Boundless darkness, silent and serene.
The young man's thoughts drifted through it, rising at times, sinking at others.
A long time passed.
At the far end of chaos, several blurry glimmers of light finally began to emerge.
And so, despite his eyelids feeling as heavy as if they had been filled with lead, the young man slowly and laboriously forced them open.
A pristine white room came into view.
Enduring the intense fogginess inside his skull, the young man shifted his gaze. First, he realized that he seemed to be lying on a hospital bed. Then, he noticed that there appeared to be another figure beside it.
That figure sat in a wheelchair, facing the window. Judging by the slightly stooped silhouette of its back, it seemed to be an elderly man.
The young man strained to open his weak eyes wider, wanting to make out the other person's appearance clearly. However, his will was stronger than his body; his mind was instead on the verge of slipping back into unconsciousness.
Nevertheless, just as his awareness began to fade, the young man barely caught a few scattered words from the other person.
"Ye Chen, this is Hunter's Peak. I brought you back."
"You are safe for now."
"However, for the sake of your future, I must put several 'preventive measures' in place."
"Next..."
"I will carve the 'Soul Commandments' into the depths of your soul."
"You must not violate any of the commandments' contents."
"Of course, all of this is for your safety. I hope you understand."
"Well then, I won't disturb you any longer."
"Rest well, child."
The young man's mind was wholly incapable of understanding what the other person was saying. Before losing consciousness, he could only struggle to remember this obscure information.
Then, his heavy eyelids closed