Alex woke up feeling like a golem had used him as a punching bag.
Every muscle ached. Every joint protested.
[DEBUFF: EXHAUSTION – SEVERE]
[TIME REMAINING: 14 HOURS]
"Great," he muttered, trying to sit up.
He failed miserably.
Collapsed back onto Raven's bed—again.
"Trying to move?" Raven asked from a chair by the window.
She looked just as bad—dark circles under her eyes, disheveled hair, moving with deliberate care.
"Trying," Alex admitted. "Not successfully."
"Same here. I tried to get up an hour ago. I fell."
"Literally?"
"Literally. Emily had to help me back to the chair."
Despite the pain, Alex laughed weakly.
"Fragment Synergy is amazing."
"Until it ends."
"Until it ends."
Emily came in with a tray—tea, toast, and recovery potions.
"Good morning, shattered warriors," she said with false cheerfulness. "How do you feel?"
"Like garbage," Alex and Raven replied simultaneously.
