A while ago.
Darkness.
That was all Lucian could see.
His body felt weightless, his senses dulled, yet his mind was still intact, lingering on the last moments before his death. He had felt the blade sink into his chest, the searing pain of his heart being ripped from his body, and then... nothing.
He should have been gone. He should have ceased to exist.
Yet, in this abyss of nothingness, something stirred.
"Do you seek another chance?"
The voice slithered through the void, smooth and patient, like a hunter waiting for its prey to fall into its trap.
Lucian's eyes snapped open—if he even had eyes in this place. The voice was unlike anything he had ever heard, yet it resonated deep within him. He didn't answer immediately, wary of such an offer. He was no fool to trust an unknown entity lurking in the darkness.
But then—
"It's good to see you, Alex."