[Outside Northern Military Training Center]
A hand burst through packed snow, fingers clawing at the frozen surface.
Damian pulled himself out of the drift, his entire body shaking as cold seeped through his clothes.
"Fuck... I'm freezing..."
The words came out between chattering teeth as he brushed snow from his hair and shoulders.
'What the hell am I doing here?'
His mind felt groggy, thoughts moving slowly like they were wading through mud.
Then everything that had happened came rushing back.
The figure shrouded in darkness, the choice offered and rejected, the axe named God Slayer, the cryptic warnings about betrayal.
'So it wasn't a bad dream after all… All of that really happened.'
A helpless smile tugged at his lips as he stood there in the snow for some time, the absurdity of the situation settling over him.
Then he pushed himself to his feet, boots crunching in the snow.
'Forget it.'
His hands brushed more snow from his clothes.
