"Wake up..."
The voice was distant like an echo across a canyon of dreams. Something was calling for her, tugging at the edges of her consciousness.
But she felt so light and so hollow. Like her soul had unraveled, thread by thread, and dissolved into the void. It was warm, quiet, and peaceful here. She didn't want to leave.
"Wake up..."
Again. Louder. Closer. Urgent.
"Wake up..."
She stirred, barely. Her limbs didn't respond, but her mind began to have faint sparks of thoughts returning.
"Wake up..."
"Wake up!"
"WAKE UP!"
The final shout tore through her like lightning cracking the sky.
Verena gasped.
The ceiling above her was familiar. It was her dorm room.
Wait… dorm room?
She sat up slowly, body stiff. Her sheets clung to her like a second skin. The light filtering through the windows told her it was morning. Everything felt… real. and tangible. Had she truly been hurled into the future after surviving the self-progression arc?
