For a brief moment he felt warmth.
Comfort.
Then it disappeared.
"Kai..."
The darkness began to crack.
Thin lines of light spread across the void.
The voices became distorted.
Broken.
Fading.
The world shattered around him.
And Kai opened his eyes.
---
Sunlight blinded him.
He immediately raised an arm to shield his face.
The sudden brightness stung.
For several seconds he simply lay there, breathing heavily.
The scent of earth filled his lungs.
Grass.
Leaves.
Fresh air.
Slowly, his vision adjusted.
Towering trees stretched above him.
Their branches intertwined high overhead, creating a natural canopy through which rays of sunlight pierced.
A forest.
He was in a forest.
Kai sat up.
His muscles ached.
His body felt weak.
As though he had been asleep for a very long time.
He looked down.
Bare chest.
Torn pants.
A ragged piece of cloth hung from his shoulders, barely resembling a cape anymore.
He frowned.
"What..."
His voice sounded rough.
Unused.
He swallowed.
"What happened?"
No answer came.
Only silence.
Kai looked around.
Trees.
More trees.
And even more trees beyond that.
No signs of civilization.
No roads.
No houses.
Nothing.
He tried to remember.