Elara Voss had always hated the sound of hospital monitors. That shrill, artificial beeping—like a countdown to something you didn't want to reach.
Which made waking up to that sound feel like a cosmic joke.
The first thing she noticed was the cold. The kind that bit into her bones and refused to let go. The second thing was the suffocating weight in her chest, like she had just run for miles but never stopped to breathe.
She blinked hard. Fluorescent lights burned white sparks into her vision.
Where am I?
She lifted a hand—slow, shaky—and found an IV taped to her arm. Bandages. Needles. A hospital gown that felt too thin for December.
Her throat was raw when she spoke.
"H-Hello?"
The curtain beside her bed swished open and a young doctor stepped in—white coat, dark skin, hair tied in a tight bun. She froze mid-step when she saw Elara awake.
"Oh my god—" the doctor breathed. "You're conscious."
Elara frowned. "Should I not be?"
"You were clinically dead for three minutes," the doctor said. "We were preparing to—" She stopped herself, composure snapping back. "What's your name?"
"Elara Voss."
"And your age?"
"Twenty-one. I think."
"You collapsed on the street outside a convenience store," the doctor explained. "Cardiac arrest. But when your heart restarted, something… unusual happened."
Elara stiffened. "…Unusual how?"
The doctor held up a tablet. Her heartbeat appeared—two lines instead of one. Two perfectly synced rhythms.
"We detected a second heartbeat," the doctor whispered. "Like your heart was… linked to another person's."
Elara stared. "That's impossible."
"You're telling me."
The doctor sighed, rubbing her forehead.
Something pinged. Not from any machine in the room—but from inside her skull.
DING!
A bright holographic screen flickered into existence only Elara could see:
Bond Link System Activated
Status: Soulbound
Linked Target: Searching…
Elara's breath hitched. She swatted at the hologram like it was a fly—but her hands passed through it.
The doctor gave her a confused look. "Are you alright?"
Elara forced a nod. "Yeah. Just… dizzy."
Searching…
Searching…
Target Locked
Name: Damon Blackthorn
Status: In Critical Danger
"What the—"
Suddenly, a sharp pain stabbed through her chest—like knives twisting. Elara gasped, clutching her ribs.
Monitors screamed.
Her pulse spiked. Tears blurred her vision.
Linked Target is Injured
Synchronizing…
Pain surged again—hotter, harsher—like she was being shot from the inside out.
She screamed.
The doctor lunged forward. "She's crashing—!"
Elara's vision shattered into white—
Then darkness swallowed everything.