Day ?

I watched as Lily raced off into the woods. But not through my eyes. I was thrust back from my vision, where I viewed the events through a projected screen, the edges fading more and more, the scenes growing opaque, as both the screen grew small, and I grew further and further away.

I sank. My mind grew small and feeble, as darkness closed around my mind. But something spun within me, and the darkness was staved off, ever so slightly. My mind was smaller, I was only slightly conscious. Thinking was hard, my thoughts swam as I attempted to piece together my surroundings.

It was as though I was concussed, nothing made sense. As though my surroundings were a different language. I knew that I was surrounded by something, but what it was simply did not exist in my awareness. It translated to black. The most conceivable form of nothingness.

My back curved downwards, my limbs flailing like kelp in the sea, slaves to the ocean's whims. My back crashed into something, a floor the rest of me settled against. I remembered how to breathe, my dull grey eyes suddenly widened as I clutched my chest.

I stood up, my steps and breaths producing no sound. The only proof of their existence being my foolhardy faith. I walked.

And walked.

And walked..

And walked…

Until the word lost meaning.

My steps formed ripples, the darkness became tinted with a dark, starry green. The floor appeared like a pane of glass, a long pane of lighter shadow.

…

A house. A wonderful suburban home with two floors, blinding light filtered through the windows. Crying can be heard. A child sniffles as he buries his head into his mothers shirt. The woman gets on her knees, smiling warmly as she pats his back.

"It's okay, Max. It's okay."

Strung around the house were numerous decorations painted with the words; Happy Birthday! White and yellow and blue. Last night, that boy had written up dozens of invitations. That morning, he had given one to every single person he knew, even those he didn't like that much.

That night, no one came.

It was a lonely night. All the preparations of the last few days became worthless, large amounts of food that had been purchased would now be thrown away. That boy would never have a birthday party again.

…

Within the shallows of a winter kissed forest, A teenager and his father stood around a pile of sticks. Around the campsite were signs of struggle. A shovel wedged into the ground at an angle, a large tent struggling to stay solid in the wind.

Around the pit housing the many dry sticks, the packaging for an extra large pack of cotton balls, a small container of lighter fluid, a personal size bag of charcoal, and many many sticks of burnt out matches littered the snowy grounds.

"And~ that was my last cotton ball. Dad, do you have any more?"

"Mmm! Let me check." The large man shuffled back to the tent, while the teenager sat on one of the nearby folding chairs.

The teenager looked up at the cloudy sky. " ..I mean, what more could I have done? We even brought extra fire supplies this time.. Why do we always struggle with the fire??? UGH!!! This fucking sucks~."

The tent rustled, and the teenager's dad came out of the entrance holding a candle lighter. As he shambled over, the teenager asked him a question. "...What do we do if this doesn't work?"

The dad got on his knees and hunched over the fire pit. He sighed lightly, his voice tempered with patience. "Then we'll keep trying until we get it right."

Despite his frustration, the teen smiled. Though he made sure his dad couldn't see.

…

"Do you remember how to load it?" The boy, who looked awfully familiar, shook his head. The larger, older one said nothing, and simply guided the younger one.

"Slip the magazine into there." The younger did so, grabbing the long, curved magazine he had loaded himself minutes before. He struggled for a moment, before slipping the magazine into the designated slot.

Following the older one's instructions, he raised the weapon and pulled back the charging handle. Then, he pushed a small circular lever on the side which shot the handle forward with a loud click.

He raised the AR unsteadily, the barrel shifting erratically. The older one slipped his fingers into the stock and shoved it against the younger one's left shoulder. He aimed the sight at the target ten yards away, before firing as rapidly as he could.

Even before the target had made its way back, I could tell that he had missed most of his shots. Though almost all of them hit the paper, none but three hit his target.

"Yeah.. I think the scope is off."

The boy turned around after setting down the gun, barrel facing towards the range.

"I noticed." Said my voice.

. .. …

Something within me stirred. Stop this. I said, my mouth moving but producing no noise. Who are you? I screamed into the depths. What do you want? Those fragments, those strange scenes that sat in this void like props, suddenly bled into the sky.

The open house with the warm mother and crying child. The yellow walls drifted into the sky like pollen, the color drained out of the structure until only dead grey like coral was left, black lines bordered everything as if they were only drawings, mere figments of imagination.

