Chapter 437: A Dream?

Kain jolted awake.

His breath came in shallow, rapid gasps, his body slick with cold sweat.

His fingers curled instinctively against the rough fabric beneath him, his senses frantically grasping for something—anything—familiar.

Gone was that horrifying city of nightmares. Gone was the monstrous, staring eye. Instead, a dimly lit room greeted him, lined with rows of occupied gurneys. The air was thick with the scent of herbs and antiseptic, the low hum of whispered conversations and pained groans surrounded his disoriented mind like an unpleasant background noise.

'Was it a dream? But it felt so real… like I was actually there.'

Kain's heart pounded against his ribs. The image of that eye—its sheer, overwhelming presence—refused to get out of his head, lingering in his mind with an intensity far beyond any nightmare. It had felt real. Too real.