Hours passed, dragging into the late evening until Elias found himself stretched out on his bed, head tilted up toward the ceiling, legs crossed, his body finally unwinding after a long, scalding shower.
He let out a slow breath, feeling the warmth from the water still lingering in his muscles. For the first time all day, there was nothing to do, nowhere to be.
"Dot's," he muttered, eyes still on the ceiling. "You ever feel like no matter how much we push forward, it still feels like we're stuck at the start?"
A soft yawn vibrated from within his chest as Dot's settled deeper inside the shard. "All the more reason to enjoy the now," she murmured sleepily. "You never know when today will be tomorrow's nostalgia."
Elias smirked. "That was oddly poetic."
No response. Dot's was already out.
He let his mind drift. No alarms. No training. No immediate threats. Just silence.
Then—he wasn't in his pod anymore.
