â...â
A strange ceiling.
That was my first impression as I opened my eyes.
No, not entirely unfamiliarâit was a ceiling I mustâve seen before, but it didnât feel familiar.
Most likely, it belonged to the quarters Iâd been given behind Shin Noyaâs space.
A place I rarely visited and thus knew little about.
âWell, Iâve never actually come here to sleep.â
Since arriving at the volcanic sect Shin Noya had created, Iâd never spent the night here.
Not just this placeâsleep itself had become a rare thing.
Always busy doing something or organizing matters, I simply had no time to sleep.
And this body of mine wasnât the type to break down just because I skipped rest.
So, I hadnât bothered sleeping, much less inspecting my quarters. Thatâs why the ceiling felt unfamiliar.
But enough about the ceiling. Time to get up.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
With that thought, I braced myself against the floor with my arm.
Creakâ!
ââ¦!!!â
An unbearable pain shot through me, and I almost let out a scream.
âGuhâ¦â
I managed to stifle it, exhaling sharply instead.
The pain was too intense to ignore completely.
I stayed frozen for a moment, my body trembling uncontrollably.
Eventually, the shaking subsided.
âHahâ¦â
I let out a long breath, drenched in cold sweat.
âWhat the hellâ¦?â
The pain was absurd, almost comical.
What was going on?
Every part of my body hurt, but especially my left armâit felt like it was on fire.
Why was this happening all of a sudden?
â...Ah.â
Memories of what had happened before I passed out came rushing back.
âThat must be it.â
The last thing I didâforcing my inner energy to bind together.