It was as scary as it had never been before. The chest stopped rising and falling - the lungs simply did not allow oxygen to pass through, shrinking in fright. An icy hand of panic seized my throat, and I trembled as hard as I had for the first time with Cloud while hunting a man.

- What are you doing here? His voice was deceptively calm, but I knew what lay behind that icy tone. He was furious, terribly angry and for some reason hid it.

“Now my end will come, right now,” a funeral thought flashed through my head. The funeral march hit the temples - the imaginary...