Through the eyes of a dead man

[Sacrificial Hero]

"It's alright Jiro. Thank you. Ryah I'd like you to go next, if you don't mind, then Dkar. I think I'll save myself for last." Id had a perfectly logical reason for waiting to go last, first off his story would most likely take the longest, and second, he had to bring about the strength from within himself to do so.

[Ryah]

((Sorry this is so damn long.))

::Ryah paused a moment, having reflected over Jiro's hardships, about to expose her own. She had nothing to lose. She had a will of steel.::

I suppose the fairy-tale of my life begins in England, just outside of London in a small church that belonged to my father Arthur. He was the friar there, and kept a pretty little monastery and a convent nearby our house and farmland. My mother Lydia helped him keep the house and animals and all was beautiful and grand. I studied God on my rosary and learned my prayers by heart. I even helped to keep little lambs in the yard. About the only thing amiss with my childhood was the ghosts, but my parents taught me that God would keep them away. ::She laughed and smiled slightly, a smile that reached even her cold eyes. She cleared her throat slightly and melted into the shadows on the wall, turned away from them, her back to Id.::

When I was ten my life took a very hard turn. One night after my father had left for a pilgrimage, my mother went out to the barn and did not return. I grew worried when she didn't come back in the usual amount of time. So, I ventured out into the barn. Along the path I thought I heard screams. Yet, it was windy and I attributed it to the spirits. I entered the barn, and strangely enough there were sounds of movement and a lantern on the floor, knocked over. Horrible, unearthly screams met my ears. My mother was shouting with all her might at a man who was on top of her, forcing himself upon her. He was so violent that I saw blood streaming across the floor. I stood transfixed, staring at the horrific rape of my sweet, beautiful mother. All I could see of the man was a mess of black hair and heard a cruel, voracious laugh.

At some point I could take this sight no longer and shrieked. Some power came from me at the scream and startled the man. I fainted dead away. When I awoke my mother was leaning over me, wiping my brow with a wet cloth. She smiled weakly and I watched her limp away from my bed to her own, wearing a different dress and silently crying. She never told my father. I never told him. A day later my father returned having been turned back by bad weather. She smiled and welcomed him, never letting her hidden pain through. When she realized she was with child, I knew who's it was. I could feel the two auras within my mother that had mingled. It was not my father's seed that had prevailed, and she prayed the child was his. When Aduial was born, she came with such bright blue eyes and golden locks, she was the spitting image of my father and my mother rejoiced.

However, merely four years after Aduial's birth, my mother fell sick and died. The secret died with her. I knew that the guilt and pain of the act had never left her, and she never understood that it was not her fault. My father, in his massive grief, died less than a year later, after my birthday. I was 15. Aduial was a bright and happy child of five, never dreaming that her true father was some horrid rapist. I vowed to spend my life in caring for her and keeping her happy. The monastery went to a new priest and I could easily take care of a few animals and a little land to feed and clothe us both. I learned through trial and error how to cook well with little ingredients, how to sew clothes, how to repair problems around the house and to do everything that five farmers can do on one plot of land. By the time I was sixteen I could even slaughter animals and tan their hides into leather. One night a robber broke in and I was forced to kill him to save the honor of myself and the safety of my sister. I put his head on a pike in front of the house as a warning. At seventeen I had an oppurtunity for marriage but the young man in question disappeared. Though it was not a love match I was disappointed. I lost a chance for Aduial and I to be safe and provided for.

When I turned 18, the Pope had called for warriors to go to war. I had learned a little about battle, and at that time I saw a great oppurtunity to earn money to create my own future. So I placed Aduial in the care of the nuns at the convent and went off to join the Crusades to fight for my God and my future. Though we won the Holy Land Jerusalem where Christ was born, we lost our humanity, our love for mankind, and the teachings of our Lord and Saviour. We slaughtered men, women and children. The men treated everyone that they found with vicious cruelty. Many a young girl felt their maidenhead brutally taken then slipped into immediate death. Many a mother saw her children speared and roasted over flames, still writhing. And many a man saw their womenfolk raped and slaughter as they were themselves dismembered. There were too many atrocities to count. I even took to sleeping with a sword by my side and wound up killing my fellow Crusaders often for their drunken trespasses. During one raid, I managed to save one young family from the brutality of my comerades. I saw the fear in their eyes and the mother clutching her young baby. The eyes so reminded me of my own beautiful sister.. I had to get them out.

