Thud—
A pain like a chisel hammering into my skull jolted my thoughts awake.
A faint groan escaped me as consciousness gradually returned. When I straightened my staggering body, I saw the snowfield before me cracked like a shattered window.
Countless fragments, divided by the fissures, each reflected a different scene.
Like a broken recording device.
A man sharing drinks with the woman inside a tent.
A man standing with his back to soldiers who whispered among themselves while casting ominous looks his way.
A man battered beyond recognition as he finally touched the woman’s cloak.
A man sprawled across the snow, staring at the tip of the woman’s sword aimed at him.
He smiled.
He grew embarrassed.
He joked.
And, and—
He suffered.
He resented.
He regretted.
He wanted to cry.
With each step I took, pieces of broken mirror floated up on either side of me.
I could not see even an inch ahead through the dense fog, yet for some reason, nothing but memories of this terribly familiar man filled my vision.
I had seen a sight like this before.
“The Boundary…….”
It was a place…