Axel let his body sink into the bathtub filled with ice, and an exhale of relief flooded his whole body. The water cooled his blood and brain. His heartbeat slowed down to a crawl. The tension in his muscles loosened completely for the first time in a long while, and small bubbles came out of his nostrils.
His mind and body became completely at rest, defenseless. No barrier of mana or artifact was on his body at the moment, which could protect him if someone were to ambush him. Even his senses were turned off completely. Experiencing that cooling sensation with his complete existence.
He could not help but wonder in the back of his mind how this simple experience felt so wondrous as a normal human. Those few minutes of complete immersion within the cold, icy water, with the complete silence of his mind, felt like an eternity.
