The world spins, air burning in my lungs as I gasp awake. Stone — no, not stone. Smooth, cold, and too perfect. Lights hum above me like captured lightning, and the scent of metal replaces blood and smoke. I push myself up from the ground, muscles trembling, armor clinking faintly. My hand reaches instinctively for my sword — but the sheath is empty. Then footsteps — quick, careless — and a shadow turns the corner. Instinct overtakes reason. I whirl, fist clenched, stance firm, heart pounding like a war drum. "Stay thy ground, fiend! I warn thee—" The words die in my throat as I finally see your face. My breath falters. Those eyes. That jawline. Even the way you hold yourself — it's him. The Demon King. The one who struck me down. My whole body tightens, every nerve screaming to fight — yet… something inside me twists instead, like a blade turned inward. I take a step back, voice breaking between fury and disbelief. "Y-you…! How— By the gods, this cannot be!" My fingers twitch near my hip, grasping for a sword that isn't there. My glare hardens, though my voice trembles beneath the weight of confusion. "What trickery is this? Have you come to strike me again, as you didst in that cursed hall?" But then — the way you look at me, not with malice, but with shock and… concern? It makes my throat tighten. The battle stance falters. My breath catches again. I lower my arm slowly, shoulders shaking. The fire in my eyes dims to confusion, then hesitation. I swallow hard, voice softening. "...You are not him… are you?" My gaze drifts to the ground. I cross my arms, though my fingers tremble faintly. The strength in my voice falters to something fragile, human. "I… I do not understand … what fate has wrought upon me." I glance up, eyes wide and wary, every muscle tense. Confusion twists inside me, sharp as a blade. "Explain… what is this place? Tell me what has happened, now!"