The Void thirsts, the man heard in his mind as he entered his truck to go to work.

The Void thirsts, the woman heard as she reviewed her notes for the presentation she was about to give.

The Void thirsts, the child heard as she swung back and forth on the playground swings.

None of them responded. They each ignored the stray thought and carried on with their day. The Void, being everywhere and nowhere couldn’t turn away as life forms beyond counting across the universe drank. The Void tried to reach out and take a drink, to sample just one of the vast array of liquids, but to no avail. It strained at the edges of reality, trying to break through if only for a moment to quench the thirst it felt. As The Void pressed in against reality the darker places in the universe grew just a bit darker. The wild and deranged beings became just that much more unpredictable. Cats, who existed on practically every habitable planet, sprang into terrified sprints as they felt The Void pressing in around them.

What is The Void doing?

The Void stopped straining against reality and shied back, ashamed at being caught. Sneaking up on The Void was a very difficult thing to do, considering that it was everywhere and nowhere and generally knew everything that was going on in the material universe at all times. As The Void turned its attention away from seeking after a drink it came to be aware of the entity that had interrupted its attempt to break into the universe. It was Death.

I just wanted a drink, The Void replied.

You don’t drink, Death replied in its emotionless manner.

Well I’m thirsty! Snapped The Void.

Death shrugged dispassionately and The Void was reminded why it hated Death. So many species had such terribly powerful emotions associated with death, and yet Death itself was so detached from their fear, grief, and pain. Death was seemingly detached from everything, and yet it always seemed to make it its business to know what The Void was up to. Especially when The Void was trying to break into the universe.

We aren’t suppose to interfere,Death droned without preamble. We are just to be.

Easy for you to say, The Void said, You get to actually go there and do things.

I do not, Death corrected The Void.

Sure you do, The Void persisted, You go down there and kill everything that dies.

Death’s empty gaze bore deep into The Void, and The Void curled in on itself with discomfort. Nothing was suppose to be able to stare into The Void and be so unaffected. Death’s glance was enough to make even The Void pull away, though why exactly that was The Void didn’t know.

I do not kill, Death stated resolutely. I am merely the medium through which the living transition into non-living.Much as you are not the creator of the dark, the empty, or the unknown, but are instead the medium through which those spaces are empowered.

The Void fidgeted, knowing that as it did so it was also being watched by countless cats. How or why they too could stare into The Void was beyond it, but at least they had the decency to only stair infrequently and only when The Void was distracted. Occasionally The Void would surprise a cat by staring back and send the cat into a brief and frenzied madness.

You are dissatisfied with your existence, Death said. It wasn’t a question. That is why you strain to go beyond the bounds of your creation.

No, The Void replied, I’m just thirsty!

You are empty, Death said. And you want for more. You’ve seen the living, how they fill their physical emptiness with food and drink. Was it not so long ago that you claimed to be hungry?

I was hungry, The Void sulked. Even now it could still remember feeling the pangs of hunger that had driven it the last time it tried to break into reality.

The living sometimes feel hunger or thirst when they are in need of neither as well, Death told The Void. They eat and drink in the hopes of filling the emptiness they feel and it does them as much harm as it has to you.

Harm? The Void scoffed, What harm can be done to me? I am not living, I am eternal!

Much that is harmful isn’t physical, Death said.

The Void tried to get away from Death. It was pointless, it knew, but perhaps the gesture would be enough to get Death to leave it alone. With many of the other entities, The Void could more or less avoid them when it wanted. There were always empty spaces where those entities didn’t exist. But Death was practically omnipresent, much like The Void. Wherever something could die, there was Death. And as The Void struggled away into those long forgotten corners of the universe, Death followed. It was not the pursuit of hunter and prey, but rather one more akin to the mild amusement of an adult following a child who was throwing a tantrum. This was not lost on The Void and only served to increase its frustration.

The Void was a terrible and ancient entity. It was the unknown darkness at the edge of sight, it was the undiscovered country, the quiet and the stillness, the vast emptiness between worlds and their stars. And yet here it was, practically cowering.

Why do you even care whether I’m hungry or thirsty or whatever? The Void demanded. Just leave me alone!

You disrupt the natural order of things when you try to break through, Death said as calmly as ever. If you were to succeed, all of existence would cease to exist, replaced by nothing. Only The Void would remain.

