“All the World’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts…”

– William Shakespeare

“Wake up”

A voice said quietly.

“It’s time to wake up.”

The voice said again.

“Wake up. It’s time for our play to begin.”

The voice said one last time.

As the voice faded, a body emerged in the darkness.

There was neither up nor down in this space. There was no left or right. It was simply dark, as if the concept of light never existed nor will it ever exist within this space. Within this confine, it was as if one’s very existence was denied, simply destined to fade in the background.

Yet, in this space, which denied all other existences, this boy, who appeared to be no more than 18 years of age, existed.

At first glance, he appeared to be someone fragile as his body lay, unmoving, his eyes closed. He was neither handsome nor ugly, simply an average person that one could find anywhere, on any street, in any city in the world, a solitary existence in a solitary world.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he began to move. First, his ring finger twitched. A slight movement, but slowly, his hand began to push against the darkness, propping his body up. His feet pushed against the black floor as he stood up and move forward. He had no visible destination, he simply walked. Left foot forward, right foot forward, left foot forward, right foot forward, and repeated. He proceeded leisurely, enjoying the silence that permeated his current environment, a vast departure from his previous, much more bustling one.

After some time, he stopped, a smile slowly appearing on his lips. He nodded his head before a singular ray of light broke through the darkness before him. He reached out his hand, allowing the light to land upon his palm before raising it above his head, letting the light continued upon its path. No sooner than when the first light moved past him, a second appeared, then a third, then, the world before him turned into a brilliant white.

“This place is still a wonder, no matter how many times I see it,” he murmured.

“Indeed.” A voice replied. “Even as a residence of this world, I can’t seem to get enough of it. The beginning and the end. White and Black. Two forces that, at their very nature, contradictory existence, coexisting. It never gets boring.”

Hearing a reply to his murmur, the boy nodded.

In the direction of the voice was now a figure leaning against a brown door that seemed to appear out of nowhere. Upon inspection, the door itself was an oddity. It was made out of wood, much like a door one would find on any hastily constructed log cabin. However, unlike those that were shaved with an ax, leaving an uneven surface, this one was smooth; such that not even the stickiest of substance can adhere to its surface. Its frame was a clean piano black. It was as if the frame’s sole purpose is to accentuate the existence of this door within this pure white space. It had no handle, and it seemingly leads to nowhere. Simply put, it was, just a door.

Yet, despite how peculiar this door might look to an average person, the figure leaning against it was even more of an oddity. It was difficult to call this figure a “person” given its appearance. By all accounts, its body’s shape was certainly human, except for the coat of grey fur that was visible on its neck. Atop that neck was the face of a cat, its four white canines peeking through its mouth together with three whiskers on either side that looked almost as if they were glowing in the light. Above that were a small pink nose and a pair of golden pupils that seems capable of seeing through the darkness of the darkest night.

After seeing that the boy was looking at it, it stood straight up, buttoning and adjusting the collar on its suit, its left hand folded behind its back, its right hand extended toward the boy in a welcoming gesture as it gave a gentle courteous bow.

“Welcome back,” it said to the boy. “How long has it been?”

“I suppose it has been a while,” the boy replied. “A few billion years perhaps?”

“Has it been that long?” it asked inquisitively. “Time simply does not exist here so one can lose track so easily.”

“Yes. Even in the outside world, I find it hard to keep track of time. A small miracle you could say. Sometimes, it feels as if eternity has passed by if I so much as blink.”

“Fascinating!! Oh, how I wish I could experience it myself. The joy it would bring. I truly wish to experience the world as you do. Simply watching it from here does not sate my curiosity you see.” The cat spoke loudly as it spread its arm and spun in circle to demonstrate the joy swelling up in its heart.

Then, as if the prior scene was simply a momentary lapse in judgment, the cat straighten itself, the curiosity and joy that one could see on its face and heard in its voice all but disappeared, replaced by a seriousness one would not expect from such a character.

It coughed gently into its hand, its golden eyes stared straight at the boy and said, “I suppose it’s time.”

“Yes”, the boy nodded. “Is everything in place?”

“I don’t anticipate any problem. Urd, Verdandi, and Skuld made all the necessary preparations.”

“I see. I guess we shouldn’t delay any further. Shall we begin Cheshire?”

“Yes. Let us begin our Grand Play. Welcome Back, to the Theatre of the End.”