I sat quietly on my bed, the name Aliza ringing through my head like a distant church bell. With each toll, glimpses of brighter shades of green and orangish red began but faded with the hum. I let out a sigh, my body bent over as I held my head in my hands. A growing headache throbbed against my skull. It was clear some part of me recognized her or at least her name. But from where? Was she aware of more than she was letting on? Did she know who I truly was? I laid back on the bed and allowed myself a moment to breathe. I took in a long breath, holding it in and letting it out. My heart rate began to ease, the headache I had slowly diminishing. I breathed out a sigh of relief and began to analyze the situation at hand.
The flashes had a new color this time, the same golden red and orange that flowed atop Aliza’s head. This new color also brought with it images, moments in time that were frozen as if in the center of a block of ice. I attempted to chip away at it, to clear the ice away and see what lay beneath but nothing seemed to work. I groaned, I was the closest I’d been to some answers but my own mind was fighting against me. A lingering dread fell on my chest, the worry of never being able to thaw whatever memories lay just under the surface causing my chest to ache and the pulsing headache to return. With each passing moment, I could feel my muscles tensing under my skin and sweat beading along the back of my neck. I reached for the closest object to me, the pillow that lay on my bed, and slammed it down on the mattress as I yelled out in frustration. Tossing it aside, I crossed my arms in front of my eyes and let out another long breath. As much as I wanted to get the answers I desired, to understand who I was, I knew that pushing myself like this was going to do nothing but strain my brain further. I decided it would be better to just give myself some rest. The answers would come naturally if today held any merit towards what the future would hold.
The light and feathery pillow, having been adequately fluffed from my frustrated outburst, was a welcome softness as I lay against it. If I were to keep my sanity through all of this, I needed something that would keep my mind distracted while I wasted away in this infirmary. I did one last scan of the room, some inkling of hope grasping for anything that may have appeared in the room but said hope was quickly shattered. The room continued to only hold a few beds and the singular cupboard, none of which could benefit the current degradation of my mind. I rolled back over onto the bed, pressing my face into the pillow once more as I let out a hefty groan of defeat. As much as I wanted to just fall asleep and worry about my situation later, my mind continued to race. I wanted, no, needed a distraction if I was going to make it through this. I sat up on the side of the bed and thought for a moment, looking down at the bandage that was still wrapped around my waist and the visible pudge that I had gained in however long I had been here. Maybe I could distract myself with some physical exercise, if I could maintain my physical health, maybe my mental stress would become easier to wade through.
“At least I have proof they’ve been feeding me well but when was that? While I slept or am I just forgetting even more?” I groaned, the thought that I may have been forgetting even recent events settling like a weight on my chest, urging me to fall back into the bed and not do anything.
“That doesn’t matter at the moment, all that matters is I push myself, return my body to the state that feels right.” The more I thought about it, the idea of working out seemed to be natural, something that maybe my old self did without much thought. I attempted to let my instincts take over, maneuvering my body in the limitation of the chain that still held my wrist to the bed. I bent over, kneeling on the ground before lifting my weight off of it with my arms and legs. Bending my arms into a ninety degree angle and then pushing myself back up, I felt my body begin to resist. Sweat began to fall from my face and onto the cold stone under my hands, the taste of salt lingering on my lips as the sound of the chain clattering against itself resonated throughout the room. Even though the task was difficult, something about it felt right, the repetition bringing some kind of relief that washed over me almost instantly. I pushed myself until I felt as if I could no longer hold my own weight, standing up and falling onto the bed as I attempted to catch my breath, my outfit and bandage now completely drenched in sweat. Without much thought, I stripped away both, my eyes landing on the scar that now sat under where the bandage had been placed.
A lengthy peak ran from about halfway up my torso and down until just before the top of my right thigh. My fingers trailed along it, the shape mimicking that of a lightning bolt, sharp angles connecting to the other points along it. Reaching the end of it, something jolted in my mind, the green presenting itself again alongside the golden orange and red from before. What appeared to be a woman stood over me, an object in her hand that looked almost like a wand of some kind. I tried to get a closer look at the woman's face but the more I pushed, the fuzzier it became. I slammed my fist against the bed, anger and despair fought each other to take the lead as I stood up. My skin began to boil, the lengths of my arms and face heating up as my anger began to consume me.
