The sanctuary had become a prison. What little refuge Eliot and Ida had found within its walls was quickly crumbling under the relentless pursuit of the Forgotten. The air grew heavy with their presence, suffocating, as if the atmosphere itself conspired to crush them.
The once-familiar souls, those fragile wanderers who had accompanied them through the Void, had disappeared—snuffed out like candles in the wind. The sanctuary, which had once seemed like a safe haven, now felt like a collapsing cage, folding in on itself.
The streets outside had transformed into a nightmare. Buildings stretched and twisted like melted wax, distorted reflections of Eliot’s world. The Void was collapsing, and with it, reality was slipping away, unraveling into nothingness. Every breath Eliot took felt like a battle for air, his body straining against the weight of the world pressing in on him.
“We can’t stay here,” Ida whispered, her voice trembling. She stood beside him, flickering like a distant flame, her form barely holding together. Since their reunion, Ida had grown weaker, her existence increasingly fragile, as if the Void was slowly pulling her apart. Each time Eliot looked at her, she seemed more translucent, on the verge of disappearing entirely.
Eliot clenched his jaw, his determination hardening. “I know. We need to get back to where I first came in. We have to find the portal and get out.”
The shadows in the corners of the sanctuary deepened, shifting like living things. Eliot could hear the Forgotten now—low, guttural growls that echoed through the fractured walls. Their presence was growing stronger. They were no longer waiting. They were coming for Ida, and Eliot could feel their dark, invasive pull on his mind, feeding off his fear and desperation. The more they ran, the more the Void tugged at his senses, warping the distance between them and their destination, trying to trap them.
“I’m losing it,” Eliot muttered, his voice thick with sweat and dread. “The place… it’s slipping away.”
“Don’t let go,” Ida urged, gripping his hand tightly. Her touch was cold, almost nonexistent, like holding air. “We’re almost there. I can feel it.”
They ran through streets that twisted and folded like paper, the distance between where they were and where they needed to be stretched like a cruel trick. Shadows swirled in tight spirals around them, whispering their threats, hungry for the moment Eliot and Ida would falter.
And then, through the blur and chaos, Eliot saw it—the street where it had all begun. Darker now, more twisted, but unmistakable. This was where he had first crossed into the Void, where his journey to find Ida had started. The portal was invisible now, but Eliot knew it was there, hidden beneath the shifting layers of the Void.
He came to a halt, breathless, scanning the surroundings. “This is it,” he whispered, his voice barely audible over the oppressive silence. “This is where I came through.”
But the reprieve was short-lived. The shadows were closing in, the Forgotten circling them like vultures, their dark, formless bodies pressing in from all directions. Eliot’s heart raced as they began to close the distance, ready to pounce.
Suddenly, a familiar figure emerged from the darkness. The Watcher. His old, hunched frame appeared frailer than before, but his sharp eyes gleamed with a dangerous clarity. He moved toward them with a deliberate slowness, each step filled with an ancient weariness.
“You should not have come back here,” the Watcher rasped, his voice cutting through the thick air. “Not with her.”
Eliot’s hand tightened around Ida’s. “You knew I would come back,” he said, his frustration boiling over. “You knew I’d find her.”
The Watcher’s expression was almost pitying as he gave a slow nod. “Yes, but you do not understand the cost of what you are trying to do.”
Eliot’s anger flared. “We don’t have a choice!” he snapped. “I’m getting her out of here.”
The Watcher sighed deeply, his eyes filled with ancient sorrow. “There is always a choice,” he said quietly. “But the choice you are making will come at a price you may not be willing to pay.”
Eliot felt a cold dread settle in his stomach. “What do you mean?”
The Watcher’s gaze flickered toward Ida, and for the first time, Eliot saw something resembling regret in his eyes. “The Forgotten have their hold on her,” the Watcher explained. “She is tethered to this place, to this realm. If you try to bring her back, their darkness will follow. The Void will bleed into your world, and it will consume everything.”
Eliot shook his head in disbelief. “No. There has to be a way. You said there’s always a way.”
The Watcher’s shoulders slumped, his weariness visible in every line of his body. “There is,” he said. “But it is not what you hope for. To bring her back—to truly free her—you must sever her ties to this place. You must forget her, Eliot. Erase her from your mind completely. Only then will the Forgotten lose their hold on her.”
Eliot’s heart stopped. The words hit him like a physical blow.
“What?” His voice was barely a whisper. “Forget her?”
The Watcher nodded, his expression somber. “The Forgotten feed on the memories of those they take. The more you cling to her, the more power they have. To free her, you must let her go completely. Erase every memory, every trace of her from your mind. Only then will they release her.”
“But I won’t remember her,” Eliot said, his voice breaking. “If I forget her, it will be like she never existed.”
The Watcher’s eyes softened. “Yes. That is the paradox. To save her, you must lose her.”
Ida stepped forward, her form trembling with fear and disbelief. “Eliot, you can’t… you can’t do that.”
Eliot turned to her, his chest tight with emotion. “If I don’t, you’ll be stuck here forever. You’ll fade away.”
Tears welled in Ida’s eyes, and she shook her head. “I don’t want you to forget me. I’d rather stay here than have you lose me like that.”
Eliot felt the weight of the Watcher’s words crushing him. The choice before him was unbearable—save her by erasing her from his life, or hold on and lose them both. Every fiber of his being rebelled against the thought of letting her go, but he couldn’t imagine living without her, either.
The shadows loomed larger, the figures of the Forgotten closing in. They were feeding on his hesitation, whispering at the edges of his mind, eroding the memories he had fought so hard to hold on to.
Eliot’s breath came in ragged gasps as he made the hardest decision of his life.
“I can’t do it,” he whispered, his voice shaking. “I can’t forget you.”
Ida’s eyes filled with tears, her voice breaking. “Eliot, please—”
“I’m sorry,” Eliot said, his voice thick with grief. “I won’t let them take you. Not like this.”
With a fierce resolve, Eliot turned to the Watcher. “Tell me how to open the portal. I’ll bring her back, even if I have to fight the Forgotten myself.”
The Watcher’s expression darkened, but he nodded slowly, understanding the weight of Eliot’s choice. “Very well. But know this: once you cross back with her, the Forgotten will follow. They will not stop until they have consumed everything.”
Eliot squared his shoulders, his hand still clutching Ida’s fading one. “I don’t care. I’ll take that chance.”
The Watcher stepped forward, his hands moving in a series of precise gestures. The air around them shimmered, and the space where Eliot had first crossed into the Void began to ripple like water, a faint light glowing in the distance. The portal was opening.
Eliot felt the pull of the real world on the other side—the promise of escape, of life. But as the portal widened, the shadows surged forward, their growls deep and menacing. The Forgotten were closing in, and time was running out.
Grabbing Ida’s hand—what little remained of her—Eliot rushed toward the portal. But just as the doorway opened, the Forgotten lunged. One of the dark figures reached out, its hand closing around Eliot’s arm, pulling him back into the darkness.
“Eliot!” Ida screamed, her voice trembling with fear. “Go! Get through the portal!”
Eliot fought against the grip of the Forgotten, his body straining with every ounce of strength he had left. “I’m not leaving you!”
But as the darkness tightened around him, he knew there was no way out for both of them. With one final, desperate push, he flung Ida forward, her form dissolving into the light as she crossed into the real world.
The last thing Eliot saw before the shadows consumed him was Ida, her face illuminated by the soft glow of the portal, her body solidifying as she returned to the real world.
And then, everything went black.
To Be Continued …
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God Is In The Radio 
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