Cold stone pressed against my cheek. The ambient air smelled of damp earth, stale ozone, and the faint, bitter tang of old blood.
I slowly pushed myself up onto one hand, my brow furrowing as my eyes adjusted to the dim light. I wasn't on the shattered landing of the lecture hall, neither in Yuki's star-draped void either.
I was lying on the floor of a cavernous, ancient stone corridor. Luminescent violet moss clung to the rough-hewn walls, casting a sickly, flickering glow over the subterranean passage.
A dungeon?
My mind began to run.
How long had I been out? Days? Weeks? Months?
I sat back against the cavern wall and closed my eyes, taking a deep breath to run a full diagnostic on my body. Expecting the agonizing, bone-crushing neural backlash that usually followed my System overrides, I was surprised to find nothing. The burning headache was completely gone.
Instead, a steady, roaring furnace hummed in my chest.