Once we had won the Holy Land I was free to come and go. I left and returned as often as I could to bring money for Aduial and to visit my only salvation, my precious sister. Though she was only half blood relation she was my light, my hope. And yet, on one occaison I was coming home and attempting to brew myself some herbal remedy for sleep. I have suffered horrendous nightmares all my life. However, during the brewing of this concotion, I mixed something wrong.. or perhaps it was fated. An explosion came over me and I was drawn into some kind of airless vortex. When I awoke I was in a dark place I had never seen where the souls of the dead surrounded me, clutching and grasping. I got away and ran blindly through the strange country until at last I came upon a town. I entered an inn, inquired about the place and eventually discovered this rebellion. I met with Atiace Muri and joined his cause, then eventually found my way to Jesh' service. On the way to the Shivas ruins I was possessed by Id and later met him as he is and swore my service to him. Later on, my sister appeared to me, having been taken here by Seashi and escaped him. I learned Seashi was my mother's rapist and Aduial's true father. Since then my nightmares are haunted by him, the man I both most greatly hate and fear.

::Ryah fell silent, having revealed her tale to all present. The only one she knew who had known every detail was Id. He had just gleaned it from her mind, as many times as he had been in her mind. She suspected he had gotten all of her memories when her soul had mixed with his. She pondered on her dark history and waited for Dkar to speak.::

[DarkDestiny]

Id began to speak about being a tighter group and motivation, but it was when he said "I've picked up a very effective way of motivating a small group of subordinates, and that is to make them love one another as brother and sister" That her ears snapped back. He went on to claim that he was not going to force it down their throats, but commanded them to speak of themselves anyway. dkar held her mouth in a thin line to keep it from becoming an outright scowl that would more accurately display her feeling on the subject.
Jiro went on to speak of his own past on a world different from midard, and how he had run away from a murder. Dkar could care less about that, after all she knew for a fact she had strung many along the brink of death befor outright murdering them. The commander then dictated the order in which they were to spill their guts. Ryah then herself then him. Not in the most forgiving of moods she thought that it figured he would save himself for last. Then came Ryah's dark history, one that befitted the woman well and further explained her sister's presence. Still it did not change her opinion of ryah in the least, not for good or bad. Ryah had proven her self in combat all else was trivial. Although dkar believed in the gathering of information to use as weapons and tools, her respect for ryah's skills had raised her above such methods of intrigue. If Ryah decided to betray them Dkar would be far more direct as symbol of her status in Dkar's eyes. Then it was of course her turn.
A buzzing in the back of her skull emerged.
"You want me to tell you something of my past? Some deep dark painful secret that will somehow bring us all closer? You have just proven that you don't know much about me commander. Why should someone who knows little of the simple things about me have access to those things that are not quite as simple? "her eyes narrowed. "You pay me to do what I do. I respect the fact that you pay me and that you have power in your own right. That is what keeps me in your service. Not some twisted sibling bond." The dark aura of him and the scent of her sister seemed extra sharp at that moment. She stood. "you want to know something of my past? I am a mercenary captain. My men were all killed by seashi. You pay me now and that is what keeps me from reforming my band
and making money in other ways. That is my past, or at least as much as anyone who commands me to speak of it in front of a group has anyright to know." Angry to an almost irrational point the swarm in her head had multiplied their buzzing to a drone. Talking about any of her past led to thinking about all of it, and with the feather tied to her hair it set her quite of balance. For a moment her eyes grew far more wild. Retaining control she stalked away. Of her shoulder she called "When you are done creating your "family", tell me so I can get back to doing my job." At
the moment her job, killing, would please her like nothing else. Dkar had no room for love in her heart. She loved no one and only one thing, death. She repected others and on a rare occasion cared for them, but asking her to love was as unnatural as asking her to grow wings and fly. If she had a choice she would choose the wings.

[Sacrificial Hero]

Id merely grinned beneath his mask, getting the reaction he had, of course, expected from Dkar. Though he had seen it coming, the slings and arrows still stung slightly. Narrowing his eyes slightly on Dkar he opened his mouth, of course they could not see his lips beneath the mask.

