Max’s eyes snapped open.

His body reacted before his mind did.

He jolted up a few inches from the bed, breathing a little heavily as his gaze automatically scanned the room for floating lines of code, system windows, or some female version of himself mocking his emotional stability.

There was nothing.

Just a normal room.

Silent.

Well.

Almost silent.

RRRRRRRRRRRKH. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Max slowly turned his head.

Dorian was completely sprawled across his bed. One leg hung off the side. One arm rested over his face. And he was snoring like he was possessed by a demon.

"...Ah."

Max dropped back onto the pillow.

"Okay. Still alive."

The wooden ceiling of the inn came into view above him.

No infinite void. No blue code. No Atlas.

Though honestly, a small part of him was still expecting to hear an irritating female voice say something from a corner of the room.

It didn’t happen.

Instead:

"Finn... don’t steal that... it’s decorative..."

Max blinked.

He turned back toward Dorian.

The elf was still asleep.

Talking in his sleep.

"...You can’t seduce the guard... that wasn’t part of the plan..."

Max stared at him for a few seconds.

"Your dreams are a full experience."

Dorian answered with a particularly dramatic snore.

Max sighed and rubbed his face with both hands.

He tried to relax.

But the feeling was still there.

Heavy.

Strange.

Like his mind had woken up, but part of him was still trapped in that empty space.

He could still remember everything perfectly.

The conversation with Atlas.

The mission.

The hospital room.

His body in a coma.

His world.

Everything.

Too clear to be a dream.

Too coherent.

Too cruel.

Max swallowed hard.

He turned his head toward the third bed.

Neros’s bed was empty.

The blankets were messy.

No sign of the cat-man.

Max stared at it for a few seconds.

Then sighed.

"Great."

He got out of bed and walked over to Dorian’s.

He gently shook his shoulder.

Nothing.

He shook him a little harder.

Nothing.

Finally, he spoke.

"Dorian."

Nothing.

"Dorian."

The elf grumbled something incomprehensible.

Max rolled his eyes.

"Dorian, wake up or I’m selling all your hair products."

Dorian’s eye flew open immediately.

"What?"

He sat up abruptly.

"Who? Where? Is something on fire again?"

He looked around, confused.

Then saw Max.

"...Ah."

He dropped back onto the pillow.

"False alarm."

Max crossed his arms.

"Neros isn’t here."

Dorian opened one eye again.

"So?"

"Do you know where he went?"

Dorian yawned. Adjusted his hair. And answered with complete casualness:

"He probably went to confess his eternal love to Seraphine."

Max’s eyes widened slightly.

"What?"

Dorian smiled faintly, still half asleep.

"Not that fast."

Max frowned.

"Then what?"

Dorian let out a small laugh.

"He went to contact Don."

Max blinked.

"For what?"

"So he can come pick us up."

He adjusted himself under the sheets.

"So we don’t have to walk through the forest back to the castle."

And then Max let out a short nasal laugh.

"That makes way more sense."

Before they could continue, three soft knocks sounded at the door.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

Both of them turned their heads.

Seraphine’s voice came from the other side.

"May I come in?"

Dorian raised a hand.

"As long as you’re not charging us rent for breathing, yes."

The door opened.

Seraphine appeared leaning against the frame, perfectly put together.

Her hair was already neatly styled again.

Her clothes immaculate.

As if she had never spent the night pretending to be drunk to emotionally manipulate her ex-husband.

"Good morning," she said.

She looked at both of them inside the room.

"I see you’re both still alive."

Max raised a hand.

"Barely."

Seraphine smiled faintly.

"Don is already downstairs."

She paused briefly.

"With Chloe and Neros."

She glanced at Dorian with slight irony.

"I hope I’m not interrupting your dreams or whatever it is you were doing in here."

Dorian raised an eyebrow.

"Sleeping, surprisingly."

"What a shame."

Max let out a small laugh.

Seraphine crossed her arms.

"You should come downstairs."

She glanced toward the hallway.

"We all have jobs to return to."

Dorian sighed dramatically.

"Workplace slavery never rests."

But he still got out of bed. He started getting ready quickly. Pulled on his boots. Adjusted his robe. Stored a few things inside his magical bags.

Until he suddenly went still for a few seconds.

Max watched him.

Dorian was holding a small knife. Old. Worn.

Nothing particularly special at first glance.

But Max immediately knew what it was.

Finn’s knife.

Dorian stared at it silently for a few seconds.

Then carefully wrapped it in several layers of cloth.

Like he was protecting something fragile.

Something important.

He placed it inside his bag.

And in that instant, a small tear rolled down his cheek.

