"Urgh..."

Consciousness returned gradually, pulling Rey from darkness that had claimed him after his theatrical collapse.

Pain registered first—not the overwhelming agony from plague corruption or internal injuries he’d deliberately inflicted, but dull ache suggesting extensive healing had already addressed the worst damage.

His enhanced perception activated automatically, cataloguing his surroundings with precision born from years of survival instinct.

’Where am I?’

At first he stared blankly, absorbing the details for a moment before coming to a quick realization.

He lay in bed constructed from materials that radiated faint divine energy—not quite Divine-grade artifacts but close, suggesting Church manufacture with quality exceeding normal medical equipment.

As for the room itself, it was pristine white, walls and ceiling glowing with soft light that made shadows impossible, architectural design emphasizing purity and order in ways that suggested Aether theology influenced every detail.

’This is... A purification ward?’ Rey silently analyzed.

It was a specialized medical facility designed to treat plague exposure and corruption contamination.

Which meant his deception had succeeded.

The Angels had brought him somewhere for treatment rather than execution or imprisonment.

Rey tested his body carefully, flexing muscles and channeling small amounts of Ether through pathways that should have been charred ruins from premature Ethereal Conception activation.

Everything functioned perfectly.

Better than perfectly, actually—the healing he’d received appeared to have addressed not just recent damage but lingering issues from his near-death experience with the Devil in the Labyrinth of Darkness.

’Divine-tier medical treatment,’ Rey calculated. ’Far exceeding what normal Gold-rank Searchers would receive. Which confirms they value me as a potential asset rather than mere casualty requiring basic care.’

He became aware of a presence in the room—a mystical signature operating at levels suggesting advanced practitioner, though not quite Angel-tier.

Rey opened his eyes fully and turned his head.

A young woman sat in a chair beside his bed, her attention focused on documents spread across a small table.

She appeared approximately his age, perhaps slightly older, with features that would have been striking even without the distinctive characteristics that marked her as exceptional.

Golden hair fell past her shoulders in waves that seemed to catch light from sources that didn’t exist.

Her eyes—currently focused on her reading—were blazing red, a color so vivid it suggested mystical enhancement rather than natural pigmentation. Her presence carried confidence born from capability rather than arrogance, and her mystical signature indicated mastery of multiple Arts operating at High Sequence levels.

But what caught Rey’s attention most was the sense of familiarity.

He’d seen those features before.

’Have I met her before? She looks too familiar.’

He felt like he had some sort of prior relationship with this girl.

Perhaps not this specific person, but someone who resembled her strongly enough to trigger recognition despite his inability to place the memory precisely.

The woman noticed his movement and looked up, her red eyes meeting his gray ones with attention that suggested professional assessment mixed with genuine interest.

"You’re awake," she stated, her voice carrying warmth that seemed practiced rather than natural. "Good. The healers estimated another six hours minimum before consciousness returned, but you’ve exceeded expectations again."

Rey forced himself into a sitting position despite his body’s protests, maintaining his Eru persona’s appropriate confusion and uncertainty.

"Where... am I?" he asked, allowing genuine disorientation to enter his voice. "The last thing I remember was..."

He trailed off as though struggling to process recent events.

The woman set aside her documents and stood, moving to his bedside with grace that suggested extensive combat training.

"You’re in Holy Academy City," she explained. "Specifically, in the purification ward reserved for individuals requiring specialized treatment for plague exposure and corruption contamination."

She gestured toward the window, where Rey could now see sprawling city that made Salimoor seem insignificant by comparison—massive buildings constructed in architectural styles that emphasized divine authority, streets filled with practitioners whose average mystical pressure exceeded what normal Searchers possessed, and at the city’s center a cathedral so large it made the corrupted one in the dungeon seem like minor chapel.

"The Angels who rescued you brought you here directly," the woman continued. "You were in critical condition—plague transformation approaching irreversible threshold, internal injuries that would have killed normal practitioners, Ether depletion suggesting you’d pushed far beyond safe limits."

She smiled with what appeared to be genuine approval.

"But you survived. More than survived—you contributed to the Emperor of Death’s elimination at a crucial moment. The Angels were very impressed."

Rey processed this carefully while maintaining an appropriate expression of confused gratitude.

"I... helped?" he asked, as though uncertain whether his desperate technique had actually mattered. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"Your Sequence #3 Spirit Art struck at exactly the right moment to tip the balance," the woman confirmed. "Without that contribution, the Emperor might have rallied sufficiently to force Angel retreat. You quite literally helped save millions of lives by enabling final victory."

