Gray's eyes fixed on the tar-like figure before him, his gaze steady but filled with questions. The woman raised a slick eyebrow at him, her voice cutting through the air with an echo that seemed to come from every direction at once.
"Well? Are you going to keep lying there like a cripple, or do you actually plan on standing up?"
Her cocky tone stung, and Gray, with a measured sigh, stood to his feet. As he rose, he took in his surroundings. He was no longer sinking; instead, he stood on a smooth, almost glass-like surface of tar. Above him, far above his head, was the endless ocean he had fallen from, its shifting surface rippling like liquid night.
"What... are you?" he asked, his voice cautious yet firm.
The tar woman tilted her head, looking at him as though he were a dull child. "What am I?" she echoed, her tone mocking. "Are you seriously asking me that? Are you slow, or are you just playing dumb for fun?"
