Narukaze lay motionless among the ruins.
Days seemed to pass in darkness.
The city was silent except for the wind blowing through broken buildings.
Darkness.
That was all Narukaze could see.
No sound.
No pain.
Nothing.
Then...
A distant voice.
"He's alive!"
Another voice replied.
"Quick, help me carry him!"
Narukaze lay unconscious among the ruins of the destroyed city. Blood stained his clothes, and countless wounds covered his body.
A group of teenagers had found him while exploring the outskirts of the ruins.
One girl knelt beside him.
"His pulse is weak."
"Should we leave him?" another boy asked nervously.
The girl glared at him.
"No."
Together, they carried Narukaze away from the ruined city and toward a place hidden from the world.
Four days later...
Narukaze slowly opened his eyes.
The first thing he saw was an unfamiliar ceiling.
The second was a young girl sitting beside his bed.
"You're awake."
Narukaze tried to sit up but pain shot through his body.
"Easy. You've been unconscious for four days."
He looked around the room.
Nothing seemed familiar.
Not the room.
Not the city.
Not even the people around him.
One of the teenagers stepped forward.
"Do you remember your name?"
Narukaze froze.
He searched his mind.
Nothing.
Only darkness.
"No."
"Do you remember anything?"
He shook his head.
"Nothing."
The room became silent.
The healer girl looked at him with sympathy.
"Then don't force yourself."
Narukaze turned toward the window and stared at the hidden city beyond.
He didn't know who he was.
He didn't know where he came from.
And he had no idea that the people who had betrayed him believed he was already dead.
To be continued...