The first thing she felt… was pain.
It was not a sharp, stabbing agony that tore through her flesh, but a heavy, oppressive ache as if her entire body had been submerged for too long in deep, suffocating, ink-black water. Her fingers twitched slightly.
The sensation was soft… warm… and safe.
Beep.
Beep… beep… beep…
Her eyelids fluttered, struggling to adjust. A blinding white light assaulted her vision, forcing her to squeeze her eyes shut once more.
"…uh…"
Her throat felt parched, as if lined with sand. Her head was wrapped in heavy bandages. Her body felt far too heavy to move, as if every limb had been cemented to the bed.
A white ceiling. A strange scent clean, sharp, and sterile. It was not like anything she had known before; it was the scent of a world she was not sure of.
"…where… am… I…?"
Her voice emerged slow, raspy, and weak. She tried to lift her hand, but a sharp pain shot through her arm.
"Ah…"
