Was this death? It couldn't be. The reflexive breath you took allowed air to pour into your lungs, your gasping ragged and uneven.

Feeling comes flooding back. Warm cloth on your bare skin. A firm surface beneath you. A strange tang of sulfur in the air.

"Do not be afraid."

You twist your head toward the voice; vision blurry. You can make out a handsome looking man, radiating like fine gold, sitting beside you and holding a few sheets of paper. Tears blur your bleary vision at the bright glow of lamplight.

"Try not to move."

The voice is calm, steady an commanding. A stranger, nonetheless. One thought cuts through your mental fog: you don't know who this is, what their capable of, and the fact that you are at their mercy.

"S-Stay away from me." You attempted, voice weak. "No."

No? Who the fuck was this guy?

You allowed yourself to slump back down, wincing.

"Ah, a cooperative patient. Thank you." The words swim into one ear and out the other without much comprehension. Pulling the sheets up higher over your head, you rub your eyes until your vision clears. You shrink back instinctively, just to find --

You're completely nude except for a thin, linen sheet. The man with sharp, golden eyes watches over your every move, glancing to your unbandaged hands. You instinctively hide them from his view.

Strange. Cursed. Inhuman.

"Where am I? Who are you?"

"Be calm. You're safe here. Your clothes were tattered so I offered replacements."

You sat up and he offered clothes. Turning his back to you, he offered privacy as you slipped on the hood of the robe.

"Thank you. For saving my life."