“WHY? WHY CAN’T I REMEMBER? I WAS SO CLOSE!” My own voice echoed throughout the chamber as I began to throw my fists into the small bed over and over.
“Calm down and use this anger to your advantage.” A voice of reason tried to argue inside my mind, a voice that was unfamiliar to me. It continued to speak, urging me to regain control. “Don’t push the anger aside, work with it, allow it to push you through this task.” I had continued to punch the bed repeatedly but my movements had slowed. I took a deep breath, allowing myself a moment to consider this new voice’s advice.
“Why should I? Everything has only led to more anger and despair since I’ve been here. I’m tied to a bed after all, how am I supposed to use it?” I spoke out loud, whatever guard that may have been on duty outside of the infirmary most likely taking the assumption that I was losing it.
“Allow it to fuel your physical efforts as well as your discussions with this elusive Aliza. Be more assertive in your questioning, you deserve answers as to why you are being held here. Demand them if you have to, refuse to answer her questions until you have the adequate answers to your own.” I nodded, the voice having gained enough of a hold to halt my fists from beating the bed. I sighed once more and sat down, realizing just how much energy I had expended from my angered outburst by the quivering in my arms.
“You’re right, I do deserve answers.” I spoke as I laid back on the bed, a coursing heat roaring through my body with a new determination. I would find out as much as I could, I would do what I must to rediscover who I was and what happened to me. The small glimpses I had seen so far had been far too little for me to be satisfied. As I felt the rush of my newfound drive, my body had other plans. The fluffy embrace of my pillow pulled me into it, the overwhelming need for sleep now painfully present as my mind's will was stripped away into nothing.
A searing pain arched through my side, my legs giving out from underneath me as I fell against the cold stone. A scream of agony grew in my throat, bursting from my lips as the heat in my side only steadily got worse. I rolled over on my back, seeking the cool touch of the stone in some hope that it would even slightly quell the ache in my side. My breaths were ragged, attempting to pull in whatever air I could but it seemed almost impossible. I attempted to calm myself, to urge the pain to hold off for a moment so I could refocus my thoughts but no matter what I tried, it felt as if a fog had begun to settle in my mind. I finally opened my eyes, the golden orange of a woman's hair flowing down a woman's back as she stood facing away from me, a sense of betrayal joining the pain that coursed through me. She turned her face towards me, the features a blur as I attempted to speak.
“Wh…Why?” I muttered, the crispness of the stone having given way to the warmth of the blood pooling beneath me. I searched the blur for anything to go off of, any signs of why she would do this but all I knew was this feeling of sorrow. Not for myself but for the woman standing above me. I could feel the guilt and sadness that emanated from her visage without seeing her expression but I knew it was one that reflected these emotions. She simply shook her head, tears rolling down her black dress and onto the stone beneath her.
“It… It was the only w…way.” The woman muttered between sobbing breaths, a quivering certainty that even she hadn’t convinced herself of. I could feel my mind beginning to give way, the heat in my side beginning to fade with it. As the rest of my vision began to blur, I reached my hand out towards her in one final attempt to hold onto reality. I knew that this was the end but I needed to fight against it. Even though I tried, it was futile, my vision going dark as the world became eerily cold. My mind echoed with the woman’s final words. “Even you c…couldn’t have stood up to h…her.”
I awoke in a sweat, my heart racing as I quickly examined the room around me. The now familiar sound of chains rattled at my side as my skin detached itself from the stain that permeated the sheet over the mattress. Grabbing the shirt I had been wearing the night before, or whenever it had been, I began to wipe the sweat from my arms and face. The smell of body odor sat heavily in the air, my nose scrunching with each movement I made. My mind drifted back to the dream I’d had, one of the memories that had been encased having finally thawed enough for me to grasp some understanding. Someone had attempted to murder me, someone close to me, someone that I had cared for. How had I let something like that happen? Why did she do something like that? And why do I not feel upset about it? My heart sank, the feeling of grief and sorrow both returning equally as my body slumped back onto the mattress. The woman had to be the missing piece, her red hair singed into my brain, but was she someone I wanted to find? Was she someone I wanted to come face to face with?