“Alright then. If you feel that keeping our group close and helping us to fight for one another is such a pointless purpose than do what you will. However, for disrespecting your commanding officer, I am cutting your pay by ten percent; if you don’t like it you can leave; but I doubt you’ll find many willing to hire you, not in this world. Now, as for my past, I’d suggest that you all prepare.” Id shut his eyes and delved into his perfect memory.

“Allow me to begin simply by saying that I was not born, rather, I was created. In a realm that is between this and Earth, Seashi trapped a seven-year-old boy named Jesh. From him he removed the pure concentration of evil within the boy’s heart. This evil was a curse placed upon Jesh’s father Sagezza, for destroying a servant of the Domi-Reius, it was said that one of Sagezza’s son would serve that master. This punishment was supposed to be for Jesh, however the entity was impatient and chose Seashi instead, using him to remove that curse from Jesh. That concentrated evil was solidified into a crystalline form and from it a boy identical to Jesh was born, only this one had black hair. This boy was named Id. For the first four years of its life it studied intently, learning all that was possible. After that time was done, Id was to be taught the ways of combat. Day in and day out it was trained by Seashi; and then came the day of the first test. Id was locked in what seemed to be an abandoned prison building, and given six hours to escape. Id failed and was punished by being trapped in a dark room with one hundred human sized spiders, Id was released after all the spiders had been slain. For years after this similar processes were repeated, testing and punishment, sometimes even reward. Various slaves were put into Id’s service for various reasons. Finally the day came for Id’s first true test, Id’s first human kill. At the age of fifteen Id ventured to a remote world and slaughtered one hundred and fifty high level sorcerers, taking as a prize, a cane blade with the power to dispel magic. Id returned to Seashi within the month and spoke of triumph. Eleven years of this process numbed Id into a walking machine, used solely for destruction, the avatar of punishment. Eventually the day came for Id’s final test, this test consisted of Id slaying Jesh, the very being that Id had spawned from. This, however, proved to be no easy task. With the help of his friends, Jesh fought back Id and forced the assassin to flee. Id returned to the bedside of its sickly wife, only to find her dismembered by Seashi. Soon enough, Id turned his back on the warlord forever and join Jesh to fight against Seashi. Shortly after this, Id was struck down by Seashi and sent to hell for nearly a week. This is where Id became the man you know today. After my stay in hell I realized that it was up to me to torture Seashi for his actions, for the pain one receives in hell is nothing considered to what can be dealt out before death. I returned to life, and you know the rest of the story.” Id opened his eyes, as if coming out of an entranced state.


((Domi-Reius is what they call the great evil on Midard))

[Ryah]

::Ryah had a grim smile during the whole of Dkar's speech. She had expected nothing less from the savage woman's mouth. Then Ryah stifled a laugh when the commander docked her pay for insolence. Confident that no one would comment on her past, she settled in and listened to Id. As he began to speak she realized she hadn't known anything about him at all, barely even what his personality was like. And then the wave of his words ground her down and left her sprawling. His seemed to be an astonishing existence. That he was once part of Jesh.. well, it always had been like looking at twins. Id was pure darkness, Jesh pure light. And each was a seperate being. Ryah suddenly understood the significance of the name. So Seashi had a hand in shaping most of them. He had created, trained, tested, tortured and betrayed Id. He'd slain Dkar's men and led her into Id's service. And he had stolen Ryah's mother, and given her the only reason she had to live, all at once. Ryah peered through the canopy of leaves. The last echoes of Id's words implanted themselves firmly in her mind. She knew now the skeleton of his past and yet still felt like she knew nothing of the man she swore her service to. Ryah felt the choking fingers of fate around her throat most pointedly then, and her breath slowly left her lungs. Was Midard's God prophecy and destiny?::

::She turned her brooding eyes and pursed lips back on the others. Id desired comraderie between them. Ryah doubted she could find such bonds within her heart. Respect, yes. Admiration, possibly. Awe, occasionally. Concern, always. She would look out for them, cook for them, heal them, clothe them, fight for them and do many other menial and trivial tasks when they needed them done. Would she say she loved Dkar like a sister, or Jiro a brother? Dkar was as close to a friend as Ryah would ever have, Jiro was a compatriot. Id was a leader and a mentor. She could emulate the love of a sister for them, but she doubted she actually could love them if no other effort was made. Dkar certainly wouldn't ask to braid her hair or swap jokes. She doubted Jiro had any care for her other than on the battlefield. And Id.. what of Id's cold demeanor and loveless eyes? What love could he share? Any love Id might have felt for any person or creature was eaten away by the hideous covering over his scarred face. All that showed through were his voidlike eyes.::

[Billy Shears]

Jiro was somewhat let down by the tales that had been gifted to him. It had seemed that most of Midard was no more than the plain stone face of a gravestone; just a world submerged within the gall and hatred of the people that had lived in it. Hearing this in his own mind only led Jiro to feel heavy-hearted to a further extent. Unless he could save Jesh, he had been quite sure that the slightest spark of any positive feelings would not come about for some time.

