Suffocating.
That feeling wrapped around his throat. Pushing down on his lungs.
It was a sweltering thing, tightening around his heart and forcing him to heave with effort.
Breathe in...
Breathe out...
Where was he?
A monochromatic void of white enveloped his paralyzed body. As far as his eyes could see, and as far as his ears could hear, he was suspended in the middle of nothing. But that was of least concern.
What was happening?
Sweeping into his veins, the skin-biting cold of the air clashed with the unbearable heat within his body. They worked like a seesaw, scorching and stinging in rhythm.
'Fwoosh...'
Air rapidly escaped and collected in his chest like a whirlwind.
In, Out,
In, Out…
His lungs worked desperately to keep him alive, but it was as if they had begun filling with dust and sand. With each hurried breath, his voice grew more raspy, his throat grew more swollen, and his lungs grew more tired.
His heart tugged and stretched even faster than before, each beat slowly destabilizing his concentration. His throat had almost completely closed up, barely letting a single wisp of air into his mouth now.
What could he do?
In, Out…
In… Out…
In…
He took a sharp breath.
Out.
'...'
Nothing. That was that. In the exact moment he tried to relax, he felt agony.
In an instant, every nerve in his body felt like they were doused with acid. He felt his fingernails retreating back into his skin, his teeth shuffled and exposed his nerves to the extreme hot and cold temperatures, and his hair dug into his skull, seeking to take refuge from the torment.
He knew these were hallucinations, manifestations of feelings he couldn't comprehend, but that didn't matter. Slowly, the pain coursing through his body took hold of his conciousness. Slowly, he could feel the pain numb, and he could feel himself fall asleep.
And when that happens, what then?
Suddenly, he saw something out of the periphery of his vision.
A small green speck slowly approached him, being the only instance of colour visible within the purgatorial void. Although it was impossible to tell how far it was, he could see it was expanding. Coming closer to him.
This small speckle of hope burned like fire. His unthinkable distress instantly blew away like ash, instead being replaced by determination. Using the last of his strength, he swallowed as much air as he could and rolled onto his side, directly facing the now visible entity.
It was a snake.
A small, green snake that was only about the length of a hand slithered towards him. Steadily, as it drew closer, he flinched.
Four large eyes glimmering jade-green were plastered on its featureless face. It had no mouth to be seen, but still it hissed harshly. Like a living flute, Its scaly body was riddled with holes as small as apple seeds that expanded and contracted slowly, echoing a soft whistling that could be heard when it slithered.
Despite the grotesque appearance of the snake, overwhelming pain took control of rationale, and he disregarded his fear. He tried to open his mouth, but his throat refused to budge. Desperately, he rapidly blinked in order to ask the creature, the only other living thing in the emptiness, for help.
The snake was unresponsive for a moment. Only a meter or two away from his face, it remained perfectly still as it watched him with slit pupils.
"..."
They stared in silence.
After about two seconds, it finally began approaching him, suddenly closing its eyes and the holes on its body. Its face, like a nightmarish creature from tales told to misbehaving children, suddenly split into four sections, each flap of flesh possessing one eye and a pair of sharp fangs.
Without waiting for a reaction, the snake suddenly circled behind him.
Sharp. So sharp.
Those fangs were like blades. Is it going to kill me? Am I going to die here? Alone? Where even- I don't want to die here!
Now that it had left his field of vision, he could do nothing but wait in panic. Behind him, the creature bended its body slightly. With a swift lunge, it sunk its thin needle-like fangs into his back, piercing his flesh.
He waited for the pain, and...
'...'
It was warm.
Not overwhelmingly hot, and subsiding the painful cold. It was a gentle sensation that finally allowed the young man to breathe again.
In the next second, the snake detached itself from his body and he felt what could be considered normal again. His body, physically, felt refreshed.
'Huff...'
However, was afraid to try breathing.
Phantom pain lingered. He was scared to move, but when his chest began to tighten, he took in air.
And more air.
Slowly, after testing a few small breaths, he took a gasp so large that it strained his lungs.
'Hooo…'
Relief. The sound of his sigh momentarily echoed throughout the void, before dissipating into silence once more.
It stayed silent for a while.
After a moment to recover, the young man slowly turned toward the 'snake' creature, not daring to move too excessively. He cautiously observed the thing, who had its face return to its original, almost featureless shape. It was calmly staring at him, and the holes on its lengthy body opened again, resuming the calming whistling that relaxed his mind.
Although it hadn't said a single word - if it was even capable of speech - he felt the guidance the creature was trying to convey and spoke his first words since his arrival in the void.
"...T-Thank you. Thank you for saving my life... Could you... Do you know where I am?" The young man's voice was shaky, and he felt some discomfort in his throat.
