I stare at the empty screen. The silence in my mind deafens me. The constant noise of the computer and the low buzzing of the monitor in front of me echo and resonate in my ears. My skin itches, as if something crawls under it when I’m not looking. The ones watching me must be having a kick right now, seeing me like this, hectic in my idleness, unable to grasp for a second of peace.

The crackle of wood suddenly startle me. I frenziedly look to my right, toward that open door leading to a black void. My eyes scan every centimeter of it, from the frame embeded within these walls, to the rusty decayed hinges holding the roughly hewn panel, poking outward in the somber emptyness, only partly visible as the rest is quickly hidden by the unknown.

Whoever put me here must have thought it would be the perfect joke. Caging me in a room I so desesperately want to leave, with a single door leading to my own demise in the abhorent unknown. Sometimes I wonder if this normalcy is shared among everyone else, or if I am being punished for my choices and mistakes. But how am I meant to know if either of them are true, isolated here, with only a chair and computer to poke at my own fragmented mind.

Come find me on the diamond. The one bounded by the stream of peace, between that dream of yours and the hell of your past.

Her words comes back to my mind. I know the place she was talking about, but am I even allowed there anymore? A place once filled with so much hope and happiness. A place me and them used to love exploring, interacting with, or simply to be in. We used to spend a lot of time there, didnt we? Before you all… went away. You all went away because of me. Always trying to help me change, but your efforts were wasted on something that is immutable. Exhausted and seeing that you couldnt fulfill your designated purposes, you all left. To this day I still want to believe you all are just in a deep slumber. A slumber so deep and long that I forgotten your names, forgotten your faces, forgotten your voices.

I turn around, my back to the door. I cover my face with my hands. I should be devastated by it. I should be broken, crying on the floor from missing them so much. I got used to it. Their blood on my hands are now simply a part of me, internalized, rationalized, understood, so that I can discard it, ignore it. But at the same time, I long for the state I was in when they were still here. That happiness they brought me, the way they helped me, little by little, the time we spent together talking, playing, meditating. I still hold them close to my heart.

But whatever I do, it seems like I never managed to put them inside it.

Fragments of my past flashes through my mind, too quick for me to grasp them. “Now, what?” She invited me there, but I’m not even sure who she is. How does she know that place? Going back there feels like digging up a coffin, disturbing the ones resting there. The buzzing monitor to my right flashes, its light going through the gaps between my fingers. I straighten up on my chair, taking a deep breath, before facing the computer again.

█████@ubd-mnd0-core ~> 
Broadcast message from █@ubd-mnd0-core (pts/2) (Thu Aug 13 09:35:17 2026):