The only family he had was himself. His comrads were people who protected his life when fighting, for reasons of their own. Becoming a family was a lost cause, and he was dissapointed because of the fact he had not realized it previously.

Above them, Jiro could pick up the crisp scent of the nature's air- strong with the aroma of backwood and dew-soaked green. The evening had approached them, and Jiro felt weary. His eyelids fell slightly, he caught them just as they'd done so. He forced a yawn back down his throat, and sat hunched.

[DarkDestiny]

Dkar merely sneered at ids words. Again he proved that he knew little about her. The pot shot about docking her pay just compounded it. Her respect for him slipped dangerously in to low levels. The point about pay was one she could not forget even if it no longer mattered. In truth she was long past the point where she was doing this for the money, and despite his words she knew for sure that her skill were in demand in other places. After all she had told him point blank she was going on the mission payment or no payment. All that it meant now was that unless something altered severely she would no longer accept his employment after the mission. After all she was not paid like a common soldier but by contract, a contract she could and would terminate at anytime. Id might have bought her services but he did not own her. Dkar was not a dog to accept such a pitiful rebuke.
Her fury was blinding and she leaped in to the trees and began running. She moved like lightning through the forest jumping from branch to branch flipping and sailing across the gaps, letting all her anger flow in to her limbs in the form of primal energy. She moved through the forest, she was the forest. It had been a long time since she had done so, almost as far back as her arrival in outerworld.
What could the commander know of her? Why would he want to know? Why should he or anyone have that right!? if you let them know you, they might touch you.. might be able to hurt you. Dkar had built steel walls against just such a thing. She killed the ones that could hurt her. She would kill the one that had hurt her. As for a family... dkar had no family. She was not born, she was created, she knew that much. The only one who could claim to be anything like a father to her was him, and as for her sister... they shared a family scent, but that only meant that she too was his creation. It was no wonder why the idea of anyone claiming a family bond infuriated her. Her "Family" was screwed up enough. Besides if they wanted her to join their family, then why had they not sent even the slightest of token search parties when she had been left alone in one of seashi's domains. Family indeed.
Panting she paused on a branch chest heaving fangs slightly lengthened. Slowly she refocused regained control. She was quite far away from the others by now. Not that they truly cared. Slowly she drew back her dark rage for the moment leashing it, storing it away for later. Then she turned and raced back through the forest. She would wait just outside the camp, just enough that her presence would be known to the commander.. then rejoin them when they started moving. She would deal no more with quality time.

[Billy Shears]

Dkar had left, with a wind-brushing bound. Jiro felt himself sink lower, failing to find any happiness within himself. He stared at the feet of his remaining "family"- Jiro chuckled at the thought.

"I'm going to bed." He said, roughly.
"There's no point in draining myself any longer."

[Ryah]

I think you insulted her deeply, commander. ::Ryah stood up from the tree she was leaning against, having spoken now for the first time in awhile. The sound of her own tongue echoed hollowly in her ears. None of their voices seemed to hold any meaning. It seemed like they were all vessels of fate, to pour whatever will into them as it saw fit.::

As noble as your aspirations are, commander, I fear your hopes will be disappointed. I have forged what bonds I can already. Among us, Dkar is the least capable of affecting loving bonds, Jiro and myself are about the same, niether hating nor loving the idea, and you yourself never show any such a thing. Can you honestly expect this? There can be no familial bond. We have comraderie and respect. One of us would readily die for the others' lives. But can we truly love each other? ::Ryah met his steel, unfeeling eyes with her own. How astonishing that the shades matched perfectly in hue, yet Ryah's eyes contained at the moment true concern and emotion, while Id's contained the hard, blank look of one who has had his feelings eaten away by time and trial. She searched for an asnwer but found no depth. And yet how deep could he reach into her with one glance?::

[Sacrificial Hero]

"Love has nothing to do with this Ryah. Just as I expected. The three of you have not dissappointed me where I thought you might falter; in fact you surpassed even my expectations. If you'll excuse me, I'll return soon. I expect to see a fire roaring in this campsite when I get back." Without another word on Ryah's question, he took off in the direction DKar had headed, using some of his old tracking methods that he had learned in his youth, Id quickly picked up the trail of the feline warrior. Within fifteen minutes he was approaching her from behind, assuredly she would be aware of his presence. He made no attempts to cloak himself, or even to quiet his footsteps.

