Declaration of Ownership

It was a strange sensation.

The air brushing my skin was chilly, but a warm current was seeping into my body.

At the same time, it felt as if vitality were welling up inside me.

I slowly opened my eyes at the strange sensations pouring over my body.

What I saw were torches lighting up a dark space and a priest in white ceremonial robes.

I squeezed my parched throat and barely managed to force out a voice.

"Who... are you?"

"Ah. You're awake. I'm glad you've come to. I'm a priest attached to the imperial family."

The imperial family.

The moment that word left the priest's mouth, my foggy, blurred mind turned cold as if someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over it...