As Shinon drifted in and out of consciousness, he could feel his mind working in overdrive, trying to keep him awake. But the rest of his body wasn’t obeying the brain’s command.

Faint voices reached him but were distorted and distant. He sensed a sense of familiarity from their voice, but his hazy mind couldn’t comprehend them.

Shinon saw blurred faces rushing around him. One of them slapped his cheeks, probably trying to keep him awake. But it was all in vain.

"Shinon, stay with us," someone urged; their loud voice had turned into a silent whisper thanks to Shinon’s hazy mind.

But no matter what Shinon or anyone else did, the pull towards the darkness was too much for him to resist as he fell asleep again.

***

A sense of sharp pain coursed through Shinon’s body as he opened his eyes. The bright light in the room blinded him as he struggled to keep his eyes open for a different reason altogether.

Shinon persisted and turned to look around. His vision was still hazy, but he could make out that he was in some different place, and quite some time had passed.

As he lay there, eyes half-open, he noticed the bandages all around his body. The pain was a bit too much, but Shinon was thankful for it. Feeling pain was a sign of life... maybe, just maybe, he would make it through whatever happened to him.

Soon, the muffled sounds of hurried footsteps and hushed conversations reached his ears. However, as the owners of the voices were about to enter the room, sleepiness finally won over him as everything went dark.

***

The next time, Shinon woke up by someone’s mumbling. Struggling to open his eyes, Shinon noticed Selena’s and Kira’s muffled voice.

While it still felt like they were talking underwater, his hearing had gotten good enough to hear snippets of their conversation.

"We need to organise the funeral before the corpses start decomposing," Selena urged, but it seemed like Kira was against it.

"At least wait for him to wake up!" Kira exclaimed. "That’s his father, for fuck’s sake! He had already lost Caleb once, so the least we can do is let Shinon say his goodbyes to him."

However, Selena shook her head in annoyance, "I get what you’re saying, but look at him! Who knows when he’ll wake up? Do you want Shinon to see his father in such a state? Not to mention Undead corpses rot faster than others-"

Shinon wanted to listen more to their conversation as they discussed his father. But no matter how hard he tried, no voice came out of his mouth. Before he knew it, his body did a factory reset, causing him to sleep again, only to wake up some hours later.

Shinon felt someone’s hand on his chest. It was a weird feeling but reassuring at the same time. He opened his eyes, but it was pitch black inside the room. So dark that Shinon thought maybe his eyes were still closed.

It was then the hand moved from his chest to his face, caressing it gently. While he couldn’t see the face, Shinon recognised the person’s distinct yet familiar flowery spell.

’Kira...’ Shinon thought, but as before, no words escaped his mouth. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

While his voice had betrayed him, the subtle change in his position did what words couldn’t. Kira jolted up as soon as she felt the bed stir a bit.

"SHINON!" She exclaimed, hugging him, which made Shinon wince in pain, and she immediately let go of him. "Sorry! Fuck... which is it so dark in here. Wait, I’ll light the fireplace."

Saying so, Kira got up and rushed to the fireplace, lighting it up. The hue of fire immediately replaced the darkness in the room. With his vision cleared, it didn’t take long for Shinon to recognise that he was back in the settlement, in the hospital.

As the room got brighter, Shinon’s attention went towards the window, where he could see the snow falling.

’Winter’s here? How long have I been out for?’

Meanwhile, Kira rushed towards him again. They had a lot to discuss, but Shinon was betrayed again as sleep claimed his mind.

***

Shinon woke up the next day and could feel much better than last night. His eyes weren’t blurry anymore, and while his voice was too hoarse, he could talk, so there was that.

He tried to get up and sit but was struck by pain instead. It seemed like his mind was way ahead of his body regarding recovery. Still, he was glad to be awake without feeling constantly sleepy.

"Still snowing, huh?" Shinon spoke in his hoarse and broken voice before reaching for water beside his table.

Since he couldn’t move his arms that much, Shinon decided to use his shadows to do the work. However, something strange happened. He couldn’t summon his shadows, no matter how hard he tried.

"What the-" Shinon tried again, but the result remained unchanged.

The thought that he might have lost his powers crossed his mind, but Shinon shrugged that thought out of his mind. Just then, Lova entered the room with a tray carrying some ointment and bandages. The moment Lova saw Shinon awake, she rushed towards him.

"Shinon!" she exclaimed.

Shinon, still lying on the bed, managed a weak smile in response to her arrival. "Hey, Lova..."

Before saying anything else, Lova approached the table and poured a glass of water for Shinon, knowing he would be thirsty.

"Here," Lova insisted, offering the glass to him.

Shinon, appreciating the gesture, raised his hand to take the glass. But Lova shook her head. After all, Shinon’s arms were still bandaged, and Lova didn’t want him to overexert himself.

With a quick motion, she adjusted the pillows behind Shinon, ensuring his comfort before gently bringing the glass towards his mouth.

"Come on, drink up," Lova maintained a watchful gaze, ensuring Shinon could drink without problems. "Take it slow... good."

"How long was I out for?" Shinon asked while Lova kept the glass aside.

"...a few months."

"What!?"