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Kai woke up gasping.
Not a soft, peaceful return to the world of the living. Not one of those slow, cozy wakeups where you blink against sunlight and stretch out into warm blankets.
This was sharp.
Instant.
Like being punched back into consciousness.
His eyes snapped open, breath catching in his throat. He sat upright — or tried to — but his body didn't quite respond. His right arm didn't move at all, and pain bloomed hot across his side and down into where his leg used to be.
"Ah — dammit, ow—"
He dropped back onto the bed with a grunt, glaring up at the ceiling like it had personally offended him. For a second, all he could do was breathe, the dull ache of healing magic buzzing just beneath the surface of his skin.
Everything hurt.
But he wasn't dead.
Progress.
His head turned slowly, scanning the room.
Soft sheets. Plain walls. A faint humming sound healing wards, probably and the gentle scent of disinfectant. Standard academy infirmary.
