"It… it exploded!"

Emiris' eyes widened in sheer disbelief as he looked ahead, expecting to see Norald—only to find a deep black crater where it had once stood.

"That… that is no ordinary bomb."

BAAAANG!

The sound of something falling resounded as Emiris turned just in time to watch the hulking creature collapse on its back.

The claws and veins began to recede, and soon enough, the boy he knew appeared again, Everlearn, lying on the ground, his chest heaving up and down.

The sight of them made Emiris' breath hitch.

Everlearn's chest was covered in deep, bloody scars so severe that his ribs were exposed.

There were various cuts on his skin, and even his face bore a diagonal slash mark across the side.

In that moment,

COUGH! COUGH! COUGH!

The sound of coughing echoed through the air, and Emiris turned to see her rising from the ground, her eyes slowly widening as she took in her surroundings.

It was Penelope, having regained consciousness.

"What happened?" she muttered, looking at Emiris.

He watched her, his body trembling slightly, as his teeth bit hard into his lips.

She turned and found Everlearn there, covered in ghastly injuries.

She looked around for Van and Zeke, but they were no were to be found, neither was the fearsome creature from before.

"What… what happened?" she asked again, her voice trembling with suppressed horror.

Emiris paused, wiping off the blood on his lips as he turned to look at Everlean's deteriorating state.

If nothing was done, he could lose him too, having him turn back to her.

"Hey, Penelope. You still have that healing serum with you, right?" he asked, and she nodded, bringing out a vial of shining blue liquid.

Emiris took it and walked over to Everlearn.

He picked up a handkerchief from his suit before pouring the serum over it.

Wiping it over Everlearn's face, a blue light spread, and in that moment, the flesh glowed and sealed up.

He continued to the ghastly cuts on his chest, wiping them carefully as their wounds closed up one by one.

Soon enough, the boy had been healed… at least from his external injuries.

"Tell me, Emiris. What truly happened while I was out?"

Penelope reached for him, but he grabbed her hands and, looking into her eyes, said quietly,

"I will. After we get out of here…"

Surprisingly, the second he mentioned that word, from the spot where Norald had exploded, something bloomed out: a rift, leaving a hulking, pitch-black door.

The door slowly widened, and both could see the rift within.

"The door…" Penelope murmured, and in the next moment, Emiris' hand reached out, grabbing Everlearn and raising him onto his shoulder.

"We leave," he said, walking towards the gate.

He signaled for her to go through first, which she did.

Emiris paused for a moment, turning back behind him.

Here, in this destroyed ruin hall, they had lost two souls.

"Van… Zeke…" he called out quietly.

A single tear dropped from his right eye.

Those two had been his rivals on the challenge ranking, right from when they were all Newcomers.

How many memories have they created together, how many future plans have they all harbored in their hearts?

Yet...

"I'll never forget. I swear that on my life..."

He said, voice brimming with quiet conviction as the tear dried.

Firming his hold on Everlearn, he stepped into the portal, and they disappeared.

The second they were gone, the entire hall began to crumble into nothingness, collapsing piece by piece until everything was reduced to ashes, leaving behind an endless void.

The object that had held it together was gone, and with no power left to bind it, it faded away completely.

___________

FLICKER

A flicker of blue light flashed through the room, and a pair of blue irises opened.

It was Everlearn, staring blankly at the world that continuously revolved for a moment before it stabilized.

He blinked twice, feeling everything return to stillness.

STEP

STEP

STEP

The sound of footsteps drew his attention, and he turned his head slightly, finding a familiar figure soon arriving by his side.

"Lady Erendel?" he called out in surprise, though his voice was weak.

"Finally woke up. Good," she said.

Everlearn's brows furrowed.

What was he doing here? Was he dreaming?

He tried to stand, but for some reason couldn't feel his waist, leaving him stuck in his position.

"Your expedition was a success," she said, confirming to Everlearn that things were indeed real.

But then she continued,

"While you came in without much external injury, having been earlier treated with some high-grade serums, you suffered severe internal damage."

"Even your Core was knocked out of its position, causing energy to spill into the rest of your body, which could have led to corruption."

"So you had to be returned to the one who fixed the Core in you," she explained, and his eyes glinted, understanding dawning on him.

"How long has it been?" he asked.

"Two weeks. You've been out for two weeks now," she answered, and he hummed softly.

'Seems like fighting Norlan really took everything from me,' he thought silently

"He had been forced to use every single last gadget he had taken onto that mission, and not only that, he overextended his use of the Illumino transformation skill.

While the skill made him tougher, almost impenetrable, it never healed his injuries.

Once he shifted back to human form, all the pain would return, and the injuries would reappear.

Lady Erendel went on:

"The injuries knocked the Core position out, automatically deactivating and even disrupting your heart rhythm, but your Core reactivated with no problem once I realigned things."

Everlearn felt the clear heartbeat now, and at the same time, he could hear the faint hum of his Core, evidence that it had indeed been restored to its rightful place.

But then, if he was fine, then why couldn't he stand?

"You know," Lady Erendel said, taking a seat beside his bed with a tablet in her hand, her brows creased in caution and confusion.

Everlearn's heart unconsciously dropped at that sight.

"Know what?"

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