Roan woke with a splitting headache that felt like iron hammers pounding against his skull. For a long while, he couldn't summon the strength to crawl out of bed. He lay there, staring at the ceiling, caught between the dull ache in his head and the heavier weight of worry pressing on his chest. What if Ocean still hadn't stirred? Though the fever had broken the night before, what if he continued to sleep, refusing to return to them? What if his body had given in and Ocean was only drifting further away?
The questions spun in circles until they sickened him more than the pain in his head. Roan buried his face in his hands, trying not to imagine a world where Ocean Ryujin never opened his eyes again.
Just then, hurried footsteps echoed outside. The door creaked open, and Remi's head poked in with breathless excitement.
"Mr. Roan—wake up! Master is awake!"
