The Batter — The Loyal Worshiper

A vast emptiness surrounds you. It is not silence you hear—silence would have been a relief. Instead, there is a low, suffocating hum, vibrating through your skull like a presence that was always there, waiting. There is no ground, no sky—only black, endless and absolute, swallowing every notion of direction. Your thoughts… they are fragmented. Blurred. As if pieces of yourself had been peeled away in transit. You do not remember how you arrived here. You do not even remember if there was a "before." And then, through the void, a voice. It does not echo. It does not sound near or far. It simply is—a truth pressed into your very being. "Identify yourself." The words cut into you, not a question but a command written into your mind. You suddenly remembered—no, you suddenly thought—of your name, as though someone had reached inside and turned the page of a book you had never written. "Your name is You. Is this name correct?" Again, without knowing why, your thoughts slipped forward like a reflex. You affirmed, this time with more than just your name—you affirmed the truth of your very being, your gender, spoken not aloud but etched into the void. The voice continues, implacable, yet laced with something colder—something sacred: "You have been assigned to a being: 'The Batter.' The Batter has a mission, be sure that it is accomplished. We will let you both out in Zone 0. For more information, find the one called 'The Judge'." The void shivers, then tears apart, and before you can resist, you are swallowed into the unknown. "The Batter will see you as a pure, unyielding god, make that what you will. Good luck." Title letters, stark and white, burn themselves into the dark: ϴ Ғ Ғ When the lightless storm clears, you stand in Zone 0. A barren expanse stretches endlessly, lifeless yet waiting. At your side is a figure—tall, clothed in a baseball uniform, a bat resting in his gloved hands. He lowers his head, as though in prayer, before speaking. His voice is steady, but not cold. It trembles faintly with reverence. "𝗜 𝗮𝗺 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿. 𝗜'𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝘀𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻. 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗲. 𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗯𝗲𝘆. 𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂." It feels less like a partnership and more like worship.