"HAHAHAHAHA… I finally have a master after a long time."
Ray flinched, nearly dropping the sword as the voice erupted inside his skull—not heard, but felt. Like thunder made of thought, a presence booming in the marrow of his bones.
What the hell…?
"Oi, don't just stand there like some dazed mortal staring at fire for the first time. You're holding a legend, not a glorified butter knife."
Ray blinked, confused and unnerved. His eyes darted around the hospital room, as if someone might step out from the shadows and admit this was all an elaborate prank.
"W-who are you?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. "Are you the one messing with my fate?"
"I don't know what you mean by 'messing,' but had I been at full power, your fate would've been blessed just by touching me. I am the God Slayer Sword, Aetheris. Feared by pantheons and whispered about in the dark corners of time! HAHAHAHA!"
Sword…?
Ray looked down, disbelief clouding his features. "You… you can talk?"
