The last thing I saw before my vision faded to black was Cecilia, her own face a mask of terror and a dawning, unwilling concern, rushing to my side. The quest was complete.
The world didn't return with a soft whisper or a gentle breeze. It came crashing back in a broken, agonizing series of sensations that hit me one after another like waves in a storm.
The first was the pain: white-hot, blinding, and centered in my shoulder where the Chimera's venomous fangs had sunk deep into my flesh. It pulsed with my frantic, uneven heartbeat, a venomous fire that felt less like a liquid and more like molten glass grinding through my veins. Every throb sent another surge of agony through my system, a cruel reminder that I was still alive.
