Masked

Interlude

He was surrounded by silence, not a single sound can be heard, not a single thing can be seen. He was in nothingness, a sole wanderer in the emptiness of space. With his senseless body, he drifted endlessly into the void, unknown of who he was, where he came from, or where his destination was.

Until a single source of light appeared.

It was dim with a faint yellow hue. Though it was not strong, it was an especially piercing contrast to the darkness that surrounded him. The light did not just come out of nowhere, and he knew that, as he looked down onto his chest.

His attention was caught by a small orange ball of flame. Though overwhelmed by the oppressing darkness, it continued to burn as strong as it could. And that ball of flame, was right inside of his body, where his heart should be.

"It's time."

                                                                      ***************************

Ulysses woke up to an empty dark room. His memories were muffled and he did not know where he was. Heaven or Earth, dead or alive? At least one could be confirmed as his consciousness acted as a "Start" button and began covering his body with pain. First the headache, then the broken bones, ripped muscles, and lastly the surface wounds.

I'm alive alright. He thought, then realized he barely had the strength to move.

The dark room did not help with his consciousness, and the only sound from the ticking clock did nothing but encourage him to fall back asleep. Though he did want to go back to rest, the pain from his body did not.

With his eyes half-opened, Ulysses began to recollect his memories.

Yes... the battle... the arrow... and...

His thoughts suddenly brought him into a white room constructed in the Renaissance style. He sat by a desk, his head buried in his arms. He could hear people calling from the outside, but he could not quite make out the words.

It was my fault... I brought that upon her... I killed her...

"Open the door, Ulysses! You haven't come out in days!" It was a female voice.

If only we met on a later date, if only we weren't in the circumstances at that time.

"Come on! We're all worried about you!" The banging on the door continued.

We could have been actual friends...

Ulysses opened his eyes wide. He panted heavily, confused. These are not my memories. He thought. Why is it in my head?

A growing beam of light interrupted his thoughts; someone opened the door. Ulysses squirted his eyes and tried to make out who came in.

"Oh! You're awake!" The young angel nurse came in and opened the blinds. She gasped and smiled in relief. "Are you feeling alright? Can you move your fingers and toes? Anything feel out of place? Here, let me check the wound on your head." She bent over and began untying his bandages.

"Right..." He didn't know if any of those questions were for him to actually answer. He lifted his hand and tried to check for his wound. His hand touched his bare face, and he paused.

His mask was gone.

"Where..."

"Steady, don't move." The angel tightly pushed his head back down and unwrapped the rest of the bandages, revealing his wound. "Let me reapply your medicine first, then you can look around wherever you like."