He might have been a Snapper once. He couldn't say for sure though, as the memories of his past had already started fading by the time he'd entered the afterlife. It was then, during the in-between of knowing and having forgotten, that a great darkness descended upon him and devoured his heart.

Chaos submerged him. There were voices, or what sounded like them, but far too many, talking and whispering and screaming all at once. He tried to grasp at them, tried so hard to make out even a single word, but he could not. Just listening made him feel like his head was splitting apart, as if there were thousands of invisible hands pressing against his skull from the inside.

It was unbearable.

When he let out a cry, there were millions screaming with him. A beautiful symphony of agony, a sickening orchestra of suffering, such was the shade. In that moment, he understood, and he loved and hated it with all his heart. There were too many emotions, too many thoughts, to tell which were his.

He was losing himself.

A name. He needed a name, something that was his, anything that would make him more than just one dying soul amongst trillions. Only, he could not think, not while screaming, and he could not stop, lest he ceased to exist the moment his voice stopped being heard. And so he cried out, quieter this time, trying to listen into the madness, desperately seeking something, anything to latch onto.



[ He found his name. ]

aBOreSSs. He was someone, he was something. He was. aBOreSSs.

It didn't matter to aBOreSSs if his name made any sense, because nothing did. In an instant, his very being had been shattered and reforged, and so aBOreSSs let out a laugh. He was met with glee, and euphoria flowing through his veins. He realized then, that he was drifting, his emotions being met with those like his. And in truth, he was nothing but a particle of dust amongst the vast infinity of the shade.

Who he was but mere seconds ago would have been frightened.