Floating, weightlessly drifting through space. Kael felt warm despite his current state. There was only darkness surrounding him, but he felt a warm barrier pressing tight against his skin. He felt comfortable, safe even, and his mind was quiet for the first time since the incident that had left Andrea injured and him in jail for a day. Finally, he could rest as his part was done. That was how he continued to drift, feeling at peace, for some time. All was well until, at some point, his head started to hurt a little. Ignoring the sensation was easy at first. Over time, however, it became too much, and he resolved himself to find the cause. His mind began to wake up slowly, bringing thoughts and sensations with it. It took him a while to identify what was causing his headache. Something was droning in the background. Some sound was rhythmically thrumming through the dark space he was floating within. Kael felt relieved when he identified the problem. Now that he knew what was happening, his head would stop hurting, no? Naive as the thought might appear, Kael was positive that everything would return to the way it was before, quiet, without thoughts or pain.

Sadly, his hopes never came to be. The thrumming only increased in intensity until he could feel it vibrate his surroundings through the barrier. There was nothing Kael could do, trapped in his warm shell and unable to move or affect the world around him. The pain in his head ramped up once more when his eyes suddenly responded to stimulation. Unwilling, he opened his eyes, fearing that the calm would never come back if he refused to deal with what was causing all of this racket. Slowly, the world around him was changing. What was pure back before became a grass-covered plane. On the far horizon, stars became visible, only to be covered by dark, thick rain clouds in the next moment. The ground also refused to remain stable. Tall trees, clinging to their few remaining leaves like a mother to her child, grew out of the grass-covered ground at rapid speed. In no time at all, Kael found himself in a forest glade. Then slabs of stone broke through the earth to his right, moving and recombining themselves into the exterior of an old, dilapidated church. At the same time, the glade transformed into a graveyard. A cobblestone path emerged that connected the Chapple to the countless tombstones surrounding it. The monotone, deep thrumming noise was still present, but Kael had trouble focusing on it as he witnessed the changes that took place all around him until he noticed that it had changed. The thrumming now sounded like the low tones of a trumpet, playing a sad marching song.

The loud creaking of old wood suddenly blanketed the clearing. The church, previously just a lifeless construct of stone, had opened its gates, and through them, light and people were leaving the building. A procession of indistinct humans in dark clothes slowly left the church. Four figures were leading the group, blaring the sad tune on their trumpets for the world to hear. In their midst, Kael could see a coffin carried by six funeral guests. The procession slowly moved towards Kael and the graveyard. They came closer, and Kael noticed that he could not make out any of their faces. Everyone was quiet, letting the musicians do all the talking with their instruments instead. As Kael watched them walk, they soon passed him by. His eyes followed them, and soon he saw their destination. Where before had been just an empty plot of grass-covered land was now an open burial site. Flower arrangements surrounded the clean hole in the ground, meant as the final resting place for whoever was laying in the coffin. A construct of metal and ropes covered most of the hole for now, and the coffin was quickly placed down onto it. Kael did not question where he was, how or why everything was changing around him on a whim. He was simply observing the proceedings, waiting for them to end so that he could get back to resting. All of that changed when the casket was opened and he could see who was lying cold and dead in the wooden box.

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Kael's eyes widened, and his pulse increased. His mind tried to reject what he was seeing, chalk it up to some macabre trick, sure that Andrea would wake up in just a second and laugh like she always did when she played a prank on him. He simply could not accept that she was dead. They said that she was fine. That she was just recovering in the hospital and that she would call him when she was out. How could she be here? No! He wanted to scream but found his voice not heeding his commands. This should not have happened! I, I paid for my sins, didn't I? No, no, no. Tears rolled down his cheeks, not that he noticed the difference with all the rain that had started to drench him. Kael wanted to scream, wanted to run to her, check to make sure that she was not really dead, but his body remained where it was, encased in the warm barrier that had been so comfortable before but was now an incarnation of hell. "We have gathered here to lay to rest Andrea Brooks. Daughter, lover, friend, colleague. She was many things, but above all, she was a wonderful human being. She saw the best in those she held close to the point of sacrifice. In her last moments in this world, she protected the life of an innocent girl and paid for it with her own." A warm, monotone voice took the place of the trumpets to carry forward the thrumming that was a constant in this world. The voice paused for a moment, letting Kael and the shadowy figures cry. When it spoke again, it was hard, cold, and uncaring. "If only there had been someone with the power to save her. If only one of her companions, one of her friends, had been there to smite the beast and save her from this fate! If only the useless worm of a boy had done what he was supposed to!" More voices were joining the first in their screams. Cold, white eyes stared at Kael from all around him. There was no escape, no hole to hide in.

The chorus of faceless griefers stopped for a moment, and Kael's crying and whimpering alone filled the stale air of the graveyard. A different voice, more feminine but equally cold, reached his ears. "Yes, Kael! Why did you not save me?! This is your fault! If not for you, I would still be alive! WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE WHEN I AM NOT?!?!"