The Weight of a Crown

Jin woke up, and nothing was wrong.

For a second, he didn't know what to do with that.

He wasn't waking up to the sound of someone shaking his shoulder for lookout duty.

Wasn't dragging himself out of sleep before dawn to train with Ryu in the cold.

Wasn't jolting awake to the distant echo of gunshots or monster screams.

Just... silence.

The kind of quiet that felt too clean, too still.

His back ached from sleeping against the wall, muscles stiff from days of strain. His chest throbbed, ribs sore from the last fight, and his limbs felt like they'd been weighed down by stones.

But for the first time in weeks, he didn't feel like he'd been half-asleep with one eye open.

He'd actually rested.

Jin rubbed his face, blinking against the dim glow of the lights. The faint hum of electricity buzzed through the walls — a constant reminder that they weren't completely disconnected from the world.