The caravan moved quietly through the forest,
Guards on high alert,
Eyes scanning every shadow.
Raine walked with steady steps behind the Crown Prince and the Princess,
Who posed as ordinary lovers wandering through the city.
As always, he didn't speak much.
Only his eyes never stopped—
Measuring, watching, reading everything.
Then something strange happened.
A faint whistle…
And silence.
Just a few seconds—
Enough for everything to fall apart.
They emerged from the trees—
Figures clad in eerie, uniformed suits of bluish-grey.
Their faces masked, their forms unidentifiable.
No one could tell if they were men or women,
Young or old.
The soldiers reacted instantly,
Forming a shield around the Prince and Princess.
Swords were drawn,
Orders barked out.
Raine grabbed the Princess by the arm, pulling her back,
Stepping in front of her.
His hand moved to the hilt of his sword,
Eyes locked on the intruders.
But the masked ones ignored the shouting,
Ignored the drawn blades.
They came—
Straight for Raine.
He braced for the fight.
Blocked one blow.
Returned another.
Tried to hold his ground.
But they were too coordinated,
Precise.
They didn't kill.
They disabled.
Cleanly. Silently.
Before falling,
He saw one of them raise a small object toward him.
A flash of light.
Then—
Darkness.
---
He awoke to the scent of old wood,
Flickering lights dancing across the ceiling.
No sunlight.
No windows.
Only a small iron door.
His right hand was bound.
He couldn't feel it.
He tried to sit up, but failed.
Then a distant voice echoed,
Like a whisper through a speaker:
"Subject's condition is stable."
He tried to speak,
But his throat was dry,
His mind cloudy.
And then—
A memory.
Just before he lost consciousness,
His eyes had caught a glimpse of one of those masks.
A fleeting glance,
Yet it burned into his memory.
The look in those eyes—
Not hostile.
Not cold.
But strange.
Unfathomable.
Someone he knew?
No… Impossible.
He had never seen those eyes before…
Had he?
He closed his eyes for a moment.
Something was wrong.
Terribly wrong.
Who were they?
And why me?