The first sensation was pain. A deep, cellular ache that had nothing to do with cosmic power and everything to do with a body pushed far beyond its limits. The second was weight. The terrible, crushing weight of gravity, of a single, fragile form lying on a cold, hard surface.
Roewi Verdent opened his eyes.
He was in a med-bay. The lights were low, the air clean and sterile. He could hear the faint, familiar hum of Haven’s life support, a sound so mundane it was almost shocking. He tried to sit up, and a wave of dizziness and weakness forced him back down. His muscles felt like water. He was… empty. The vast, humming reservoir of power was gone. The silent, guiding presence of the Orbs was a phantom limb. The synthesized consciousness of Vextor-Elara was a quiet, distant memory. He was j
