Mikhail shivered as the icy winds ripped across his naked body, and the only warmth that relieved him was the thought of Sasha. Of the sapphire orbs that always left him breathless, the lovely ivory skin that always glowed like moonlight, and her petite body, so fragile-seeming, even though he knew the sheer power that was contained in her lithe form.

He wandered through the snow, and found what he was looking for: the unfamiliarly familiar house, the eternal opposite to the reality that existed outside this oblivion. He walked not through day, but neither could it be called night, for no stars shone here.

He entered the house and found the Minstrel, as he had so many times before, to battle him for the control of his own mind. Each time was different, and this was no exception; this time he was staring across a vast mountain range, and he realized he had to find the Minstrel somewhere along the peaks or else he would lose another time.

He thought of Sasha once more, and he had enough warmth to try again.