She extended her hand in a formal greeting gesture.

"I apologize for not introducing myself earlier. My name is Sephyr. I’m an Angel-in-training at the Holy Saint Academy, currently in my final year before potential ascension evaluation."

Rey accepted the handshake, noting her mystical pressure operated at levels approaching what the Angel he’d killed had wielded.

’She’s close,’ he calculated. ’Perhaps months away from Angel-tier capabilities if her development continues at current trajectory.’

"Eru," he replied, maintaining his cover identity. "Gold-rank Searcher from Silverlight Guild. Though I suppose the ’Gold-rank’ classification might be outdated given what happened."

Sephyr’s smile widened.

"Indeed it is. You’ve been recommended for Academy enrollment—direct admission to an advanced training program reserved for individuals demonstrating exceptional potential. If you prove worthy during the evaluation period, you could become an Angel yourself within a decade—perhaps less."

’I won’t take that long!’ Rey grinned to himself.

The strategic victory he had achieved through his deception crystallized with that statement.

Not just survival, not just Church recognition, but direct access to institutions where future Angels were trained—a position that would provide resources, knowledge, and opportunities impossible to obtain through normal channels.

"I’m honored," Rey stated, allowing appropriate awe to enter his voice. "But why would the Church invest so heavily in a mere Searcher? There must have been others who performed well during the expedition."

"There were," Sephyr acknowledged. "Approximately three dozen survivors are being evaluated for various rewards and recognitions. But only five received Academy recommendations, and yours was among the strongest endorsements."

She gestured toward the documents she’d been reviewing.

"The lead Angel who rescued you—Commander Uriel—specifically cited your tactical awareness, mental resilience under interrogation, and willingness to sacrifice yourself for collective victory. Those qualities suggest potential for Angel ascension that transcends mere combat capability."

Rey nodded with appropriate gratitude while internally his mind catalogued every detail for future exploitation.

Then the familiarity he’d sensed earlier crystallized with uncomfortable clarity. Sephyr’s features, her bearing, even certain mannerisms—they reminded him of someone specific.

It was related to his past life somehow.

"You... look familiar," Rey stated carefully. "Have we met before? Perhaps during the expedition preparations?"

Sephyr’s expression shifted subtly—might have been recognition mixed with something approaching sadness.

"We haven’t met," she confirmed. "But I’m not surprised you find my features familiar. I have two older sisters whose appearances I resemble strongly."

She paused, her red eyes carrying weight that suggested personal pain barely concealed beneath professional composure.

"My eldest sister is an Archangel—one of the Twelve who serve directly under the Five Holy Ancients. You might have seen her image in Church iconography or heard her name during theological instruction."

Rey’s enhanced perception registered increased tension in Sephyr’s mystical signature as she continued.

"My middle sister was an Angel. She served the Church with distinction for three centuries, earning recognition as one of the most capable Angels of her generation."

Past tense.

’Was, not is?’

Rey felt cold dread beginning to form despite his practiced emotional control.

"What happened to her?" he asked, the question emerging more quietly than intended.

Sephyr’s red eyes held his gray ones with intensity that made his survival instincts scream warning.

"She was killed in the line of duty," Sephyr stated, her voice carrying controlled grief that suggested the loss remained fresh despite time that had passed. "Several years ago, she was deployed to eliminate a singularity in a false world—a reality layer that shouldn’t have existed, sustained by an entity whose presence violated fundamental cosmic principles."

Rey’s heart rate accelerated despite his desperate attempts at maintaining external calm.

"The mission was considered routine initially," Sephyr continued, seemingly unaware of Rey’s internal reaction. "Deal with the singularity, eliminate whatever entity was sustaining the false reality, return with minimal complications."

"But something went catastrophically wrong. My sister and her entire support team were killed. Not just defeated—utterly destroyed. Their connections to the Ancients were severed, preventing divine resurrection. Even their souls were damaged beyond normal recovery."

Sephyr’s hands clenched into fists, her mystical pressure flickering with barely controlled emotion.

"The entity responsible was identified as a transmigrator from another world. Someone called from Earth, yet he possessed unnatural powers by unknown forces"

She met Rey’s eyes directly, her red gaze carrying intensity that made him wonder if she somehow sensed his internal panic.

"Your sister... What was her name?" He asked with a gentle smile amidst his racing heart.

"Her name was Seraph. She was killed by the singularity known as Rey."