It had been a week since the attack. We had won the war-we won-but the victory felt hollow, like a hollow echo that only grew louder the longer I lingered in the aftermath. The battle was over, but the price we paid had been steep. I could feel it in my bones, a deep, gnawing emptiness that never left, even when I tried to sleep. And now, here I was, lying in a sterile room, surrounded by the smell of antiseptic and the sound of hushed voices beyond the door.
I couldn't remember much of what had happened in those crucial moments after the battle. All I knew was that I'd fainted. My body had betrayed me, succumbing to the endless loss of blood. They had found me, deep in the woods, alone and broken, just as I deserved. My body still ached in places I couldn't even touch, but it was the int
