Garima felt pain even before waking. Everything hurt. Not sharp as before. Not just in one place. It hurt everywhere.
A dull ache, constantly spreading throughout her body.
She heard rustling clothes. Clothes wrung in the water. Small whispers. Gentle hands wiping her face.
She felt energy flowing softly into her body.
She opened her eyes. Disoriented and heavy. The ceiling came into focus slowly. The white she had grown familiar with. Her room.
She heard them again.
"She's awake," Dylan said. He hovered.
Garima turned her head slightly. Regretted it immediately.
"Don't move," Ava said, her hands steady, pressing cloth against Garima's arm. Cleaning carefully. It stung.
Zihan stood near the foot of the bed. She couldn't see him but felt the energy passing through his hands.
Small hands touched her feet, rubbing nervously. Riley.
"Hold it steady" Zihan said "Don't push"
"I'm trying," Riley whispered.
Garima listened. She didn't speak.
They were restless. Tense. Alert. Like she might disappear if they blinked.
"Should I call Priestess Agatha or Priest Hill?" Dylan asked.
Garima shook her head.
"They wanted to be here" Ava said "But the King hadn't left. They went to walk him out"
The room turned quiet.
"Is it working?" Dylan asked. Too softly.
"That's as much we can manage" Zihan murmured "The rest will take time"
"I could have—" Riley started, frustrated.
"You did enough" Ava said gently.
Garima took a slow breath. Even that felt difficult.
"Can you—" Her voice came out hoarse. Everyone froze. "Leave"
After a pause "Just for a while"
No one moved.
"Please" she whispered.
That was enough.
Ava nodded "Come" she said softly. Zihan placed a hand on Dylan's shoulder and steered him out. He hesitated, then followed. Riley glanced back twice before the door closed.
Garima didn't move. Didn't breathe properly.
Then she inhaled. She felt a tremor.
And everything broke.
She cried. Broken sobs. Her chest tightened and she coughed but couldn't stop. Her body shook, every moment hurt and she cried even louder. She choked. Sat up and heaved. Pain shot through her as she trembled.
No one had– Not like that. Not until she couldn't stand or breathe.
Her grandfather hadn't. Nor her mother.
"I don't want to do this," she sobbed and stared at her hands. Red and painful.
"I can't," she lay back down. Her body curved inward and she tried to make herself smaller. Pain flared.
"I can't do this…"
Then— a buzz, a vibration. The artifact on the table beside her bed glowed softly. Ava must have left it there.
Garima's hand trembled as she reached for it.
She held it. It pulsed softly. Warm and familiar.
Then a voice came out of it.
"Aella"
Garima broke again. Cried messily.Breath uneven. She coughed and dry heaved. She didn't try to speak or explain.
Cosmo didn't interrupt. She stayed silent.
Time blurred. The sobbing stopped.
Garima was exhausted and breathless.
At some point she managed words between broken breaths.
"It hurts," she paused.
"I didn't think it would hurt like that"
Her grip tightened"At that moment I wished I could go back" she said. small childlike. "I didn't want to be here"
"Do you want to?" Cosmo asked gently.
Garima closed her eyes. Her tears slipping silently.
"Yes" A whispered "I always did…"
She paused.
"But I can't" Her fingers tightened around the artifact. "I promised I would save the world. And now there are people…."
"...Don't push yourself too hard," Cosmo said quietly.
Garima let out a weak, broken laugh. "Yeah" She smiled tiredly. "Don't blame yourself," she said softer. "And…thank you. For staying"
Warmth pulsed through the artifact.
"I will always stay," Cosmo said.
Garima wiped her tears.
"I'll survive" she whispered "I have written worse than this…"
She smiled but her facial muscles trembled with pain.
"The protagonists…they always make it through…I will figure it out…somehow"
Cosmo listened quietly.
Garima stopped talking. Her body felt heavy. Drowsy.
She held the artifact tight. It pulsed back. Warm.
Her eyes drooped. Her grip loosened. And breathing slowed.
Her body still hurt.
But she drifted off to sleep.
Outside the door—silence had settled.
Then— muffled sobs. Broken, unsteady.
Dylan stiffened. "She is crying"
Ava's grip tightened around the cloth she still held.
Riley looked up. Wide-eyed.
Zihan didn't move.
Another sound through the door— choked. Broken.
Dylan took a step forward "I am going in–"
"No" Zihan's hand landed on his shoulder.
"She's hurt–" Dylan shook his hand.
"She asked us to leave"
Dylan clenched his jaw.
"She held it in" Ava whispered "All of it"
Riley's voice came out small "Did we do something wrong?"
"No," Ava added quickly. Then softer– "No"
No one moved. They couldn't hear what Garima was saying. But they stood there. Until the sound faded. Until there was nothing. Just quiet.
Zihan opened the door. "She's asleep"
Ava walked inside quietly. She pulled a cloth into a makeshift bed and sat on the floor.
Dylan sat beside the door. Riley curled near his side.
Zihan stood for a long time before finally sitting opposite them.
No one spoke.
They just didn't want to leave.