I attempted to set the memory aside for a moment, to give my mind a moment to work through everything but the urge to push forward kept returning. I needed to take a second, to clear my mind. I thought back to before I slept, the sense of peace that I had achieved before a new memory had taken its place. I nodded to myself, attempting to slow my breathing as I kneeled down beside the bed once more and began my pushups. Same as before, the sweat pouring off my head and down my face as I pushed myself further. With each up and down, my mind began to clear and, even though the rate of my breaths and heart increased, I began to feel at ease once more. I finished about forty, rolling over as I felt my legs begin to shake and my arms tensed from the strain. With a hefty breath, I decided to add another to the growing routine. I flattened my back against the floor, bending my knees and pulling towards my stomach but still allowing my feet to sit flat against the ground. As if this were second nature, I began to lift my back off the floor and towards my knees, repeating this process over and over until I once again felt as if I could no longer. Sweat had pooled into the small grooves along the stone floor, creating a stream that flowed between them. The spot where my scar sat ached, the muscles still healing and not expecting the sudden barrage of movement. While the stone was rough and rigid, the coolness brought a much desired comfort as I lay there.
The stress that had continued to eat at me before now slowed its feast for a moment and allowed me to separate the new information my dream had provided. As I looked at the ceiling, the light hanging from it began to dim and in its place, the hue of an emerald submerged beneath the ocean grew.
“What the fuck?” It quickly expanded, flowing from one corner of the ceiling to the other. I watched in both awe and horror, pushing myself back against the wall, unsure if I should call for help or see what would happen but something in my mind assured me that it was okay. The increase of my heart rate stayed consistent but slowed slightly, leaving me to watch the beauty of whatever was happening. Waves rippled across it, each emanating from the center with a darkness that followed each until two small bubbles emerged from where the ocean had begun and grew in size as they crossed the viridian sea, only stopping once they reached the wall, the waves crashing against the wall and bouncing the bubbles against it. As I looked closer, I noticed something was inside each of the bubbles, something that looked an awful lot like the dream I had awoken from maybe an hour before.
“Maybe…” I pushed myself off the floor, reaching my hand towards the bubble hesitantly. As my finger grazed the surface, the bubble burst and the ocean went still. Small pinpricks began to emerge, small lights like stars in a cloudless night sky rising out of the water. Where the bubble had been was replaced by a new shade of green, closer to that of an emerald, that emanated from the frozen visage of the red haired woman looking back at me. I began to reach towards the green light, only stopping once I noticed the small orbs floating around the image, creating a solar system with my memory as its sun. I lifted my arm, grabbing one of them in my hand as a light shined out of it, embracing me. I closed my eyes, dropping the orb and attempting to shield my eyes from the unexpected flash of green. As I reopened them, I was no longer in the infirmary. I stood at the entrance of a small alley, the familiar smell of burning oil filling my nose. The blue sky had begun to fade into night as shades of orange and pink washed over the land.
“Where am I?” The thought left my lips as I attempted to make sense of what just happened. I stepped towards the street the alley led into and noticed a small band setting up at a restaurant a few buildings over, waiters and waitresses busying themselves as they prepared for the busy night that was sure to come. I examined them, each laying out silverware and plates for what appeared to be a rather large reservation. One of the waiters stepped out of the storefront, stepping over to a pitcher that sat empty on one of the few service carts that had been set out. The waiter lifted his hand over the pitcher and water blossomed out of the bottom and only stopped once it was almost full. My face contorted in confusion as two others stepped out and placed their hands over the unfilled pitchers, one filling with what could only be assumed as wine while the other an amber liquid. I looked down at my own hands, examining my palms as I contemplated the observed action. I knew I needed to at least try to replicate it, my curiosity taking the lead.
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I began to walk towards the restaurant, the brick buildings looming overhead as the evening shadows began to fill the area with darkness and the sound of shoes echoed around me. My pace was consistent, reaching the point where only a few buildings were left for me to pass before I reached the restaurant when my foot hit something and the rest of my body followed suit. I fell backwards, attempting to catch myself but landing on my ass. I groaned, looking up to find whatever I had hit but nothing was there.
“What the hell just happened?” I thought, standing up and rubbing my hand across where I landed. I glanced around the area, attempting to find anyone or anything that I had run into. I decided to just shrug it off and began to walk forwards again but with just a few steps, I was on the ground again.