The mother and child were the last ones, their cries and assurances played on a loop, one which accelerated as the color seepage washed ever closer. By the time their color began to drain, the loop pitched into screams.

The sound grated on my ears and my mind. My eyes widened in horror as there forms stretched and contorted. Their colorless silhouettes melted and amalgamated together. Their eyes were wide, black and empty, as were their mouths.

The figure stretched and contorted, wiry fingers stretched to cover the child fused at its upper left torso. The mother was smiling, while the child was screaming, the sound still distorted into a chorus of suffering.

Something within me spun.

I ran as far as I could. The sky glowed as more scenes were absorbed into the darkness. The house with the decorations, the forest and the smoke. The shooting range and the bullet casings.

The brass fell from that memory like rain. The shells came down like gun fire, piercing my body like a storm of knives. I covered my head with my arms, the brass casings relentlessly piercing every inch of my body.

Every shot that went through me took something away. My legs lost their strength, my arms their feeling. My head was raked with lacerating claws. Every tear ripping apart my mind until nothing remained.

Something within me revolved even faster.

The sky was painted with memories. Not just those three but many more. With each blow to my head more filled the sky. The hail storm picked up in ferocity. Icey trees sprung up from the ground, frost leaching from their horribly distended and knotted roots, covering the ground in slippery fog.

Not even the in between was safe, smoke now being generated by the coarse, corrupted leaves of the dead trees.

Screams rang from around the forest. A twisted mothers love and screams of despairing children. The fog of the ground and smoke of the sky mixed together, creating a smog so thick my senses were rendered useless.

The smog permeated my nostrils. It filled my mouth with soot and clogged my airways with ash. I labored harder to breathe, my ghostly body still riddled with holes from the constant metal downpour.

For a fraction of a second the fog appeared grey in some spots, forming wicked silhouettes. Soon, the mist dispersed and the twisted monsters were upon me. A new voice joined the chorus of screams as my body was torn asunder.

Distended white hands and fingers pierced my body, thumbs out splayed and then quickly ripped back out again, leaving star shaped holes in my ashen form. The world around twisted into a tornado cycling around me.

The bullets melded into the storm, the monsters whipped away and the forest vanished amongst swirling white clouds. The swirling stopped, and the clouds began to fall like wispy cotton candy, until they formed into spears and stabbed into my body.

They threaded through the many holes in my form and flew into each other, knitting into chains on their way. As they flew, they stretched and stretched, pulling me apart.

The agony never seemed to end. The pain never stopped. While the nightmares went away, leaving me a moment of reprieve, they never truly left, only changing in shape.

Time passed.

I looked out into the black sky. I stared into the shadows. I looked past them, and into the pools of somehow even deeper darkness. Eyes. A color so dark it had to have been created just for this moment. A grin. One which reflected every memory of suffering and pain.

One that took satisfaction in it. Revelry. As I stared, I felt my eyes begin to bleed, but I ignored it. The pain was false. This world is not one of reality but a prison.

Something within me had finished warming up.

Clarity re-entered my mind. The holes in my form radiated no more pain, but only mild discomfort. While real fear still had my heart in its icy grip, I would not allow another instance of corruption.

I stared into the void, and the void stared back.

With contempt.

The blacker than black silhouettes that made up the face glowed a dark purple, suddenly expanding outwards to build a more menacing and complex face. Nine eyes, a jagged, toothy maw distended from its face and hung like a noose. Long, huge horns lanced off like a crown of thorns.

A pulse of void light radiated outwards, and unlike its face, the rest of its body just blurred into existence, instead of being drawn in real time. A long, distended body, wings filled with holes, an extremely long and thin tail that, although only having one base, seemed to have its tip everywhere around the void, rising up like seagrass and waving as though by natures will.

A huge draconic arm stretched out of its body and grabbed me. It squeezed me until my organs exploded from my body, but I kept myself grounded, disbelieving. It pulled me close, until I was mere feet away from its eyes.

I glared at it. It seemed to form a smile, before its jaw stretched wide and snapped close on my body.

My eyes bolted open.

—

Night 67

Not much time passed at all. Lily was lying right next to me. Yes, that's the first thing I noticed, not the state of my body, nor the after effects of that dream which, like last time, were not only prevalent, but much worse.

I was by now already used to pain, just in general. Comforting warmth, however, I wasn't used to quite yet. I tried to move forwards a bit but ended up being stopped by my spine being a massive pain in the ass, as usual.

