"Ah!" Kane exclaimed. Once again, he woke up with a start. 

Only this time, he actually was able to follow his instincts and lurch himself upward. No longer restrained, his body was able to move again. Not only that, but he didn't feel any pain either. 

Now sitting up, he quickly patted down his body looking for wounds. He paid specific attention to the spot on his forehead where that massive needle had penetrated his head. Yet, Kane found nothing, except that he remained naked. 

Calming down a little, he decided to take stock of his surroundings. 

"I recognize this place…" he mumbled as he looked around and quickly realized he was back in the place of his dream from a few days ago. A dark void loomed overhead, and an even darker sea spread out in every direction. 

"Does that mean I'm back in my soul?" he continued. "If so, then I suppose having no wounds on my body means very little right now… It just makes me worry about my real body all the more." 

"Something's wrong, though," he muttered softly with brows furrowed. "This place wasn't so turbulent last time." 

The black water was churning wildly, with many whirlpools swirling quickly. Overhead, it was no different. Various shades of dark clouds were roiling across the sky like angry horses in a stampede. 

Yet, Kane was sitting in a place of peace. The only calm place his eyes could see. "But this wasn't here last time… What is it?" he frowned, as he looked down at what he was sitting on.

It was a pockmarked surface, made of strange crimson stone. It stood like a rock in the tide, bracing against its terrifying surroundings. Touching it felt like cold, bumpy, marble. 

Suddenly, a beautiful voice with a mischievous tint echoed in his surroundings, "That's my body you're sitting on, Kane. Or rather, a small part of it." 

Immediately on full alert, Kane jumped up, "Who?!" At the same time, he grabbed behind him, but found only air. His weapon no longer there. 

Cursing under his breath, he stopped trying to grab an imaginary weapon, and looked around cautiously. Yet, all he saw was this strange crimson rock of a few feet wide.

Just as he was about to repeat his question, he felt a hand grab his shoulder, and a pair of lips lean over to whisper in his ear, "I'm right behind you, Kane." 

With no hesitation, Kane turned on his heel and sent a devastating backhand at whoever was behind him. But he hit only air. 

Once again, the voice came from behind him. It giggled mischievously, "Feisty! I approve!" 

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Kane swung around again, eyes narrowed, thoroughly annoyed with this person already. He fully expected to see nothing again, but it seemed the voice was done playing around. For now. 

In the middle of the strange crimson rock stood a woman. 'Red,' was the first thought Kane had when he saw her. She exuded a kind of elegant, yet wild beauty. A beauty that had to be tamed, lest it consume you. 

Her hair was waist-long and pure crimson, yet somehow seemed to flow with her movements, rather than get in the way. Her body was lithe and athletic, with B-cup breasts.

Her chest was wrapped in a crimson halter-top with black decorations, and around her waist hung an equally crimson, flowing sarong that provided a tantalising look of her legs while providing complete freedom of movement. 

Her face was a little angular, but beautiful, and seemed to hide a wild ferocity ready to jump out at any time. Around her lips hung a mischievous smirk. A smirk that seemed so natural, Kane doubted it ever left her face.

Yet, the thing that immediately drew his attention were her eyes. They were full, crimson moons, shining their light out into the darkness. 

For a moment, Kane was stunned into silence. Not only did she have a beauty rivalling that of the elf he saw just before fainting, but he felt a kind of instinctual connection with her.

Strangely, this instinct told him he could trust this woman, but he didn't know why. And that only made him more suspicious. 

During this moment of silence, the woman looked down at what was swinging between his legs, and she giggled attractively, "It seems you have a lot I can approve of. But I suppose that's no surprise, considering…" 

"Who are you?" he growled, ignoring her words, and clenching his fists as he took a threatening step forward. His voice was filled with cautious suspicion. "What are you doing here? And where even is here?" 

The crimson woman continued smirking mischievously. "My name is Mána," she began. "I got here by…" She paused, her expression shifting to a cute, wry smile. "Well, it's a little hard to explain. I just can. As for where we are… this is your soul. But I think you suspected that already." 

Kane nodded inwardly. Even when he dreamt about this place, he suspected it was his soul. 

"It's a rather dreary place," Mána continued, glancing around. The mischievous smirk returned. "But I suppose that makes sense." 

Not in the mood to deal with whatever this was, Kane grumbled, "If this is my soul, then why are you here?" Despite his apparent displeasure, he knew he had to grasp at whatever straws he could if he wanted to get out of here. Or at least understand what was happening to his body.

He was having trouble keeping his emotions in check. Normally he was very good at remaining calm, but Luna's death and everything that happened afterwards had shaken his discipline. 

Mána sighed, and appeared to reign in her own personality, her expression becoming more serious. "I'm here to help you, and we should get started on the many questions I'm sure you want answered before you put any stock in my words at all. We don't have much time." 

Apparently unable to stay serious for long, the mischievous smirk had already returned to her face when she continued, "That is, I assume you wish to get out of here and reunite with your friend. She's managed to remain hidden so far, but she'll be discovered soon enough if we don't get the two of you to the next rift in time." 

Suddenly, the world around him stood still. His thoughts halted. He blinked, unable to fully process Mána's words. "W— What?" 

Mána laughed with mischievous delight. "Oh my, did I surprise you with that one? Don't you have a bond with her? You should be able to feel her existence, no…?"