"..." The snake stared at him.
"..." He stared at the snake.
The two sat in silence for a brief moment. The creature observed the young man intently, taking in the details of his appearance.
He appeared to be in his late adolescence, his youthful expression one of confusion and anticipation. His lustrous blonde hair was styled into a ponytail, cascading down to his shoulders and tied with a purple hair clip, which was etched with a symbol that resembled a flower made up of two ox hooves. His long eyelashes blinked repeatedly over shimmering blue eyes, which nervously glanced at his empty surroundings. His appearance was overall fair, even slightly androgynous, but there was no doubt of the worry in his demeanor.
A small wool cap intricately embroidered with silk rested beside him, and his attire included a coat that covered his chest, layered over a decent-quality white silk shirt. Leather bracers adorned his arms, covering fingerless gloves, and his pointed boots were fastened to white silk pants wrapped with a belt. On its buckle was a silver crest that depicted what appeared to be a tree bearing fruit, surrounded with various decorative details.
The young man glanced back to the snake.
Uh... I guess I should have expected that it can't talk... I mean, it doesn't even have a mouth...?
And yet, just as the thought appeared in his mind-
"This is your subconscious."
It didn't seem to come from anywhere but the general direction of the snake-like creature. The voice of the snake echoed without it moving a muscle, much less a mouth. It was deep, sophisticated, and somewhat robotic.
Alarmed, the young man abruptly stood up, but he found no energy in his legs. Just as quickly, he collapsed, sitting on the invisible "floor" once again.
"W-Who are you?" He stammered.
His eyes darted all around the snake, glancing back and forth between the creature and the white void, intently watching for signs of movement. The snake maintained that piercing stare, showing no discernible reaction.
Something clicked in his mind. A tone of dignity emerged as the young man adjusted himself and spoke. "...I apologize, my name is Karlos-"
Pausing for a moment, he gently cleared his throat.
"-Karlos Lippe, of the Lippe Household. May I ask... who you are?"
"Greetings. I am Asclepius."
"..." Karlos stared at Asclepius.
"..." Asclepius stared at Karlos.
I thought it would say more than that... should I start asking it some questions...? Karlos maintained his tense expression.
"Uh... Asclepius... Sir. Where... What..."
He paused. Faced with a problem.
Karlos had an abundance of questions, but he couldn't form a proper line of thought. His nerves, although relieved from the pain, itched with suspense. He was just too confused, and that agitated him silently.
He was scared. So scared that he began trembling.
Sensing this emotion, Asclepius slithered towards Karlos. He expanded the seed-sized holes on his body, creating a soft, enchanting song that echoed in the surreal space. Karlos flinched, but quickly relaxed. The music soothed him such that he briefly considered it might be a trap, however those worries were also washed away. Now eased, found it was much easier to think. It was like all his previous concerns were nothing but mundane inconveniences.
"Thank you, once again. May I ask... where this place is exactly?"
"As I have said, you are currently located within your subconscious mind. This empty space is a manifestation of your Psyche." Asclepius said while closing the holes over his body, appearing as spots on his scales.
"Subconscious? Psyche?" Karlos now calmly examined the void, but only saw the same, eerie, monotone white.
"Does that mean... This is a dream?"
"No, a 'dreamscape' is the result of your consciousness entering a state of rest, thus you would possess no true sense of thought. The environment you are in now is the very embodiment of your existence, and does not reflect reality." Asclepius explained vaguely.
Karlos furrowed his eyebrows. What does that even mean?
"This isn't real... If that's the case, then why did the..." He tried not to remember the feeling, but couldn't stop his arms from erupting into goosebumps. "…The pain feel so real? Why am I here? And why are you here?"
In response to Karlos's flurry of questions, Asclepius lowered his head slightly, seemingly in thought. "I cannot explain your situation to you. You are not obligated to know. My only purpose in appearing before you is to inform you of an encounter."
Karlos felt trapped. It was as if every question he could ask would be replaced by several more, answers may not be told to him, and even the answers he would get could be impossible to understand.
Despite that, he tried to remain calm.
It seems he only responds if I speak first... and it doesn't look like his "purpose" is to answer my questions...
"...What is this encounter you speak of?"
Asclepius wriggled his tail, making a whistling noise as it swayed. "You will meet a descendant of my kind. 'She' is in a situation much like yours, and I hope for you to converse with her calmly."
She? Descendant? Does that mean I'll meet another one of these strange creatures? How would I even talk to 'her'? Actually, it seems Asclepius also speaks Schilden... Karlos struggled to comprehend his purpose in all of this. He was just the son of a small, insignificant noble family after all.
