The first thing Netzach sees when he comes to is the office fan spinning lazily above him. The second thing he notices is that he's laying on the floor and somehow he managed to do that. He tries to sit up but immediately feels dizzy and falls back to lay flat on his back. His artificial breathing starts coming in shallow gasps and it feels his insides pulsing like something is trying to force its way out of his body.
He wants to cry again, wants to throw up, or maybe even both, but something is holding him down.
Too many times he's ended up like this, always having close calls when he finally gets his hands on a form of enkephalin before it was too late. This time it seemed to be too late. Way too late. The lack of willingness to act on his needs for once rendered him once again helpless for what was to come.
How ironic.
All the times he had tried so hard to prevent another meltdown for no reason. It hurt the first time it happened. It'll hurt again.
And then suddenly everything stops. His vision is blurry but at least he's aware of how much heavier he feels. Everything is quiet and there's nobody there with him.
The silence, no chatter, no whirring of machines, nothing.
He feels a sense of panic, despite being unable to move. He looks around his empty office. The sense of loneliness overwhelms him. It's unbearable.
It's like he's melting.
The panic melts away and he's left to accept his fate. It takes some time but eventually the feeling of warmth spreads through him. He looks to see that throughout his panicking, he truly was melting through the floor... Was this normal?
Everything goes black after that. He can hear murmurs and shouting but they sound distant and muffled, closes his eyes as soon as his consciousness slips away.
Thump.
Thump.
Yesod quietly takes note of the vibrations. Rhythmic like a heartbeat, mechanical like a machine.
He sits up and leans over, resting against the back of his chair. Noise is better than silence in the facility. Silence is never a good sign, despite wanting little noise to concentrate.
A strange feeling settles inside him, a need to follow the noise. It felt too unusual, he couldn't pinpoint why or what could be the cause of it.
He pushes aside whatever was bothering him. There were more pressing matters than a vague feeling he couldn't explain.
Rhythmic, rhythmic. Like the beating of a heart. That thought calms him slightly. He doesn't know what it means, nor does he care. Whatever is causing it is either a blessing or not.
Thump.
Thump.
He's just curious. A little. But curiosity kills the cat.
Thump. Thump.
Thump.
There is something else, something more... Something... He can't put his finger on it.
Something is happening in the facility, something bigger than anything he can imagine here. Something that isn't supposed to happen.
Thump. Thump.
Thump...
The coffee on his desk ripples with the thumping.
He gets up from his desk, heightening his cognition filter to not draw too much attention to himself. He leaves his office and keeps a keen ear to where the source of the thumping is from.
