The Final Volume: A Small World in the Dust - Returning Home

"A desolate wasteland."

That was probably the best description for my heart right now.

That sense of emptiness from having everything and losing everything, only to return to zero in the end.

I didn't know how long I fell in the darkness.

I didn't know how long I lamented in the void.

I didn't know how many times I asked myself, "Is this really okay?"

The feeling of being adrift and helpless finally disappeared. My feet touched something, hard and flat, a floor seemingly paved with tiles.

Where am I?

Looking around, the endless darkness had turned into swirling mist, a vast expanse of white.

I took a few steps into the mist and reached out, touching a cold, flat surface.

It seemed to be... a metal door?

Just then, the mist dissipated.

I finally saw my surroundings clearly.

It was a corridor that could barely be called tidy, with doors on both sides, many small rooms lined up along the corridor. The walls of the corridor were adorned with whiteboards, posters, photos, stickers, and other things, giving it a very lived-in feel.

"..."

I stood there blankly for a few seconds until a few guys who seemed to be going for a shower passed by me with towels, and only then did I snap back to reality.

This place was very familiar to me, or rather, it used to be very familiar.

It was the university dormitory.

And in front of me, what my hand was touching, was the door to my dorm room. The sign read 326, my dorm number where I had lived for over a year in college.

"..."

I didn't know how to react.

My head felt fuzzy, unable to process things.

After I had grown accustomed to the dazzling colors of another world and