Chapter 128: Debrief
Arios woke slowly. His eyes opened to the dim light slipping through the dorm window. For a moment, he didn't move. His body felt heavy, not in the physical sense, but like his mind had gone through something that reality still hadn't caught up with. His breathing was slow, steady, and he looked at the ceiling as the memories began to surface — the dungeon illusion, the dire wolves, the monsters, the dragon, and finally, the moment when everything shattered and the illusion broke.
He sat up on his bed, pressing his palms against his face. His body wasn't hurt. Not even tired. But the exhaustion in his mind lingered like fog. The moment he saw Instructor Garron standing there when the illusion faded back to reality kept replaying in his head. The smugness in the instructor's eyes. The way he didn't even try to hide it anymore. Arios exhaled sharply and stood up.
