Sometimes he thought he was in a dream from which he could wake up at any moment, only to be surrounded by terror, blood, and violence, surrounded by the world as he knew it.

"Let go, Jiyo Kael, look ahead..." he tried to say whenever the memories or imaginings of what might or might happen as a result of his disappearance threatened to overwhelm him. Once before, after the loss of his first love, he had fallen into this abyss and withdrawn from everything. But then there were still people around him who meant something to him, people who had finally managed to pull him out of his desperation, at least to give him another chance. Even as he struggled with his drug addiction, he had never been completely alone. He had thought that was exactly what he wanted back then, but now he knew better!

He also knew there were better places for him than this part of the world, and yet he couldn't bring himself to move on. Unnoticed, a smile twitched across his facial features at the thought of wha