Razeal jolted upright, gasping as if he'd just breached the surface of deep water after drowning.
His eyes snapped open, darting wildly as they adjusted to the warm light of the room. His back was drenched in sweat, the sheets beneath him damp. His chest rose and fell in rapid waves. For a long second, he didn't move, just lay there in the soft bed clutching at the air like someone coming back from the dead.
"That was... fucking terrifying," he muttered, his voice hoarse and shaky.
The memory of that place.. that void still clung to him like smoke. The way it consumed every sense, sound, breath, everything made him feel like he had disappeared. Not died. Not slept. Just... ceased.
No sound. No pressure. No time. No self.
He shivered, rubbing his arms as if that could wipe away the ghost of that space. His mind knew he was safe now, but some part of his soul still floated out there in that endless dark.
