Leonal stared at the ceiling. His heart was sinking.
The room looked like something out of a museum. Intricate carvings on the ceiling. Elegant lights casting a soft glow. For a moment, he couldn't make sense of any of it.
None of it felt real. He was supposed to be at home. Not lying in some ridiculously extravagant bed that looked more like a nobleman's crib than an ordinary place to sleep.
Please tell me this is a dream. A really bad dream. For God's sake, it had to be.
But no matter how desperately he wished otherwise, the unfamiliar surroundings remained unchanged. He was lying in a stranger's bed. In a room that looked like it belonged to someone from another century.
He tried to recall how he'd ended up here.
Maybe if he could remember what happened, he could figure out how to get out.
Then a vague memory flickered through his mind.
Right. He'd been walking down the street to grab some groceries from the store around the corner. Everything had been perfectly ordinary until a sudden spike of pain tore through his chest. Sharp. Brutal. Like someone had driven a knife straight into him.
His vision blurred.
He remembered struggling to stay conscious. Fighting against the darkness creeping into the edges of his vision.
But his body refused to cooperate. And then, just like that, everything faded and the next thing he knew, he was here.
In a ridiculously fancy room that looked like it had been plucked straight out of one of those historical dramas his mother used to watch.
Velvet curtains. Golden trim. Chandeliers. The whole rich-people package.
He tried to piece everything together, but his thoughts were a complete mess. His first theory was that this had to be some kind of prank.
Someone was messing with him.
But who would go to such ridiculous lengths just to pull a prank? Judging by the room alone, the place probably cost more than his entire apartment building.
Could I have been kidnapped? He immediately dismissed the thought.
No. That sounds insane. Then again, considering his current circumstances, he wasn't exactly in a position to rule anything out.
With no answers forthcoming, he decided to put those thoughts aside and tried to move.
Pain shot through his body.
"Ahh... damn it! What's with all this pain?"
His entire body felt like someone had used him as a punching bag. Still, he could move his arms and legs. That was something, at least.
Well. At least I'm not paralyzed. But that raised another question.
Who the hell beat me up? And why? His gaze wandered across the bed.
It was enormous. Ridiculously so.
Four people could probably sleep on it without even brushing their shoulders. Silken sheets covered the mattress. Fluffy pillows were arranged against an ornate headboard.
Everything about the room screamed wealth. And he felt completely out of place.
He wanted to stay awake long enough to figure out what was happening. Unfortunately, before he could form another coherent thought, exhaustion came crashing down on him.
"Shit... not again."
He forced his eyes open. Desperately trying to fight the overwhelming drowsiness.
But his body had other plans. Every muscle ached. His bones felt like they had been battered from the inside. And he barely had the energy to keep his eyelids from closing.
Honestly? He was too exhausted to care anymore.
His eyes slowly shut.
Within moments, Leonal had drifted into a deep slumber.
---------
(Somewhere in the palace)
A woman dressed in a flowing silk gown stood beside a marble fountain. Watching the colourful fish glide beneath the clear water.
Three maids stood behind her. Their heads are respectfully lowered.
One of them stepped forward and presented her with a small pouch of grain.
The woman accepted it. Dipped her fingers into the water. Scattered a handful across the surface.
The fish gathered beneath her hand. Their movements send ripples across the fountain.
She continued feeding them in silence until the sound of approaching footsteps interrupted the tranquillity.
A heavily built soldier stopped several paces behind her and dropped to one knee.
"My lady, the young master has awakened."
The woman turned immediately.
"How is Leo's condition? Can he move?"
Concern was evident in her voice. Despite her attempt to maintain a composed expression.
"According to the family physician, the young master is stable. Though he remains weak and exhausted. The physician believes he should be able to walk within three days."
The woman released a quiet breath.
Only then did she realize how tightly she'd been clutching the pouch.
Her fingers gradually relaxed. Allowing the remaining grains to slip back inside.
"Three days," she murmured.
She turned towards the fountain once more. But her attention had long since drifted away from the fish.
Her gaze rested on the water without truly seeing it. Whatever thoughts occupied her mind, she kept them to herself.
---------------
(Inside the bedchamber)
Leonal lay motionless beneath the silken covers. Oblivious to the events unfolding beyond his door.
His consciousness sank deeper into sleep.