“Seriously, what is going on here?” This time, the words fell from my lips with a tangible sense of growing frustration attached, my fists now clenched at my sides. My voice bounced off the walls and I quickly realized other people were only a few buildings away. None of them had even acknowledged the sound though, each continuing to work as if nothing had changed. I stood up again, this time slowing my pace and focusing on what was directly in front of me. Carefully taking each step, my shoe finally made contact with another object.
“What is this?” I pulled my foot back and gently kicked out, my shoe bouncing back off of what appeared to be nothing. I could still see the ground and the restaurant but as I reached a hand out, it made contact with what I could only describe as an invisible wall. Nothing indicated this object, nothing to warn me that it was here, nothing at all even seemed to be there but something clearly was. I placed my hand flat on the invisible surface, the surface smooth but bouncy, and walked perpendicular to it, following it all the way to the building on the other side of the street. Mimicking this, I found that the barrier covered the entirety of the stone road.
“Why can’t I pass this?” The frustration that had been bubbling up inside had subsided only for confusion. I attempted to push my hand into it, a coolness surrounding my fingers in a texture that could only be described as gelatin. I felt a shiver run through me, disgust fighting with curiosity as I pushed deeper. As my second knuckle crossed the barrier, a jolt of electricity shot through my arms as it was ejected out of it. I stumbled back, catching myself as I looked down at my arm.
“Fuck, that hurt!” The pain quickly disappeared, my arm showing no signs of damage as I looked over it. I ran my hand across it before looking towards the restaurant and again, no sign that they could hear me. I let out a sigh, accepting that I wasn’t going to pass the barrier on my own. I brought my hands to my lips, cupping them together.
“HEY! CAN YOU GUYS HEAR ME? HELLO?” Nothing, each one continued their preparations without hesitation. They had begun to set out the first courses as a few of their guests arrived and were quickly seated. Another heavy sigh fell through my lips and I turned to face the other way. As I did though, I noticed two people walking together in my direction. It seemed as if they were walking in the direction of the alleyway so I decided to meet them there. I walked quickly, my pace carrying a decent amount of speed behind it. I slowed down as I approached, my stomach turning as I noticed the golden red hair that fell across the woman’s black dress. My mind began to race, my feet pushing me slowly forwards until I was a building away. Neither of the two seemed to have noticed me, the woman laughing at a joke the other had made. I looked closer, the man at her side wore the same green tunic that I had seen Aliza wearing but it seemed fancier. Instead of being buttoned up the middle, it hung loosely at the man’s sides, a tie hanging down his chest and across the white dress shirt he wore beneath it. His hair was medium length, dirty blond and cut so that it fell gently down the sides of his face. His eyes were a deep green, the same color that had flowed across the infirmary ceiling. His cheeks had a bit of give, small dimples sitting at the edges of his mouth when he smiled. The feeling in my stomach worsened with each second that I watched the two. I couldn’t help but feel as if I knew this man, and very well at that. I kept my distance, kneeling behind one of the trash bins that lay just outside the alley as they walked into it.
Questions rolled through my mind at lightning speed, why was she here? What was she doing with this man? Who was this guy anyway? And why did I feel sad about this? Bits and pieces of their conversation could be heard.
“Well this is an interesting place, I didn’t expect our date to end off in an alley.” A laugh followed the man’s joke, a sickness settling in my stomach as I felt the need to vomit rapidly approaching. The man’s voice, my voice, shattered whatever thought process I had been working through. I attempted to stand back up and move closer, watching the scene unfold in front of my eyes. Tears began to well up, my mind finally understanding what I was witnessing.
“Is this not where I was supposed to leave you? I could have sworn this was where your file listed a home address.” The woman's voice was silky and playful but it was clear that it was half hearted. Her posture was stiff and uncomfortable, her hand twisting a lock of hair in them as the other me smiled brightly at her. As he turned and looked down the alley, the woman's hand quickly went to the small bag that hung from her hip, a small length of wood grasped between her fingers as she pulled it out. This was the moment, I had to stop this from happening. If there was any chance I could, this was that chance. I leapt forward, reaching my hand for her shoulder but it was met with nothing. My hand fell through her as the horror set in my mind, the realization that the reason no one was paying me attention was because I was like a ghost to them. All I could do was watch as everything unfolded.