I seriously need to invest in my modifications more. Especially my skeleton. Cause god damn, spines are the worst! I wrenched forward anyways, letting out a sharp yelp from the pain, as my driver had stopped spinning and thus [Grand Pain res] was no longer supercharged.

Even with my entire body… wait? I'm not as injured anymore. I mean, sure, I'm still broken everywhere, but I'm not in that between-heal state anymore. Did I hallucinate it?

My heart was still beating rapidly from the dream, which I could remember much better than the last one. However, my survival instincts overpowered it, letting me crawl toward a half eaten monster corpse sitting not too far away. As I pulled away I made sure to slope Lily downward so she didn't slam into the ground. Said beast was cut up pretty slopily, meaning it must have been Lily's handiwork.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Once I was close enough I wrenched my nails into its skin and started peeling off every bit of flesh I could, desperate for anything to eat. Even the small dregs of skin and fat filled my body with strength, until I could pull myself into a sitting position to gorge myself on the leftovers.

Once I ate enough to pay attention to other things, I realized it was actually some kind of massive rabbit, no doubt family to the thicket rabbit I killed on my first day here.

I licked my bloody lips, and sucked up an intestine hanging loose from my mouth. Crazy how fast my remorse died. I was freaked out by organs before… I didn't even participate when we dissected frogs my freshman year! And now, here I am…

I've become a monster. I thought to myself casually. I was in an oddly calm emotional state, despite the amount of torture ive faced not just today, but for the last couple of days. I finished the rabbit, clearing everything from its gristle to its bones. I sat stock still in [Rumination], allowing [Health Pulse] to do its job in peak conditions.

< [Health Pulse] Experience threshold Reached. Lv15 -> Lv16> < [Nervous Paralysis Res] Experience threshold Reached. Lv1 -> Lv2> < [Grand Pain res] Experience threshold Reached. Lv19 -> Lv20> < Skill: [Grand Pain Resistance] has reached its max level 20/20 | Rank up? >

While still maintaining my meditation, I dived into the skill shop. Despite a few new entries, nothing really interested me, and I doubt anything will. At this point, the shop has outlived its usefulness. Right as I think that however, I rediscover some pretty interesting options.

Namely, the [Armor Equip], [Weapon Proficiency], and [Weapon Technique] skills. While these would undoubtedly make me a lot more… Skilled, they're also a bit double edged. My fighting style is pretty all over the place, what with me having no formal training. I mostly just run all over the place while chaining my skills together as best as possible, which has been working, somehow, but won't in the future.

If I were to just keep on the path of the hunter like I have been, I wouldn't need to worry so much. However, the demi-bloods have cemented themselves as the antagonists of this world, to us at least. Thanks to them, I need to start honing my PvP skills much more.

[Skirmish] is my main fighting skill, and my only style skill. It uses everything at my disposal, and while that makes all of my fights look like a desperate attempt to survive, there is some method to the madness. I'm worried that narrowing down my options will nerf my current build.

But honestly, I have so many things I can pull mid fight, losing a few weapon choices probably won't even matter. I mean, the only weapons I really use are my bow, my short swords, and my hands. [Wrecking Smash] is already kind of a punching skill, and I have [Archery] as well…

Hm, maybe getting a technique or a proficiency should be on the list after all. As for armor, well, yeah I'm definitely getting that one. Specifically [Heavy Armor Equip]. Now, I could go the path of the average isekai protagonist, and just wear a fucking coat into battle. Or, I could use my brain and wear actual armor, and not just a flimsy chest piece.

Seriously though, why do isekai authors keep doing that? It's always the same black, dragon skin overcoat that stretches to the floor. A middle schoolers trench coat. And there's never any metal! And of course, theirs the auto clean, auto repair function, cause god forbid we take a second to do maintenance on our shit. Though, I guess I'm not one to talk.

Guys, this is a simple concept. Like bullet proof vests. Sure, the bullets won't pierce, but bleeding isn't the only wound that exists! Bullets will still leave bruises, and hurt like a bitch. Worst case scenario, they can even break bones! Your flimsy coat might have 99999999999 durability, but you sure don't!

I looked over to where Lily layed. She was out like a light, her clothes covered in sweat with small lacerations covering her skin. I stood up, and wobbled on my feet. I walked over to her slowly, knees bent and buckling. I stooped over her, my shadow looming as I contemplated my next action.

