After a while. The medical ward was quiet except for the soft hum of healing equipment and the occasional footsteps of nurses checking on patients. Four beds were arranged in a small room, close enough for conversation but giving each occupant space to rest.Miko lay on his back, staring at the white ceiling. The ash lines on his skin had faded to barely visible marks, but he could still feel them—like a reminder of everything that had changed. His right arm, the one Anna had regrown, felt strange. Not wrong exactly, just... different."Can't sleep either?" Akiya's voice broke the silence. She was propped up on her side, facing him from the next bed."Every time I close my eyes, I see him," Miko replied quietly. "Suspended in that thing. Looking so... peaceful.""He's alive," Anna said from across the room. Her voice was hoarse from the healing treatments she'd undergone. "That's what matters.""Is it?" Miko asked. "Many years as a living battery. Twenty years while I grew up thinking

Three days had passed since their meeting with Coordinator Hayes."Come on," Akiya said, tugging at Anna's sleeve. "You've been staring at those medical books for hours. Let's get some fresh air."Anna looked up from the anatomy text she'd been studying, rubbing her tired eyes. "I need to understand how the regeneration technique really works. If I'm going to learn more Church methods from Larok...""You'll learn better with a clear head," Akiya interrupted. "Besides, we need supplies. The market's open today."Anna considered this. They did need things—basic toiletries, some clothes to replace what they'd lost in the Abyss, maybe some decent food that wasn't from the Academy cafeteria."Fine," she agreed, closing the book. "But just for an hour. I want to finish this chapter tonight."The Academy's weekly market was held in the main courtyard, where local merchants set up stalls selling everything from fresh bread to handmade weapons. Students moved between the vendors, taking advant

Anna stared at the letter in her hands for the third time that evening. The wax seal had cracked when she opened it, releasing a faint smell of old parchment and something else—something that reminded her of the Abyss."You're going to wear holes in that paper," Akiya said from her bed across the room. "Just tell me what it says."Anna folded the letter carefully. "He wants to meet tomorrow night. Says he has knowledge about advanced healing that could help Miko's father.""And you believe him?""I want to believe him," Anna admitted. "The regeneration technique I used on Miko's hand—I still don't fully understand how I did it. If this Brother Matthias really knows about such things...""Then why not approach the AAU directly?" Akiya sat up, fixing Anna with a stern look. "Why all the mystery and shadow magic demonstrations?"Anna had been asking herself the same question. The display in the courtyard had been impressive but also threatening. Not the approach of someone seeking to hel

The AAU interrogation room was small and cold, with stone walls that seemed to absorb sound. Miko sat across from Coordinator Hayes, while Anna, Akiya, and Liam waited in an adjacent room. Through the one-way glass, he could see them talking quietly among themselves."Brother Matthias isn't talking," Hayes said, setting down a thick file. "Claims he was hired through intermediaries. Anonymous payment. No direct contact with the client.""Do you believe him?" Miko asked.Hayes shrugged. "It's possible. There are networks that specialize in this kind of work. Hire mercenaries, kidnap people, ask no questions about who's paying.""But someone wanted Anna and Akiya specifically," Miko pressed. "Not me, not Liam. Just the girls. Why?""That's what we're trying to figure out." Hayes opened the file, revealing surveillance photos of the warehouse district. "The fire destroyed most of the evidence, but we did find this."He slid a partially burned document across the table. Miko could make ou

Three days into their stay at Lunaris, Miko finally managed to slip away from the constant attention of other students. He found Miss Rose in her usual spot—the small greenhouse behind the main building where she grew herbs for the Academy's healing classes."Miko," she greeted him without looking up from the plant she was tending. "I wondered when you'd come looking for answers.""You said you worked at Central Academy," he said, settling onto a stool beside her workbench. "But you never told us when or why you left."Miss Rose continued her work, fingers gentle as she pruned dead leaves from a medicinal plant. "Some stories are better left buried.""Not this one," Miko insisted. "Not when it might help us understand what's happening now."She sighed, setting down her tools. "You're persistent. You always were, even as a student.""You're the only person I trust right now," Miko said as he giggled. "Everyone else either has their own agenda or might be working for people who want us