The next morning arrived not with the gentle warmth of dawn, but with a harsh, biting wind that whistled through the mouth of the cavern. I woke up with my muscles aching intensely, a direct consequence of the massive celestial energy that had surged through my body the night before. Yet, despite the physical pain, my mind had never been clearer. For the first time in ten years, I didn’t wake up to the harsh shouts of the Silvercrest head omega commanding me to clean the fireplaces. I woke up accountable to no one but myself.
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> I stood up from the bed of dried ferns, stretching my stiff limbs. I walked over to a small pool of rainwater that had collected near the entrance of the cave. Kneeling down, I looked at my reflection in the still water.
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> My breath caught in my
