Fortunately for Ethea, she didn’t have to endure the suffocating silence much longer.

The door swung open, and Lady Clara and Seria stepped into the room, followed closely by Chief Healer Aris and his assistant.

"Good morning."

As usual, they greeted each other, and Lady Clara took Ethea out of the room, leaving the others alone with Soren.

As the door clicked shut, the lingering tension in the air finally began to dissipate. The sudden shift in the room’s dynamic provided the perfect window, and so, Soren chose that exact moment to ’wake up.’

He let out a low grunt, rubbing his eyes as if the growing morning light was blinding him. Looking up, his gaze drifted between the Seria and the elderly man dressed in high-tier medical robes whom he had never seen before.

"Morning," Soren murmured, his voice slightly rough from feigned sleep.

"Good morning, Mr. Soren," Seria replied, giving him a polite, measuring nod.

The elderly man stepped forward, offering a smile. "I am Chief Healer Aris. It is good to see you fully conscious today, young man. Since you only woke up just recently, let us perform a proper assessment."

He then stepped closer to the bed and conducted a thorough diagnostic routine, checking Soren’s reflexes, breathing patterns, and muscle responsiveness after the prolonged stasis. Finally, he reached out, pressing two fingers against Soren’s wrist to take a reading of his internal pulse.

A moment later, his eyes widened slightly. He blinked, shifting his gaze from Soren’s pulse point back up to his face, looking at him with genuine surprise.

"How are you feeling right now? Are you experiencing any residual vertigo or tightness in your chest? Any pain?"

"No," Soren replied, shaking his head slightly. "My head is completely clear. I just feel a little stiff."

"I see..." Doctor maintained his grip on Soren’s wrist for a few seconds longer, looking at the digital clipboard his assistant held out to compare the live readings with yesterday’s baseline data.

"This is remarkable," Aris said, finally releasing his hand and stepping back. He shook his head slowly, looking back at Soren. "Your vital pathways are restoring themselves at an anomalous pace. The residual congestion from your coma is entirely gone. A few days of rest, and you can get back to walking and regular everyday activities without any issues."

"Thank you, Doctor," Soren said, offering a nod of appreciation.

"Mmm... Make sure he doesn’t overexert himself today, Kana," Doctor Aris instructed, adjusting his medical cuffs. "Keep an eye on his fluid intake. I will review his full charts again during the evening rounds."

"Of course, Chief Healer," The assistant murmured.

"Well then, take care," Doctor Aris gave a final, approving nod before turning to leave, his assistant Kana following closely behind with the terminal log. The heavy door glided shut with a soft click, taking the clinical energy of the medical team along with it.

Soren then turned his gaze to Seria.

"Miss Seria..."

"Were you the one... who saved us?"

Seria gave a small nod.

"Thank you," He said, meeting her eyes with a sincere nod. "I owe you my life, Lady Seria."

"...Just doing my job," she hesitated briefly before replying.

Soren shifted slightly on the bed, his demeanor turning more focused as he brought up the question that had been weighing on his mind since he first opened his eyes. "And Ryan... How is he?"

"He’s okay," Seria answered reassuringly. "His injuries were much lighter than yours. He didn’t suffer as much as you did. He actually woke up the day before yesterday."

A sigh of relief escaped Soren’s lips as the knot of worry in his shoulders finally loosened. Knowing Ryan was out of danger cleared a massive hurdle. He paused, rubbing the bridge of his nose to clear the last remnants of his feigned grogginess before fixing his gaze back on her.

"Could you tell me what happened after we went down?" 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Seria offered a quiet nod, took a sit down on the chair, and began to recount the events.

"Let me start from the moment you stayed behind," she began, her expression turning somber. "The surviving members of Team 14 executed the evacuation order you gave them and crossed back through the portal. The moment they stepped out, they flagged the anomaly and reported everything. Recognizing the extreme hazard level, the instructor in charge bypassed standard protocol and contacted the academy directly. The academy didn’t waste any time, dispatching an elite rescue team immediately."

She paused briefly, a softer, more personal look flickering across her face. "Ryan happens to be my cousin. As soon as his name came across the emergency dispatch log, I volunteered to join the detachment and came along with them. However, when we arrived at the coordinates, the Golden Gate was completely sealed. The residual energy density was far too high for a standard breach, leaving the entire rescue squad stranded outside, unable to do anything but wait."

Although he was a bit surprised by her connection to Ryan, Soren kept his expression neutral, listening intently to the sequence of events.

"We were stuck there for what felt like hours," Seria continued, her brow furrowing slightly at the memory. "But then, I suddenly sensed a massive structural shift in the gate. The ambient pressure dropped all at once. I immediately entered the gate and started searching for you while activating my ability. Thankfully I didn’t have to search for long as I found you and Ryan lying unconscious nearby."

She exhaled softly, gesturing toward the sterile surroundings of the room. "The rest was a matter of rapid stabilization. We then transported you directly back to the city to be placed under Chief Healer Aris’s care here."

"I see..." Allowing the details of their survival to settle, Soren shifted the focus toward the loose ends that still needed to be accounted for, his eyes narrowing slightly into a cold, calculating look. "What happened to the case then? The one involving Garin?"

Seria’s expression hardened, a trace of professional frustration flashing in her eyes. "Garin was placed under immediate protective custody once the rescue team brought everyone back. Given his status as a minor, it wasn’t a standard criminal arrest, but the academy authorities held him for questioning based on the initial reports. But..."