[b]Shadow of a Doubt[/b] [i]Matthew Hallwinter's Mind[/i] Before Him stood a veil of shadows: a strange lattice of dust and echoes, yet it was something tangible, real. As real as anything in this dream-state could be. There were other objects in the background, but try as He might, they were distant, and blurry, and shifted out of focus if He stared at one, as if smeared against a faraway wall. Behind the veil stood a copy of Him, yet it was not quite complete. Its face was equally blurry, but its eyes were sharp, and keen, like a predator observing its prey, yet somehow He could tell that it was confused by the way it was standing. Testing its mind, He raises a hand, and the shadow in the veil does the same. Its eyes hungrily gaze through the veil, and He wonders what it sees in Him. He raises his other hand, and the shadow does the same, but it appears reluctant this time, only bringing its hand up after a second's notice. It kept its hands raised for a few seconds longer, before dropping one, and it reaches through the veil to paw at His chest, and despite Himself, the force of the hand causes Him to stumble backwards. He grabs the arm and knocks it aside, but the shadow's eyes are hungry now. It reaches through again, harder, and this time He reaches through the veil and punches it in the chest... Only the blow doesn't connect. The shadow is faster than Him, and it grabs His fist with ease. He throws more blows, but each are deflected with only the slightest of effort, until it decides to hit back. The first blow He manages to block, barely, but the next hit lands, as does the next, and the next, and the next, until He finds Himself lying on the floor, barely conscious. The shadow had stepped through the veil, and now stands over Him, like a grim monument. Perhaps it was only His imagination, but the shadow grinned as it reached down towards His head, and engulfed the world in darkness... [i][b]The Bloodwrath[/b][/i] ... He woke up with a start, his inhuman reactions barely saving him hitting his head on the stone floor. What strikes him first is that he wore his traditional ceramic Imperial Exoskeleton, and next, the amazing pain in his head, where the shadow had touched him. It was just a dream--he knew that, but he couldn't shake the lingering feeling of uncertainty that he had felt. Matthew Hallwinter grunted as he got to his feet, and began to look for an exit. He didn't know where he was, or how he had gotten there, but he knew that he had to escape, somehow. He had no weapons, and if his gut feeling was correct, none of his Manipular abilities. He pitied the first enemy that he found. (Open. Ignore the first part, just say that you found Hallwinter)