Dorian wiped his face immediately.

As if nothing had happened.

Max looked away slightly.

He didn’t say anything.

Neither did Seraphine. She only watched the elf for a second.

Then turned to Max.

"Are you alright?"

Max blinked.

"Hm?"

Seraphine tilted her head slightly.

"You look strange."

She studied him closely.

"Like you didn’t sleep at all."

Max let out a dry laugh.

"Yeah."

He ran a hand through his hair.

"I had a weird dream."

Dorian immediately raised a hand.

"I can fix that."

Before Max could protest, the elf placed a hand on his shoulder.

A warm green light began wrapping around him.

Healing magic flowed through his body.

Max immediately felt the physical exhaustion vanish.

The heaviness in his muscles.

The sleepiness.

The bodily discomfort.

Everything disappeared.

Dorian smiled, satisfied.

"There."

Max blinked.

He felt physically perfect.

Rested.

Light.

But...

The strange feeling was still there.

Untouched.

Dorian looked at him, confused.

"Better?"

Max hesitated briefly.

"...Yeah."

He lied.

"Much better."

Seraphine narrowed her eyes slightly. Clearly not fully convinced.

But she didn’t push further.

"Good."

She stepped away from the door.

"Then come downstairs."

And walked back into the hallway.

Dorian finished getting ready.

Max inhaled deeply.

Then, on impulse, opened his system window.

A blue interface appeared in front of him.

His stats.

Inventory.

Skills.

Everything normal.

Until his gaze lowered.

And he saw it.

[MAIN QUEST: Save the World of Eldoria]

[Objective: Discover who is summoning beings from other realities and stop them.]

[Failure: Complete world reset.]

Max felt a small hollow sensation in his stomach.

There it was.

It hadn’t been a dream.

Everything had really happened.

Atlas.

The conversation.

The hospital.

All of it was real.

Max slowly closed the window.

His expression tightened slightly.

’So this is really happening.’

His thoughts immediately drifted to Atlas.

To her vague promise.

Max clenched his jaw slightly.

’Please find a way.’

Because he didn’t want to choose.

He didn’t want to save this world only to lose everything afterward.

He didn’t want to go back to a hospital bed.

He didn’t want to leave Eldoria.

Or Elanor.

Not after everything he had built here.

Dorian looked at him.

"Ready?"

Max blinked and nodded.

"Yeah."

The two of them left the room.

They walked downstairs and reached the entrance of the inn.

Outside, Don’s carriage was already waiting.

The fresh morning air hit Max’s face.

Chloe was standing beside the carriage.

Much more rested.

Still wearing borrowed clothes, though at least now she looked like a functional person instead of a freshly rescued victim.

When she saw Max, she smiled and raised a hand.

"Max!"

He raised a hand back.

But his smile came out far less convincing than usual.

Chloe tilted her head slightly.

Confused.

Neros was standing near Don, talking to him.

And Seraphine was already inside the carriage. Waiting.

Don saw them approaching and smiled faintly.

"I have to admit, you all look surprisingly intact."

He looked over the entire group.

"Considering you infiltrated the Black Market."

Dorian smiled.

"We’re irresponsibly professional."

"I can tell."

Max climbed into the carriage.

He sat down next to Chloe.

She watched him for a few seconds.

Then frowned slightly.

"Is something wrong?"

Max turned slightly toward her.

Chloe looked genuinely concerned.

"You seem weird."

She paused briefly.

"Are you mad?"

Max felt a small uncomfortable sting.

He looked at her.

And for the first time since meeting her, he felt guilty when he saw her.

Because now he knew.

He knew that to save Eldoria...

He would probably have to send her back to her world.

Her.

And everyone else.

Their presence here was part of the problem.

Just like his own.

Max forced a small smile.

He let out a short laugh.

"Nah."

He shrugged a little.

"It’s nothing."

Chloe studied him for one more second.

She didn’t look fully convinced.

But eventually nodded.

"Okay, if you say so."

Don grabbed the reins.

"Alright."

He looked forward.

"Time to head back."

He flicked the reins lightly.

The horses started moving.

The carriage rolled forward smoothly.

Its wheels clattered over the cobblestone road.

Leaving the inn behind.

Heading toward the castle.

Max rested his head against the carriage window and watched the scenery pass by.

The Great City was beginning to wake up.

Merchants opening their stalls.

Guards changing shifts.

People starting another perfectly normal day.

Completely unaware that their entire world could be reset as if none of it had ever existed.

Max closed his eyes for a second.

And thought only one thing.

’I’m going to save this world.’

Then he opened his eyes again.

With significantly more existential problems than the night before.