Uncertain, I just… pat her head. I put my right hand on her messy long brown hair, and smoothed it out. I smiled, as she seemed to get a little less restless. Then, I stood to my full height and wiped the smile off my face. It's game time.

I salvaged what I could of my gear. By now I was sorely missing my wolf cloak, and really, any armor once so ever. My bow and quiver had been thrown into a pile, my other things like my belt and bag were hung on the side of one of Oldren's short walls.

My stomach rumbled. I honestly didn't think I could do that anymore. It's been a long time since I've been this hungry. I looped the belt around my brown tunic, which was still just as terrible as I remembered it. Just a shirt and booty shorts, plain brown and horribly torn like it was caught in a tornado. Lily's wasn't nearly as bad, hers just didn't look good on her. Brown is not her color.

I equipped my little leather bag holding my poisons, all of which had had their containers broken, or the poisons within them rotten. Either lessening in effect or losing their usefulness entirely. Thanks to this, the inside was actually a mess, and I'd need to clean it out at a stream.

I'd like to just throw it away but making leather is such a choreeeeee~! If only Oldren wasn't asleep for once.

The only gear I had to my name was my shabby green belt, Dusk shelved away in its holster on each side of me, my bag hanging over my left cheek, and my quiver slung over my right shoulder, the leather strap attached to my belt with a circular loop made of hexsidian. My throwing knives were gone, I forgot to pick them up after I fought the knightmare in the dungeon.

Though, after their performance, I can't really say leaving them behind wasn't on purpose. Besides that, I have my reinforced bow that Oldren made me, along with a pair of ferrous knuckles that I straight up didn't use in my fight with Cinder.

Woopsies.

"..What's my plan? What am I doing right now?" I mused out loud to myself, quietly. Well, me, it's simple. First, I need to eat. Like a lot, desperately. I need to modify myself, though that can wait until sunrise, and I have to make a lot of shit.

I lifted my legs and groped my right foot. I need shoes..

I made a mental list. Shoes, clothes, arrows, poison vials, potion holder.

…

Crafting knife.

Yeah, fat chance I'm going to be doing any precision work with these massive blades.

I set off into the forest.

—

Approximately four hours passed.

< [Internal Clock] Experience threshold Reached. Lv1 -> Lv3>

For some reason I'm really fond of this skill.

Not too much has happened in the last few hours. Neither my status nor the color of the sky has changed. Except maybe the population of the forest. That has certainly lessened. I currently sat atop a tower of earth, the remnants of a fight with a mole that could shape the earth at will. A pretty fun fight, but I'm sure you can tell from the meat in my hands who the victor was.

Overall, here are my gains.

< Attained 14 Souls (Small)> < Attained 8 Souls (Medium)> < Attained 1 Soul (Large)>

< You leveled up! LV46 -> Lv47 | +1 SkP +3 StP>

< [Skirmish] Experience threshold Reached. Lv11 -> Lv13> < [Nocturnal] Experience threshold Reached. Lv3 -> Lv4> < [Conceal] Experience threshold Reached. Lv7 -> Lv8> < [Block] Experience threshold Reached. Lv4 -> Lv5> < [Grand force Res] Experience threshold Reached. Lv1 -> Lv2> < [3d Maneuvering] Experience threshold Reached. Lv1 -> Lv3> < [Launch] Experience threshold Reached. Lv3 -> Lv4> < [Bark Runner] Experience threshold Reached. Lv3 -> Lv5>

< Skill: [Block] has reached its max level 5/5 | Rank up? >

Not bad, not bad at all. I thought, as I finished scarfing down the last of the moles paw. As you can see, I focused more on running around and having fun than practicing my fighting skills. And really, can you blame me?! I've been stuck in the same place for days! I think I'm allowed to have a little fun at this point.

Besides, I got to level up some skills that have been stagnating. Specifically [Bark Runner], the one I use to run on trees. [Launch] hasn't seen a lot of love despite it being the backbone of my movement, and [Conceal] has been pretty much unused since my time at the garrison.

I have a lot of skills I feel bad about not using, specifically my knowledge based skills. [Nimble Hands] hasn't moved up in so long, I'm starting to forget I even have it. It's a very useful skill, at least, as fodder for [Convergence]. [Complex Crafting], [Knitting], [Terrain Memorization], even [Lethal Toxicology]! All of them have been left to rot. And worse? There's not much I can really do about it.