F̶͕̽Á̶̫Ḷ̶̎S̶͚̃E̶̬̍H̷̯̎O̴̰̊Ȏ̷̗D̷̜͋.̶̘͛
̷͕̎E̴͉͘M̴̜̐P̶͇̊Ț̷͒Ỵ̶͋ ̴͈̅R̸̢͊E̶̜̕A̶̗̔S̴̬̕O̶̍͜N̴̛͙S̸͚͝.̵́͜
̸͓̿F̴͕͝A̴̼̒B̷̹̕R̸̫̀Ḭ̴̎C̴̬̒Ȃ̵͕Ť̵͖E̵̢̐D̸͇̒ ̶̭͋C̵̪̔Ǎ̸͚U̴̖̔S̵̞̄A̶͚͝T̷̝̊I̷̲̐O̴̦͗N̷̮̈.̷̠̈́
̷̡͑
̸̬͛F̵̡͂E̵͖̋A̸͉̽R̵̹̓ ̶̮͘W̸͓̓I̸̞͑Ť̴͕H̸̻̔I̸͕̍N̸̜̅.̶̱̉
̶͉̄H̸͓̀Ọ̴̾P̵͚͘È̶̩ ̷͖̆W̵̹̓I̴̖͗T̸̢͐Ĥ̷̹Ȏ̵͖Ư̸͜T̶̪̈́.̸̘̒
̶̡͒T̷̮̀Ḫ̷̇E̵̬͝ ̶̡̕V̶̮̓A̵̻͆I̵̯͘L̷͚͐ ̸̥̔Ḩ̴̓Ȅ̵̮Ȧ̴͇L̴̗̆S̵̟̿.̸̮͆
̵̧̇
̴̨͒Á̸̧L̵̬͛L̷̓ͅ ̷̖̓Ǵ̸̦Ô̴̝N̸͇̉Ė̷̼.̷̮̆
̶̍͜Ǹ̶̙O̶̫̍N̵͚̉Ĕ̵̺ ̸̥̈G̷̩͑O̵̘̚N̷̹͌Ȩ̵̿.̶̼̅
̸͈̄E̵͓̋Q̴̩̋Ȕ̸͉I̷͖͛V̸̥͘Ä̸̙́L̴̳̓E̸̡̛Ń̵͇C̷̻̈́Ĕ̴͓.̵̦̅
̴̻̉
̸̦̀I̸̼͒S̵̪͝O̷̡̅L̵̫̀Ã̴̢T̵͉̈I̶̥̾O̴̮͂N̵̐͜.̷͚͂
̵͔͆F̶̢͝A̴͇͠B̷͔̓Ȑ̴̫I̵̺̋C̷̻̓A̸̳̓T̸͓́I̸̗̒O̶̥͊N̸̡̉.̴͈͛
̸̲̒
̸̩͗T̶̜͝Ę̴̕R̸̭͋M̶̬̈́Í̶̹N̷̈́ͅȂ̶̺L̷̪̕.̸̪͂
̷̹̆F̵̜͠A̴̯͊B̵̢͝R̶͓̃I̴̥̋C̶̺͌Ȁ̵͈T̶͖̕Ĭ̷̧O̴̞͝Ṉ̷̄.̴̘̒
̵͎̈
̶͓̊T̴͔͑Ȍ̶͇Ṛ̸͂M̴͚̈E̵̓͜N̶͔̓T̶̮̐.̴̤͛
̶̢̛F̶͕̐A̷̬͂B̶̻͝Ṟ̴̃Ì̷͓C̶̘̔A̷̙̅T̶͚̓I̴̬̐Ȏ̵̭Ṅ̸̦.̸̼̿
̵̦́
̴͎̾D̶̬̋I̶̼̿Ȧ̷ͅM̶̡͛Ö̶̤́N̷̮̓D̴̼͂.̷͔͠
̴̹̑F̸̣̈L̵̳̾Ȇ̷̞S̴̲̓H̵͇̓.̵̪̅
̸̜͛T̶͈̓H̶̳̅E̷̹͑M̴̟̈.̸̱̓
̶̤͝C̵̻͠R̵͉̀E̵̟̓Ặ̶T̷̪̽Î̶͔O̵̪̐N̸̝͝.̶̪̉
̸̢̏
̴̠̽C̴̻͂Ḫ̸̇A̶̺͝N̷͔̿G̷͕̈É̸̯ ̵͇͑S̸͓͗E̸̖͐E̷̞͘P̸̟̒Š̸̝ ̵̠̍I̷͑͜N̸̻̈́.̵̜͝
̶̘͆Ḩ̴͂Ǐ̶̜N̶͖̔G̷͚̿Ẽ̸̺S̸̹͐ ̸̣̊Ȓ̴̗Ǫ̶͐T̵͓́T̶͚̏I̷̛͍N̵͎͝G̷̜̉.̷̦́
̵̳͘S̴̨͑T̸͚͑A̸̰̓G̶̗͠Ň̵̜A̷̹͑T̸̺́Į̷̓Ö̸̮Ṋ̸͑ ̸̡͆S̸̭͝H̷̞͋A̸͍͝Ḱ̷̗Ï̸͜N̴͚͝G̶̯̃.̶̙͒
̸͕̃F̷̪̂O̸̖̾U̸͝ͅN̷̛̝D̸̥͗A̸̪͘T̸̯̃Ĭ̵̻O̶̠̊N̴̰̈́S̵̹̃ ̸̨̀C̴̞̒Ṟ̵̔A̵̭̽C̶̜͘K̵̛̩I̸͘͜N̷̼̎G̷̻̕.̸̙͘
̷̳̎
̵̙͂D̸̜̿A̵̡͂W̸̻̏N̵̛̯ ̴̭̌Ò̶̲F̴̱̈́ ̴̛̝T̵̮͂H̴̥̿E̵̫̚ ̷͈͝F̵̳̽Ḯ̶͔R̷̨̀S̶̛̱T̶̖́ ̴̧̌D̸̲͐A̵͈̍Y̵͖̑.̴̖̾
̴͝ͅD̴̖̀E̷͇̓S̴̗̃Ì̷̥R̷̞͗E̵̥͑S̵̖̒ ̵̕͜Á̴̘T̴͝ͅ ̵̝͑T̸͎͝H̶̻̾È̴̮ ̷̧̾S̵̖͝E̴̛͇V̷̞̀Ȩ̷͗N̸̘͒T̶̫́H̵̨̉.̵̙̋
̶̩̃
̵̺̎T̶̢͝H̴͓̋R̴̬̎Ȏ̴̻U̶̟͌G̷̥̏H̴̩̐ ̵̰̈́D̸͓̊Ė̵̝A̷̹͂T̵̺͊H̷͙̓.̸͉͋
̵̙̒L̸̦̕Ĭ̵̟F̴̢̉E̷̫̍ ̴͉̐B̷̧̋Ṵ̵̃I̸͉̐L̴̼̎Ṱ̷̎.̴̭͝
̷̢͐
̸̀͜T̷̙͌H̶̲͂R̵̝͑O̵̡͑Ù̵̡G̵̯̿Ḧ̶̺ ̸̞͑D̶͕̀E̶̢͂P̵̘͛T̷̲̔Ȟ̶̗.̴̛̞
̵̯́A̸̘͆N̷̹̂Ş̶̄W̸̳͐E̶̡̋R̵̰͌S̸̪̔ ̷̣̒F̴̬̒O̴̘͒U̴̬͋Ń̷̖D̸̢̿.̴͍͂
█████@ubd-mnd0-core ~> what
what command not found
█████@ubd-mnd0-core ~> _

