A sole mission. A long, exhausting, hard mission in the mountains; sometimes he almost had to literally dig his way through rocks and endless snow and ice, dulling the blades of his ice axes.

He lost contact with his team a few days ago, and this days felt like ages. He's lost, oh so hopelessly lost among this damned glaciers and snow-covered cliffs. He had been walking and walking, forward and forward, with no end to it. He's so incredibly hungry; he's even more tired.

And the worst thing: he's cold. Freezing. So badly that he almost hears his bones creaking and joints snapping with his every move.

After a few hours, it all became too much to bare. His eyes was already drooping long ago, and now the urge to just lay down in the snow, curl up, and fall asleep became irresistible. And that was the exact thing he did.

In the end, a little nap will never hurt... right?

———

He doesn't know how much time had passed. He only remembers how much everything hurt: his head, his throat, his eyes, his fingers and toes, every muscle in his body silently screamed in agony. He remembers how hot it was, like his body was boiling from inside.

He remembers someone's hands rubbing him, shaking him, stroking his head and back, trying to feed him and give him water. He remembers the voice, though he didn't really understand if the voice belonged to a woman or a man, he didn't even understand the words; the voice talked to him, soothed him, cooed and fussed over him, even though it often sounded grumpy and tired.

With time, Kyle awoke from his derillium; slowly but surely his mind cleared.

He found himself in... a cave? He was laying on a stack of blankets and animal furs, wrapped up in them tightly, like in a cocoon. The cave was small and dimly lit.

When he turned his head a bit to the side, he saw a person, sitting besides a small fire and mindlessly pocking the coals with a stick; the person's pack was facing him, so they had yet to notice him being awake.