"That word hurts doesn't it? Family...hurts too much for you to contemplate or fathom. You know, ever since we met, something has seemed strangely familiar about you, and now I know what it is. In effect, for a long while, we would've been considered allies. On you I feel the mark of those who would use you, strangely enough it's the same mark that will be on me until the day I die...again. You see, your former master, and Seashi, bear the same sigil of energy. I'm sure that you can tell this by the fact that you are probably very aware of Seashi's movements. You can tell his vague location at most times can't you? You claim that you can remember nothing, but I can tell that's not the truth. You still see shadows of your former life, sillhouettes without definition plague your mind don't they? This is a very common side-effect of portaling. I, for one, couldn't remember my name for two weeks after I was first portalled. I guess where I'm headed with this, is a simple statement, that being: You are not alone." Saying no more, Id turned from Dkar and headed back toward camp.

[Ryah]

::Ryah blinked in surprised. What in the hell had he meant by that? He was testing them the whole time? She watched his back retreat into the woods, very puzzled. But she did as she was told and began to clear a spot for a decent campfire.::

::A few moments later she had sparked the wood and the flames were catching through small twigs and larger broken boughs she had collected. A hefty supply of fuel sat a safe way off and Ryah began to warm her hands by the crackling tongues of flame. The night was growing colder and Ryah went into her things and withdrew her old tunic. She slipped it over her head for extra warmth and let herself grow hypnotized by the dancing fire. Absentmindely she prodded the wood from time to time, deep in reflection on things long gone by and the deepening confusion of her own situation. Was there more to life than just fighting all the damn time? Maybe after they got Jesh back she could spend some amount of time, however minimal, broadening her own horizons. Learn an art, maybe. Take up the brush or the chisel. Learn to write poetry and music, become a wench troubador and travel from place to place singing stories for a mug of ale and a purse of gold. Fall in love, maybe. Ryah laughed a little to herself, her face merry, tinted orange from the reflected firelight. Maybe there would be a chance for some fun soon. She heard a distant crackling of brush and leaves. Maybe Id was returning.::

[DarkDestiny]

