The doctors moved quickly, releasing the seal on the transparent panel and opening it. Steam hissed through as the hinges opened up with a crisp pop. A gust of white streamed out of the open latch.

Nero opened his eyes and climbed out of the pod, his face quite a bit dazed.

Then his expression turned neutral as he looked at Lyon.

Seeing the look of disbelief on his face, he couldn't help but feel anxious,

"Is something wrong?" Nero asked carefully.

Lyon's expression shifted into something more neutral, though there was still a hint of disbelief lingering in the depths of his eyes.

"No," he said after a moment. "Nothing is wrong. It's just these results are just simply... Moderately well above average. Quite well above, I might add. I believe this endeavor will be a success."

He paused, then continued.

"The conditioning will not begin until tomorrow. It will last for seventy days, and during that time, you will undergo procedures and training that will push you to your absolute limits. But for now, you are free to rest or explore."

Nero tilted his head slightly. "Explore?"

"You will be allocated chambers where you can sleep and recover," Lyon explained. "In the meantime, you are free to visit the unrestricted areas. The training room, the mess hall, the outer courtyard, and the library are all within these bounds of course."

Nero's interest piqued slightly at the mention of the library.

"A library?" he asked.

Lyon's smile returned, this time carrying a faint hint of mischief.

"Yes, the library. Though I should clarify, while the library might not be restricted, that's only for the Templars themselves. Libraries are filled all kinds of knowledge, profabe and profound. If you want to get in there as a candidate, you'd would have to be snuck in in pieces as some things just aren't meant for the eyes of the common man."

Nero stared at him, catching the teasing tone in his voice, and his brows twitched slightly. He thought to himself how troublesome the next seventy days were going to be if this was the kind of man overseeing his conditioning.

Still, the idea of accessing a library filled with the Church's knowledge was rather tempting. But for now, the exhaustion was pulling at the edges of his eyes and mind, much heavier than his curiosity.

"I'll head to my chambers," Nero said finally.

Lyon nodded and gestured toward one of the other doctors.

"Alvi will escort you."

Alvi led Nero back through the corridors, this time taking a different route than before. They passed through several intersections and climbed a narrow staircase that spiraled upward, eventually emerging into a hallway that was noticeably warmer and better lit than the lower levels.

The walls here were lined with wooden doors, each one marked with a small brass plate bearing a number. Alvi stopped in front of one near the middle of the hall and pushed it open.

"This will be your room," he said simply. "Food will be brought to you in the mornings and evenings. If you need anything else, there's a bell by the door. Ring it and an attendant will come."

Nero stepped inside and looked around. The room was small but clean, with a narrow bed pushed against one wall, a wooden desk and chair near the window, and a chest at the foot of the bed for storage. The window itself was barred, though the bars were thin and didn't obstruct the view entirely. Outside, Nero could see the outer courtyard, dimly lit by torches, and beyond that, the high walls of the Red House.

"Thank you," Nero said quietly.

Alvi nodded. He paused for a moment, as though he wanted to say something.

Then he shook his head and left without another word, pulling the door shut behind him.

Nero stood in the center of the room for a moment, taking it all in. Then he walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge, testing the mattress. It was firm but not uncomfortable, far better than the straw-covered floor of the dungeon cell.

He lay back slowly, his head sinking into the thin pillow, and stared up at the ceiling. The room was quiet, the only sound the faint crackle of a torch somewhere in the hallway outside.

This was the third softest thing he had ever laid his head on, Nero thought to himself. The first had been his mother's lap, back when he was young and the world had not yet shown him its teeth.

The second was Aisha's soft, tender...

He sighed then closed his eyes and let the exhaustion wash over him. For the first time in weeks, he felt something close to safe, or at least not actively under threat. The bed was warm and the room was secure. Even tomorrow was still hours away.

As he lay awake, the rustling beneath him filled his mind. It had been so long since he had felt comfort of this sort.

So much so, he was a bit uncomfortable.

Fortunately, a little discomfort would not overcome his exhaustion.

Sleep came quickly, pulling him down into darkness.

And in that darkness, there were no nightmares.

There were no madness entrenched visions of corpses or Abominations or fallen gods with a thousand faces and a thousand twisted limbs.

Instead, there was just endless fields of peaceful white clouds stretching out in all directions, soft and weightless, carrying him through a sky that had no end.

Nero drifted through the clouds, his body light and free, and for the first time in longer than he could remember, he felt something close to peace.

The serenity wrapped around him like a blanket, and he let himself sink into it, knowing that when he woke, a new set of nightmares might begin again.

But for now, in this moment, there was only the quiet and the clouds and the blessed absence of pain.

Nero slept, and he dreamed of nothing but white.

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