Rhea slowly awakened.
She felt groggy—the kind of exhaustion that clung to her bones and made her limbs feel heavy. She blinked, her vision blurry, and found herself on a bed in a place that was unfamiliar to her.
The ceiling was wooden, old beams crisscrossing above. The air smelled of herbs and linen.
She looked around, still lying down, trying to piece together where she was and what had happened.
Then she looked to her right and her heart clenched.
Ayumu.
She was also on the bed, still asleep. Her face was pale against the linen that she looked almost like part of the sheets.
What happened? Rhea thought, her mind struggling to remember.
The last thing she recalled was the cave room falling down around them. Stones tumbling. Death rushing toward them from above.
And Ayumu had cast a barrier. She had saved them all.
Frustration rose in Rhea's chest. Again and again, Ayumu has saved them. The last surviving white magis, constantly endangering herself for the sake of others. Throwing herself into harm's way. Burning through her own energy until she collapsed.
She couldn't taje the frustration. She wanted to get up. She looked to her left abd suddenly, a black misty shadow-like being was staring at her.
Its face was inches from hers—close enough that she could see the swirling darkness that made up its form, the way it seemed to breathe without lungs, the two red eyes that gleamed like embers in the dark.
Rhea screamed a high pitch scream.
"AHHHHHHH!"
She flailed, scrambling backward, and fell off the bed entirely—landing on the wooden floor with a painful thud, her limbs tangled in the blankets.
Heavy footsteps pounded through the building. The door swung open so hard it bounced against the wall.
Drobar filled the doorway, his massive frame blocking the light from the hall. Kaiser was right behind him, red eyes sharp. Fifi peeked from between them. Levain and Osmond crowded the doorway behind.
"WHAT?! WHAT HAPPENED?!" Drobar shouted.
Rhea, still on the floor, pointed a trembling finger at the dark being. "IT! It was staring at me! What IS that?!"
The shadow being hovered where she had left it—motionless, silent, its red eyes blinking slowly. It seemed almost confused by her reaction.
Kaiser pinched the bridge of his nose.
"That is Noctis," he said flatly. "My new servant."
Fifi pushed past Drobar and shook his head. "See? I told you it was not a good idea to ask Noct to watch the girls. It's creepy."
The being—Noctis—tilted its head, as if processing the criticism.
Kaiser exhaled through his nose. "Disband, Noctis."
The dark being nodded once—a slow, deliberate motion—and then dissolved.
Rhea stared at the empty space where it had been, her heart still pounding.
Levain stepped forward and offered her a hand. She took it and Rhea sat on the edge of the mattress, catching her breath. She looked around the room—at the simple furniture, the woven blankets, the window showing a village street outside.
"Where are we?" she asked.
Kaiser leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed. "The village where we were staying before departing for Paititi. The villagers helped us down from the mountain. They gave us first aid and shelter."
Levain added, "You have been asleep for two days, Miss Rhea."
Rhea's eyes widened. She looked at the men.
Drobar immediately put both hands up, palms out, as if warding off an accusation. "Wait, wait. We did not touch you girls. There were maidens who attended to you. We stayed in our own rooms the whole time."
Rhea let out a slow breath and relaxed—just a little.
Then her gaze drifted back to Ayumu.
"How is she…?"
Rhea's voice softened, saddened. Ayumu lay so still. So small beneath the blankets.
Levain spoke gently. "They say physically she does not have any major injuries. No broken bones. No wounds. But…" He hesitated. "We were hoping that when Miss Rhea woke, you could tell us about her energy level. You know, as you are a brown magis."
Rhea nodded slowly.
She pushed herself off the bed and moved to Ayumu's side. She sat on the edge of Ayumu's bed and looked down at her sleeping frien. Then she placed her hand on Ayumu's stomach.
Right over her belly button.
She closed her eyes.
As a brown magis, she could the center of a magis energy, the place where their power was stored. She pressed her palm flat and reached out with her senses, searching for the warmth of Ayumu's energy.
Rhea's brow furrowed.
She pushed deeper.
There.
A heartbeat of light energy, so faint it was almost not there.
Rhea exhaled.
"She is too weak," she said quietly. "She did not use her life force but her energy is so drained. If this is what two days of rest and recuperation have done…" She paused, her throat tightening. "…then she was running on empty when she cast that barrier. She gave everything she had left."
The room was silent.
Drobar looked at the floor. Fifi turned away. Levain bowed his head.Kaiser's red eyes remained fixed on Ayumu's pale face.
"Will she recover?" Kaiser asked.
"I don't know," Rhea admitted. "Brown magis can heal bodies with medicine. But energy… that comes from within. Only she can replenish it. And right now…" She looked back down at Ayumu. "Right now, there is almost nothing left to work with. She needs tike to gain back her energy."
