Chapter 197

Chapter 197 SERAPHINA The hall outside the medical wing was quiet, lit by soft white panels that mimicked natural daylight. For the first time in days, I felt the subtle ache behind my eyes—a reminder that I hadn’t truly rested since beginning the documentation. The framework noted it as “sustained cognitive focus approaching depletion.” I smiled faintly. Even my exhaustion had a clinical name now. Kael was waiting in the cafeteria when I arrived, half-asleep over a data slate. He looked up as soon as he sensed me, his awareness adjusting with that almost instinctive synchronicity we’d developed since integration. “Three days,” he said, stretching. “You didn’t answer a single message.” “I was writing,” I replied simply, dropping into the seat across from him. “It’s done.” Kael studied me for a long moment before nodding. “How does it feel?” I hesitated. The question seemed simple, but nothing about the last three days had been simple. “Like I just mapped a storm,” I said finally. “And