Chapter 10: what the people saw

Umbra's eyes fluttered open, and his head was pounding as he tried to make out where he was. The world he was in felt. wrong. He had just been in that dark, cold cell, watching Akari die before him. His heart had shattered, his will to live extinguished. But now, he was here, in a place that was completely unfamiliar. The pain that had enveloped him was gone, and instead an odd emptiness had taken its place. He couldn't fathom what had occurred.

Where am I?" Umbra growled, wincing with every word, the voice hoarse as he tried to sit up. His body was stiff, as if he had not moved for many years, yet a look around showed that everything was very different. The walls were not cold steel from a prison but warm, comforting wood. A soft light filtered through a window; the room smelled of newly baked bread.