Ishiki's first awareness was a weary pressure on his whole body.
And then... something was crushing his throat deliberately... the grip getting tighter with each passing second.
He jolted awake with a strangled choke and gasped. For a second his mind was blank and he thrashed around recklessly.
'Stop that... stop, you trying to kill me bastard.'
It was at that moment, the memories slammed back in. Ishiki blinked a couple of times. 'Huh? Wait... didn't I die already?'
But, he was lying on his back, staring up at the golden canopy that was… wrong.
For a second he froze as his mind reeled into the possibility that this all might also be an illusion and what he experienced wasn't real once again.
His heart really ached at that thought.
Something tightened around his neck and chest... Ishiki forced his eyes down and saw hell.
Thick branches were coiled around him like a nest of wooden serpents. Bark scraped his skin where his cloths didn't cover.