“You mean the one that still hasn’t been updated to say Adalon instead of my old name?” The other me mocked, looking at the ever growing darkness that filled the alley. The name shot through me like a bullet, was this my name? Adalon? And I had changed it from something else? Why? “You know, this is the perfect place to hide a body? Nice and dark, isn’t checked too often. It would usually be days before the victim would be found.” A smirk crossed the other me’s face as the red haired woman lifted her hand out in front of her. Her arm trembled, the piece of wood shaking between her fingers as a small sniffle could be heard. The other me turned around, clearly confused by the sound he’d just heard as a bolt of green lightning shot from the end of the wood and struck him in the side. He fell to the ground, his pain clear as his voice rang out through the alley. I leaned over one of the trash cans, my stomach emptying what little it contained as the woman's sobs cleared the crushing silence that followed.
“Wh…Why?” The small attempt at understanding fell from the lips of my previous self. The woman turned away, her body beginning to shake and seeming to reject what she had just done as her tears began to stain her cheeks and dress. The small patter of water on the ground quickly followed.
“It… It was the only w…way.” The woman spoke, her voice dry and gravely. Her sobs interspersed her words in a way I could only interpret as regret. She had known this to be wrong, known the pain it would bring and yet, she still followed through with it. I hadn’t realized it until that moment but her face was clear here, her bright green eyes now swallowed in the tears that welled up in them. I stepped back, fear rippling through me as the similarities to another red haired woman settled. Her face was identical to Aliza’s, not just in shape but in the small details. Her cheeks had the same roundness, her nose small and pointy. Her eyes were a bit sunken but in a way that added an air of mystery to them. I attempted to lean against the wall but stumbled, sliding down it and to the ground.
“Even you c…couldn’t have stood up to h…her.” Her words fell flat against the soon to be corpse that lay behind her, her feet barely catching her as she began to walk away. Still shaking, one last sniffle was heard as she attempted to wipe away her tears, turning to leave out the alley from the way the two had come. Reaching a road crossing only a few buildings away, she raised the wand into the air again and waved it. The sky appeared to shatter, cracks forming along it before falling to pieces and disappearing before they hit the ground. I attempted to stand, looking over at the old me, a fatal misrepresentation of who he was before. I stepped closer, leaning down beside the other me, the rise and fall of his chest having slowed significantly as the color in his face had dimmed.
I couldn’t move, my body was frozen as I watched myself die beneath me. Tears flowed down my cheeks as my mind attempted to process the sight before me. The very woman that had attempted to kill me was the same woman who had been keeping me locked up in the infirmary. My fists balled up, my knuckles turning white as I pushed them against the stone. I felt my body begin to shake, looking up towards the sky as a scream of rage poured from my lips. My tears burned as they poured down my cheeks and my body collapsed to the ground, the cold stone adding little comfort to the heat that burned inside me. The hands of fear and anger wrapped around my throat and body, binding them as my voice quickly gave out. I couldn’t move, gasping for air and for any sign of hope.
“Get up.” The voice in my head spoke, the one that had guided me out of my anger before. My body resisted, my own mind actively pushed against it but something inside me stirred. “I said get up dammit.” This time, the words carried their own anger. Not the rage I’d felt before but something else.
“Shut up.” My voice echoed in my own ears. I just wanted to wallow here, to give up, to allow myself the peace of death that had been taken from me, the peace that would have kept me from dealing with all of this bullshit. I could feel my face contort into a look of defeat. I was losing any small glimmer of hope that I was carrying.
“I said, get the fuck up!” My body moved on its own, my arms pushing me off the ground and then quickly failing. My face hit the stone beneath me. I willingly adjusted and sat up, groaning as I rubbed my forehead. What the fuck just happened? I didn’t move myself so what did? “I did, you wouldn't, so…”
“What do you mean “you” did?” Anger still held control of my voice, the gravely attempt at speaking causing me to cough. I looked around, making sure that someone hadn’t walked up while I had been groveling. The only person still nearby was the other me who was still very much dying.
“I’m not just going to let you screw up our second chance.” I could tell that the voice was angry now, actually angry. I closed my eyes, attempting to find some sense of balance through all of this.
“Second chance? What the hell are you talking about? Who the hell even are you?” I was finally starting to get a grip on reality again, the hold my emotions had on me having been stripped away by this new confusion. I rubbed my hands against my temples, attempting to ease the headache that had begun.
