Ash woke after exactly thirty minutes of rest.
The reduced-sleep ability had done its work cleanly. His mind was clear the moment his eyes opened. There was no leftover fog, no heavy feeling in his limbs, no slow climb back to full awareness. His body felt dense and ready, the same way it had felt since the final layers of the foundation rebuild had settled. He sat up on the cot and noticed something else that had finished changing without any announcement: he no longer felt hungry.
The need for food had been fading for days, but this morning it was simply gone. His stomach did not complain. There was no hollow feeling, no distraction at the edge of his thoughts. The cosmic energy stored inside his cells was more than enough to keep every system running. It fed him quietly and constantly. Ordinary rations had become optional rather than necessary. He could still eat if he wanted the taste or the ordinary routine of it, but his body no longer required it.
