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《III》

Y/N's POV:

I awake to silence and pain. The last I remember is being shot at with the lighting of one who consumes a vision and hitting my head hard against the stone ground. I soon realized I was not in a place I recognized, the room was dull, with little light. It was probably night, but no windows were present. The small clock that I kept with me was barely visible, but I believe it said it was 2 am. I began to try and sit up, but I was quickly greeted with a sharp pain throughout my left leg. I collapsed back onto the place I lay.

After a few minutes, I heard a few doors open, one seemed to be the one leading to the room I was in. I faced the wall side, so I couldn't see anything. I soon felt something touching my left leg, removing the bandages. It hurt like hell, but I didn't even dare to move. The bandages were fully removed, and I heard a sigh escape the person's mouth.

"I'm sorry"

I heard them say, but I dare not face them. As if to act as I was still asleep. I felt a tight wrapping around my leg, which also hurt like hell. But I thought it was awfully considerate of the person to get up at an unhealthy time like this just to take care of me, how nice. I felt tired and hungry, I hadn't eaten since the previous night but persisted my body in falling back asleep. The person was long gone, as I fell into the same slumber.

I woke once more to the smell of tea, and a sudden weight added to the bed. I opened my eyes to see a cup of tea on a table in front of me and took in the smell of it. The fragrance was weird, like the water boiled for too long. I never knew what burnt water smelled like until now. There was another thing bothering me, the weight added to my bed. I turned my head slightly, trying to be quiet.

There she was, quietly reading a book, sitting at the edge of the bed I laid in. Ei. The same Ei from hundreds of years ago, the Ei I was best friends with. The Ei who took care of me last night. I felt my heart take control of my body, ignoring the pain drowning my leg. I sat up suddenly and hugged Ei, tightly. She seemed surprised by my sudden action, but it was the only thing that seemed right to do.

"Please be careful, your injured," she said, looking down at me. Her very stale expression softened, she seemed happy.
I sat up and let go of Ei, sucking in the air as my leg injury tensed. It hurts like shit. After I sat up, I laid back on the bed, my hair getting tangled.

"I must ask, where am I?"

"My home" she the book she was reading, on her lap.

"So, how much has changed since I left. You obviously identified who I was, otherwise, you wouldn't have let me live"

"Lots, but not in ways you think" She suddenly looked sorrowful, like something tragic had happened well I was away.

"So, how's Ma- I mean Baal been? I could tell she finally obtained the Archon title" I broke the silence, but it wasn't long before I realized who and what had changed. I looked over at Ei, waiting for her response. But she seemed incredibly tense, she clenched her fist tightly. Her eyes looked like she had just seen a dead body or something.

I soon soaked up the environment, Makoto was well beyond gone. I had never seen Ei lose her posture so quickly.
"I see, then who shot me in the leg..." my voice trailed off. I gazed at my leg quickly, all I could see were bloody bandages. After several minutes she seemed to gain her posture back.

"It was a while ago. The person you see now is The Raider Shogun, the puppet I have control over to fulfill the duties of eternity"

Archon deaths are never taken lightly, but it seems as if Ei had already found a replacement before the public bated a naked eye. But in many ways, I couldn't grief quickly.

I don't usually participate in the act of crying, it's bad for my image. But I've always been a sensitive person, and I couldn't hold it back this time.

"Sorry, I'm only making this worse, aren't I?" I said, using the cloth from my sleeve to wipe away the tears forming and streaming down my face. I felt the rough cloth scratch against my face, it left slight temporary red marks around my eyes.

"I feel that I never had proper time to grieve myself" I could see that she was holding back tears as well, Makoto was dear to her. Losing a twin sister isn't easy.

I decided to rewrap my bandages, I could no longer occasionally stare at it without thinking of how bad the wound is. I reached for my bandage wraps, which were on the table beside my bed. I winced slightly because of the pain of my current mobility issue. I retrieved the bandages and reached down to my lower left leg and began unwrapping them.

"Don't" Ei said, grabbing the roll of bandages out of my hand.

"You're my guest, I must take care of it"

"It's fine really I don't mind-"

"No"

Ei was always very persistent and stubborn when it comes to small things. I felt that it wasn't her responsibility to take care of my leg, yet she's doing it anyway. I dared not look at my leg injury.

"I'll be back," Ei said, getting up and closing the door behind her.

She came back with a wet rag and began to clean up the excess blood and put some in the wound to clean it out. Although I was not in direct contact with any dirt or grime, it's always necessary to disinfect the wound.

"Just do it," I said, my leg was tense.