Everywhere was dark and full of a peculiar energy.
It shifted, twisting on itself, collapsing and re-coalescing continuously.
Vague silhouettes formed from the energy, gaining feint grey tones and vanishing from the blackness.
Kyle floated in this dark space, watching everything with a distant eye. His mind unable to witness or comprehend what was happening before him.
***
A heavy boom shook the entire ship, leaving it barely able to keep itself afloat.
Kyle's eyes flew open and he shot to his feet, his eyes darting around.
'What happened?'
Daylight seived its way through the window of the room, indicating the time.
Fading memories of a dreamless darkness briefly flashed in his head and he shook it off.
His balance was thrown off by the rocking ship as his heart pounded in his ears and blood raced through his veins.
The door to the room burst open and Hoodie charged in with panic on his usually stoic face.
Despite lacking a clear pupil, Kyle could tell they were shrunk to needlepoints.
"What is going on?" His voice came out far louder than intended and Hoodie slapped a hand over Kyle's mouth.
The former looked to the door and to the window, sweat running down his scars.
He turned to Kyle, "There's a limit to what I can do so shut up."
A thick, suffocating weight fell on Kyle making him feel like he was in a giant mass of gelatin.
Kyle pulled Hoodie's hand from his mouth and spat on the floor. His mouth tasted like rotten fish.
Before he could ask what he was doing, three people walked through the door.
The signature golden armour of the Kingdom guards sent a shiver through Kyle and he immediately swallowed his question.
Hoodie turned to them, "We have discussed this before. I don't exactly like any rented ship of mine being attacked."
The middle guard took off his helmet, revealing a blond haired man.
Blond turned to Hoodie and a smile curled on the edges of his lips, "Calm down pest. We like you as much as I like a lemon on my wounds."
His eyes scanned the room and landed on Kyle.
Beads of sweat ran down his head and he took a step back but Blond didn't react in any way.
Instead he turned to Hoodie, "We will have to search your entire catalog of shipments."
Hoodie looked around the room, his eyes spending a second too long on Kyle, "Oh well. There's nothing I can do to stop you. I suppose I'll STAY SILENT and get out of your hair." He turned around and walked through the door escorted by a guard.
Blond walked around the room, toppling aside the occasional random object and looking through Kyle occasionally.
As he got closer, Kyle held his breath and didn't take another step.
His lungs burned for oxygen yet he didn't care.
Blond stopped in front of Kyle, mere inches apart and he stretched out his hand.
The fingers passed undisturbed through Kyle's chest.
An instinctive shiver ran through Kyle once more. It was like a thousand needles were prickling him all over.
Blond's forehead creased, "I could have sworn there was something there." He pulled his hand back and walked away.
A few more minutes passed searching until they were satisfied.
Hoodie was eventually brought back into the room and his face was visibly paler while his muscles trembled.
Blond shrugged, "We didn't find what we were looking for."
He looked Hoodie dead in the eye, "If you happen to meet any blond teenager asking you to ship him out, report him immediately. There's an incredible reward for that."
Blond walked to the door and paused, "Though I don't suppose you people from the Windan Empire follow rules much." He chuckled sardonically and walked out.
The other two guards followed him and soon, they were all alone once more.
Hoodie let out a shaky breath and the weight around Kyle vanished.
The latter looked to the former who had fallen to the floor, covered in cold sweat.
'Why is he going through so much for me?' He tried to understand or imagine the cause but there was truly no reason whatsoever for that.
He blinked and the scenery before him shifted.
Hundreds of grey translucent beings, some human and some otherwise, were moving around the room.
His eyes shut and he opened them immediately, trying to catch a glimpse of what he had seen before.
'Huh? What had I been thinking about?' His eyes trailed to Hoodie then to the empty room.
'No, that wasn't it… right?' The more he strained, the more he became sure that was what he was thinking of.
Kyle stared at Hoodie and sighed.
Two whole hours had to pass before Hoodie gained back enough strength and color to his skin.
He sat up, looking out the window and at the passing birds he could see before sparing a side glance at Kyle.
"We are leaving now."