The Void was endless, twisting and warping like a nightmare come to life. Buildings flickered in and out of existence, their shapes shifting every time Eliot blinked. Shadows danced in the corners of his vision, slipping away before he could get a clear look at them. His heart pounded as he followed the fragmented memories, Ida’s voice faintly guiding him through the haze. 

Every step took him deeper into a labyrinth where the walls were alive, shifting and changing. And with each breath, he could feel the weight of the Void pressing down on him, as though it was hungry, waiting for him to falter.

But then, suddenly, the world around him stilled.

The street before him seemed out of place in this ever-shifting landscape. It differed from the rest of the Void—still decrepit, cold, and broken, but it didn’t move. The buildings here stood solidly, their shapes unchanged. In the center of the street stood a large, crumbling structure, its façade cracked and weathered but unwavering. This was the sanctuary the memory had led him to. Eliot swallowed hard, his throat dry from fear and the biting cold, and moved toward the entrance.

Though old and battered, the door swung open quickly, almost as if it had been expecting him. Inside, the dim light barely illuminated the cavernous space, but Eliot could hear faint voices, whispers that seemed to echo through the halls. As he stepped forward, his boots echoed unnaturally loud in the stillness. 

“Welcome,” a voice said softly from the shadows.

Eliot froze, squinting into the darkness. Slowly, figures emerged, their faces gaunt, their clothes worn and tattered. They were people, yet there was something otherworldly about them as if they were barely clinging to the edges of existence, fading in and out of reality like flickering candle flames.

“Who are you?” Eliot asked, his voice strained.

A man, tall and thin with hollow eyes, stepped forward. “We are like you,” he said. “Lost. Forgotten. Trapped here in the Void, just like the one you’re searching for.”

Eliot’s pulse quickened. “Ida. She’s here?”

The group exchanged glances, their expressions grim. A woman with sharp features and dark eyes stepped forward. “Yes,” she said. “But you must understand—if she’s still here, The Forgotten are hunting her, and they won’t stop until they erase her.”

A cold shiver ran down Eliot’s spine. “The Forgotten,” he whispered. “I’ve seen them. Felt them. They’re… they’re feeding on her, aren’t they?”

The man nodded slowly. “They feed on memories. The more someone clings to those taken, the stronger the Forgotten becomes. They are drawn to the refusal to forget.”

Eliot clenched his fists, his jaw tight. “I can’t forget her. I won’t.”

“You don’t understand,” the woman said, stepping closer. “The more you try to remember her, the more dangerous this becomes. The harder you cling to Ida, the closer you come to being erased yourself.”

The words hit Eliot like a punch to the gut. He couldn’t forget Ida, not after everything they’d been through or how far he had come. But even now, he could feel his memories of her slipping, like sand running through his fingers. The sound of her voice, once so clear in his mind, was starting to fade. Her face and laugh were all becoming harder to hold on to.

“How do I save her?” he asked, desperation creeping into his voice. “There has to be a way.”

The group exchanged somber looks before one of them, a woman named Mara, stepped forward. Her eyes held a deep sadness as if she had carried the weight of this knowledge for far too long. She motioned for Eliot to sit down, and though the cold stone floor was uncomfortable, Eliot obliged.

“I tried to save someone once,” Mara said, her voice soft but steady. “Someone I loved deeply. My sister.” She paused, her gaze far away, as though lost in her memories. “When The Forgotten took her, I thought I could fight them. I clung to every memory, held them tight, thinking that my love for her would be enough to pull her back. But the more I fought to remember, the weaker I became. The more I searched, the more they consumed.”

Eliot’s throat tightened as Mara continued, her words wrapping around his heart like a vice.

“They erase everything—memories, evidence, traces of existence. It’s not just them taking her away. They make you forget. Little by little, they erase you too, until there’s nothing left.”

Mara looked up at Eliot, her eyes hollow but filled with deep sorrow. “I was close, Eliot. Close to bringing her back. But when I performed the ritual to summon her… I drew them to me instead. I lost more than my sister that day. I lost myself.”

Silence hung in the air, cold and heavy. Eliot’s stomach churned with the weight of Mara’s revelation, but his resolve remained unshaken. “You’re telling me there’s no way to save her? That I have to abandon her? Forget her?”

Mara’s eyes softened with pity. “If you want to survive, yes. The only way out is to let her go. You’ll end up just like us if you keep clinging to her memory. Forgotten. Lost.”

Eliot shook his head, his heart pounding in his chest. “I can’t,” he whispered. “I won’t. I promised her.”

“You don’t understand what you’re up against,” Mara’s voice was sharper now, tinged with frustration. “You think you’re strong enough to resist them, but they will wear you down. They will make you forget. It’s what they do.”

Eliot stood, the cold certainty of his decision settling over him.

“I’ll take that risk.”

To Be Continued …

Read Part I here.

Read Part II here.

Read Part III here.

Read Part IV here.

Read Part V here.

Read Part VI here.

Read the entire book on Kindle here.