Consumed by darkness, Vale felt his consciousness drift in a sea of nothingness.
It was a sensation he knew all too well—like the moment just before a trial, when the body teeters on the edge between life and death. He couldn't see, couldn't feel, yet his mind, though shrouded in fog—clung to awareness.
Before the confusion could fully settle in, something shifted. His existence stretched, then snapped back into a different kind of void—one that felt strangely familiar.
Muffled sounds brushed against his ears. Voices—distant and distorted—began to take shape. As the haze lifted, his eyes fluttered open.
A face came into focus. Ayla, just inches away, her expression etched with worry.
"Vale!" she gasped, the tension breaking into a relieved smile.
Groggily, Vale pushed himself upright. His thoughts were still a stormcloud, thick and heavy. He glanced around, his disoriented mind scanning the surroundings.
