Will coughed violently as his lungs struggled to pull in air. His body jerked forward as he retched, and thick, painful coughs tore out of his chest one after another.
His throat burned, his ribs ached, and his head felt heavy as if it had been struck repeatedly. Every breath felt shallow, and his vision swam as pressure pounded behind his eyes.
"Hrr-ack… cough… cough!"
His hands pressed against the cold stone floor as he tried to steady himself. Just before losing consciousness earlier, he had felt as if his entire body had been dragged under a raging ocean.
There had been no direction to the pain, only overwhelming pressure that crushed everything at once.
After that, his memories became fragmented. He remembered screaming, remembered his body tearing apart and reforming, and remembered a sensation that was far worse than dying.
He forced himself to sit up, groggy and disoriented, and looked around the chamber.
Nothing had changed.
