The Hum Between Worlds

So this is really the end, huh?

Sai exhaled slowly. I always figured my father would be the end of me… but I guess a mysterious killer is slightly cooler.

He sighed.

I wonder if i will end up in the morning news, perhaps my dad will read about my death tomorrow, my mother will sip on her morning tea like any normal morning

as his thoughts ran his mind felt untethered, like it had slipped free from his body—adrift, detached from the world. He couldn’t tell whether he was moving or completely still. A weightless state suspended in silence.

is this all there is now? Just… empty existence?

The void around him emitted a faint, low hum—constant and unsettling.

“Huh?”

Suddenly, Sai felt solid ground beneath his feet. He stumbled slightly, surprised by the sudden sensation. He turned in place within the endless blackness, grounding himself.

He stood still, deliberately, and took a moment to reflect.

“This is weird. I don’t understand it… there’s nothing here. But still… something. Am I dead? Or is this something else?”

The humming grew slightly louder from one direction, drawing his attention. He turned toward the sound.

“Well, it’s the only thing here that feels like it’s beyond me. So…”

He took a step. Then another.

“I really hope my brother grabbed something from the fridge… guess I won’t be making it home with the groceries.”

He walked toward the sound, time blurring. It felt like minutes. Or hours. Or maybe none at all. As he walked, the humming sharpened—like electrical wires thrumming with power. Visual details began returning in faint glimpses. Color. Movement. Texture.

Sai looked down and studied his hands—turning them over, palms and backs, as clarity returned.

“Ha… okay. That’s something.”

He looked out into the void ahead.

“If I just… keep going…”

Before he even finished the thought, he was walking again. His arms slowly relaxed by his sides as he pushed forward through the shifting emptiness that surrounded him.

“I wonder how far this goes…”

Step by step, progress—or what felt like progress. Each movement carried him further from wherever he had started. Then, without warning, he stopped. Not to rest, not for a reason. Just… stopped.

“What am I even doing here? Walking blindly and hoping for the best?”

He turned back toward the way he had come.

“Maybe I should go bac—”

THUMP.

A loud heartbeat shook him from his thoughts. His chest thudded with sudden pressure, his heart racing wildly.

“Ugh, what—?”

He clutched at his chest, overwhelmed by heat that radiated outward. Tearing open his collar, he tried to look at his body—but it was gone. His hands, his shirt, everything—faded. Except for one thing:

A glowing scar on his chest, pulsing red.

He dropped to his knees, panting in pain. Looking up into the void, panic set in.

“What the hell is this?”

His heart pounded. His breathing grew ragged. Eyes darted, desperate, scanning the black.

Then—

“Get up, son. You’re embarrassing yourself.”

A familiar voice—sharp, dismissive—cut through the silence.

“You can stand up to me, but fall down for this?”

Another voice. Colder. Harsher.

And then—from behind, in the direction he’d originally been walking:

“Why did you leave me?”

That one pierced the deepest. He could almost feel the small boy standing behind him but

In the same instant he turned back around the voices ended and the presence he had felt was gone, the pain in his chest began to fade. Without thinking, Sai stood up and started walking again. Step by step, the agony diminished.

“HELLO?! ... Infir!” he shouted into the void.

From the darkness ahead a weak voice called back "brother?"

In a atempt to catch up with the fading voice, Sai started jogging.

“HEY! WAIT UP!”

His jog became a sprint.

As he ran the pain faded along with the red shine, color and sensation returned to his limbs. He could feel his legs, see his arms moving by his side with every stride. The pain was gone. He laughed breathlessly— “okay this is not too bad”

THUNK.

He hit something.

A Hard solid object.

Sai was thrown backward, landing flat on the ground. Dazed, he groaned.

“What the hell?”

His head was spinning as he blinked over and over again “Damn” he groaned as he planted his hands against the ground and pushed himself up, wincing as he rubbed his forehead.

“That’s… definitely gonna leave a bump.”

Despite the sting, a small, amused smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. He dragged a hand down his face, from forehead to chin, feeling the expression on his skin. Then, curious, he reached forward—and pressed against the invisible wall.

It was there. Soft, flexible—despite having just slammed into it at full speed and clearly felt the solid wall, this seemed more like a soft surface.

“Weird…”

He pulled his right hand back and stared at it. He took his other hand and held them next to each other then shrugged

“Alright, Lefty, if I’m gonna lose a hand, it’s gonna be you.”

He extended his left arm. Did I just talk to my hand? Yeah… I’m definitely losing it. He shrugged and slowly pressed his hand into the surface again. This time, deeper—up to the wrist… the elbow…

“Hmm. How deep does this go?”

Despite the fear still lurking in the back of his mind, curiosity pushed him onward. He leaned in, chest brushing the soft surface. His fingertips grazed something solid within.

“C’mon… almost—”

As his chest made full contact with the surface, the scar on his chest glowed red again and along with it the solid surface deeper inside pulsed.

“…Oh. That can’t be good—”

Before he could react, the wall pulled him in.

“Nonono—!”

He pushed with his other hand, trying to brace himself—but it, too, was sucked in. The surface started to swallow him whole. until only his face was free.

“Oh well—”

Then—gone. The void returned to stillness. Empty once more no lost soul wandering its empty land. No more voices taunting or yelling for someone or something to wait.

Only the distant hum that constantly grew louder before remained but now it started to fade once more.