He tried to sit up.
His muscles responded.
Then stopped.
Not fully. Just enough to halt the motion midway. His body trembled slightly as if caught between commands.
He froze.
Vikoria rushed to his side. "Do not force it."
"I am not," he replied, breath shallow now. "I am just trying."
The system flickered faintly.
[Host motion exceeds recommended threshold.]
[Restriction maintained.]
Vikoria eyes widened. "It is stopping you."
"Yes," he said quietly. "Not shutting me down. Just limiting me."
She swallowed. "Because of Refusal to Fall."
He nodded.
"They let me go past my limits once," he said. "Now they are making sure I cannot do it again without permission."
Vikoria clenched her hands. "That is cruel."
"It is cautious," he corrected. "From their perspective."
He stared at the ceiling again.
The worst part was not the restriction.
It was how reasonable it felt.
No pain spike. No collapse. No drama.
Just a line he could not cross.
