Consciousness returned slowly.
Not like waking from sleep.
But like being pulled from an endless depth.
Aurelia opened her eyes.
The sky above her… was real.
Not a boundless space.
Not a living path.
But the sky of the actual world.
Yet it still felt different.
Wider.
More… clear.
She drew a deep breath.
Air filled her lungs in a way that felt foreign, as if this world was no longer the same place as before she left.
The ground beneath her was cold.
Real.
Stable.
Yet within her.
She could feel everything.
Paths.
Nodes.
Balance.
All were still there.
But no longer outside.
Now… they were within her.
Aurelia slowly stood up.
Her body felt light.
Yet not without burden.
The burden was still there.
Only.
More directed.
More… controlled.
She looked around.
This place.
She knew it.
The cracked earth once filled with wild energy had now changed.
The cracks were still there.
But no longer emitted chaos.
More like scars.
