Chapter 231: The Echo of Three
The first breath I took after the fight was the deepest I’d had in hours. No shallow gasps, no pain riding up my ribs—just full lungs and a quiet that didn’t feel like a warning anymore.
The jungle had exhaled with me. Slowly. Finally.
My System hummed through every limb, steady and warm, like marrow reknitting itself around a new core. It wasn’t just back—it was alive inside me. The familiar weight of my skills settled into place like an old uniform. A little tighter than I remembered, but mine all the same.
I knelt beside Camille first. Her curls were matted with blood and sweat, her breath shallow. She raised her good arm before I could speak.
"Before you say anything dramatic," she muttered, "just know I’m fine. My dramatic quota is full after watching your ’I’ll die in the dirt before I submit’ monologue."
I let out something halfway between a laugh and a groan. "Glad to know you were listening."
"Hard not to when the jungle practically paused for you," she said. Then, more softly, "You okay?"
"I am now." And I meant it. Every part of me felt like it had been cracked open and rebuilt stronger.
Behind me, Alexis coughed, clutching her ribs as she tried to stand. "Did you have to hit him that hard?" she wheezed. "Pretty sure the ground still remembers it."
"He reached for a gun," I said, already walking toward her. "I just made sure he wouldn’t get the chance again."
She sat back down with a wince. "Still. Overkill."