Stella POV
Waking up felt…really strange, not painful or heavy. I felt alive—too alive—but at the same time, everything felt distant.
As though it had faded. As though I had been away for too long and was only just returning. My body was here, but my mind lagged behind, struggling to catch up.
It felt like I had been somewhere far away and was only just finding my way back.
My thoughts were slow at first, drifting and unanchored, suspended somewhere between dream and reality.
It was though I had been trapped between two worlds and had not yet decided which one to belong to.
Then, gradually, memories began to surface. Lucas… and I, fighting side by side. And then… the man in the shadows.
The recollection came in fragments, each piece settling slowly into place, sharpening my awareness, pulling me steadily back into reality.