"Sir Asclepius, how would I know if I've met your descendant if she...?"
"You need not any concern. She will be capable of conversing."
Suddenly, his tone shifted, lowering the temperature in the air.
"I shall brand your Instincts so that you naturally remember who 'she' is." Asclepius declared.
Karlos felt his breath snag on his throat, forcing him to swallow. He felt an ominous meaning within those words.
"Brand… my instincts? What does...?"
Asclepius responded while nodding slightly. "Yes, much like how I resolved your Psyche moments ago, I shall carve an imprint onto your mind for you to remember her."
Karlos grew wary. He had some level of trust for the serpent, since it's helped him multiple times, but he couldn't help but feel uneasy. The thought of having his life forcibly tampered with by an unfamiliar creature in an unfamiliar location... It disturbed him.
Powerless to resist as he was, however, Karlos had no intention of starting a conflict with the being capable of several strange, mysterious, possibly dangerous abilities. Not daring to antagonize Asclepius, Karlos firmly agreed with a nod. "Alright, what do I need to do?"
Asclepius wriggled his tail in satisfaction and circled around Karlos. "Please lay on your stomach; you need not perform any other action. I shall conduct the process."
Karlos, placing his trust in Asclepius, laid down on the bizzare invisible floor that was neither cold nor warm, exposing his back to the small snake.
Asclepius began slithering his way towards Karlos, first up his leg, then directly onto his back, before removing a layer of his clothes to see Karlos's skin.
Cold…Karlos thought. Even though he had experienced bone-freezing temperatures minutes before, it still felt like a slab of ice had just crawled onto his back. He had no idea what the little serpent may be up to, but in the next moment, he heard a voice from all directions.
"This will hurt quite a bit, so please bear with it." Asclepius's confident reassurance resounded.
'SIZZLE'
…'Sizzle?'
Karlos couldn't react. In the same moment the sound began, he felt the excruciating pain of having his flesh carved into by a searing blade. Karlos tried to move, but found his body unresponsive, completely unable to resist the procedure.
"Ease." A cold voice crept from behind his back.
His pained voice resounded in the void once more. Though, as if he had built a resistance, Karlos managed to bite his shirt and withstand the pain.
"I am almost finished, please endure for five more seconds."
His words didn't register. Karlos bit on the cloth until he felt his jaws were about to collapse.
'Szzst...'
The sizzling eventually stopped after what felt like an eternity, and Karlos violently gasped for air.
His head felt dizzy and he could barely make sense of the environment, utterly disoriented from the monochrome white. Like a repeat of his first arrival.
His only thoughts banged against his skull.
What the hell.
Asclepius denied his panic from escalating. Once more, the holes flecked across his body expanded and whistling was produced.
Like a cooling tide, Karlos felt relaxation take hold of his mind as he slumped over the invisible floor. He wanted to question the snake, but Karlos couldn't muster any strength to retaliate. It was likely Asclepius wouldn't answer, anyways. They sat in silence for several seconds as Karlos regained his composure. After taking a few more breaths, Karlos inspected his back, finding it was perfectly smooth with no signs of singe.
"What just happened? What did you do to my back?" Karlos asked as he fixed his clothes.
"You are not permitted to understand." Asclepius said frankly. "However, I will allow you to study its appearance."
'Allow' me? I want to ask who he is, but...
"...Okay."
Using a portion of Karlos's shirt as drawing material, Asclepius drew the location of the mark and its details, carving an outline with his fangs.
It looks like it's directly over my heart… It sort of resmbles the fangs of a snake and… a soul? Karlos deeply inspected the drawing, and found the mark unfamiliar yet oddly reassuring.
"So this mark will let me know when I meet your descendant, Sir Asclepius?"
"Yes, that is correct" Asclepius closed his terrifying face once again into a featureless head with four eyes.
Although Karlos had his doubts, he decided to directly ask the snake about the mark, in case it may interfere with his life. "How exactly does it work?"
"..."
"..."
The silence was broken by Asclepius this time, who spoke declaratory. "Our time has depleted. You will awaken shortly."
How convenient… Karlos was relieved he could finally leave this terrifying place, but decided on one last question.
"If... If I need to in the future, how could I talk to you again, Sir Asclepius?"
"..." The snake stared deeply at Karlos, the soft whistling coming from his body suddenly ceasing.
"You will not remember our encounter, but I shall come to you when the time is appropriate."
Asclepius paused.
"Remember, 'she' has silver hair."
Karlos had no time to respond. He felt the white void grow dark, his consciousness fading. In the next moment, he saw the familiar wooden ceiling of his bedroom with a blink.
The sunlight was suffocating.