"What is this feeling? Why can't I sense any pain? Am I dead?"
In that moment, Liam's subconscious shattered like glass.
A searing pressure clamped around his chest, as if invisible hands were tearing his heart apart. His breath caught, but there was no air. No pain. Just a sensation of drowning in something not quite water, not quite shadow.
Then, everything collapsed.
And darkness swallowed him whole.
After some unknown period, Liam began to regain consciousness.
A strange weight pressed against his eyes. Why are they so heavy?
It felt like someone had placed something over them, making it nearly impossible to open them.
He tried.
Once.
Twice.
Still too heavy.
What happened to me?
Where... am I?
The silence around him was thick, almost alive.
His body refused to respond, as if it didn't fully belong to him anymore.
And then he hears someone.
A voice, trembling, cracking through sobs.
A girl.
She's crying.
Shouting.
"Leo!! Please!! Where are you?! Answer me!!"
"Don't leave me... not like this..."
Her voice is filled with fear, pain, and desperation, Like her world just broke.
Liam's mind spins.
Leo...?
That name again.
Why does it keep echoing in my head?
He wants to answer her. He wants to move.
But his body refuses.
All he feels is the cold.
And that name...
Leo.
Ahh... what is this?
Why am I seeing this?
Is this... a memory?
But whose? Who is he? Why is he in my mind?
And who are these people?
Why... why are they calling me Leo?
A sudden weight crushed his chest, not physical, but sorrow, raw and bottomless.
A sadness so deep it felt like it could swallow him whole.
Why... why does her crying make me feel like this?
His heart throbbed with an ache he didn't understand. He couldn't wrap his thoughts around the pain.
But then—
A flash.
A flicker.
A vision, or maybe a memory.
He saw a girl, young and determined, eyes wet with tears but still burning with strength.
Then another image faster this time.
He saw himself again... or at least, the boy they called Leo.
"Sister...?" he whispered, his voice barely a thought.
Another wave struck.
This time, he saw her hugging him tightly, her voice trembling but brave.
"Don't cry, Leo...
Mom and Dad taught us how to survive in this world.
And I'm still here.
Your sister is always with you."
Liam's breath hitched.
The pain wasn't just someone else's...
It was his.
His heart tightened. A cold dread seeped into his bones.
How is this possible?
How am I, Leo...?
Where am I? What is this place?
All around him was nothing but darkness thick, endless, and suffocating.
Then something solid beneath him. Cold, jagged stone.
He was lying on a rock surface.
Suddenly, a soft light appeared in the distance.
It was faint... warm... like a lantern glowing in the dark.
It flickered, dancing gently in the shadows.
And beside it, the silhouette of the girl from his memory.
She was walking toward him.
Without thinking, without knowing why, the name slipped from his lips, fragile and breathless.
"Mira..."
The girl froze.
Her eyes widened, and tears welled up again.
She dropped the lantern and ran toward him, sobbing.
"Where were you going?!
You know the kingdom has forbidden anyone from entering this place!"
Her voice was shaking, full of fear and sadness.
Then Leo tried to sit up, but he couldn't.
He looked at her helplessly.
"I can't stand... I don't know why... Please, help me."
Without hesitation, she grabbed his hand and pulled, steadying him as he rose on shaky legs. Her arms wrapped around him tightly.
"Come on," she said, her voice trembling as tears welled again. "Please... let's get out of here. I was so scared. I can't lose you again."
They slowly walked toward the end of the corridor, each step echoing through the ancient silence.
Suddenly, Liam froze.
A cold whisper brushed against his ear — soft, breathless.
"Leo..."
His heart skipped. His body stiffened. Every hair on his neck stood on end.
He turned slightly, eyes wide.
"Mira... did you hear that?"
She turned her head, confused.
"What is it?" she asked softly.
Liam hesitated. His eyes flicked around the corridor.
"N-No... It's nothing," he said quickly, forcing a smile. "Let's just get out of here."
Something wasn't right.
Why... why did that Leo guy even come to this place?
The question pulsed in Liam's mind as he and Mira walked slowly through the ancient corridor, each step stirring dust that hadn't been touched in ages. Cracks split the stone beneath their feet. Faint etchings lined the walls — symbols half-lost to time, whispering secrets in a language he didn't understand. The lantern in Mira's hand flickered as if struggling to hold the darkness at bay.
Under the dim glow of the lantern, they made their way out of the ruins.
The air shifted as they stepped outside.
It was night.
But not an ordinary night.
The sky was unnaturally dark, heavy with gloom.
No stars. No moon.
Just thick clouds hanging low like a blanket of sorrow.
Before them stretched a wide, empty grass field — silent and cold, as if the land itself was holding its breath.
The air was heavy with age. Cold. It pressed on his chest like a weight, making every breath feel like it might be his last.
Why am I here? What was I doing before this?
His memory was a blank canvas.
Just then, a strange thought crawled into his head:
Wait... is this like those stories I used to read?
People dying... then waking up in another world?
A chill snaked down his spine.
He tried to laugh it off, but the idea refused to leave.
And then—
Something flickered.
A memory? A dream? A piece of something broken?
A voice distant but urgent shouted through the dark inside his mind.
"Liam!!"
His heart twisted sharply.
The world around him shifted slightly, as if reality itself had leaned sideways for just a moment.
His vision swam.
Did I... really die?
He stopped walking.
Am I... not supposed to be here?
The weight of that question fell over him like the ruined palace above, cold, suffocating, and impossibly real.