Chapter Thirty-Five

The icy touch of the stone floor chilled me to the bone as I slowly regained consciousness. A throbbing pain pulsed through my skull, each beat a relentless reminder of the ordeal I had endured. My vision was a swirling vortex of darkness, a hazy blur that refused to merge into a clear image. Desperate for clarity, I strained my eyes, but the world remained shrouded in an impenetrable veil of obscurity.

Where am I? The question echoed in my mind as I attempted to rise from the cold, hard floor. A sharp, searing pain lanced through my skull, forcing me to recoil and clutch my head. The world spun around me, a dizzying blur of colors and shadows. I fell back, my vision darkening at the edges. As my senses slowly returned, I forced myself to open my eyes, squinting against the dim light.