Kealen's eyes snapped open. He lay perfectly still for a moment, his breath catching in his throat, before he instinctively shook his body, like a dog shedding water, then pushed himself into a sitting position on the soft, damp forest floor. The harsh reality of his situation hit him with the force of a physical blow. Frantically, he ran his hands over his chest, his stomach, his limbs, searching for any sign of injury. There was nothing. Not a single wound, not even a scratch marred his skin.The last thing he remembered was Commander Zain pulling the trigger, the sharp crack of three bullets being fired directly into him at their camp. He was certain, absolutely positive, that he had fallen, lifeless. He could recall the cold, metallic taste of blood, the searing pain, and then… nothing. Yet here he was, in the heart of a deep forest, waking from what felt like a nightmare, completely unharmed."This is far from ordinary," Kealen muttered to himself, his voice a hoarse whisper. His

Kealen turned and ran into the forest, his body bleeding freely through the wounds he had sustained in the water and the torn flesh where bullets had riddled him earlier. This time, the injuries did not fade or heal like they had before. Instead, blood soaked his clothes, pooling beneath him in crimson rivulets. Weakness clawed at his limbs, and his breath came in ragged gasps. He hadn’t eaten in days since the soldiers had descended into the forest, their weapons and orders stripping him of the normal life he had once known. Survival had become a grim, daily battle.With sheer willpower, he forced himself forward, collapsing onto the forest floor at the riverbank. His body trembled as he struggled to rise again, but the searing pain and hollow ache of hunger pinned him to the earth. His vision blurred as he let his head loll back, the rustling canopy overhead casting fractured light over his face.Closing his eyes, he surrendered to the dark. For a moment, his wife’s voice echoed i