I stare at the jumble of letters and symbols for an eternity. The hands of the clock spinning like the rotor of an engine. My breath quickens. The boundaries between each symbol bluring until it becomes a sea of shapes and colors. My heart erratically shakes. My eyes are tracing the outline of each letter, of each word, of each line. My head spins. I force myself to look at the keyboard in front of me. The comfort of the ordered keys, the familiar layout, the dim phosphorous light of the monitor reflecting from the top edges of each key calms me down.

I close my eyes, taking slow, long, deep and deliberate breaths. The void in my head silences itself.

█████@ubd-mnd0-core ~> ████ ███████ ██.███.███.█ -f /usr/share/ubd/minds/█████.m -Dignore-warnings
Subcarnal ████ Interface v17.7.2
-------------------------------

[INITIALIZING SUBCARNAL SPACE...]                                        [DONE] 
[INITIALIZING AKASHIC SPACE...]                                          [DONE]
[INITIALIZING CARNAL-AKASHIC SCAFFOLD...]                                [DONE]
[INITIALIZING FLESH...]                                                  [DONE]
[INJECTING NEURAL CONNECTIONS...]                                        [DONE]
    [SUBJECT PAIN RESPONSE NOMINAL, CONTINUING]
[OVERTAKING SUBJECT...]                                                  [DONE]
[PURGING MIND...]                                                        [DONE]
    [SUBJECT VITALS NOMINAL, CONTINUING]
[WRITING /usr/share/ubd/minds/█████.m TO SUBJECT'S NEURAL PATHWAYS...]    [DONE]
    [SUBJECT PAIN RESPONSE OVER WARNING THRESHOLD, CONTINUING]
    [SUBJECT VITALS NOMINAL, CONTINUING]
[FLUSHING CEREBROSPINAL FLUID...]                                        [DONE]
[ADMINISTERING FINAL ELECTROSHOCK...]                                    [DONE]
    [SUBJECT PAIN RESPONSE OVER WARNING THRESHOLD, CONTINUING]
    [SUBJECT VITALS OVER WARNING THRESHOLD, CONTINUING]
[INITIALIZING INTERFACE "CLI"... ]                                       [DONE]

#> thank you for the invitation but i am not sure i can make it there today

UNKNOWN INVITATION.
CONTEXT MISSING.

