Veythor's eyes opened slowly.... very slowly... his crimson irises glowing faintly as a shard of bright light fell across his face. For a moment, he could only see the endless stretch of blue sky above, vast and eternal. A cool wind brushed against his body in fleeting waves, tugging at him here and there.
At first, his mind was blank. He hadn't yet realized what was happening. But when the truth sank in, he understood: he was in the sky... high above the ground... and he was falling.
Yet he felt nothing. No shock, no fear. Only the steady pull of gravity dragging him down.
Above him drifted the soft shapes of clouds, gleaming white against the boundless sky. Once, long ago, he had thought of them as giant cotton candies drifting in the heavens. Back then, he had only been a boy... a boy who admired his mother, who still believed in innocence and sweetness.
"Giant cotton candy, huh?" He let out a low chuckle.
"Pathetic," he murmured, though a faint smile curved across his lips.
