Morning sunlight spilled through the hospital window, warm and quiet. For the first time in months, Rey woke up without pain shooting through his body.
He blinked slowly, staring at the ceiling.
White tiles.
A faint humming sound from a machine nearby.
The distant murmur of voices in the hallway.
Normal.
It still felt strange.
Rey lifted his arm and rubbed his eyes. The bandages that had wrapped around his chest a few days ago were mostly gone now, replaced by smaller patches of tape. The doctors had insisted he stay longer, but he had already convinced them he could walk.
Barely.
But it counted.
He sat up carefully on the edge of the bed. His muscles protested immediately, reminding him that collapsing buildings and shadow creatures were not exactly healthy activities.
"Yeah… yeah, I get it," he muttered to himself.
He stretched slowly.
Something caught his eye.
The mark.
It rested quietly on his forearm, faint and gray now. Nothing like the dark, twisting symbol it had been before.
Rey stared at it for a moment.
No warmth.
No whisper.
Just a scar.
Good.
A knock came from the door.
Before Rey could answer, it opened.
Claire stepped inside holding two paper cups.
"Morning, zombie," she said.
Rey smirked.
"I was unconscious, not undead."
"Debatable."
She walked over and handed him one of the cups.
Coffee.
Rey stared at it like it was treasure.
Claire smiled in a way that meant trouble.
"Oh yeah."
She leaned back comfortably.
"They arrived this morning."
Rey groaned.
"You didn't warn me."
"I did."
"When?"
"Just now."
Rey dropped his head into his hands.
"Fantastic."
Claire laughed.
"Relax. They just want details."
"Details about what?" Rey asked.
Claire raised an eyebrow.
"You know… the giant underground facility, the shadow entity, the building collapse…"
Rey sighed.
"When you say it like that it sounds ridiculous."
"Because it is ridiculous."
He took another sip of coffee.
"…Do they believe us?"
Claire shrugged.
"Some of them."
"Great."
A moment of silence passed before Claire spoke again.
"You're getting discharged tomorrow."
Rey looked up.
"Seriously?"
"Yep. Doctor says your body heals stupidly fast."
Rey grinned.
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"It wasn't."
She glanced at the window.
"After that things go back to normal."
Rey leaned back slightly.
Normal again.
School.
Friends.
Ordinary days.
It felt almost unreal after everything that had happened.
"Do you ever think about it?" he asked quietly.
Claire tilted her head.
"Think about what?"
"How close everything came to ending."
Claire didn't answer right away.
Instead she stared at the floor, thinking.
"Yeah," she finally said.
"Me too."
Rey looked down at his hands.
"If the remainder hadn't helped…"
Claire nodded.
"…we'd probably both be dead."
Rey exhaled slowly.
The remainder.
The strange fragment left behind by his father.
The thing that had turned the shadow's power against itself.
Even now Rey didn't fully understand it.
"Do you think it's really gone?" Claire asked.
Rey considered the question.
The shadow had been destroyed.
He had felt it break apart inside the chamber.
But something about the memory still felt unfinished.
"…I think so," he said eventually.
Claire studied his face.
"You don't sound convinced."
Rey forced a small smile.
"I'm just tired of being paranoid."
Claire accepted the answer, though her eyes lingered on the mark again.
Then she stood up.
"Well," she said, stretching.
"You better get dressed."
"Why?"
She pointed toward the hallway.
"Because the investigation team is waiting."
Rey groaned again.
"You're enjoying this way too much."
"Absolutely."
An hour later Rey sat across from two investigators in a small hospital conference room.
A recorder rested on the table between them.
The older investigator flipped through a notebook.
"So let's review," he said.
"You're saying an unknown entity bonded to you through physical contact with an artifact discovered in an abandoned facility."
Rey nodded.
"Pretty much."
"And this entity influenced your thoughts and memories."
"Yes."
"And eventually attempted to use your body as a host."
"Correct."
The investigator scribbled something down.
Then he looked up again.
"And it was destroyed… by something you're calling the remainder."
Rey nodded again.
"Yes."
The man stared at him for several seconds.
"…You understand why this is difficult to document."
Rey shrugged.
"I get that a lot."
The second investigator leaned forward.
"Can you describe the moment the entity was destroyed?"
Rey hesitated.
The memory came back clearly.
Darkness tearing apart.
The shadow screaming as something inside it shattered.
"…It wasn't just destroyed," Rey said slowly.
"It was… broken."
"Broken?"
"Like something ripped its core out."
The investigators exchanged a glance.
"Interesting," the older one said quietly.
Rey leaned back in his chair.
"Look," he said.
"I don't know what you want me to tell you."
"All I know is that it's gone."
The investigator nodded.
"For everyone's sake," he said, "we hope that's true."
Later that evening Rey stood outside the hospital entrance.
Fresh air.
Cool wind.
Freedom.
Claire walked beside him carrying a small bag with his things.
"So," she said.
"First stop after freedom?"
Rey thought for a moment.
"Food."
Claire laughed.
"Of course."
"I nearly died," he defended.
"That gives me at least three giant meals."
"Fair argument."
They started walking down the sidewalk.
The city looked peaceful.
Cars passed by.
People talked.
Streetlights flickered on as the sun set.
Everything looked normal.
Rey stopped walking.
Claire turned.
"What now?"
Rey looked up at the darkening sky.
"…It's weird."
"What is?"
"This," he said.
"Everything being normal."
Claire crossed her arms.
"You'd rather fight shadow monsters?"
"…Okay fair point."
They continued walking.
Neither of them noticed the faint glow beneath Rey's sleeve.
The mark.
Barely visible.
But slowly… very slowly…
Growing brighter.
"You are officially my favorite person today."
Claire sat down in the chair beside the bed.
"That's because you haven't talked to the investigation team yet."
Rey froze mid-sip.
"…The what?"