Later that day, when the sun was starting to hide and the world glowed orange, Aldrus was heading back to his room, dragging his feet tiredly behind him. Alice walked by his side with a serene face. As night approached, the air was slowly getting colder, but the sky still shared its shine with them, shaping the mundane sight into a warm, pleasant paradise.

He clung to the fading warmth, wishing it would last forever.

They walked in silence for a long time, not a single worry in the world.

Aldrus wondered about the reason why moments like these were the ones he treasured the most; the last few days had been full of new experiences for him, yet he chose to keep this one closest to his heart.

Making sure she didn’t notice, he glanced at Alice and took his time to admire her face. Just like him, she looked calm and pleased. Her eyes reflected the magenta from above, her bangs tickling her cheeks.

Only a single day had passed since he met her, but he felt incredibly grateful to her. She didn’t do anything in particular, but he was sure she didn’t realize how important a single welcome was for him, how much strength she gave him by merely walking by his side.

Aldrus never had any friends—or at least, not someone like her. He used to wake up disappointed every morning, yearning for a purpose. Everything seemed worthless to him; it wasn’t like he didn’t enjoy living, but he still wished for something to look forward to. That was the main reason he decided to explore beyond the city... and the reason he almost got killed.

He didn’t get far before the harsh realization struck him and threatened to shatter his wish in a million pieces: There was nothing out there. The world beyond the continent was dead.

It was not even necessary to see it with his own two eyes; just having left the main city was enough. He was stopped by death before he could even think about going further.

He was a coward.

His brother Lugh was too young to understand, so naturally he wouldn’t tell him, but the fact that he couldn’t even bring himself to text Claire back... His sister was always worried about him; she’d texted him every day since he left home to check how he was doing. Yet he hadn’t said a single word to her.

He was a coward.

He refused to tell his Mother how he got the fragment, even though he was sure she knew it wasn’t pretty. He was terrified of disappointing her.

He was afraid to let her know her son might’ve died alone, bleeding on the ground.

To make her feel like she couldn’t save him.

To make her feel like she wasn’t good enough.

Aldrus knew he’d have to tell her one day, and he hoped to be able to do it...

Someday—when he became a man. One capable of saying the truth without breaking her apart.

***

The next morning—

Aldrus woke up to the refreshing morning breeze. Alice was there, sitting on her bed, gazing out the open window by her side.

She might’ve heard him waking up, because as soon as he leaned forward, she turned her head toward him. "Good morning, Aldrus," she said, a calm smile forming on her face.

"Good morning, Alice."

After a simple greeting, they both went silent once again.

They were already getting used to living with each other. Both of them were of the quiet type, so it didn’t take long for the awkward silence of the first day to become natural, almost pleasing. Besides, he was in a good mood; Alice hadn’t sleepwalked last night, so he slept like a baby.

It was Wednesday. That meant they had class in the afternoon, so they could spend most of their day resting.

He hadn’t noticed yesterday, but he really needed a good rest. After his match with Miss Leona, the strain on his mind was so big that his body didn’t register it until the next day. Much like a training session whose effects only show up after waking up in pain.

He felt like that too. His good mood didn’t last for long before a terrible headache assaulted his senses.

"Aghh!..."

As soon as he sat, he lay back down in bed, gritting his teeth.

"Aldrus? What’s wrong?" Alice asked in a worried tone as she heard his groan.

"Ahhg... I-I think I overdid it...yesterday," he said, rolling awkwardly between the sheets.

She frowned and got out of bed. Soon, she was on her knees beside him, with a hand on his forehead. Her face grew serious as she recognized the heat coming from his burning body and mumbled, "Perspective burnout..."

Perspective... burnout?

He hadn’t heard that before, but the name practically spoke for itself. It seemed to be a state in which the mind experiences symptoms similar to those of a physical illness. He certainly felt bad, but it was different from a cold or an infection. It was as though his brain was melting, and not in a good way.

"H-how bad is it?" he asked, twitching his mouth.

"Pretty bad," she said, standing up. "To the point that I’m not sure if you’ll be able to attend the afternoon class."

Huh? I won’t be able to? That won’t do. I can’t miss my first theoretical class.

Aldrus suddenly sat on his bed again, struggling to keep his eyes open. He stared at Alice as she put on a jacket on top of her shirt. Then, she grabbed her room keycard from her bag and prepared to head out. "W-Wait, where are you going?" he asked, confused.

"Where else? We need a teacher to help you."

They can do that...? "You don’t have to, I-I’ll be fine in a few hours."

She looked at him with a serious frown and replied, "No, Aldrus. You won’t. I’m not trying to worry you here, but I’ve never seen a burnout like yours.

"Your symptoms are not that bad, but people usually experience burnout right after overexerting themselves. I didn’t ask you yesterday because you didn’t seem sick, so I just assumed Miss Leona went easy on you. However, now I’m not so convinced."

"So getting it the next day is not normal...?"

She fell silent for a moment and hesitated. Then, she crossed her arms, shook her head and finally asked, "Just what on earth did you do...?"

With that, she turned around, put her shoes on, and left the room.