Zach slowly opened his eyes, but he was regretting it as soon as he did. His head hurt like someone had tried cracking it open with a sledgehammer, and they had gotten close. The brightness of the room, the walls, the ceiling, and everything around him didn't help.
But Zach gradually recalled the last thing he saw before passing out and realized he couldn't go back to sleep just because he wanted to. He had to wake up and find out what happened.
He had survived. Or he was dead and in the afterlife, but Zach doubted it. There was no way the afterlife would look like the Academy's infirmary.
He tried looking around, but every muscle and joint in his body was stiff.
"H—huek!" Zach let out something like a cough when he tried to talk with a throat as dry as sandpaper.
"Here." Nora handed him a glass of water. Zach took a sip.
"Thanks. Help me sit up." Zach gestured for Nora to help him, which she did.
