After Valerian vanished, the dragonkin went all out. Fortuna killed countless eastern soldiers in the rage, and Boo-too had to step in to calm her down. Valerie cried her heart out, and Fragrantia sat in a corner silently. They had won the war, but the cost was unexpected. Valerian was everything to these few people. They all were aggrieved after he vanished.

After the dust settled, every major character was gathered in the tent. Boo-too had imprisoned Immortuous in the realm of Bloomkin. She came back to talk to the people.

Fortuna slapped the table, and it exploded into shreds. She looked at Boo-too and said, "Tell me, what the fuck just happened!"

Ordinary people shivered when facing her rage. The aura from the Dragon Queen was so strong that it shoved them back. Boo-too waved her hand and said, "You are alive. It means he is alive as well."

The saintess added, "Her excellency is correct. Val must be safe, and I can ask the Goddess about this."

Boo-too shook her head and said, "You do not have to seek an audience with the Goddess. I know where he went. However, we cannot intervene in this matter. The high gods, let alone us, cannot go against the rules."

Fortuna asked, "Where did he go?"

Boo-too replied, "Avarium, the caged world."

...

Valerian found himself sucked up in a dark portal. He swung inside the dark tunnel, unable to see anything around him. His body was wrung like a cloth, but he did not feel much pain. The blessing of the Goddess was acting on him.

Soon he sensed the pressure reducing away. The young man sensed the surroundings lighting up. He looked around and found himself falling from the void. Valerian tried channeling mana in his body, but there was no reaction. He was not shocked because he heard what Immortuous said to put him here.

However, he wanted to try and see if there was a possibility to have any mana reaction. The young man calmly assessed the situation and turned his body to face the earth. He sighed mentally, ’Fuck my life!’

He was falling on a patch of green with no fluctuation ever. Valerian looked around to find a trace of blue so that his landing could be cushioned. Since he could not see it, he tried to brace for the impact. The next moment, he sensed something inside his body and channeled the feeling.

His body was instantly covered in a red fog. He was pleasantly surprised to have his battle aura still available. The next moment he condensed a set of wings on his back. Molding the battle aura into any desired shape was a grandmaster’s skill.

The speed of his fall was faster than his wing creation. The next moment, a dull thud echoed in the surroundings as Valerian landed on the ground. A groan escaped his mouth, and his lungs were out of air too.

He tried to channel his battle aura to gain some mobility, but the wisps of red fleeted his body and blended with the atmosphere. The young man gradually lost consciousness. He lay there in the dirt, and that was his last thought.

The next time Valerian opened his eyes, he stared at a dusky brown ceiling. He had no energy to look around, and his consciousness was fleeting. He did not know how many days it took him to wake up.

He remembered the voice of someone taking care of him. However, he recalled a silhouette cleaning his forehead of sweat. After some time, when he opened his eyes, he had the energy to memorize everything around him.

From the looks of it, Valerian was inside a cottage. He tried to raise his body with his elbows but realized it was a hassle. He did not have that much energy. Suddenly, someone opened the door from the side, and Valerian turned his head. He looked at the person, and his eyes widened in shock. His heart rushed, and a murmur echoed inside his conscious, ’Mum.’

Then he blacked out again. He did not know where he was, but the shock in his mind was so great that it made him faint. The next time his consciousness came back slowly, he heard a few voices around him.

"He woke up the other day, but why did he faint?"

Valerian did not know this voice; it sounded like a woman, probably the one he saw and thought was his mother. Recalling that vague picture in his mind, he thought this woman was his mother, but the voice did not overlap with that of Flos. He concluded that he must have been hallucinating.

Another voice followed after the woman, "You sure that you saw him wake up."

A smack sounded, and Valerian opened his eyes slowly. The lady said, "Look, his eyelids are flickering."

Valerian opened his eyes and found the woman looking at him. The smile on the woman’s face was that of relief and that of joy. Valerian did not understand what was happening when the lady sighed and said, "Finally, you are awake, lad. Do you know you have been fainting for two months?"

Valerian opened his mouth, and for some reason, he made a perfect sound, "Who are you?"

He was sane; he knew that this lady was not his mother. Her hair was black, and her voice was different. Only a certain part of her face matched that of his mother. The lady replied, "I am your savior. You can call me Sister Zen."

Valerian nodded, and then he opened his eyes wide in shock. He just realized that he could speak properly. Valerian shivered, and his expression was excited. He asked, "Can you tell me where is this place?"

Zen nodded happily and reported, "You are in Valium village."

Valerian nodded and asked, "Can you tell me what happened to me?"

Zen sighed and replied, "Oh, you poor boy. I was looking for some herbs when I found you in the dirt. Thanks to that armor on your body, it saved your life."

Valerian nodded and looked around. Zen followed his gaze and said, "Oh, are you looking for your armor?"

The young man nodded, and Zen said, "It is out in the barn. My brother is a blacksmith and could not help but take it to study. I will get it back to you. Also, you had a pouch tied to your bag, but it was empty, I swear."

Valerian smiled and said, "No need to swear that pouch is empty."

Recalling something, Valerian raised his left palm, found the same black sphere in the center of his palm, and sighed in relief. It was not that he wanted to use the Tear of Vita. He was relieved that he did not lose this treasure.

Zen peeked over and exclaimed, "Oh! I was wondering what this mark is. Can you tell me?"

Valerian thought briefly and said, "A mark of my identity."

Zen opened her mouth in surprise, and Valerian chuckled. He tried to sit up, and the airhead lady helped him. She smiled and said, "You are not yet fully recovered. What you need is proper rest and a healthy meal. I will get you some food."

Valerian nodded and asked, "Thank you for what you have done for me."

At this moment, Valerian spotted a young man standing at the room’s door. The young man cleared his throat and said, "If you wish to thank us, you can vacate the bed."

Zen turned around and shouted, "Wen, shut your fucking mouth before I throw you out in front of the village chief’s house."

Valerian felt the situation was awkward and commented, "I would like to get off the bed too, but I cannot feel anything in my legs."

Zen turned around in a flip and lifted the blanket over Valerian’s body. The young man saw his legs being wrapped up in thin bandages. He was shocked and asked, "What is all this?"

Zen shook her hand and commented, "Oh, nothing. These bandages are coated with a cooling herbal paste. You had a fever yesterday. Only now did it go down because of the bandages? Allow me to help you remove it."

Valerian nodded and watched the lady skillfully work on his body. He asked, "Are you a medicus, Sister Zen?"

Zen looked at him confusedly and asked, "What is a Medicus?"

Valerian realized that he was in a different world and coughed his throat. He said, "Oh, I mean to ask do you know how to heal people?"

Zen nodded and replied proudly, "I am the only Doctor in this village. Aren’t you lucky I found you."

Valerian nodded and asked, "Can you tell me more about the world? My memories are a bit fuzzy."

Zen replied off-handedly, "This world is called Avarium which means the cage. It is said that when the High Gods created the universe. They made a few mistakes, and those mistakes were all kept in this world. Then to make sure those mistakes do not leave this place, they made humans. We are guarding the world."

Valerian mumbled, "Cage."