Some time before the current events…
The silence was heavy—heavier than the stones that had collapsed over his memory. A sticky feeling of lethargy crept into his limbs as he slowly emerged from the sea of unconsciousness, as if his soul was being extracted. There was no pain—only emptiness. The kind of emptiness that isn't devoid of something, but is the thing itself.
He opened his eyes slowly.
The darkness was dim. Soft blue lights hung from the ceiling like artificial stars. The white walls of the infirmary weren't as he remembered them; everything seemed disturbingly still…
He stared at the ceiling for moments, unmoving, barely breathing. Only his eyes drifted, numb in their sockets, as if trying to comprehend existence anew.
Then came the sound… faint at first, then clearer. A soft, steady breath beside him.
He turned his head with difficulty—and saw her.
Evelyn.
