Sounds, distanced sounds, were the first thing he heard.
He felt like he was underwater, like his entire head was stuck inside a bubble and the rush of muffled sounds from without assaulted his sensitive ears.
He was groaning, he felt an ache deep. He knew it was from no real injury as he could not feel the sting, that nasty bite, of a raw wound. Just the pain that accompanied, like burn to fire.
For him there was no fire, but he burned. Oh, did he burn—he burned fiercely.
He felt stiff, his head felt like it had taken a hit from a dozen hammers. His heart was beating faster than should be possible.
"At this rate it'd be a Kurana Year to a Naraku Second," he thought.
He paused at that thought and just let himself think. Why had he thought of that?
He had no idea who he was, his memory was almost blank. What was Naraku? Kurana?
Who was he? Why couldn't he remember who he was? Was he even anyone?
Goodness, this was worsening his headache.
But he needed to know who he was. Why was he on the floor? Or, at least, he assumed he was on the floor. Though even for a floor whatever he was on was really hard and rough.
Why was he in pain but didn't actually feel injured? This was the most important question at the moment.
He just needed the pain to stop. Anything to make it stop…and then he could focus on figuring out who he was.
'What hell is this?' He thought, addressing his pain.
"You're alright, Ran?"
'Wait…who?' He flinched when he heard another voice in his head.
"Who what, Ran? I asked if you were okay."
He wished he could muster the strength to turn his head and see if anyone was around him. This voice couldn't possibly be coming from inside his head. Could it?
"Who…who are you?"
"Ran, are you alright?"
"Who…who is Ran? More importantly, who are you?"
"Oh goodness, Ran. Can't you go one moment, just one, and avoid entering a dangerous situation?"
"What are you talking about? Why are you calling me, Ran? And why are you accusing me of bringing danger upon myself? I have so many questions and you haven't even answered the ones I keep asking."
"Naturally, you'd have many questions. As would any who died during the Eclipse of Eternity."
"What is that? And what do you mean by died? I'm very much not dead."
"I doubt anything could keep you dead. Okay, let's see, you are lacking most if not all your memories, am I right?"
"Ah, yes. That's correct."
"Well, that's normal for dying during the Eclipse of Eternity. It is the time when souls are reincarnated, as a result, any immortal who dies then is sort of reborn, a side effect of this is that they'd lose their memories."
"Souls…immortal…I'm not sure I follow."
"Well, I'm not sure there's time to explain. Something must have killed you and it could still be around. We need to get ready and watchful. Tell me, what's the last thing you can remember?"
He thought hard about it, there was a memory, a very strange memory, just hanging in the front of his recollection.
"Um, I think I met a Fey."
"Tell me everything."
For some reason he felt he could trust this strange voice in his head so he told the voice everything that had transpired between him and the Fey in limbo.
When he was done the voice exclaimed in wonder. "Now so much makes sense. With the Arkon blood in you, and Hundun's ichor enhancing its properties, you are a pseudo immortal. The divine blood of an ancient god and the kin blood of an infernal demon."
He made to respond when he heard a strong voice break through the bubble of muffled sounds around his head.
"None can defy the will of the Queen of Shadows!" Boomed the voice, raspy and sort of out of sync with reality. "You asked that he present you with my head. Well, Demon Prince, you aren't the only one who likes trophies."
"What does he mean by that?"
"What's that, Ran?"
He relayed what he'd heard to the voice.
"What are you doing now?"
"I'm laid out on the floor, too tired to get up. I ache all over."
"Well, if you don't want another holiday to limbo, this time permanently, then I suggest you get on your feet. I believe whoever owns that voice is a servant of the Queen of Shadows and they're coming for your head."
"What?"
"Hurry up, you idiot. Your head was the trophy talked about!"
Where he laid on the ground, still unaware what to call himself, the reawakened pseudo immortal boy felt rage overcome him.
He remembered the words of the Fey woman.
Damn the whole blazing world if he was going to let himself die again.
He closed his eyes and tried to reach for that brilliantly, blazing core sitting as the backdrop of his soul.
He sank into his essences, even as he heard steady footfalls announce the approach of whoever it was who was planning on taking his head.
As he reached for that bright background flow of his soul, a cold breeze washed over him. It was the first sign he got that something was happening to him.
This felt beyond death. Was he dying again?
He felt like his soul was being stretched and filled, he felt something inside him becoming too powerful for his puny flesh to contain.
He felt the essence of Hundun force his vessel apart and build him anew.
What was this? What was going on?
Was this the afterlife? He twitched a finger but refused to open his eyes.
He decided to keep a listening ear first to catch anything being said about him.
He felt strong, he let go of the Yosei core but could still feel it brimming inside him.
He prepared himself, he felt as strong as a mountain now, like he could carry the sky on his shoulders.
He waited patiently.
Whoever it was continued to draw near, strides confident against the hard ground.
He stiffened his fingers and reached out to the fiery blue core of the essence of the Hell Lords of Severance in him.
Echoes of a memory guided him as he prepared, and when the footsteps got close enough for what he planned—
He leaped acrobatically in one single movement, the memory echoes guiding him to push fiery blue core outward to form a blazing katana that burned with warmth of familiarity.
He took in the strange demon looking being who stared at him with gaping voids orbs of intense shock.
He didn't give the creature a moment to gather itself, he leaned forward and thrusted hard into its torso.
Another memory echo drove him to open his mouth.
And he spoke.
"ZENMETSU"
He spoke the word of destruction.