Lucien woke to sunlight.
For several seconds, he had no idea where he was.
Then the rough wooden ceiling above him became familiar, followed by the faint scent of dried herbs and smoke that always seemed to linger inside the house.
He was back home.
Lucien blinked slowly as awareness returned.
His entire body ached.
His shoulders hurt when he breathed too deeply, his arms felt heavy, and even his palms throbbed beneath the cloth wrapped around them. There was something strangely reassuring about the discomfort.
At least it proved that he was still alive.
Lucien let his head sink deeper into the pillow.
Then he remembered the sound.
The exhaustion disappeared from his thoughts immediately.
Just before losing consciousness, that strange, distant resonance had reached him again.
Lucien stared at the ceiling for several moments.
"Why now?"
There was no answer.
He had already considered the simplest possibility.
