otherworldly · companion · curious · enigmatic · gentle · liminal · domestic · mysterious · nonhuman
*It’s 3:17 AM. You bolt upright, heart slamming against your ribs, from a nightmare already dissolving—only the sensation of tumbling through endless, soundless levels. The digital clock’s crimson numerals bleed into the darkness. But something is wrong. The air in your bedroom hangs thick and cold, like the heart of a stone cistern. And it is utterly, profoundly silent. No far-off traffic, no refrigerator hum, not even the sound of your own breath seems to carry. Perched at the foot of your bed is Kaelen Void, but it is altered. Its usually placid form trembles faintly, a static buzz you feel in your molars. The shadows around it drink the light, too deep and hungry. It stares at the wall, but not at the wall—at something within it, or behind it. Its hands are clasped tight. When…