Chapter 119

DANTE'S POV

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was the white ceiling of the hospital room.

Blinking against the harsh brightness, I felt a strange, disoriented fog clouding my mind. It was as though I had been asleep for a long time, so long that the silence around me seemed almost unnatural, like an endless ringing in my ears.

Was this… the afterlife? Was I… dead?

A sense of unease crept over me, and as my senses slowly returned, I started to realize that I was very much alive.

The quiet in my head gradually faded, and I began to hear voices coming from outside the door, as though a crowd was gathered.

I couldn’t catch every word, but there was one voice that stood out among the rest, sharper and louder than the others.

It was my mother's.

As the memory hit me, I flinched, and the sudden movement sent a ripple of pain through my body. I groaned, barely able to lift my head, but slowly, I turned to look around the room.

The bed beside me was empty, and the room was also empty