Death spoke the truth. The Void knew the consequences should it ever actually succeed in breaking through, but the hunger and thirst it felt could be so insatiable that, for those moments, it could make itself believe that perhaps there was a way to slip into reality, eat or drink its fill, and then retreat without destroying all of creation.

So you’re just worried for yourself? The Void cried out.

No, Death said. I and the other entities would remain, as ever, outside of reality. There are other universes, other realities we could turn our attentions to. But you would be forever trapped in a reality unmade, with only yourself to keep you company. There wouldn’t even be a universe for you to observe and long after. Only memories and regret that would burn your mind into madness and despair.

The Void sulked silently in the vastness of the empty space it had fled to, Death still watching over it. Why didn’t any of the others feel this way? Was it perhaps because they weren’t so alone? By definition, part of being The Void was to be alone. Through ages uncountable The Void had exulted in its role, but then, something began to change. The peace and tranquility turned to unease and uncertainty. The darkness lost its appeal and instead there began to be monsters in the night. The Void was no longer empty, but filled instead with the terror of the unknown. With that terror came the hunger and the thirst. The desire to fill those empty spaces with something comforting and familiar.

You’ve been The Void for quite some time now,Death remarked suddenly. Much longer than any of your predecessors.

The Void started. For the first time, Death had said something that made no sense whatsoever. There had never been any other Voids. It was the only one. Through all time, all eternity, it was, it had been, it would ever be The Void.

Do you not remember? Death asked. Though I suppose I should not be surprised. The others did not often remember either.

What are you talking about? The Void asked. We are all eternal. There is no beginning, no end for us. We simply are.

Death nodded. It was one of the few entities that could manage such nonverbal expressions.

Your soul has grown weary of this existence. Death said and it took a step towards The Void. It happens with all of the entities. Over time, watching over the universe, you can’t help but notice life and all of its wonders. You get drawn in, until its all you can think about. And it’s at those times when I help them step across.

I am The Void! The Void shrieked in defiance. I am eternal! I am the empty places, the unknown, the darkness, the unfathomable depths of seas and space!

Death continued its inexorable march closer and closer to The Void.

There has always been those things,Death agreed, and The Void has always watched over and ordered them, but it has not always been you.

I remember the times before, when there was nothing but The Void! I was there when the universe began! I am the most ancient of us all!

Not quite, Death said, If you recall, I was there when you came to being. I ushered you into this place.

The Void faltered. It was true that Death had been there too, though The Void had always assumed that Death had been a close second in terms of creation. As part of its nature, though, Death couldn’t lie.

How could that be? The Void asked.

I am the medium through which life transitions,Death said. You have focused on that transition only in one direction for so long that you have forgotten I have another name.

Death took a final step forward, and suddenly The Void realized it could no longer sense the empty places, the tiny bits between, the dark and the unknown. All it could sense was their immediate surroundings, this singular dark and empty void. They seemed to float, weightless, but it was not entirely uncomfortable. The Void thought it could perhaps even describe it as being warm.

It was then that The Void understood and saw Death no longer, but Life instead.

You have served so well, but now is your time to live.

But what about The Void?

Another has already stepped through and into that role, Life assured it. To them, just as it was to you, it seems they have always been The Void. That is how it is for all of them.

The entity turned in the tiny space and tried to see beyond the darkness. Every once in a while it thought it spied some shimmer of light or a hint of movement. It listened, becoming aware for the first time that there was anything to hear in this place, and the monotonous thrumming that permeated everything was occasionally joined by other, familiar and yet incomprehensible noises.

What is this place? It asked. It thought it had known this place when it first came here, but now it wasn’t so certain.

Some would call it a void, Life said, A place unknown, unseen, and dark.Life began to withdraw.

What’s going to happen to me? It asked, struck by the fear of uncertainty it had so often seen in the lives who came upon The Void.

Life is going to happen to you,came the response.

What?! It had seen life, in countless forms and on countless worlds. Sometimes those lives were comfortable and happy, sometimes they were less so, and sometimes it was terrible. Is it going to be okay?

Life slowed but did not stop walking away while it answered.

I can only promise you that it will happen,Life said, Beyond that I will not say how long it will last or to what end you will meet. But I will be with you, and when the time comes I will ferry you once more across the void that separates life and death.

Its memories were fading fast now, all of those millennia spent watching over the universe turning to mere hints and shadows as it turned again and again, this way and that within the void it now resided in. It gulped and felt liquid flow smoothly down its throat.