No one spoke.
The morning light continued to filter through the window, falling across Ayumu's pale face.
Fifi tsked under his breath. Not out of annoyance. Something that sat in his chest like a stone. He knew Ayumu had overexerted herself because of them. Because she had been trying to protect them. Again.
Now the journey back to Epsos was long and far. Through forest and mountain and open water.
Kaiser stood by the window, his back to the others, his red eyes fixed on the village outside. His voice was calm, measured—as always.
"We can leave by tomorrow. I will carry Ayumu."
Rhea's head snapped toward him.
Maybe she had just woken up on the wrong side of the bed. Maybe it was the exhaustion.
But rage rose up in her like a flood.
"You're a hypocrite, Lord Kaiser."
The room went still.
Kaiser turned slowly. His red eyes narrowed. "...What did you say?"
Everyone else gasped.
Drobar's mouth fell open. Fifi took a step back. Levain froze mid-breath. Even Osmond's head lifted slightly.
But Rhea did not flinch. She looked him straight in the eye.
"I said you are a hypocrite." Her voice was loud in the small room, echoing off the wooden walls. "At one moment, you are fawning over Ayumu. The next, you are angry at her—cold to her—as if she has done something wrong. And now?" She gestured sharply toward the bed where Ayumu lay. "Now you pretend to care for her? You will carry her?"
Kaiser's jaw tightened. "Miss Rhea—"
"Tell me, Lord Kaiser." Rhea took a step closer, her brown eyes blazing. "Are your feelings for Lady Ayumu genuine? Or do you still think they are being influenced by your ancestors?"
The silence that followed was deafening.
Kaiser stared at her. His red eyes were unreadable—but something shifted behind them. Something that might have been pain.
"I do not see why I have to discuss that with you, Miss Rhea." His voice was low. Serious. "My feelings for Lady Ayumu will come to light to her one day. But for now…" He glanced at Ayumu's still form, and his expression softened. "…I will care for her."
He was silent for a long moment.
"I will treat her better from now on. That you do not have to worry."
He turned and left.
The door closed behind him with a soft click.
Rhea stood where she was, still glaring at the empty space where he had been.
It was not that she despised Kaiser. But black magis had always been the emotionless type—cold, calculating, detached. And Ayumu… Ayumu had gone through so much. More than anyone should have to endure in a lifetime. Rhea never wanted to see her hurt again. Least of all by the likes of him.
Drobar let out a low whistle. "Well. That was intense."
Fifi whispered to Levain, "I thought she was going to punch him."
Levain whispered back, "Miss Rhea is a scary person."
Rhea ignored them all. She sat back down on the edge of Ayumu's bed and took her friend's limp hand in both of hers.
"Wake up soon," she murmured. "Please."
-------------------------------------------------------
In the streets of the village, Kaiser walked.
His boots scuffed against the dirt road. Children played in the distance, their laughter faint and far away. Merchants called out to passersby.
He walked until the noise faded, until he found himself near the edge of the village where the road led back into the forest.
He reached into the pocket of his pants and pulled out a small pouch.
He stared at it.
It was the pouch Ayumu had tried to give him when they were on the boat. The one she had held out to him and he had swatted her hand away.
The pained look on her face lingered in his mind. He saw it every time he closed his eyes.
He clutched the pouch in his palm.
Inside were her crystal tears—it was a safety and healing charm that she wanted to gift it to him as a thank you for saving her from drowning.
Because of this pouch, the pain he felt from missing a rib had been reduced. The feeling of the wound being sharp, gnawing, relentless—had been wrapped in silk during his dreams when he was unconscious. That softnes an relief, it had been her. Because of this pouch she gave him.
Even when he had pushed her away, she had still helped him.
He had not known Ayumu for long.
But he had no doubt about what he felt.
Time and again, Ayumu had saved him. Saved the others. Thrown herself into danger without a second thought. Burned through her own energy until there was nothing left. And what had he done? Glared at her. Pushed her away. Swatted her hand aside like she was nothing.
Kaiser had always been the best of the best.
He had excelled in everything—combat, strategy, control. He had been called the perfect specimen of a black magis. Cold. Efficient. Untouchable.
But now…
Now he felt pathetic.
He could not even protect the person he—
The word caught in his throat, even in the silence of his own mind.
But there it was.
He finally admitted it.
His feelings for Ayumu—were real. They were his. Not his ancestors'. Not a script written in blood and fate. His.
He loved her.
And he had been too blind, too proud, too stupid to see it until now.
Kaiser closed his fist around the pouch and pressed it to his chest.
The sun continued to shine on the village street.