Until now.

I haven't made anything in a long while. I think it's time to fix that. First things first? Shoes. Sure, my physical stats have pretty much negated the possibility of me sustaining any damage from the rough terrain, not that I've even been walking that much lately, but the few times I have I really notice their absence. I feel like I don't have to explain why.

If you don't understand, go stand on some rocks outside without shoes. It sucks. I complained to no one.

I sighed at my bad habit.

Before that, I should reinforce my feet and make the shoes around that.

So saying, I brought up my new and improved Modification Sub-System.

Total reinforcements- 168 | Total Modifications- 15 | Total Combinations- 3 | Souls- 306 87 12

Small = Reinforcements, Exchange Medium = Modifications, Combination Large = Reconfiguration, Annexation

Absorbing Skeletal System 300% (1) Skull 150% | Spine 100% | Rib Cage 100% | Shoulder Girdle 100% | Arms 200% | Hard Hands 200% | Pelvis 100% | Vigorous Legs 200% | Soft Feet 200% Ardent Muscular System 300% (3) Skeletal Muscles 200% | Smooth Muscles 100% | Cardiac Muscle 100% Nervous System 300% (0) Brain 300% | Spinal Cord 100% | Peripheral Nerves 100% | Autonomic Nervous System 100% Cardiovascular System 300% (0) Heart 300% | Blood Vessels 166% | Enriched Blood 100% Burst Vacuum Respiratory System 300% (2) Nose/Nasal Cavity 100% | Pharynx 100% | Larynx 100% | Trachea 100% | Bronchi 100% | Lungs 300% | Diaphragm 100% Primal Assimilating Digestive System 300% (2) Mouth 100% | Esophagus 100% | Stomach 200% | Small Intestine 150% | Large Intestine 150% | Anus 100% | Liver 100% | Pancreas 100% | Gallbladder 100% Excretory System 100% (0) Kidneys 100% | Ureters 100% | Bladder 100% | Urethra 100% Endocrine System 100% (0) Pituitary Gland 100% | Thyroid Gland 100% | Parathyroid Glands 100% | Adrenal Glands 100% | Pancreas 100% | Gonads 100% | Pineal Gland 100% | Immune System 300% (0) Lymph Nodes 100% | Lymph Vessels 100% | Thymus 100% | Spleen 100% | Tonsils 100% | Bone Marrow 200% Robust Integumentary System 300% (1) Skin 100% | Hair 100% | Nails 100% | Sweat Glands 100% | Sebaceous Glands 100% Reproductive System 300% (0) Testes 100% | Epididymis 100% | Vas Deferens 100% | Seminal Vesicles 100% | Prostate Gland 100%| The Gentlemen 100% Sensory Organs 100% (0) Eyes 200% | Ears 200% | Nose 200% | Forked Tongue 100% | Misc Structures: Demolishing Teeth 200% | Salivary Glands 100% | Thyroid Cartilage 100% | Epiglottis 100% | Sky Catalyst 100% | Condor Thumbs 200% | Tough Neck 200%

See? I wasn't just lazing around during my recovery process. I was making this, a surprisingly excruciating process that took dozens of hours, most of them spent in immense frustration.

As agonizing as it is, I'm still very worried about my nutrient expenditure. Once I get a decent stock, I'm definitely going to Affix some new nutrient related organ. In the meantime, as much as I love to modify every aspect of my being, I'll only touch my feet for now.

With that thought, I spent a few small souls to bring my feet straight to 300%. I stumbled down from my perch on the upturned earth to lean on a tree while waiting out the modification process. My feet began to churn and itch like an anthill post earthquake.

I just looked to the moon and stars.

The moon, which was normally much larger than the one around earth, was gone. Not in a concerning way though, just that one moon phase. What was it, new moon? Thanks to that, the painted scene of a starry sea remained unobstructed to my eyes.

The best part? I could see it in extremely high definition. To think I never got to see this, both because of my poor vision, and the smog obscuring the night sky. Save for a few stars. The sight that laid before me seemed divine in its beauty. So much so that I felt a pang in my chest when storm clouds rolled in, quickly obscuring the wonderful visage.

