Returning to reality, Hiruko was in a daze. It was as if he had just had a dream, or perhaps it was merely an illusion.
He stretched out his hand, looking at his palm in bewilderment. It was stained with fresh blood. "This is... What?"
Before Hiruko could finish, he clamped his mouth shut. The voice coming from his throat had suddenly become much younger; the deep, steady tone of a grown man now carried a crispness that belonged only to his youth.
Chapter 38