Darkness.
That was the first thing Kai knew.
Not the darkness of night.
Not the darkness of closed eyes.
Something deeper.
Something endless.
A void stretching infinitely in every direction.
There was no ground beneath his feet.
No sky above him.
No sensation of a body.
Only darkness.
And voices.
Faint at first.
Distant.
As if carried by a storm from somewhere impossibly far away.
"Help us..."
"Run..."
"Save them..."
"Monster..."
"Hero..."
Kai tried to speak.
No sound came out.
The voices continued.
Growing louder.
More numerous.
Thousands of whispers overlapping each other.
Men.
Women.
Children.
Some crying.
Some screaming.
Some praying.
"Please..."
"Don't leave us..."
"Murderer..."
Kai froze.
The word echoed differently from the others.
Sharper.
Closer.
As if someone had whispered it directly into his ear.
"Murderer."
His chest tightened.
Why?
He didn't know.
The voices continued.
"Kai..."
A woman's voice.
Soft.
Gentle.
Familiar.