Chapter 40 Fractured Reality

• I inhaled sharply as my awareness was violently yanked away, my body jolting back to existence with a fierce intensity. Panic surged through me, my breaths coming in quick, shallow bursts, yet the oppressive darkness clung to me, unwilling to let go. My mind spun in chaos, every part of me screaming in agony, as if I had been ripped apart and hastily reassembled. Something was terribly amiss, but I couldn’t concentrate enough to grasp what it was.
• I attempted to move, to rise, but as soon as I opened my eyes, the surroundings blurred and twisted. I could barely discern anything—only vague outlines and shadows—until gradually, the haze began to lift, revealing… emptiness.
• I was no longer in the cave. I had left that world behind.