Chapter 8: Born Again
"Dark" was the first thing Ellis could think of in this closed space, where he couldn't even move.
More than that, though, was his state, he felt like he couldn't think clearly once more and feared he would lose consciousness if he were to lose focus, even for a moment.
At first, he was relieved that he seemed to have survived after taking that gray shard, but now he was wondering what had happened to him.
Before he could even question the kind of reality he was in, though, he lost consciousness in the end.
...
Time passed, and Ellis periodically lost consciousness at times, only to regain it again at others.
He wondered if he was in some hospital, in the intensive care unit. He thought perhaps it was because he was in such a bad state that he was like this now, where even after regaining consciousness, he still couldn't move his fingers.
But as time passed once again, and he was able to make small movements, even if difficult, he became unsure about the answer he had reached in the end.
Ellis wasn't sure about the exact duration that passed next, but he was still happy, as he was finally able to hear some muffled sound, even if he couldn't recognize exactly what was being said, aside from being able to move.
After feeling like he would go crazy if that state continued just after coming out of that horrible gate, now making a sudden progress, made him feel a lot better.
With time passing like this, Ellis was finally able to make another breakthrough as he saw light, even though it felt too far away, like through a tunnel.