A sharp intake of breath filled my lungs as my eyes snapped open.
I was lying on the cold, damp ground, my body feeling strangely light despite what I had just gone through.
The scent of soil and blood filled my nose, and a distant rustling of trees told me I was back in the forest.
Back where I had fought Fen.
I pushed myself up, my limbs sluggish but functional.
There wasn't a single wound on me, not a single trace of the battle that had killed me.
I was alive.
Again.
My gaze drifted forward, and there he was.
Fen.
He was already walking away, his movements unhurried, as if everything that happened here was nothing more than a minor inconvenience.
His aura was oppressive, a constant reminder of the vast gulf between us.
But this time, I wasn't going to let him walk away so easily.
I pushed myself up, the sound of my foot on the ground catching his attention.