I felt a shift in the atmosphere, [Way of the Wind] tickled my brain, alerting me to the near future. A light rain storm. I sighed and got to my newly reinforced feet, the ground less painful to stand on then before. I tasted the air, and sighed. I began walking back to the makeshift camp where Lily was still sleeping.

On my way, I gathered supplies. Long wooden branches, some cut straight off a tree. Multiple big leaves, all suitable material to be made into rope. Then, I found a patch of smooth brambles to use instead. By the time I got back, the clouds in the sky had swirled into a dense and dark proto-hurricane.

It was concerning. I knew it was just going to be a soft downpour, but the way the clouds looked, not to my sense but to my eyes, worried me greatly. With only around twenty minutes of work time, I pushed my doubts aside and began constructing the gazebo.

Well, I made a shovel first. I used [Cleave] to perfectly cut a decently flat rock in half. Then, I smoothed out the edges and fastened a three foot long branch to the unworked side. It barely took three minutes. Man i'm good at this.

I worked fast. I shoveled four holes out of the ground in a rectangle around Lily. I used Dusk to smooth out the big, sturdy branches I collected early and stuck them a foot and a half into the dirt. Once I was sure they wouldn't sway in the wind, I began cutting out notches in all the wood pieces to fit them all together neatly, like legos.

Much tying and cutting later, and I had decent frame work. A few drops of rain began to pitter down, so I sped up even more.

< [Terrain Memorization] Experience threshold Reached. Lv7 -> Lv8> < [Nimble Hands] Experience threshold Reached. Lv10 -> Lv11 | +3 dex> < [Way of the Wind] Experience threshold Reached. Lv5 -> Lv6>

I glanced at the notifications for a fraction of a second before mentally dismissing them. Once I had all the crisscrossing branches on the roof done, I began piling on the large leaves. Unfortunately, barely two minutes in, the leaves begin to droop and sag from the weight of the water. The intensity had gone up while I had been focusing on building.

I cursed, and stripped off the leaves before the water could drop on Lily's head. Suddenly, a skill that had long been dormant awakened and showed me the path. [Complex crafting] dug through my mind and put my eighty eight intellect to work.

I analyzed the whole structure, finding faults and inaccuracies. For a complete amateur, it was pretty good. But for me? Disappointing. A bright glowing arrow appeared in my mind's eye, pointing to a skill I had never used before, whose description I had only glanced at.

Overload skill; [Recreation]. As soon as I made the mental command, the space around me went black. White lines traced into a world wide grid pattern across the entire space. The gazebo glowed green. I saw every fault in the structure, in the plan, and even in my own thought process. But at the same time, I saw the solutions as well.

I [Dashed]. I raced around in circles, fixing every problem I came across. Misaligned wood, shotty cuts, mismeasurements, everything was adjusted. I found I had materials left over, both from the original build and as scraps from the improvements.

I found a use for them in a single second. I gathered everything up, cut them and put them together at 110 degree angle. I stuck them into the flat roof frame, forming a triangular slope for rain runoff. Then and only then, did I begin using the large, flat leaves as shingles. Their natural biology was smooth, preventing permeation.

I stood back to marvel at my creation. The rain was running off the leaves perfectly, great care had been taken to make sure the overlap between the leaves caused no problems. But more than anything else, even its function; it looked good.

When the skill wore off, satisfied with its work, I realized I was standing in the chilly downpour with absolutely no protection. I walked off towards Oldren and all the stuff on top of him. I drug him to the gazebo, though only about a fourth of him fit under out without taking up my spot. I wedged all of our stuff between him and Lily, then, I took out the emergency blanket and fire source wrapped in its smokey white leaves as usual.

I had no spare wood left, and I'll be damned if I go out in this rain again. I'm already soaked thanks to [Recreation], though I'm really not that mad about it. I sat on the bare dirt with my knees to my chest, a dark look on my face.

I sat right next to Lily's head, her whole body curved in a subtle U shape. She shifted in place, the top of her head slightly pushing up against me.

I shuttered.

I placed a hand on her head, my finger clipping her ear. I played with her hair as I stared out into the tree line through the thankfully vertical rain. I clutched the fire source in my left hand, like a hand warmer.

I didn't go to sleep that night, I didn't need to. My mind wandered into deep thought, and then, into nothing at all. Trivialities spiraled until my head was blank and my eyes unfocused. So unfocused in fact, that time seemed to slip away like the rain that passed through my fingers.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.