As he racked his mind, trying to rember anything about how he got here, he instead rembered the Elite Guard. He rembered the explosion of light as Rena broke free from her prison. He rembered the overwhelming pain that the Elite Guard inflicted on him.
Did I... faint? Then, my family must have found . They must have called an ambulance when they couldn’t wake up.
But even as he ford the thought, sothing felt wrong about it. The tiline didn’t make sense. If his family had found him collapsed in his room, they would have been here when he woke up.
Unless they found him after he had verified it was the middle of the night and fainted again. But why would they not check on him while the pod alarms were blaring, yet do so after he turned it off? It didn’t make sense.
The monitors continued their steady beeping. It was the only sound in the quiet room. Scanning around, he saw no doctors nor visitors. He couldn’t even hear the faint sound of footsteps. Renan tried to sit up, but his body felt weak and unresponsive.
My soul... this hospital won’t do anything. My soul is what needs repair!
He was still trying to process the situation when his vision began to flicker. His body suddenly felt cold and light, his consciousness fading. He felt a presence, though he did not see anyone. He didn’t feel soone around him, but he felt a foreign entity crawling at his very insides.
My... soul? There’s no way, was my soul cursed!? Or is it... alive?
Then everything went dark again.
This ti, the darkness ca with a voice.
"Micheal. Micheal. Micheal."
"Micheal. Micheal. Micheal!"
The na echoed through his mind, spoken in a tone that managed to be both gentle and terrifying. It wasn’t his na. Yet, Renan was absolutely sure that the voice was intended for him.
Who is Micheal?
The question ford in his mind, but even thinking it sent fresh waves of agony through him.
Why does this thing think that’s my na?
The voice continued its repetitive chant, and with each repetition, Renan felt sothing trying to take hold of his consciousness. The wave of influence reached into his mind, crawling and scratching at his consciousness, trying to reshape his very identity.
No! I’m not Micheal. I’m Renan. I’m Lumi. I’m...
I’M RENAN STONE!
Though he shouted it out into his mind, the certainty was slipping away from him. He was beginning to rember mories. Yet, he was unsure what identity these mories belonged to.
His current life? His previous? An Elite Guard?
He rembered a green field. Looking down, the field was not a grassy field. No, it was the green field of millions of orcs marching across the land.
He rembered heaven. He was unsure what that even ant, he didn’t know in what context that even made sense, but he rembered it. He rembered a drop chute, a policy, and a satellite disc.
He rembered hell. A special space he had cleared out and sent people to. What did that even an?
Yet he did it.
Yet he didn’t do it.
He did it, but Renan didn’t do it.
Stop...
Renan gathered all his ntal energy in an attempt to disperse the foreign influence from his mind. He was entirely unsure if he had succeeded or not, until a glowing white face materialized in the darkness before him. It gave him a smile, a beautiful, perfect expression.
"Micheal." It said again, and this ti, its tone was gentle and compassionate. "You’re finally ready to awaken. Micheal! Rember who you truly are! Don’t let it take you!."
Take ? But I’m Renan!
Renan wanted to scream, wanted to resist, wanted to maintain his grip on his own identity. But the soul damage made it so hard to think clearly, so difficult to rember who he truly was.
The white face moved closer, and Renan could feel its influence pressing against his consciousness. His sense of self began to fragnt further, pieces of his identity scattering like leaves in a hurricane.
I’m Renan! Renan Stone! I am Renan Stone! Renan Stone! There is no one else I can be!
The effort of resistance sent such intense pain through his damaged soul that he nearly passed out again. The white face continued to speak to him. "Don’t fight it, Micheal. You’ve been lost for so long. Let help you rember who you really are."
I’m not Micheal. I’m... I’m...
The na was slipping away from him, along with everything else that made him who he was. Just as he felt his sense of self beginning to dissolve entirely, sothing changed. The oppressive presence lifted suddenly. For the first ti in a while, he felt improvent.
The white face flickered and faded, replaced by a sense of light and warmth that felt sohow familiar.
What’s happening now?
His consciousness felt suddenly like it was floating, reaching up towards wholeness once more. He felt an external influence, but this ti it was one he could recognize.
Magic.
The pain that had been his constant companion since awakening began to recede, replaced by a soothing sensation.
This is magical healing. But where am I?
He couldn’t see, couldn’t hear, couldn’t feel anything through his normal senses. Yet, he could perceive magically. He reached out, attempting to sense any others nearby. Soon, he felt them. Two figures, both radiating power and authority.
Empress Aria and Grand Tactician Azir! But how? Why am I sensing them?
The realization brought with it a flood of confusion. Was he on Earth or on Masteria? In a hospital room or the floating city of Herene? His mories were too fragnted to provide clear answers.
But even this realization raised more questions than it answered. How could his soul be in two places at once? Had he not just been on a hospital bed?
The magical healing continued to flow through him, gradually knitting together so of the worst damage to his soul. Each restored connection sent waves of a highly refreshing sensation through his consciousness.
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