The Scared God [ManXManXMan]

Chapter Twenty-two: Воздух - Vozdukh

[Warning: Veles' revives are never pretty.]

~Chapter Twenty-two: Воздух – Vozdukh~

My eyes are reluctant to focus on anything, though I do not think it is helped by the fact that there is nothing to focus on. Above me, there is only a blurry night sky. Or, at least, I think it is a night sky. I would not be surprised if it is midday wherever I am and my eyesight is just malfunctioning.

It wouldn't be the first time.

However, as I slowly regain the ability to see – if only a little – I realize that my first guess is correct; it is nighttime. That does not clue me in on what time zone I am in, though, as I cannot see the stars with my temporarily poor eyesight and I have no idea how much time has passed in the living realm since my death. At most, it could have been a few years. At the very least, it might have been a few hours.

For a while, I just stare up at the blurry night sky, able to only vaguely see the shining lights that are the stars. It is a relief that I did not revive lying on my stomach again, as that is always my least favorite position to find myself in when I cannot move my body enough to roll over and avoid possibly suffocating.

I still remember that one time I revived with my face half in a shallow puddle. That was torture.

Thankfully, though, there are no puddles this time, at least not that I know of. My entire lower body could be submerged in water for all I know since I cannot feel anything. Well, almost anything. My neck and face are starting to tingle, which means it is only a matter of time before I can at least turn my head a bit.

It is also to my great relief that, despite my nausea, I have not yet thrown up. Perhaps it is because I am not resting on my stomach and, thus, putting pressure on the wrong area, or maybe this revive is a bit better before I did not spend as much time dead. I have noticed that there is a slight difference in how I feel upon reviving depending on how much time I spend in Iriy, but it has not happened enough times to be more than a theory at this point.

For a while, I just focus on breathing and trying to move random body parts, but as soon as it no longer feels like my neck is being stung by hundreds of fire ants, I risk turning my head to the left and end up nose-to-petal with a flower. My head just kind of flops uselessly to the side when my neck decides it is not ready to support any movement just yet, but now that I have something new to look at, I cannot find it in myself to be too frustrated.

Since it is dark and my vision is still horrible, I cannot make out the color or exact shape of the flower at first, but as my eyes slowly bring what I am seeing more into focus, I realize that the flower in my face is not the only one in the area, which fortunately means I did not revive in some suburban backyard again. Once was bad enough, as it ended with me in a hospital for a couple of days because of a few misguided human do-gooders and my frustratingly slow recovery that kept me from actually leaving the hospital bed to medically discharge myself.

Fortunately, that happened before the digital age, as it would have been far harder to bluff away my lack of existence than it was to explain my temporary paralysis.

Something niggles at the back of my mind the longer I stare at the flower, but I cannot figure out why. Eventually, I just dismiss it in favor of focusing on my back and abdominals, which have started to tingle uncomfortable. It is a horrible feeling, and it always makes me wonder if reviving is even really worth it, but at least I will likely be able to move more soon.

There is no real way to tell how much time passes before I am able to force my pathetic body – through sheer stubbornness, not returning strength – to sit up, but it is at that point that the niggling returns. And it only takes me a moment to realize why. Even dark, there is no way I can miss the familiarity of the place I am in, even though I have only ever really been here once.