The moment the miraculous restoration of his body was complete, Kale gasped for breath with a violent, involuntary jerk of his lungs. The sound was a ragged, wet noise that echoed off the cavern's charred volcanic walls.
He felt the sudden influx of air rushing into his throat, a primal reaction to the suffocation he had just endured.
He hurriedly clamped his hand over his mouth, his eyes wide with a sudden spike of alarm. He remembered the toxic, superheated fumes that had been scorching his membranes just seconds before his collapse.
He expected the inhalation to be a death sentence, a final searing blow to his mended internal organs.
However, to his immense surprise, the air did not fill his lungs with a scorching or corrosive sensation. While the atmosphere remained thick with the scent of sulfur and minerals, it felt remarkably cool as it passed through his windpipe.
It was as if a specialised filter had been placed over his respiratory system.
