Kain opened his eyes.
The grey-stone waiting room materialized around him suddenly. His knees hit the floor before he realized he was back, his breath ragged, his hands trembling from the emotional impact of what he just went through.
He didn't move.
A heavy breath escaped him, shallow and cold, like mist curling from the lungs of a dying man. His entire body felt like it was carved from brittle stone—cracked, hollow, and ready to shatter.
The memories—if they could be called that—flooded in, vivid as dreams, real as scars.
'Was any of that real? Or did the relic just build worlds based off of my memories and worst subconscious fears?'
The question clawed at his mind.
The mysterious disease that had killed him in his past-life—had it been some twisted precursor to the Abyss? The way it turned bodies black, the way the infecteds' eyes burned red... Was that what had brought him here?