“What? Did you think that you just so happened to survive? That hit was fatal and even without your magic, you should be able to deduce that.” The voice let out a snicker, clearly annoyed by whatever ignorance I didn’t know I held. This time though, as it spoke, the glimmer of green flashed beneath my eyelids. Each word the voice spoke caused this glimmer to brighten ever so slightly.
“I…I’m not sure, I hadn’t given it much thought but you’re still not answering my questions. Who are you and why are you in my head?” I was starting to get annoyed as well, who the hell did this voice think it was? If it was in my head, was it just a part of me? And why was I having to defend against myself?
“Ohhhhh, close but no cigar my friend.” It laughed, it fucking laughed at me. I could feel the anger begin to boil in my gut once more. “Woah, woah, hey now, I never said you were wrong, just not quite on the mark.” The voice mocked, the green hue shining brighter as if to signify the mockery.
“Then what are you?” I needed answers, if it wanted me to not get pissed, it needed to start answering my questions.
“And I will. You can’t really start a conversation with ‘Hey, I’m the magic spirit that lives within you.’” What? What the fuck did it just say? A magic spirit? Magic? My head began to pound incessantly. I leaned over, massaging my temples. “Wow, you really did lose all of your memories. This may be more interesting than I thought.” The spirit giggled to itself but wait, if it was inside my head, how did it not know that I’d lost all of my memories? “I’ll answer that real quick, it wasn’t that I didn’t know, I just was unaware of the extent of it. The fact you forgot that magic exists goes further beyond just memories. It means you forgot one of the basic facets of the world we live in.”
“Have you been here the whole time?” If it had been, why hadn’t it come forward sooner? Does it remember my past? The anger I was feeling before was consumed by a reluctant joy. I wasn’t alone in this anymore but if it had known about my past, why was it hiding from me until now?
“I wasn’t hiding, you just hadn’t awoken me yet. And sadly, I lost parts of my memory when you almost died as well. It was all I could do to keep you alive until Aliza found you and yet, it seems we both paid the price of our memory for it.” At the mention of Aliza, the weight of my situation settled back onto my shoulders. But wait, why would Aliza need to find me if she was the one who tried to kill me? “Ah, that, yes, I wish I could answer that as well but I think we both know in our heart that it wasn’t Aliza who did this to us, even if she is the one who attempted to kill us.”
“You can understand how that doesn’t make sense, right?” The confusion in my voice was palpable, a slight annoyance adding an unwelcome undertone as I attempted to collect my thoughts. I sighed and laid my head back against the wall. “But what’s new? Everything has been confusing since I woke up in that infirmary.”
“It’s a good thing you still have my magic then, I was starting to worry about that.” A long sigh echoes in my mind, the green holding its size for a moment and slowly dimming as the sigh ends.
“What do you mean? I don’t have any magic.” Did I? I tried to think of any instance where I had used magic but all that came to mind was the waves crashing on the ceiling.
“That’s part of it but I want you to think about the situation you’re in right now.” As it finished, I lifted my head and opened my eyes. The sky had almost turned to pitch black now, the other me still lay in the spot where he collapsed. I let out a sigh of my own, giving my mind a moment to process everything. I was where I was attacked, in the same alley I had awoken in, and had seen the event of my attempted murder unfold in front of me. On top of that, I could not interact with the people in any way and a barrier was in place that kept me in a specific location. These thoughts swirled together and my mind lit up, my eyes widening in realization. “Now you’re getting it.”
“Wait, so I can revisit events in my past and observe them as if I was a witness?” My mind began to swim with possibilities, thoughts running in each and every direction as it thought about what I could uncover. Would it be able to help me remember my past? The voice laughed.
“Of course it can but you should know, it's not just your past that you can experience. As long as you have a connection to that person, you can experience their past as well but I will say, tread carefully down that path.” The voice began to dim alongside its light, slowly fading out at the end of its sentence. I barely noticed, trying to wrap my head around the information I had just taken in. I could experience other people’s past? Like actually be there for events they’ve experienced? That was huge but also felt creepy and invasive. I shivered at the thought. “That’s why it must be used properly and I want to explain more but it seems we’re at our limit for now.”
The world around me began to fade rapidly, as if fog had begun to roll in around me and shroud everything. I looked over towards my old self, his body shaking as his eyes slowly opened. He looked straight at me and then he was gone, the fog having completely surrounded me.
“We will talk again later.” The voice was as quiet as a whisper before fading completely and everything went dark.