《The Keys to the Blankspace》 Chapter 1 The day Ives found the interdimensional keys was nothing notable. What the keys did to him was. It was his fault. For he abused the keys one thousand too many times. He saw the proverbial check engine light but did not see it fit to check it with his father, who was perhaps not a whiz at futuristic technology but could fix up and resell the family Mini Cooper¡­ such was Ives¡¯s thoughts. He was stuck in the blank space. He never quite knew what it was, just that it was, and it was there, and that he kept finding it there. This time¡ªhe knew! He felt shivers, and the keys stalled in space¡ªhe knew he could not escape. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. A wooden chair stood on four crooked legs in the middle of the infinite room. Ives examined it. He was grateful that it wasn¡¯t rosewood. There was only ever one option for him. He thought maybe he would procrastinate on his task. He could busy himself. Like an explorer, he could search every nook and cranny of the empty arena. This would be the best chance he could get. Maybe he would find something interesting? ¡°¡­ Well¡­¡± Ives sighed. That idea was a shot in the bright dark. Plus, moving around would take too much work. He felt around the edges of the chair that shone with foreboding. So conspicuous was its placement and so daring its invitation¡­ Ives plopped himself on the seat. He waited. Chapter 2.1 If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Chapter 2.2 The second day arrived. At this point, Ives reached the number 50,000, and he continued at breakneck speed. He looked forward to tomorrow. How far could he go? It was also on this day that the missing goddess Sephone visited him. Ives averted his eyes when she pushed close into his chair space. ¡°Hello, Ives. My name is Sephone, the wife of Heides,¡± Sephone smiled. ¡°I bring you some bread. You must be hungry. Eat, if you would like.¡± She pushed the rations onto Ives and frowned while examining his face. Ives didn¡¯t expect a housewarming gift. He paused his musings and accepted the kind gesture. ¡°I heard you met my uncle, Zues,¡± Sephone said while looking down. ¡°I apologize on his behalf. That was not the kindest first impression. I promise you, not all are like that.¡± The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. While Ives listened, he examined the bread. Sourdough? He wasn¡¯t that fond of sourdough. He frowned. ¡°I hope you¡¯ve been okay,¡± Sephone said. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We¡¯ll get you back home. ¡°It¡¯s a huge mistake you¡¯re here.¡± Her face lit with a dark, holy hue. Ives shifted. He asked her about the blank space, and though they talked a lot, he never deciphered anything worthwhile. When he realized this, he cursed himself in his head. He let her dictate the conversational train, riding around in circles. He was stationary, of course. He did not leave the chair, nor did he eat the bread. Sephone persisted that Ives eat the bread. What was he waiting for? Eat the damn bread! It was getting cold. But Ives would not budge. He simply resumed his counting game, continuing from fifteen thousand onward, never stopping, never wavering. Sephone was yelling now, and by the time Ives noticed the worms in the bread, he had long thrown it out. Sephone backed away and disappeared. She mentioned something about warning him to leave the chair¡ªor else. But Ives ignored her. And thus, the second day passed. Chapter 2.3 Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Chapter 3
Ives reached one million. He finally did it. After one hundred million days, he reached the number one million, after restarting here and there due to the occasional mental breakdown. He broke down about one hundred thousand times. Still, the chair held up pretty nicely, if you asked Ives. He couldn¡¯t respond¡ªno, how could he. He was soulless. It was then and only then that the reaper of reapers No Body visited. He had been waiting. No Body remained silent. Nothing was exchanged between the two except for cold breaths. Bones crackled like those of a fireplace. Of course, No Body had no skeleton. Finally, after an eternally long thirty seconds, No Body coughed. ¡°Ives. Son of Christa and John. Owner of the mighty Rocky. I love cats by the way.¡± No Body emitted smiling energy. ¡°I¡¯ve come to clean you up,¡± No Body said, and as he paced around, he noticed Ives¡¯s eyes were slowly, drudgingly, painfully following. They inched pixels forward and back. ¡°Good.¡± He said. ¡°There¡¯s still something in there. Well. Congratulations. You made it to the end times. For us old geezers, at least.¡± The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. No Body snapped. They teleported into the cosmos and floated about. ¡°There¡¯s nothing left for you, Ives,¡± No Body said. ¡°Your family and all you care about is dead. ¡°The other gods were supposed to tell you to leave, correct? ¡°Yet, you remain. Counting to infinity. ¡°All that you care about is gone. ¡°Your family, your pet, even Athena. He crept closer. ¡°Even Athena.¡± Ives punched No Body in the face. His fist sliced through air and caught a veil. No Body had no body and therefore no contact, but at least Ives thought he had a face. Ives sighed. He was alone in the universe. Nobody would be coming for him. He may as well float endlessly. Ives coughed. That was when he noticed he had been sick. Not the cool kind. Ives gasped for air and found none. He remained permanently on the edge of breath. It was as if he were stuck forever between panic and drowning. It was as if he danced between the lines of blood loss and unconsciousness. He cried. Every tear stabbed him, driving nails into his coffin. The worst part was that he had nobody around to distract himself with. Nobody except for the five or so apparitions surrounding him, constantly chattering him. They looked an awful lot like him, and when he blinked, they phased into and out of existence. Was this a dream? Actually, did he ever sleep? He had no escape. He may as well fall off and disintegrate. Pluto over there looked like a cool option, if it weren¡¯t actually hundreds of thousands of light years away, mocking him. But then, the words of the goddess Athena returned to him. Don¡¯t leave that chair¡ªno matter what. His hands gripped his chair. How stupid, he thought, and so he continued his numbers game. Chapter 4.1 (End)
After some time between now and eternity, Ives returned to the blank space. There was no explanation for it. One moment, he was on Mars with the rovers. The next, he was back. Ives felt a warmth within. Maybe even a presence around him, but he saw nothing. He did find a note on the ground, written in perfect corporate drawl. You have passed all the tests. You may leave :) Ives collapsed. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. In his chair of course. The amount of relief he felt was earth-crushing. The whole room seemed to turn a pastel yellow. He jumped to the heights of his mind, through cleared skies into a sunshine never ending. He vibrated with a buzzing sensation, and no, it was not his phone. Thank you, Athena, Ives thought. At first, Ives waited it out because he was lazy. He wanted to leave, sure, but he was lazy. The chair looked so appetizing. He didn¡¯t know what else to do. The only skill he had was the ability to endure boredom. And count. But then the game changed. Someone inspired him. He chuckled to himself. Then, he waited. Chapter 4.2 (Epilogue) Ten more days of quarantine passed. Athena arrived. ¡°Hello, Ives,¡± Athena mumbled while twiddling her fingers. ¡°Good work.¡± Ives, painted a mess, flashed a thumbs up. ¡°I did it,¡± he said, choking back tears. ¡°I did it. I mean I didn¡¯t do it. I didn¡¯t leave.¡± This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°You didn¡¯t do it.¡± ¡°I did it.¡± ¡°No, you didn¡¯t¡­ I mean, yeah, you did do it¡ª¡± ¡°No I didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°I will slap you. Fear me.¡± ¡°No!¡± A voice boomed from the shadows like a boombox. ¡°Fear me! The mighty Zues¡ª!¡± Athena disappeared. Somebody yelped in pain, but that¡¯s not important. After Ives returned home, he would sometimes find notes written in different elegant handwriting in his room after a day out living a relatively normal life. He didn¡¯t touch the keys. But he did make sure to get in bed only when he was tired. His sleep was great.