Initiating Synchronization…
Damn it…! Hold… down…! Detox...!
Synchronization in Progress…
His breath… stopping…! Priest…! Heal…! Stabilize… airways…!
Synchronization Error… Initializing Safe Mode…
Watch… temperature…! Ignis…! Warm up… losing him…!
Booting into Safe Mode...
Can’t… die…!
… Complete. Please Check Your Status.
Charon…!
...
My hazy consciousness was shaken awake with a violent flash of light. I immediately felt my compressed lungs weighing down on me as though I was drowning deep underwater. I opened my eyes and gasped loudly, sucking in air so greedily that I broke down into vicious, uncontrollable coughs.
“W… Wh… *cough* What… *cough* happen… *cough* ed…!”
I struggled to spit out those words as I began to piece together the situation. My blurry eyes teared up and the ringing in my ears intensified. My body refused to move, as though it was constricted by rope. I muscled all my strength to force my head up and look around.
Huddled around me were men and women in robes wearing grim expressions on their faces. Sweat dripped down their faces as they continued chanting in a foreign yet strangely familiar language. Sitting closest to me was a woman with fiery red hair who glared at me with her burning scarlet eyes. Her entire body emitted a crackling fire, from which I felt a gentle warmth envelop me through her warm fingers that were intertwined with mine.
‘What is going on? Where am I? Who are all these people? What is happening to my body…?’
“…! Don’t talk! Nurse! Get him a bucket!”
‘Bucket…?’
Before I could voice out my thoughts, my head was struck by an excruciating migraine so painful that it felt as though someone was ripping my brains apart. I could not even let out a moan before I was swept away by such overwhelming waves of nausea that I immediately started hurling my guts out.
Blargh! Blargh! Blech!
In what felt like an eternity, I continuously vomited into the bucket someone had hurriedly placed near me. Each second gave birth to agonizing torture. Every retch brought me closer to death. My jaws dislocated as I ripped them open beyond their limit. My confusion was replaced with primal fear and rage. In desperation, I began to search for the source of my torment.
‘Who… Who the hell did this to me…!?’
An unfamiliar anger welled up in my teary eyes, staining my vision red. Unknown emotions raged through my body, violently consuming both my mind and heart. My reason left me. In its stead, only wrath remained.
‘I’ll… kill… you… all…!’
The surrounding people became alarmed as my restless body began to fiercely struggle. The fiery woman scowled at the bloody haze radiating from my body, and barked out new orders.
“Increase the binding strength! I’ll put him to sleep!”
She then embraced my neck and started chanting into my ear. It was a quiet, soothing whisper that made me reminisce of old forgotten lullabies that would drift me off to sleep. Even the raging emotions were being washed away…
My heavy eyelids began to shut as darkness slowly dyed my consciousness. The comforting whispers and warmth of the woman gradually faded away.
‘Somehow… it feels like I have been losing consciousness a lot recently…’
With that last thought in mind, I blacked out.
