After a deep sleep, I felt as if my body was tearing through space while my soul drifted away.
Unknown sensations and emotions mixed violently inside me.
As time passed and the darkness slowly receded, I opened my eyes little by little and saw the familiar ceiling of my room... but something was wrong.
"Huh?"
The ceiling looked strange. I quickly lifted my head and looked around me—only to freeze in shock.
An unfamiliar room. An unfamiliar place.
Tension rose inside me at once.
"Where am I?"
Yet amidst the storm of my thoughts, another feeling began to surface from deep within me.
A familiar feeling... as if it was telling me that everything was fine, that nothing was wrong.
"Wh—"
Suddenly, unbearable pain ripped me out of my thoughts.
"AAAH!"
A sharp agony pierced my skull like thousands of knives stabbing at once, while my brain felt as though it were being crushed beneath countless weights.
"M-My head—!"
I couldn't even finish the sentence in my mind. The pain intensified. I tried to stand, but my legs gave out beneath me.
Thud.
I crashed onto the wooden floor.
Then the images came.
In that instant, countless visions flooded my mind.
Feelings. Memories. Familiar, yet alien.
It felt as though I was living another person's life... and yet somehow, it was mine.
"like was My life?"
That absurd thought surfaced in my mind. I tried to ignore it, but the pain only worsened. I shut my eyes tightly, and the visions became clearer.
A beautiful woman with raven-black hair and eyes that shone like the moon, smiling in the shape of a crescent.
"Familiar..."
The moment I saw her, my chest tightened. Pain, sorrow, despair, rage, hatred... all surged through me.
But in the deepest part of my heart, I also felt love, longing, and warmth.
I couldn't understand these emotions rising inside me.
I felt like someone else.
Another image appeared.
An empty hall. Pale hands gripping a sword while blood ran down them. Yet the young man continued to swing without pause.
With every strike, dark emotions poured from his heart.
Above all else... hatred.
Before I could make sense of it, the pain struck my head again.
"Ahhh!"
I clutched my skull with both hands.
Then I tried to stand.
A strange strength filled my body, yet it didn't feel foreign at all.
Deep inside me, I felt something warm... as if it were waiting for my command to move.
But I couldn't focus.
I grabbed the nearby bed for support and slowly forced myself upright.
"Cold water..."
As I staggered beneath the storm raging in my head, only one thought remained.
I needed cold water on my face.
It was an oddly simple thought in such a bizarre situation, yet I followed it.
I stumbled left and right toward what I assumed was the bathroom.
Along the endless walk, more visions struck me.
My pale hand holding another ..small, soft, the hand of a child.
Those gentle fingers gripped me tightly, as though never wanting to let go.
A strange joy filled my chest.
Then pain dragged me back to reality once more.
Still clutching my head, I pushed open a white door.
Inside, I spotted the sink.
"I'm dying..."
I staggered toward it, reached out, and turned on the faucet.
Cold water rushed over my hand.
Without hesitation, I splashed it onto my face.
Relief spread through me.
The pain in my head began to fade.
I opened my eyes again and looked down at my hand.
My breath caught.
No... that wasn't my hand.
It was pale as snow.
"My hand...?"
I squeezed my eyes shut, then opened them again to confirm what I was seeing.
It hadn't changed.
Slowly, I raised my head toward the mirror in front of me.
"Who...?"
The word escaped my lips, unanswered.
In the reflection stood a young boy, perhaps 16 years old.
Long black hair fell messily over his shoulders.
His features were handsome, almost princely, with pale skin that gave him an elegant air.
But what stood out most were his Silver eyes.
Beautiful eyes, like the moon hanging in the night sky.
Those silver eyes were wide with shock and confusion.
"Is that... me?"
The moment that thought formed, a pain greater than anything I had ever known devoured me whole.
"I just hope I don't smash my head on the floor and die..."
That was my final thought before my vision rolled upward and my body collapsed.
Darkness took me.
And in that moment, I understood something.
No matter how much I believed I had endured in life... no willpower meant anything before true pain.
. . . . . . . . .
I opened my eyes once more.
Instinctively, I reached for my head.
But unlike before, there was no pain.
Instead... I felt strangely energized.
I lifted my head and looked around.
There was no ground beneath me.
Only darkness. Endless darkness.
"Impossible... haha...?"
A nervous laugh escaped me as I turned my gaze around my surroundings.
Darkness stretched in every direction, leaving no escape.
Then suddenly, I looked upward and grabbed my head again.
But instead of pain—
Memories appeared.
No... not images. Memories.
And unlike before, I wasn't merely watching them.
I was inside them. Living them. Feeling them.
Coldness. Fear. Confinement.
A small space surrounded by darkness.
Those weren't my emotions.
They belonged to the one whose eyes I now saw through.
"Raven? I found you! Hahaha!"
The darkness split apart, opening like a door.
Warm light entered, followed by a beautiful voice overflowing with love.
She was the same woman, Black hair. Moonlit eyes. A smile shaped like a crescent.
"Mom ... how did you find me?"
The voice that came from my throat was not mine.
It belonged to the child.
These were his memories.
"Hahaha! You silly boy, of course I'd find you. Did you forget who taught you how to hide? More importantly—whose son are you? You are your mother's son, you little fool!"
She laughed proudly and tapped my head twice.
"Cheater..." I muttered with childish grievance.
"You must always expect anything from your opponent, my foolish son!" she said with a loud laugh.
"Hmph. I won't speak to you for a whole minute."
I could feel the stubbornness in the child's heart.
"W-What?! Raven, how could your heart become so cruel toward your mother?!"
Tears instantly welled in her eyes.
"Mother, stop crying!"
I rushed toward her in panic, wiping away her tears.
"I'm not serious! I'll talk to you, I promise!"
I hugged her tightly.
I never noticed the sly smile on her face.
Then the memory shattered.
Pain cut through me.
When it faded, I found myself in the same place again.
But this time, tears streamed down her moonlike eyes. Blood dripped from her lips. She was wounded.
"My little Raven... promise your mother you won't come out, no matter what happens."
She weakly raised a finger toward me.
"But—"
"Promise me... please."
"I promise..."
Tears fell as I linked my finger with hers.
A child's vow.
One not meant to be broken.
"I will always love you, Raven. Remember that. Live well... and never forget... your mother always loved you."
A soft smile bloomed on her face.
Those were the last words I heard before the door closed.
I waited.
And waited.
Crying for hours that felt like days.
Eventually, the sounds outside disappeared.
With fear trembling inside me, I opened the door.
Bodies lay everywhere.
Some human. Some monstrous.
The humans were mutilated, their blood dried across the ground.
The monsters bled black and lay dead.
One dark creature had a sword driven through its heart.
Ignoring the terror clawing at me, I ran to find my mother.
Minutes later, I found her.
A severed black claw, like a spear, had pierced her body and pinned her to the wall.
Her silver eyes were empty. Lifeless.
I walked forward slowly, unable to understand what I was seeing.
Then I took her hand.
Cold.
Her hand was cold.
The gentle warmth that belonged to her was gone.
My tears poured endlessly.
Broken screams tore from my throat.
And I cried for a very long time... until exhaustion stole my consciousness and even my tears ran dry.