Chapter 17. The Last Breath.

  As Kael was laying and the sky was falling all around him, he decided to finally make his resolve... He got up slowly, his body was in pain and his mentality was shattered into pieces as well... For now he needed to escape from this illusion, the time was running out quickly, he had to act fast. He slowly dragged himself to one of the cracks in the world and decided to outstretch his hand in, it felt something like a gelatinous substance outside, but he had no choice... He slowly entered the crack, it felt strange... He could breathe easily, although he felt like he was drowning despite him being able to breathe normally...

  -"What the fucks going on...? Great, it all already collapsed, I'm fucking stuck in here... Ehhhh... I'll need to find a way out, my powers and strength still aren't back... I don't think they'll even come back... Fuck..."

  As he was mumbling to himself he felt a shiver run down his spine, it was his instinct... Fear... His body was afraid of something subconsciously, but he didn't know what. He looked around in the empty dark void, there was nothing... The illusion already collapsed as well and he was stuck here for god knows how long, but god... He didn't care about him... Kael decided to try going in one direction and see where he'll end up, he didn't know if he should swim or walk... He felt like he was swimming, yet he could breathe normally... He decided to swim in one direction, he decided to go downwards to see if this space has some kind of border... His wounds weren't healed, it seemed that by defeating "Katrine" he broke the curse of "Dark Regeneration"... It meant his body would regenerate at a normal pace, which isn't the best ordeal for him... As he continued to swim downwards, nothing changed around him, everything was still dark and barely visible... Suddenly he stopped moving, his muscles refused to cooperate... He felt a cold sweat pour down his forehead and shivers running throughout his body, he felt a sudden need to scream, but he couldn't open his mouth...

  He couldn't do anything, couldn't scream, move and even he couldn't breathe... Suddenly he felt something like a vortex starting to pull him down, it was too strong for him to resist. As he was pulled down deeper into the abyss he saw a bright light that blinded him, he closed his eyes reflectively... Suddenly he felt as if he hit something like ground, a sudden coldness also shot through his body... It was way below freezing temperatures, he saw that his body was back to it's normal condition and his powers returned as well... As he looked around the landscape he saw that it was deserted, cold wasteland, trees didn't have any leaves. The sun was crimson red, although it didn't give off any heat to warm the wasteland... He thought he was probably in another illusion, but he couldn't brush off the familiar feeling of this place... He decided to get up from the ground, it looked charred, like a fresh fire just swept through it... He decided to walk anywhere to scout this place, he had to hug himself closer because of the cold. He felt his legs giving up slowly, his fingertips started turning black from the cold, his eyelashes were frozen as well... Suddenly he dropped onto the ground shaking, it was so cold that his body gave up... Suddenly he saw a wolf approaching him, pitch black fur with a crimson stripe down it's back...

  -"Tenebrae... Where... Aghhhh... Where the fuck are we...? What is this place...? Please answer me, I beg you..."

  He reached out with his hand to her, only for it to drop on the ground... The cold was getting through to him, he couldn't do anything but accept his fate wherever he was... Suddenly Tenebrae answered his question...

  -''

  He grit his teeth and clenched his fist, he knew Tenebrae wanted to help him and needed to trust her... But he just couldn't push himself to say what he saw, after a while he finally started crying, his tears gave short moments of warmth before freezing...

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  -"I saw... A perfect world... No Mag-Tech... No nothing... Nghhh... No fighting... My mom and sister were alive... Katrine and I had a good relationship... I just wanna go back to that illusion, I don't care about this world... Nghhh..."

  As he finished speaking the temperature dropped even more, it was clear the more he fell into despair and depression, the worse the Limbo got... Suddenly Tenebrae approached him in her wolf form and sat in front of him, she leaned her head down to match her face with Kael...

  -'’

  Determination – an unyielding drive to reach a goal despite obstacles, fear, or doubt; the inner force that pushes one forward when giving up would be easier.

  That one sentence reignited something in him, a strong fire that started warming his body... He punched his fist into the ground and started pushing himself up, but Tenebrae didn't just stop there...

  -''

  Kael punched his second fist into the ground and pushed himself up more, whatever Tenebrae was doing, it was working... He finally stood up, but he still was shaking and on the verge of passing out...

  -''

  The temperature rose significantly, he looked down at her with his right eye, it was full of rage and anger... This was Kael Riggs, a warrior who never gave up, someone who'll fight heaven and hell if they dared to threaten him and his family...

  -''

  The temperature rose again, the ground started healing and the sun became warmer, he was regaining his will... His sheer rage made him want to live again, this was a disturbing sight... A human regained his will to live not because of love or care, but from sheer rage...

  -''

  Kael finally grabbed her by her neck and lifted her up like a small puppy, it was clear she may have overstepped, motivating Kael... The sun got warmer and returned to its orange glow, the trees returned to life and outgrew their leaves again, the grass returned as well...

  -"I'll deal with you when you will finally have a normal body, because in this wolf form, it's not worth my energy... And besides fuck you too... And most of all... Thank you Tenebrae, you saved me again..."

  As he finished speaking he put her back on the ground with a warm smile, he was back to himself, he rebuilt himself with Tenebrae's help through sheer rage... He started laughing to himself, most people regained their will to live through love and care, not rage... As he finally stood up proud and feeling as new he started stretching, his muscles rippled under his shirt, the wounds on his hands, knuckles and knees reopened slightly...

  -"Shall we go back? Frost is probably whining like a baby because I'm unconscious in reality, my dad probably misses me, and I'm ready for a scolding from Katrine and Mediae hahahah..."

  Tenebrae, hearing this laughed gently, it was true what Kael has said... It warmed her heart that the boy she watched grow for the past one and a half month, finally accepted his new reality... He no longer clung to the past with such desperation, she wished she had her normal body instead of this wolf form... So she could hug him, but she decided to not show her weak side to Kael, not yet...

  -''

  Kael, hearing this, showed a middle finger to Tenebrae. He enjoyed her little teasing to cheer him up, but still it was a bit too much from her... He took a deep calming breath before speaking.

  -"Ehhhhh I think we should be going back shall we? It's been sometime, hahahaha... Nghhhh I can't wait to see everyone again, they're not the only ones missing me..."

  Tenebrae, hearing this nodded her head and stood beside Kael, she knew he was correct, everyone was waiting for them.

  -''

  Kael, hearing this, laughed heartedly, even in such a situation she dared to make such a stupid bet. He just couldn't believe his ears...

  -"Fine I agree, but if she doesn't break down... You'll owe me some good beer once I'm 18, what do you say hm? Fair deal in my eyes..."

  Tenebrae nodded her head and laughed, she wished she could have these moments more, it was calming and heart warming to her... Besides, the idea of going for a beer with Kael sounded interesting to her and tempting.

  -''

  Kael hearing this took a deep sigh and focused on forcing his way out of the limbo, previously he forced his way in by slowing his heartbeat to clinical death point... But now he had to force his way out, he thought that maybe having adrenaline jumpstart his body will work. There was a problem though, he didn't have a way of forcing adrenaline to pump more into his body. He thought that maybe exerting a huge amount of his magical power would help.