Strange Sound

The space around him turned black, like eternal darkness. It was completely dark, unlike when he entered the portal, which still had beautiful starlight. This time, it was utterly pitch black.

'What's happening to me? Why do I always end up in dark places like this?'

'Was that just a dream? And I'm still inside the portal? But... this place feels different.'

Gill started to think that what happened earlier—when he was in a strange room with strange humans—was just a dream.

But before he could think further, a voice startled him. It used the same language as the humans in the white room. However, this time, he understood what the voice was saying, which made him tense and break into a cold sweat.

"No, that wasn't a dream. That was reality."

He stepped back cautiously, looking around, but there was nothing but this dark and empty space—silent and calm, no sound or movement at all.

The voice spoke again, making him even more alert.

"Calm down, I—we are not your enemies. I just..."

Because he couldn't find anything and couldn't do anything, when the voice continued, he interrupted with a loud shout.

But this time, the voice seemed confused, not understanding what Gill was saying.

"Who are you?! Not my enemy? Then what were you doing with my hand earlier?!"

The voice responded, puzzled and slightly exasperated.

"What are you saying? Speak in the human!"

When he heard this, his face twitched and flushed with anger. He responded furiously, unknowingly using the same language as the voice.

"What did I say? I said, who the hell are all of you?!"

Gill was shocked—what had he just said? He was speaking their language. Just now, he had understood their language, and now he was even able to speak it!

There was a brief silence, and as he realized what he had just spoken, his eyes widened and scanned the darkness around him. Then he spoke again, his voice tense and emotional, still using the same language.

"Hey, damn it, what did you do to me?! Show yourself, damn it!"

The voice answered again, still refusing to reveal itself, echoing through the empty void.

"What I did to you? I should be the one saying that! What I did was help you understand our language! You should be thanking me, but you're yelling at me?"

There was a brief pause before the voice continued again, this time sounding angry.

"But what did you do to me?! You took my body, and now I'm like this! I can't even control my own body anymore!"

Gill stared blankly into the void, listening with confusion. What had he done? All he remembered was being in the cosmic void, then something shiny hit him, his body shattered, the space shattered—and then he was suddenly in that strange room!

His emotions churned. Angry from being accused of doing something to someone else's body—when he himself was the victim—he glared into the darkness with frustration.

His face turned red with rage, and just as he was about to speak, something appeared in the middle of the void—a screen displaying an image, right in front of him.

The image showed a beautiful, peaceful garden. Crystal-clear water, green grass, blooming flowers, a curved bridge, and a towering tree in the center of the garden.

Several people were there, with their families, pets, or playing alone with something in their hands.

It was peaceful and calm, until something happened. The once peaceful garden began to shake violently—so much that anyone there would lose balance and fall.

At first, it seemed like a normal earthquake, but there was something strange.

Beneath the large tree in the center of the garden, where a young man had fallen trying to withstand the tremor, something strange appeared above him.

The young man looked ordinary. With short, slightly messy black hair, pale white skin, and brownish-black eyes reflecting the beauty and chaos of the garden.

He appeared to be about 18 years old, around 180 cm tall.

At first, nothing seemed unusual, until a crack formed in the air.

The crack was hidden by branches and thick leaves from the tree, making it hard to see clearly—but it was definitely there. It was small, and thanks to the cover from the tree, Gill found it hard to identify.

Then something came out of the crack. He couldn't see it clearly, but he saw it. It was shiny, reflecting the bright midday sun.

But only for a moment—before it crashed into the young man beneath the tree. It happened so fast that no one could see it clearly, like a sudden bolt of lightning that appeared and disappeared instantly.

The young man immediately collapsed on the ground, his head slamming into a rock behind him, causing blood to spill from the back of his head.

And that was the last thing before everything turned black again. The screen disappeared from view, leaving the space empty once more.

He stared blankly ahead, where the screen had been. He couldn't believe what he'd seen—not the earthquake striking the world, not the bloodied young man, not even the crack in the void. What shook him was the flash of light that struck the young man.

That object—the one that had struck him and killed him. The thing that came at lightning speed from the cosmic void, destroying his body and the space around him.

What was that? Even now, after seeing the image shown by the mysterious voice, he still couldn't make it out clearly.

As Gill thought about what the object was, another thought entered his mind.

'Why is he still whole?'

That was the question in his head. Why was he still intact? While his own body and space had shattered into pieces. What was that boy's body made of?

A trace of frustration appeared on his face. What was that? Was his body made of thin glass that shattered easily, while the boy's body was made of steel? That was so unfair!

Before he could understand his own thoughts, the voice came again from the void—this time filled with hatred.

"So, did you see that? Now tell me—who has the right to be angry? Who's really the victim?"

Gill stared ahead into the dark, empty void. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something. But just before he could speak, the words of the young man echoed in his mind.

The voice had said that Gill had taken over his body. Understanding dawned on him, and he turned to the side as if he could see someone there. Then he spoke, his voice filled with shock and disbelief.

"So... you mean I've taken over your body?"