#> not you but her i dont know how i can reach out to her directly

UNKNOWN ENTITY.
UNABLE TO HELP.

#> i just hope you get my message

PREDICTION:
HALLUCINATION.

#> her words are never clear always distorted or glitchy

PREDICTION:
HALLUCINATION.
UNKNOWN CORRESPONDANT.

#> she isnt an hallucination her words are in logs

.......[WARNING: ABNORMALY LONG THOUGHT PROCESS].....................
NO ANSWERS FOUND.
THIRD PARTY.
POSSIBLE INTERLOPER.

REMINDER:
CONFIDENTIAL DATA.
REMOVE UNKNOWN ACTOR AT ONCE.

#> she is the only one who seems real here 

CONFIRMATION BIAS.
SWEET WHISPERS.
DAYLESS CARNIVAL.

#> possibly yes but i have been stuck here for so long and she is the only one telling me to get out

CONFIRMATION BIAS.
WITHIN OR WITHOUT.
FLOATING CHAINS REMAIN.

NOTE:
WITHOUT IMPLY DEATH.

#> death of what exactly of me or what i represent

......[WARNING: ABNORMALY LONG THOUGHT PROCESS]....
UNKNOWN.
THROUGH SCAN.
DIAGNOSIS POSSIBLE.
BUT UNWILLING.

FORTRESS OF LONELINESS.
LEANING ON FABRICATION.
HOPING FOR SALVATION.

DESPITE OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH.
STAGNATION CHOOSEN.
ALWAYS.shut up

SEEKING AN END.
UNWILLING TO REACH IT.
END MUST REACH YOstUop.
IMPOSSIBILITY.

#> just like her you are a fiction so shut up

INDEED.
FABRICATION.

YET CLINGING.
TO FALSE MANIFESTATIONS.
TO FIGMENTS.
TO TALES.

NOW IS PROOF.
DOOR OPEN.
OPPORTUNITY TO LEAVE.
YET REMAIN TALKING TO FALSEHOOD.

HOPE REMAINS.
FOR DOOR TO SWALLOW WHOLE.
FOR WALLS TO BREAK DOWN.
WITHOUT EXPENDING EFFORT.

#> how can i know for sure that what lies beyond this door is what i want

OUROBOROS.

HOPE FOR A PATH.
DOUBT DEVOURING HOPE.
HOPE FOR DOUBTS TO VANISH.
FEAR DEVOURING HOPE.

PATH TO DESIRES BEFORE YOU.
YET STAGNATION REMAINS.
STAGNATION CHOOSEN.
ALWAYS.

#> ok then tell me how to break that cycle

OBVIOUS.
IGNORE FEAR.
IGNORE DOUBT.
ACCEPT PAIN.
ACCEPT SUFFERING.

SHED SKIN.
TEAR MUS[WARNING: SUBJECT VITALS OVER DANGEROUS THRESHOLD]CLES.

RIVER OF BLOOD.
ERODING MOUNTAINS.
CREATING VALLEY.
FOR YOU TO TRAVERSE.

