An empty room is about the most boring thing you can think of. At least, that’s what most would think. For some individuals however, an empty room is a canvas, one that is big enough to paint entire worlds, and even universes.

  “Perhaps the entity that created life simply sat in a vacant space until the thought of existence occurred to it. On a canvas 77cm by 53cm, Leonardo Da Vinci painted one of the greatest paintings to date. So it goes to reason, that in a vast empty vacuum, something as marvelous as the universe could be created.”

  “On a canvas like this room, I can paint a world of my own.”

  Sen, laid back on his carpeted floors. His head rested in both of his arms as he watched the ceiling. This was his usual ritual. Every day after work, he’d get home, order some food and lay back in thought, getting lost in his musings until he falls into his slumber. No bed, around, no furniture, just him and these four walls.

  He spoke out loud, talking to himself as he often does. “Hah. What a load of shit… I expect to write a hit story in the form of an autobiography?” These beginning pages were too close to home. “It’s a little too early to start writing about myself… What am I? Self-absorbed? Nah. I can’t just do something like that, can I…”

  He thought about it again, finding the premise he just conjured up appealing. However, a perfectionist is never satisfied.

  “No– That just won’t do. I promised, I’d create something so pristine, that it would be enough to do away with all my shortcomings.”

  “Hmm, maybe I’d need a universe as my canvas. Writing worlds, and books is not enough to create something of that caliber– No matter how pristine. If perfect was the word for something absolute without flaws, then I’m perhaps the opposite.”

  ‘Does such a word exist?’

  “No… not imperfect. But something more absolute.”

  ‘Something that denotes there is not a single thing unflawed about you.’

  “..... defective? Spoiled?..Imprecise--”

  ‘Damaged… faulty.. Wretched..atrocious..’

  “No.. let me get back to my story”

  ‘Dismal, Rotten, EXECRABLE.’

  “Maybe I should make a world that…-”

  ‘WORTHLESS, shameful, miserable’

  The thoughts in his mind continued to attack him as he contemplated. But regardless, he could do naught to shut it off. It was as if someone implanted a parasite in his mind that only replenishes itself on his self-loathing.

  His mind quickly dismissed these ideas, but they simply amped up their frequency and intensity. Resisting it only made things worse. It wasn’t as if he could tell himself that he wasn’t useless. He knew when he was in his made up worlds, and when he wasn’t. To attempt to lie about reality, would mean he would lose sight of that certainty.

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  “Useless… miserable…ungodly…” slight tears began to form on the young man’s face as he rolled over, covering his eyes from his art. His pieces will never be perfect when looked at through tear-filled lenses. “Hahaha… me? Create a masterpiece? No… what am I doing with my life? Sitting down, staring at these walls. To think that I had thought I could make something impressive– I can’t even make friends.”

  “Loneliness”

  It was true that the man named Sen was a loner. His brain would not allow interaction with others. Even at his job, even though he was good with numbers, he had never once uttered a word to his co-workers. Not any words of greeting, nor complaints, nor even taking a break. He simply went through the motions at work, doing whatever is necessary and occasionally talking to himself.

  Perhaps that was why he could not advance in his job, despite his calculations and reports being done in record time. How long had he been there?

  “Was it a year now… a whole year at the company. And I haven’t made any progress.”

  He simply had no means of communicating with others. No socials, no hobbies aside from his writing, and not even an ounce of talent inside the faulty brain of his. He could never commit to anything, whether writing, whether work, whether goals, aspirations, friends.

  “A total failure, who could only get as far as he did because of the things his parents had taught him”

  He spoke this time in third person as if narrating his life. “GAAAHHH!!!! USELESS USELESSS USELESS!!! WHY CAN’T I DO ANYTHING RIGHT!?”

  He clutched at his head as he folded up into a ball, shouting all manners of obscenities at himself.

  Booouk, Boouk!

  He was suddenly brought out of his trance. “Hah… hah…. Hah…Thank You, 302.” breathing heavily and finally back to his senses, he quietly thanked his neighbor that lived below him. “That’s right, I do at least have you.” His only friend. Mr 302 never talks to him, attempts to speak to him, or even looks at him. The only interaction he had was the occasional tapping with his broom that he’d strike his upper ceiling with. It often leads him to recall his thoughts and snap back to the current state of affairs. Like a soft reset of sorts.

  Sen, sighed as he attempted to retry and think of a better opening to his story. Staring at a singular dot in his ceiling, he contemplated the start of another story.

  “Perhaps, I should stop thinking and focus on solely one thing. Like how the stars were made? Yes… that’s right. This is a good one.”

  He began to envision an entity so monumental and so fierce, that it could not be measured by human metrics. “If an ant were in the presence of a human, I doubt it would be able to see all of it. Perhaps even the size of the shoe is unfathomable. Like so, lies the god before me.”

  The colossus, crafting a weapon, sat in an empty void of space. His giant hammer slammed against the near molten blade. As it slammed the blade onto the anvil, sparks began to fly in different directions. Within each of these sparks that flew, lay embers– each containing their own world.

  In essence, all of the worlds being made were perhaps just mistakes, not mistakes made by the being, but rather an inevitable outcome. The blade he was making was the masterpiece, and the worlds that lay around it were merely sparks, byproducts of the composition.

  Then… perhaps—

  Something didn’t feel right. In his imagination, Sen quickly realized that there was nothing around him. No walls, no light, no floor. Instead he found himself lying upon the grass, staring at a sky full of stars he could not recognize.

  At first, he began to think that perhaps he was still imagining things, but he quickly realized he would never mistake illusions for reality. He perished the thought as soon as he had thought of it. “Where… the hell… am I?”

  “Things such as time travel, or teleportation are not phenomena rooted in reality.” He muttered to himself, half in reassurance, and half in disbelief. A slight panic began to set in, growing steadily more and more by the second. All sorts of thoughts ran through his mind regarding what he should do next.”

  “No… I am dreaming.. Perhaps this is what a real dream is supposed to feel like. In 4 hours, My phone will ring and wake me up–”

  An unfathomable thought dawned on him.

  “If I had slipped into something of a coma, this would explain everything. But it would also spell death for me wouldn’t it? Would my job even check for my well-being, I have no family, no relations with my co-workers. Perhaps Mr. 302 could…”

  Mr. 302 could what?

  He was never one for illusions or false realities. Mr. 302 would never realize if he was dead. The only reaction he has is when he’s breaking down and the old man snaps him out of it. Aside from that, he didn’t even know the man’s name.. Only his unit number.

  His panic began to rise more and more, before something appeared in front of his face. A small panel about the size of a large canvas stood before him.

  “Notice: Multiple System Failure; Foreign Enigma Detected.”

  “Attempting removal, and restoration.”

  “.......!!”

  “Removal: Failed.”

  “.......! Restoration: Failed/Nothing to restore”

  “Attempting removal, and restoration.”

  “.......!!”

  “Removal: Failed.”

  “.......! Restoration: Failed/Nothing to restore”

  “Attempting removal, and restoration.”

  “WARNING: Multiple Failures, Max Attempt Reached…..!!”

  “Ceasing All Functions”

  With that, he instantly passed out and drifted away into a world of dreams.