Darkness wrapped around me like a thick blanket, heavy and complete. I floated in it, weightless, formless, a consciousness without a body. Pain flickered at the edges of my awareness, a steady pulsing could be felt behind my eyes, but it seemed distant, unimportant. I couldn't remember falling asleep, but I must have.
The peaceful emptiness felt like a gift, a shelter from something my mind wasn't ready to remember.
Voices drifted through the darkness, familiar but strangely distorted, as if reaching me from underwater.
"...never seen that much blood from just training..."
"...his nose, his ears..."
"...like his brain was trying to escape..."
I wanted to tell them I was fine, that they shouldn't worry, but my mouth wouldn't move. My body remained a distant concept, something theoretical rather than physical. The darkness pulled me deeper, and the voices faded away.
