PROLOGUE 2

ALBERT HAD EMBRACED the life by the beaches. The sweet melodies of the birds singing with the rhythmic supplements of the waves; the smell of the unpolluted breeze of sand, wind and sun with the frequent intervention of some fresh-hauled seafood barbecue; and of course, the hospitality of the natives and the of the culture made his immersion feel more natural.

This wasn’t always the plan, but did it trump whatever his mind thought would be his last haven on earth. “It has only been a few 5 months but I concluded that I’d want to die here,” Albert spoke to the person lying beside his hammock, basking in the sun.

“I’ve had that feeling ever since I got born here, friend,” Ali replied as he got up. “The water has been my company since I was young and stupid. It calls me.”

“Is that why you gave up on your job and returned here?

“Yeah. When I’m down there, I feel free and limitless. I know a lot of people doesn’t like it, but I do,” he talked in strides to set the pace.

Albert sat up, “By people who doesn’t like it, do you mean me?”

Ali stared blankly at him and dodged the question, “And speaking of feelings I've had since birth, are you hungry?”

“Sure,” Albert nods with a smile.

The hungry native went inside their hut greeting all the lovely people he crossed. Ali looked inside the hut the two have shared for the last few months and grabbed the gear. Although he loved freediving, there’s better gear for that now. So he came out after a bit with a SCUBA-diving apparatus and a harpoon. Ali waves as Albert does the same thing.

Before diving deep into the blue, he shouted “I’m going to find the freshest fish for you!”

Such a pleasant personality. Albert got up and took a sip from his coconut juice while setting up the grill for the later meal. He reached inside his bag to get his lighter, but he retracted it as soon as he felt something that was not there before; a card. There was only a limited number of things in his bag, so he knew what's there and what's not.

When he pulled it out, he realizes that that was not a card he’s unfamiliar with; it’s a card he’d seen and held countless times, and one he hoped would never see again. The drumroll only got louder as he slowly turned from the blank side of it.

The logo of Alfred Enterprise greeted the not–so–shocked Albert. The logo was not a horror-scary one, but it carried a lot of bad memories for him. He already expected it—but it still stung; tragic but unsurprising.

Yet, he was cautious and scanned the entire scene for suspicious actvities. There were none...until, he felt the tremble of fear when he heard a woman scream over the distance towards the waving seashore.

Ali!

He rushed to the scene where he found a couple of guys dragging a body off the waters. The closer he got, the closer he got to breaking down. And as he finally found himself clutching Ali with his trembling hands, only did he get to allow a whiff of emotion out of him.

He was mad for being foolish thinking he could escape his life. And this madness didn’t just end when he stood up. Because as soon as the dots connected in his mind, everything turned black.

As black as the void. 

The void.

It’s haunting.

Wandering in absolute nothingness for what feels like forever.

Basking on nothing but only the splendid crepuscule of oblivion as the eyes of the aphotic space leers deep into the prey that is the soul. The stygian vacuum stares.  

Then suddenly, brightness.  

Out of nothing.

Like an omnidirectional lightning bolt, a warm calming light calling from a distance appears.  

Its glow fervent and passionate as if it's alive.