Chapter 38

I had no idea how long I had been kneeling. The rain came and went, drenching me repeatedly. My clothes, still wet, clung to my body, which had long since gone cold. My temperature seemed incapable of warming up again. Pain wracked my body, and exhaustion clouded my mind. Suddenly, everything went dark, and I collapsed. My limbs, frozen stiff, couldn't react quickly, and my forehead struck the stone steps before me. The hard steps felt like the edge of a blade slicing into my head. The sharp pain jolted me awake instantly. Panicked, I reached out to prop myself up. As I straightened my body, I felt something warm trickling down my forehead. I touched it and saw red. Blood was streaming down, leaving stains on the steps beneath me. My forehead had split open. Quickly, I took a handkerchief from my pocket and pressed it against the wound, not daring to let go. Rainwater mixed with blood dripped heavily from my hands, forming red puddles on the ground. Pain, cold, and exhaustion eng