.
‘What is your name?’ he asked, as he tried to hide his emotions. When he received no response, he repeated his question louder with more infurity. It replied ‘The figure you see before you now, the figure you are conversing with now has no name. It is nothing. It does not exist except inside yourself. However as humans require a name for everything, you may refer to me, as Isolation.’ He raised his claw like limbs to lift the hood that covered its face. As the hood fell behind it, he winched in disgust as he saw what the hood was hiding. On his face he had, nothing.
‘Victims of our own fear brought us here, there is no way out.’ Isolation said with his none existent lips. He raised a boney finger towards the pillars of shadow and continued ‘You humans fuel The World through your fears and phobias. They are non-existent, yet prove useful to us. You feed the The World, governed by Chaos our king and ruler, you keep it open. Our apparent existence is created by you. The endless walk you had when traveling here, you created it, you made it. Orta entered The World through the Clouds above you. Xenia entered The World through a car accident, on Earth. I am sorry but you will never return to the place of your origin.’
They looked up into the sky together, observing at the beauteous gem in the sky they knew as Earth. Walking along memory beach together, they were soon talking and joking together as if they were long lost friends, walking to the end of time.
