I hit the water.
Hard.
No warning. No surface.
Just cold swallowing me whole.
My body twisted instinctively, hands flailing—but there was nothing.
No ground.
No light.
Only endless black pressing against my eyes.
Water forced its way into my mouth.
My lungs burned.
I'm drowning.
My chest convulsed as I tried to scream, but all that came out were bubbles—weak, useless.
The darkness below me had no bottom. Above me, no escape.
My vision blurred.
Take me back.
Please—take me back.
My thoughts screamed even when my mouth couldn't.
Then—
A voice.
Not outside.
Inside my skull.
"Are you sure?"
I laughed—or tried to. Water rushed into my nose, my ears.
My head felt like it was splitting apart.
"Are you insane?" my mind screamed back.
I'm dying. This isn't a question.
The world flipped.
Violently.
Like someone had grabbed reality itself and shaken it.
A hammer smashed into my head.
Pain detonated behind my eyes.
My lungs spasmed—then suddenly, no more water came in.
I tried to breathe.
I couldn't.
My body convulsed once.
Twice.
Then—
Darkness swallowed everything.
I woke up choking.
Air tore into my lungs like knives.
My chest heaved violently, each breath sounding wrong, broken—like I'd just been dragged back from a noose.
My head felt like it had exploded.
I squeezed my eyes shut, groaning.
When I opened them—
I was lying in someone's lap.
Soaked. Heavy. Weak.
Water dripped from my hair onto the ground below.
A woman looked down at me.
Her arms were around my shoulders, steady, firm—too real.
Her voice was calm.
"Are you sure now?"
Something inside me snapped.
I grabbed my head and forced myself up, nearly collapsing again as dizziness ripped through me. My hands trembled as I pressed my palms to the ground.
"What did you do to me?" I rasped.
She reached out instinctively—
I slapped her.
The sound echoed.
Before my hand could even fall—
SMACK.
My head snapped to the side as her slap landed harder than mine. White sparks burst across my vision. I lost balance and fell back.
Pain surged.
My ears rang.
"Someone saved your life," she said coldly. "At least try not to insult them."
I laughed hoarsely.
"Saved?" My voice barely came out. "The one who pushed me toward death doesn't get credit for stopping it halfway."
Breathing hurt. Every inhale felt like my chest was tearing open again.
"You people…" I coughed. "You have so many ways to kill someone that talking to you itself feels like suicide."
She didn't deny it.
"That much took you long enough to realize," she said.
I stared at her.
My vision was still blurry, but one thing was clear—
This wasn't a dream.
No distortion.
No softness.
Reality hurt too much for that.
"So," I whispered, hatred leaking into my voice, "you're not some actor wearing my mother's face on my father's orders?"
Her expression darkened.
"No," she said. "And if your father thinks he can send people after you without consequences—"
Her eyes sharpened.
"I'll break him myself for leaving my son alone all these years."
I clenched my jaw.
"You look too young," I muttered. "Too real. If you're my mother, then my entire life is a lie."
My body wouldn't move.
Not even a little.
Trying to lift my arm felt like trying to move a mountain with broken bones. Panic crept in.
"I can't move," I whispered.
"You're paralyzed temporarily," she said. "Your system was overloaded. You'll recover."
"How long?" I asked.
She didn't answer.
Minutes passed.
Maybe hours.
I lay there, trapped in her arms, unable to even turn my head. The scent around me was strange—warm, faintly floral. Comforting in a way that made my skin crawl.
"This feels wrong," I murmured. "But… it's peaceful."
She smiled softly.
"Sleep," she said. "You need it."
"Don't," I warned weakly. "Don't pretend to care."
"I'm not pretending," she replied. "I am your mother."
"I don't want you," I said. "Go away."
She didn't.
Instead—
Laughter echoed.
A familiar, mocking laugh.
My blood froze.
"Well, well," my father's voice said. "Looks like you're enjoying yourself, beta."
Rage surged through me like fire.
"Come here," I hissed, every word soaked in hatred. "Come here once. I swear—I'll drag you through hell a thousand times before I let you die."
He laughed louder.
"Happy birthday."
I wanted to scream.
But I was too weak.
The woman gently lifted a cup to my lips.
"Drink," she said.
The liquid was warm. Bitter-sweet. It slid down my throat easily, easing the fire in my chest—but my body remained heavy, unresponsive.
"Rest as long as you want," she whispered. "I'll take care of you. Like a mother should."
"Liar," I murmured.
My father chuckled again.
"I'll explain everything," he said. "What this world is. Why you're here."
"Shut up," I whispered. "I don't want answers. I want out."
She placed something cool against my forehead.
My eyelids grew heavy.
For the first time since everything began—
The pain dulled.
Darkness didn't feel threatening.
As my consciousness faded, one thought burned quietly in my mind:
This world isn't trying to kill me anymore.
It's trying to keep me.
And that scared me more than drowning ever did.