Location: Theron's Cave - Dark Forest | Doha (Lower Realm)
Time: Day 367, Late Morning
The cave entrance appeared through the ferns like salvation.
Jayde stumbled through the protective wards—Theron's defensive formations recognizing her essence signature and parting without resistance. The moment she crossed the threshold, her legs gave out. She caught herself against the stone wall, leaving a bloody handprint on ancient rock.
Recommendation: Immediate first aid. Blood loss quantified at approximately four hundred milliliters. Shoulder puncture requires priority attention. Forearm lacerations secondary. Thigh scrape tertiary.
(It hurts. Everything hurts.)
Pain acknowledged. Processing.
Jayde made it three more steps before her body decided it was done moving. She collapsed onto the sleeping pallet—Theron's old bedding, now hers—and just breathed for a moment. In. Out. In. Out.
