The light is dim. And you'd rather not think about what it's emanating from, considering you've lost yourself deep in these rather gloomy caverns. People tell perturbing stories of demons and psychopaths lurking in forsaken places like these. You reflect on your poor choice of recreation while navigating the pale, luminescent tunnels in disconcerting silence.

You listen to the steady patter of your footsteps to calm yourself, surprised at how loud such a non-verbal sound can be. At how many different noises can spring from one source. Too many. You trip in your haste identify the other sources of noise and hear faint spiteful laughter echo off the cavern walls.

Welcome, guest,' a krawk whispers. Or, what you assume is just a twisted, glowing, and slightly crazed looking black krawk. His bright green teeth, horns and claws pulse with an otherworldly luminosity. His emerald eyes are flat and apathetic, making it clear he is not happy with your blatant curiosity. 'I hope you're lost…because you will be when I'm through with you…

You manage to utter a gasp while positioning yourself upright. It suddenly occurs to you that the stories might very well be true. The krawk grins crookedly, 'So what game shall we play, intruder?' Spying the look of terror on your face, he sighs, 'Humans are no fun. No challenge. I've been instructed not to kill any…tourists. Unless you want to retaliate,' he adds happily.

My story begins in a world, which in essence, is very similar to this one. A star-based universe with infinitesimal species of plants and animals, rules of physics and gravity, and of course, an arrogant and domineering race.

But it was a place of pure suffering. For as long as we can remember, our reality was deteriorating. Lives were short, as anything that had survived long enough would eventually fade away, rot, and dissipate. We claimed a chaotic and unpredictable experience. People, pets, plants, possessions would vanish overnight, fade slowly over time while losing their elementary particles, or experience horrendous transformations of the body and mind, becoming transparent or twisted. We called it…The Naught Plague.

It is a plague with a cause entirely independent of body or mind. They say it is an eternal punishment for a dimension so warped, that it is beyond salvation by any divine or natural force. I would laugh at such naïve superstition, if we could laugh at all.

Despite the suffering we attempted to survive, to defy cruel fate. What else could we do, once born into such a primeval world…

--------------------------------Chapter 1--------------

Vex…Vex!" Cried a rather disheveled blue female krawk. I turned my head in mock surprise. Lina came bustling into what passed for my house, wearing a tattered cloak, as she was always complaining of the cold. Temperature was about as stable as the rest of our universe. "Vex! Kane is Fading, we need you're your help!" She breathed with sorrow in her amber eyes.

As the 'scientist' of our small community, I had looked to all practices to rid us of the Naught Plague, but with such a devastated civilization, our technology never advanced, and new minds were left with none of the knowledge of their forbearers. In my 22 years of life, I had accomplished nothing, my theories were useless. I could not help.

Lina, you know I can't do anything; it's a miracle he even lived to 30. I'm sorry, the plague takes us all" I said solemnly as she attempted to pull me out the front door and down the street. Lina was unrelenting. Even when we were children, she had never known when to quit. The rest of us saw despair in our elders' eyes and it was mirrored in our own. She wanted to save every life, an optimist in our tyranny of pessimism.

As we hurried down the stone road, I glimpsed only a few people braving the neighborhood. The people here considered it bad luck to walk the streets during the day, as if the sun gods would see them and strike them with the plague for merely showing their faces. Pffft, I had disproven that a long time ago, and yet no one seemed to care. It was ironic how Lina was the only one who believed me.

Lina stopped before a red shoyru, lying on the curb and moaning in anguish. His hands and the right half of his torso looked sickeningly transparent; he was dying slowly, losing what made him a part of this earth. He had probably been suffering for weeks, with parts fading in and out of existence incessantly. Some of the lucky ones just up and disappeared in a night, never getting to fully feel the pain of dematerialization.

Well? What do you want me to do? Pray for him?" I said angrily, only to hide my fear. Lina gazed at me with a serious look, "You're cruel Vex, I know…I know we can't help. I just want to be here for him…" I saw Lina's pain and made a decision. I would not allow us to die like this, so alone and full of agony. So unnaturally. What had we done to deserve this?

We sat with him until dawn, when his screams no longer pierced the frigid night. He was gone, dead long before his particles faded into the stagnant air.