And then.....
He found himself somewhere else. A vast expanse of darkness stretched endlessly in every direction.
There was no sky. No ground he could clearly distinguish. No wind. No sound. No sensation of air brushing against his skin.
It was like he'd been cast into the depths of outer space. Surrounded by an endless, suffocating void.
For a moment, Leonal simply stood there.Then he cautiously took a step forward.
Nothing changed. He walked farther. Searching for anything that might indicate where he was or how he could leave.
But the darkness continued without end.
"Damn it. Not again!" he muttered. Frustration creeping into his voice. "What kind of place is this? I was just in that ridiculously fancy room, and now I'm here?"
He gritted his teeth and ran a hand through his hair.
"Seriously, what the hell is going on?"
There was no answer. Still, he refused to stand around waiting for one.
Whatever this place was, wandering aimlessly couldn't possibly make things worse.
At least, that was what he told himself.
He pressed forward. Then, without warning, a strange mist began to seep through the darkness.
It spread across the void. Curling around his feet before rising into the air. Gradually, the surroundings began to change.
A cemetery emerged from the mist.
Or something resembling one, at least.
There were no gravestones. No crosses. No rows of burial mounds.
Only a long, rectangular slab of pale concrete lay in the distance. Its surface stretches across the otherwise empty expanse.
Yet somehow, the place carried the unmistakable feeling of a graveyard.
A chill crept down Leonal's spine.
What is that thing?
He approached cautiously. Hoping to find some clues that might explain his surroundings.
But before he could reach the slab, something seized his wrist.
A hand.
Leonal froze.
The fingers tightened around him with unnatural strength. Their grip sending cracks racing across the pale concrete beneath his feet.
CRACK.
The sound reverberated throughout the void.
Before he could even react, a voice rang out.
"Let the first verse resound."
The voice carried no discernible emotion. It seemed to come from everywhere at once. Echoing through the darkness without revealing its source.
Then it spoke again.
"Every sin beneath heaven and hell shall leave its mark upon you."
The grip around his wrist tightened.
"Let their hatred become yours. Their blood stain your hands. And their sins become your punishment."
Leonal stared into the darkness. Utterly bewildered.
"What..."
He tried to wrench his wrist free.
He pulled harder. Twisting his arm. Struggling with every ounce of strength he possessed.
The hand refused to release him.
He couldn't even see who or what was holding him.
Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the voice fell silent.
The void swallowed every sound. And the hand holding his wrist vanished.
Leonal stood frozen for a moment. Unable to comprehend what had just happened.
Then panic took over.
He stumbled backwards until his back struck a dark, seemingly solid surface. His chest heaved as he struggled to catch his breath.
"Aah... aah... aah..."
He pressed a trembling hand against his forehead.
"Fuck... what is happening to me?"
His heartbeat accelerated.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
The sound grew louder in his ears. Each beat followed the last until it seemed to reverberate throughout the empty space.
No. Not again.
His breathing grew ragged.
The same unbearable pain he'd experienced before losing consciousness began to return.
It started as a crushing pressure inside his skull. Then it spread.
Through his temples. Down his neck. Across his chest.
His veins bulged beneath his skin. Like something inside him was struggling to break free.
He clutched his chest. Gasping for breath. But there was no air here.
And yet he felt like he was suffocating.
His knees buckled.
He collapsed onto the ground or whatever passed for one in this place his hands pressed desperately against his chest.
The pain was unbearable.
He couldn't think. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't even understand why this was happening to him.
All he wanted was for it to stop.
Please... just make it stop.
The darkness around him began to distort.
Yellow and greenish hues bled into the void. Spreading in irregular patterns across his vision. The colours twisted and blurred. Merging into shapes that refused to remain still.
He couldn't tell whether the space itself was changing or whether his own mind was simply breaking beneath the strain.
Maybe it was nothing more than an illusion. Conjured by a mind overwhelmed by pain and terror.
Maybe it was a symptom of whatever was happening inside his body.
He had no way of knowing.
The colours grew brighter.
The pain reached its peak.
And then....
Everything disappeared.
For Leonal, the sudden loss of consciousness felt almost merciful.
At last, the agony was gone.
For that fleeting moment, the darkness offered him something he hadn't felt since arriving in this strange world.
Peace.