Dkar had taken up a perch in a good steady tree one from which she had a decent view and could be alone with her brooding thoughts. This did not last, however. Soon enough she heard the approach of one who traveled with the purpose of being known. the scent reached her just before the voice. Id.
"That word hurts doesn't it? Family...hurts too much for you to contemplate or fathom." He began, causing her to scowl and turn, but before she could reply he continued. You know, ever since we met, something has seemed strangely familiar about you, and now I know what it is. "Again he cut her off before she could respond with a sarcastic remark. " In effect, for a long while, we would've been considered allies. On you I feel the mark of those who would use you, strangely enough it's the same mark that will be on me until the day I die...again." This time she chose to remains silent her interest perked. "You see, your former master, and Seashi, bear the same sigil of energy. I'm sure that you can tell this by the fact that you are probably very aware of Seashi's movements. You can tell his vague location at most times can't you? You claim that you can remember nothing, but I can tell that's not the truth. You still see shadows of your former life, silhouettes without definition plague your mind don't they? This is a very common side-effect of portaling. I, for one, couldn't remember my name for two weeks after I was first portalled. I guess where I'm headed with this, is a simple statement, that being: You are not alone."
Rushing emotions again filled dkar with the lightning swiftness of their pull. Much of what he had just said was truth, so much.. and it struck her hard the fact that he had so easily pierced her walls.. but now.. now she could feel it on him. Feel the darkness.. the cold welcoming caress. Faded.. ill used and abandoned but still bitter sweet. He was kin to her, as much as she wanted to deny it to erase it and ignore it she couldn't. The were siblings in darkness' grip... in their grip. Seashi.. and him. It was true the bond that she felt with him, she felt a similar if fainter bond with seashi.. and as she thought of it.. she understood another reason why she had not just left after the groups first conflict with him. It was because she wanted more opportunities to clash with him, to fulfill the magnetic draw. To be closer to another source of darkness. To destroy what was causing her pain.
Then there was the fact of her memory... and suddenly she knew she had to tell him.. the truth. Because he really didn't understand. Her new sibling.. he didn't know at all, and when it came to her such non understanding was dangerous.
she leapt from her perch to another flowing through the trees until she dropped down a few feet from id.
"You are correct you know. About many things.. More then I would have given you credit for, more then I have given you credit for. A mark of a lack of skill on my part.. although I will not quite forget the fact that knowing as much as you do you still insulted me so. Yet you have a right to really know why I considered your request an insult. To me information is worth gold. This is because as you guessed I don't have all the information about myself.. although as you also guessed I have much more then I let on. You are right not to trust me, and I am right in not trusting you. You say that you know of my former master.. that he has a similar mark as your own, and yes.. Now that you have made obvious our similarities I can feel the echoes of his grip on you. Now I really understand the bond you shared with him." She smiled a grim dead smile. "You know.. it kills me to say it, but at this moment I have a stronger link to you then to anyone on this planet save 2 others. " her smile died. "You compared your memory loss after portleing to my own. In this only have you made a grievous error about what you thought you knew about me." Her face went strangely blank.. almost as if she was not all there." I have nightmares you know. Nightmares in which he comes to me. Tells me that I must return to him. That he owns me. nightmares with shadows that tempt me and twist from me, and every time I get close I... wake up. Worse however is the fact that any little detail I find.. anytime I stumble upon a fact about myself in the real world.. it causes me severe physical pain. It takes my control from me. Lets the beast that I chain so thinly escape totally." She smiled another dead smile that didn't reach her eyes. "You know the only time I'm really free from it? free from the chains and the pull and the struggle and the pain? Its when I loose control. When I give in to the beast in me. You have no idea the sweet lure of being an untamable force of rage and darkness with no real mind behind it. Of giving the feral power it's due. Of begin an animal in the darkest bloodiest sense of the word" She paused and tilted her head. "you see the feather tied to my hair? Every moment it touches me it burns. Even the slightest scent of it causes my head to ache. knowing what it allows me to know causes me a pain not of this earth. Yet I would torture and maim the one that would try and take it from me. So brother in darkness.. you are right but you are wrong. You are wrong because I contemplate my family all the time, but you are right when you say it hurts." She leaped in to another nearby tree. "but I intend to stop the pain soon. I intend to kill my family " She looked at him not a hint of a smile on her face. "your bond has earned you this knowledge." Her eyes narrowed. "It alone gives you the right. do not speak of this to the others. I am bonded to you... but I choose who I hate and who I do not. You do not own me... nobody owns me, despite what you think my bonds mean." She faded in to the forest to find another tree to perch in.. and contemplate more what she had learned.

[Billy Shears]

Jiro lay still upon the soft soil of the forest's landscape. His arms were crossed behind his head, and his the heels of his tattered shoes were propped up against the end of a stone. His eyes were motionless, staring into the violet evening skies. He had never been able to obtain such a moment, back on Earth.

With a sigh, he dove inside a bundle of thoughts, intentionally lugging them off of his shoulders. Memories, thoughts, worries; they all weighed down Jiro to the point where he felt immobile. At some point, he had to empty his bucket.

He went over the images of his comrads, Id, Ryah, Dkar, and Jesh. They were all there, left with miniscule opinions stapled to them. They were not his family, in any sense.

He thought back, far back, to his days on Earth. Life was easygoing; it hadn't meant what it had in Midard. In Midard, life was but a worm on a fish hook. Never had Jiro felt he was alright with the see-sawing lifestyle, but he couldn't exactly retreat from it.
Of course, at some time, Jiro could move back to a small village and live in peace. It wouldn't last long though. Jiro wasn't the largest pawn in the fight against Seashi, but he was a pawn none the less -- and one of the weakest at that.

When he saw the faint image of his brother's face begin to show, he shut off his brain.

As the moon's shine began to scarcely glow, Jiro felt himself become blanketed with exhaustion. As a cool breeze bounced through the air, Jiro turned onto his side, and allowed his eyes to shut.