“Where the hell am I?” A traveller cursed under his breath as his fingers brushed the surface of the foreign floor. He was undoubtedly in the wrong dimension… the portal through which he emerged shattered and dissipated as fast as it had appeared. The floor was smooth and laminated, reflecting a translucent and cloudy mirage of the ceiling. The panels shed light, which illuminated the hallway lined with red lockers. It was familiar, too familiar, almost identical... A shiver ran down his spine. He had been here before, and he vowed never to return.
Colours drained from the world; the bright red paint from the lockers evaporated, leaving behind a dull shade of grey. The discolouration left the world in a single variation of colour, characterized by only light and dark. Frantically, the traveller pulled out the interdimensional orb that brought him here, fidgeting with it and pressing his intent upon it to activate. Nothing. The dimensional crossing strands did not relight, and the stone lay dormant in his palm. His intent was too weak and lacklustre due to his unconcentrated mind. The powers he collected would only be helpful with intent. The more he thought about it, the closer the possibility of being trapped in this horrid dimension of his past approached.
“Who alternated my dimension jump destination? Whoever it is sent me to my past on purpose… to silence me by–”
A bell shrieked and echoed through the colourless hallway. Students poured out of the classrooms, their gloomy features and meaningless expressions indistinguishable under the shades. They marched akin to the undead, hanging on to dear sanity by a mere thread. Quickly stashing the dimension orb away, the traveller tore off his outer cloak; he had prepared it for a trip back in time, but it would only be a nuisance that would catch unwanted gazes. He wore a school uniform underneath, aiding his disguise into the crowd.
‘That’s right, you also lived like this once, working and living towards no purpose.’ The hoard of students had advanced further into the school, and the traveller was ushered along. Corridors raced by, and he came across familiar sights. His old classrooms. He had left those door frames, expecting nothing but disappointment and failure. Countless days and endless nights he had spent studying, fighting to improve. Yet, it was all in vain. In fact, the more time he poured into his studies, the more empty he felt as if his spirit was being gradually consumed. Eventually, he felt like a walking dead, an empty and soulless existence like those whom he now trod among.
He once escaped that reality by finding a greater purpose to live for. He peered around and sighed. “I was fortunate that the Press had found me.” It had given him another shot at life, not to waste his years away and fight for something truly meaningful–to become a writer of the board and document the voices of those who were forgotten.
‘Meaningful? Forgotten? Have you no shame?’ A voice in the traveller’s mind snared with mockery. ‘You did nothing but flee like a coward… look around you! Take a look at the people who you’ve forgotten in this meaningless world.’
“Who are you? How do you know about me?” The traveller scanned the crowd; nothing. Receiving no reply, he pushed through the corpses and dashed for the exit. The students gave way without much resistance. This now concerned more than just his past: a threat had emerged that could endanger the entire dimension.
Even now, the words of the strange voice echoed in his mind. He did abandon this world. He was undoubtedly struggling and broken, but so was everyone else… and he had forgotten them. The realization of his hypocrisy stabbed him in the gut. Yet, the traveller fought his pain. If the threat captured his dimension orb, there would be no safe place. Thanks to the strange voice, his mind no longer dwelt upon the past but the present. Colour returned to his vision, and the world was again saturated.
The traveller halted his run as a dark figure materialized, blocking his path to escape.
“Who are you, and what do you want?” the traveller demanded.
‘I am simply a purpose seeker,’ the figure mused, ‘I will bring a purpose to all those lacking. Just tell me how you arrived here, in MY world.’ The traveller laughed. “So predictable. I can’t let you leave this dimension.” The dark figure roared, and dark spikes protruded from his body. The spikes raced towards the traveller with a great speed, cutting the long grass tips in its way. ‘I am your guilt! Your guilt of abandoning your world and running away! And now I will destroy you!’
“I am sorry for abandoning this place and forgetting everyone else who suffered! But I can’t let you win.” Opening the notebook he held, the traveller poured his intent into a phrase written on the pages. The words glowed with a blinding light: … journey before destination. His body glowed and floated into the air, avoiding the dark spikes. “My turn,” he murmured while highlighting another phrase with his intent: dragon… flames. He opened his mouth and unleashed a wave of fiery flames from the air upon his guilt. His shadowy twin caught the hellish flames head-on and let out a horrible scream. The traveller landed beside the burning figure.
“I’m sorry it had to end this way, but I promise I won’t forget ever again. Rest in peace now; I have a new purpose.” Pulling out his dimension orb, he poured his newly reforged intent upon the artifact. The stone ignited like a shining star, and colourful threads of reality gracefully danced outward from the core of the orb. These threads collided in mid-air, and a portal crystallized into reality.
“Never again will I forget those who are forgotten.” He whispered his oath to his old home. Then he stepped through the portal.