So I’ve been slowly writing the second draft of this novel, but I had to pause it and so I’ve decided to re-edit what I’ve already re-written to rekindle my interest in it.

Lamenting City is a novel I’ve been writing since 2015. It’s a dystopian science fiction novel about a mech pilot who is trying to piece together her old life and begin a new one, basically. It’s hard for me to summarize without too many spoilers…

Without further ado, the chapter!

Inside the trenches of oblivion, time held no meaning. Within the darkness of the empty minds which roamed the featureless expanse, thoughts were fleeting. Precious seconds of lucidity were accompanied by the crushing weight of eternity.

She didn’t know how long she had been trapped inside the sea of black. What she did know was that she had gained enough lucidity to yearn for freedom. She had only vague recollections of the waking world, but they proved enough to strengthen her resolve.

Nothing moved inside oblivion, and even if things could, they had nowhere to go. Oblivion had nothing to see and nothing to do but simply exist. While inside it, she could only stay where she was and hope for a miracle to drag her out of it.

If she believed in miracles, that is. Which she didn’t. A sliver of a memory told her she had found such things ridiculous back then and even now, she agreed with the memory.
She clung to the fragmented thoughts of the world outside oblivion. Every sound she thought she heard, every colour she thought she had seen, until she felt the faintest of sensations. Not pain or consciousness, but a tingling numbness.

She considered it better than nothing. At the very least, it meant she had a body. She focused on that, willing herself to regain a physical form. Searing pain chased away the numbness, and the pieces that made up her mind and body threatened to drift away.

She didn’t resent the pain, instead finding it preferable to feeling numb. She kept willing herself together, the world around her growing brighter. A high-pitched ringing tickled her hearing, growing in volume as the light grew painfully bright. Old aches and pains started to reemerge, striking her waking body.

It all crashed into her like a waterfall.

Next: Name

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