He was gasping for breath. Grasping at his side where he'd been almost fatally shot. He couldn't go like this, especially not when he had so much to lose. The first thought on his mind as his vision blurred and his balance faltered was his daughter. He loved her and she needed him, she had no one else. She needed him to keep her safe from those wanting to harm her and those wanting to simply use her. She was vulnerable without him, and that wasn't something he could allow.

It had been a foolish misstep, in his own opinion, that led to him hiding out in an abandoned apartment where he could hear the City Watch on the ground below through a broken window. He should have been more strategic in his methods as he knocked the guardsmen unconscious, placing their sleeping bodies to the side. He had been spotted, and was barely able to escape with his heartbeat.

"Where are you?"

"When I find you, it's gonna be bad."

Usually their little taunts were amusing, something he could smugly listen to from the rooftops, but if they did find him now, there was nothing he could really do to fight them.

He let himself rest for a few moments, trying to stop the bleeding and regain his strength. At least at this point he'd heard the Watch say "He got away..." and he felt a little more secure in his hiding place. He was feeling a little more capable by the time he noticed the throbbing feeling in his pocket.

The Heart, always guiding him where he needed to go. He held it close and knew there would be a shrine nearby. He almost didn't want to follow the organ's direction, but letting the deity waiting for him see him so weak wasn't the worst thing he'd had happen to him that day, and the rune waiting for him would help more than the comments of the Outsider would hurt. In a moment of emotional weakness and need he gave the Heart a gentle squeeze to hear the voice of his beloved.

"Sometimes I remember the breeze on my skin, and your touch." Her voice echoed in his mind, "Where some might choose to draw blood, you find another way. This, I think, is my highest praise."

He found solace in her voice, and the resolve to carry on knowing she was also watching over him. He moved to wrap a torn cloth over his wound and kept his hand pressed to it as he slowly staggered towards the shrine. He picked up the carved bone, holding it up and starting to feel stronger already. It was almost instantaneous that the shadowy figure appeared.

"My dear Corvo," He started as always, "I only wish the circumstances for your visit were more pleasant." He always sounded so condescending. Corvo assumed it was part of being a god who was thousands of years old and likely watched more men make worse mistakes than Corvo had made in a lifetime. He carried on about the person Corvo was going after this time, about the consequences of his possible actions, and as always, the choice was his. Whatever he did, the Outsider would be watching with interest, that he always was certain of. Though Corvo knew the Outsider couldn't heal him, not that he had come looking for anything, he found a sort of relief in his presence. He still found himself in an immense amount of pain that as he turned, trying to follow the god's movements, he winced. That did not go unnoticed. The god stayed still instead of floating around him as he spoke, Corvo was surprised by that small kindness. "You have all of my gifts and yet here you are. Bleeding and alone, kneeling at my shrine, without your elixirs to save you."

Corvo stayed silent, he knew the Outsider better than to speak up now. He let the man continue, but he felt his presence come closer until they were face to face.

"You, my Corvo, will not die here." He said with such certainty it almost made Corvo think he cared, although he knew this was about the Outsider wanting a good show. "You have beaten greater odds than these."

Corvo scoffed, he knew he wasn't currently dying, but he also knew one more strike would be all it took. Had he any of his elixir, it may not have felt like the next step he took would be his last.

"Of course, as always, the choice is yours. Do you leave my shrine and stumble back in retreat, or do you rush forward, staying out of sight and away from the blade?" The Outsider had a gift for filling silences between the two of them. He reached a hand up to barely touch Corvo's face. "You've yet to disappoint me, I hope you won't start now."

With that, he was gone, and Corvo found himself alone again. The world around him returned to normal and he couldn't spot the shadowy figure anywhere, though he swore he still felt his touch. He was able to conveniently find supplies in the next few rooms of the apartment and wondered if that had any of the Outsider's influence. He stood taller after drinking the red liquid, but felt emptier as the light touch to his cheek lingered in his mind.