Consciousness returned to me like waves lapping against a distant shore—first as fragmented sensations, then gradually coalescing into coherent awareness. The first thing I noticed was weight on my chest, warm and slight but undeniably present. The second was the absence of the excruciating pain that had torn through my magical pathways during... during what exactly?
'The Divine Beast bonding ceremony,' I remembered with growing clarity. 'The contradiction between my Deepdark and Purelight finally catching up with me.'
I opened my eyes slowly, blinking against soft light that filtered through what appeared to be elegant curtains. The room around me was unfamiliar yet clearly expensive—the kind of guest quarters that spoke to the Creighton family's legendary hospitality and unlimited resources.
'How long was I unconscious?'