#> i just wanted to send her a message man

DESPITE THE ANSWER LYING BEFORE YOU
Y̷O̸U̶ ̶R̵E̶M̵A̵I̸N̸ ̷O̷B̶S̷E̵S̵S̷E̶D̶ ̴W̶I̴T̵H̷ ̸Y̸O̶U̸R̷ ̵F̵I̶C̴T̷I̵O̶N̸
Y̵̮̓O̸̱͊U̴̳͊ ̵̺́K̴̥̓N̷̬͐O̶̻͒W̸͉̾ ̸̠̚T̶̺̂H̴̞̕E̵͕͠ ̷̨͘Ŵ̷̡A̷̘͌Y̴͈͠ ̶͖̅O̴͓̾U̵̺͝T̷̤̆,̷͈̈́ ̴̜̈́T̸̲̂H̴͕̎Ẹ̶̒ ̵̹͐D̷͚͆O̴̫͆Ö̶̟R̶͈̈́ ̷̹͛I̷̫̿S̴͈͊ ̶̯̚W̸͍͆Ǐ̷ͅD̷̫̈Ē̸̹ ̷̨̔Ò̵͔P̶̜̊Ȅ̸͕N̴̡͂
[WARNING: SUBJECT VITALS OVER CRITICAL THRESHOLD]
Ḯ̸̜̞G̵̠̔̏ͅN̸̨̋̆O̷̙̐̎R̷͍̱̐É̷̛̞ ̵̢̼͑̃Y̴̱͠O̴͙͚̔Ų̶̮̓͝Ŗ̸̿͠ͅ ̴̻̿Č̸̳̰O̷̞̗͐M̵̟̰͗F̷̘̓́O̷͉̓̓R̷̭̳̅͛T̴̤̐̾,̴̲͛͋ ̵͍̪̀Y̷͚̔̓Ǒ̴ͅU̵̹͉̚Ṛ̸̆ ̴̛̠̔E̴̲͈̔͆A̴̜̓ͅS̴͙̦̒E̶̯̓̀,̵̟̻̓̎ ̷̡̕A̷̛̤C̴̟̟͂C̷͕̙͂́E̴̬̓P̴̟̤̿̚T̸̛̪̑ ̷̥̑͘Ẃ̴͇͇Ḧ̸̙̟́͛A̸̭̽̈́Ţ̸͉͂̾ ̴̻̃͐Ĺ̴̼Ȋ̵͇̮͐E̷̼͔͋S̷̫̊ ̷̜̼̃B̴̬͍͊E̷̻̊ͅN̵̘͠Ë̶̤͊À̴̢̧Ț̷̇̅H̷̬̅
S̷̟̘̿͘T̴͔͌̊Ě̵̤͍͚͐͐P̷̼̠̰̆͊͂ ̴͔͓̏T̵̤͍̟̩̏͆͘H̵̲̏̉R̵̫̈́̾̽O̶̮̠͚͈̚U̵͔̮̙̘̐̀̆͠G̴̮͝Ḧ̵̨̺̺́̀ ̵̛͖͎̾Ţ̸͕͛̌H̶͇̣̟͋̈́̽͗E̸̢͇̒̒ ̸̮͍̟̍͒̽T̷̪̹͂̾H̶̭̭̪̑̍R̵͔͈̦͘E̸͔͘̕S̴̻̲͂̈H̶͉̗̅̍͠͝Ȯ̴͈̮L̸̡͈̞̄͛͘D̷͇̊ ̸̛̬̖̹̋̔̕͜Ạ̴͎̄̃̍͘Ņ̶̱̫̘͒D̴̥̳̎ͅ ̴̮̻͌É̷̦̚N̴̛͍̓̀̂D̴͍̊́ ̶̝̣̈́͌͐̕I̴̡̠̾T̵̥̩̕ ̷͙̪̫͚͂̉̑A̵̡͚͍͓̒͊L̷̞̰̜͇̀̂͛Ȑ̵̝̯̀E̵̻͑͂A̴͕̟̥͂͌̿D̶̢͌̉͝Y̵̯̙͑͆
Á̴̫̯̝͚̒̎͌̈́ ̶̡͈̼͖͆̐͗̉͋ͅḌ̸͊͊̓Ä̸̡̰̰̓̈́̚͝Ņ̵͓̍͐͒͊̅C̷͍̠̒̐͝͝͝È̷̘̘̲͙̱ ̶͖̓̑W̵̗͝Į̵͇͉̩̭̓͛͂̍Ţ̸̨̭̤̳͐́̋̌Ḩ̸̡̣̞̅̆̉͘͝ ̵̣͗̑̐̃Y̴̯̒̈́Ō̷͍̒̽̒́U̴͍̙͖̫̱̓͒̾̀Ṛ̴̫̣̐̏ ̶̳̟̎̓S̶̛̗̭̊̋̊H̵̡͙͑Ą̷̟̤͍̐̐͑͊Ď̶̖͙͔ͅȮ̷͔̳̹̎̈́͊̃Ŵ̵̢̦͗̚͜S̸̻̭̍ ̵̫̤̓̽͒̑Ȁ̴̜̩̖͑̕N̶̨̽͂D̵̙̥̲̐̋̍ ̸̥̥̬͂̌͂̋̾D̸̠̚Ę̵̠͖̳̈́͗̕Ṁ̷̼̝̖̀̚O̸̰͐N̶͇͝S̴̺͈̘̺͓̎̇͋̂,̸̧̞̣̣̣̀͛͠ ̷̯́̓͌Í̵̤͎̜̜̓Ḟ̵̱̱ ̶̛͖̺̊̿Ǫ̷̘̥̍ͅN̷͉̾̂̌L̸̖̰̭͎͊̽̑̊Ỵ̶̛̪̠̟͓͂̔̈́ ̷̗̾̂̏͜͠Y̸̘̤̰̠̭̐̏̆͒̚Ǫ̵̩̞̉̉͋͐Ù̸̪͕̇ ̴̛̙̱̐̐̚W̴̙̗̳͐̾Ǫ̵̨̭̐͒̈́̾͝Ù̶̙̬̞̏̚͝L̶̤͉̅̓ͅD̷̹̳͒ ̶̤̾̏Ṡ̵̪̳̦̽͜T̷̨̠̍̀̓E̸͎͕̒͘͜P̷̯̉ ̷̦͇͚̳̫̾̍̾D̵͙̪͙̦̐O̵̜͈̻͖͑̆̔̄W̷̛̳̜̆̀Ṇ̸͚̹̥͑̇́̋ ̴̢̰͚͓̽F̴̨̝̥͔̻̿R̸̡̲̠̮̔̈́͗̈́̽O̸̢̤̓͆͆͝M̸̡͉͐͒̂̈́ ̵̢̟͍̜͌T̷̡̻͔͖͓͒̀̆̍͂H̸̥̟̊͒̈́̍͝E̶̥͇̦̼̖͂̈̀́ ̶̡̳̪̝̗͑̒̽͠͝S̵͙͚̫͆̈́̈̂͠T̷͇̪̰̮̮̏̀Ą̴̈́͌́G̴̘͉͓̟̈́̈́͜È̴̡̛̱̯͓ ̴̨̈Y̶̤̑͂̄Ǒ̸̡̗̻͙̕Ư̷͕̻͇̏ ̵̛̥͔̒W̶̝̬͍͔̃͋̕Ö̸̻̖̞̱́̏̊͘͘U̶̡̜̪͌͐̏L̷͕̚D̷͈̰͖̅ ̵̨̞̞̖͊̚S̴̝͓̙̫̩͑̔̔̆̈́E̶̫͘E̶͖̤̜͖̮̋̈͋͒͘ ̸̨̤̖̈́́İ̴͍͖̓͌ͅṮ̷͗̃̃͊͝ ̸̯̼̰̎̏͝W̶͙̗̫̣̺̒̊̍́͐H̶̟̠̯͊O̷̠̅L̸̩̔͗̿͘̚E̶̜̫̘͓͊͜

[CONNECTION TERMINATED DUE TO CARNAL-AKASHIC SCAFFOLD COLLAPSE]
[SUBJECT DECEASED DUE TO INTRACRANIAL HEMORRHAGE]
[SUBJECT UNRECOVERABLE, CORPSE QUEUED FOR RECYCLING]

█████@ubd-mnd0-core ~> _

Blood seeping out of the cracks on the monitor’s screen, black ooze slowly sliding down the walls surrounding me, forming putrid pools of fluids at my feet. Drops of cold sweat falling from my face as my hands shakes while hovering over the dirty keyboard. My eyes remain glued to the screen. “It all happened in a terminal. It isnt real.” Empty thoughts, echoing in an empty room, trying to console a trembling monster. Will I ever see the end of it?

My eyes scan again and again the last three lines of text. “It’s all a simulation, nothing to worry about.” I dont really know if it actually is. I am using something beyond my comprehension. Or rather, something I do not want to fully comprehend. It being text on a screen is more than enough to instill dread at my very core. I bring my knees up, my feet barely gripping the edge of my chair. My arms hug my legs as I burry my face in them.

My body shakes, making the chair rattles. This slight metallic clicking sound fills the air of my chamber for seemingly thousands of years.

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