Ryuya was trapped, caged and subdued in his own mind.
He didn't understand. His dad had said he would gain power, that he would be the saviour of the Fuga clan. Dad had said this was the only way to free their clan from enslavement to the tyranny of the Kannagi.
But now he was locked away in a corner of his own mind, his body taken over by spirits, and about to be possessed by the deity his clan worshipped.
Ryuya felt miserable. Did his father know he'd be possessed? Did he plan it? He felt hurt, that his father would just... sacrifice him like this without a second thought.
But he shouldn't be thinking so selfishly. It was the Kannagi clan, not his dad, who were at fault! They treated his clan like slaves for centuries! To free his clan, Ryuya would gladly give up his body.
Ryuya ignored the flicker of doubt in his thoughts. This misery he was enduring, the absolute imprisonment, it would all be worth it if it freed his family. To sacrifice his freedom for the freedom of the rest of the Fuga, it wasn't even a choice.
And yet, he wondered if his clan was really getting saved.
He couldn't see anything, couldn't feel anything, Ryuya was holed up in the back of his own mind scape somewhere. Would this really free his clan? And if this deity did free them, would Ryuya ever see his family again or would he stay here, in the depths of his own mind, forever? How was he supposed to know his family was free?
He couldn't. He would just have to trust that everyone would be alright.
Then, after a timeless period of simply waiting, something changed. Ryuya didn't know how, but he could feel something shift. He was thrumming with anticipation- no, not him, but the spirits possessing him.
And then there was pain. Agony ripped through his veins as the spirits left and for a moment he could feel the soft breeze on his skin again until his body felt like it was on fire, his skin felt like it was being ripped off and his blood was burning and he let out a scream of hate anger pain that was not his own, but it came out as a wild roar-
And he was violently tossed back into his cracked and damaged mindscape, shoved away to lay shivering in a pathetic little heap.
Ryuya felt awful, torn from the inside, he had gotten a taste of freedom that was then buried under pure agony.
Ryuya wasn't sure how much time had passed, but then there was a piercing pain and nothing.