[Renji Takeda's POV—Hospital Room—Awakening]
Beep.
…Beep.
...Beep.
The sound dragged me upward through a sea of darkness—slow, painful, heavy, like my soul was being stitched back into a body it had forgotten.
Something cold touched my skin.
Fabric.
A blanket?
My eyes fluttered. Blinding white stabbed into my vision, and I winced, breath hitching as the world swayed violently around me.
Where…?
Where am I…?
The last thing I remembered was Alvar.
Bleeding in my arms. His hand reaching for me. His voice whispering, "If there's no Leif… there's no Alvar either…"
My chest tightened so painfully I thought the monitor beside me would explode, and tears fell from my eyes instinctively.
My breath faltered.
The heart monitor spiked—Beep—beep—beep-beep—!!
Tears slid down my eyes without permission.
"Alvar…" My voice didn't leave my lips, but the name pulsed painfully inside my mind.
