The world spun around him as his eyelids fluttered half open. It was hard to tell if he was conscious or not, but Yu definitely heard a voice. Was it his own? He was not entirely sure. Strong, warm hands held onto him, cradled in an unknown person’s arms. Yu wanted to assume it was a woman by the softness of the body that gently brushed against his frigid skin. It was cold, he was cold. Something heavy lingered over him and he clung to whatever life he could manage. He was in pain, and sick, and nothing made any sense to him in the darkness. He could barely make out the faces that stared down at him and their voices seemed so distant. They were speaking that’s for sure, but the language was unrecognizable and he was not sure if they even knew if he was alive or not. He tried to speak, but nothing came out. Just soft, shallow breaths that rolled onto a warm surface that hovered near his face.

Something was moving him again, as though he was being passed along to another unseen figure. His consciousness teetered on the brink of darkness as he felt hands navigating his robes. He wanted to push them away but a gentle hand rested on his forehead. He instinctively opened his eyes all the way and was met face to face with a fiery red haired beauty. His eyes were wide as tears started rolling from his eyes. He did not mean to start crying but from a mix of the confusion, fear, and pain he could not help himself. The woman stroked his hair gently, she made no sign of recognition that he was awake now. She spoke to another woman in a tongue that he could not understand. Neither woman made any move to untie his hands but he could feel them trying to get their hands around the knife in his chest. Yu felt the knife start to move inside of him and his entire body tensed as he screamed in pain,

“Please, stop!” he cried and the woman just looked at him as his please went ignored.

She smiled at him and held him close to her as her companion ripped the knife from his chest. Yu screamed and cried into the woman’s shoulder until he felt suffocated and could not breathe anymore. Unable to cope, Yu’s mind shut down, forcing him back into darkness.