Mikhailis drifted.
Weightless.
There was no pain. No warmth. No cold. Just a soft, formless silence that wrapped around him like a silken cocoon. At first, he thought he was dead. Maybe he was. It was peaceful here, at least, in a way he had never known before. He lingered, suspended in this quiet place, detached from all the chaos, all the violence, all the pain he'd left behind.
But slowly, gently, something began to stir. A distant flicker, subtle at first, like a single star igniting in an endless expanse of night. He felt his attention tugged toward it, a subtle pull of curiosity amid the stillness. It pulsed faintly, like a heartbeat—steady, patient, calling him without words. The rhythm echoed softly in this ethereal realm, pulling him forward even though his limbs didn't move.
