The morning sun seeped in through the cracks between the heavy blue curtains, spilling golden light across the polished floor. Dust motes floated in the still air like wandering spirits. It was warm, serene—eerily so.
Elius stirred beneath his sheets.
His body felt like lead, every muscle draped in invisible chains of fatigue. His eyes fluttered slightly, then winced as if disturbed by something... something subtle.
Light.
That was the first thing he noticed.
His eyes twitched again. Slowly, he opened them halfway. The ceiling above stared back, blank and familiar.
A soft groan escaped his lips.
He blinked.
Once. Twice.
"Huh...?"
He didn't recognize it at first, but after a few seconds, the contours of the space around him began to sharpen—his bookshelf, his folded uniform hanging on the wall, the floating clock that ticked with a soft magical hum in the corner of the room.
This... is my room.
