Alex settled back against the stone wall of his cell, the familiar weight of exhaustion pressing down on him like a physical force. The arena's roar had faded to memory, replaced by the oppressive silence that filled these underground chambers. His body ached in ways that went beyond simple physical fatigue. The coordinated battle against the SS-ranked Devourer had pushed him to limits he hadn't known existed.
The guards had deposited him back in his cell with their usual indifference, the suppression field reactivating the moment the door slammed shut. But this time, something was different. The constant drain on his essence felt less oppressive, as if his core had developed some resistance to the sigils' effects during his absence.
