Chapter 56

Christian awoke on a cold, unyielding surface. Darkness enveloped him, an impenetrable void that seemed to pulse with a life of its own.

His first instinct was to cry out, but the oppressive silence pressed down on him, stifling his voice. He sat up, disoriented, his breath coming in shallow gasps. Panic gnawed at the edges of his mind, but he fought to maintain control.

“Christian…” the voice was soft, almost a whisper, but unmistakably familiar.

Kathleen, his heart lurched. He hadn’t seen her since… since what? His memories were fragmented, pieces of a puzzle that refused to fit together.

“Kathleen?” he called, his voice trembling. The darkness swallowed his words, leaving him with only the echo of his own desperation.

As he rose to his feet, the ground felt oddly insubstantial, as if he were standing on the edge of a precipice. He reached out, hands groping for any point of reference, but found nothing. The air around him was thick, almost tangible, and it hummed with a