My name is Mark, and I’m currently in the void.

  You heard me right. I’m in a pitch-black void, surrounded by nothing. No one else is here with me. It all started—well, it’s hard to say where exactly it started, but let’s go back to the beginning.

  I was just an average teen, living an average life. I did well in school, got exemplary grades, but wasn’t exactly the popular kid. I was in 10th grade. My parents died in a car crash when I was five, and I’ve been living with my grandparents ever since. My grandfather passed away two years ago from a heart attack, and after that, I moved in with my foster parent. They act as my guardian, but it’s all in name. The only thing they do that remotely qualifies as useful is paying the taxes and keeping up the charade.

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  For the most part, I’ve felt like I had nothing left to live for. So, I threw myself into my studies. I became a hidden genius, a quiet prodigy. I know 20 languages, I’m studying Theoretical Physics, Differential Equations, Game Theory, and more. I’ve built a monotonous life around my schoolwork, and that’s how I’ve been surviving.

  That was until March 30th, 20XX. After studying for ten hours straight for my Human Psychology and Organic Chemistry exams, I decided to take a walk to clear my head. I was completely exhausted, barely functional, but I needed a break.

  When I crossed the street, I was too tired to notice the approaching car. The last thing I felt before everything went black was a sharp pain on the left side of my body. Then, I woke up here. In this void.