Kai's Pov
The night deepened around the healer's building as we settled into uncomfortable waiting. News of Lilia's condition had slowed to nothing, and exhaustion gradually claimed each of my companions. Earlston was the first to succumb, his stocky frame awkwardly folded into a corner bench. Maya and Rowan followed soon after, then Cecilia, her head resting against the wall, features softened in sleep.
Soon I was the only one left awake in the waiting room, my thoughts churning like storm clouds. Smith's anguish resonated with me in ways the others couldn't understand. I knew that specific torment—the crushing weight of responsibility when someone you care about lies broken because you weren't strong enough, fast enough, enough.
It eats at you like acid on metal, corroding everything until only guilt remains.
I stared at my hands in the dim lamplight. What if that had been Maya or Rowan in there instead of Lilia? The thought alone made my chest tighten painfully. I'd already lost too much across two worlds. Maya and Rowan were all I had left—my anchors in this strange reality I now called home.
If I lost them too...
I shook my head, unwilling to follow that thought to its conclusion. Never again. I didn't care how skilled Rowan became or how powerful Maya's magic grew—I wouldn't become complacent. No more would people die because of my weakness, my hesitation.
As these grim promises circled through my mind, my eyelids grew impossibly heavy. Despite my resistance, exhaustion finally pulled me under, the day's events claiming their toll.
Darkness. Complete and absolute.
Where am I? The void stretched endlessly in all directions, a perfect absence of light or form.
A sound pierced the silence—muffled at first, like someone speaking underwater. Indistinct syllables that drifted through the emptiness.
"Who are you?" I called out, my voice seeming to travel nowhere yet everywhere.
The mumbling stopped abruptly. Then came the screaming—a desperate, agonized wailing that built from distant howl to ear-splitting shriek. I cupped my hands over my ears, the pain lancing through my skull as I squeezed my eyes shut, desperate to wake.
But closing my eyes only opened another door.
Visions flooded my consciousness, the same horrific tableau I'd glimpsed when Ms. Vera had attempted to read my mana ratings. Rivers of blood flowing across scorched battlefields. Cities burning beneath strange constellations. Creatures of shadow and bone tearing through ranks of armored defenders. Faces contorted in agony as something dark and ancient consumed them from within.
I was paralyzed, forced to witness atrocity after atrocity as the mumbling returned, growing clearer with each passing moment. The voice grew more distinct, more familiar, until finally—
"KAI!"
My name, spoken with terrible clarity, shattered the visions. The darkness fractured around me as I was violently ejected from the void.
I jolted awake, sweat-soaked and disoriented. Maya and Rowan stood before me, their faces etched with concern. The waiting room came back into focus—the herbs hanging from rafters, the flickering lamplight, the quiet pre-dawn air.
"What?" I managed, my voice hoarse as if I'd been screaming.
Maya and Rowan exchanged worried glances before turning back to me.
"You were having a bad dream," Maya said, her usual confidence replaced with uncharacteristic gentleness. "Shaking and thrashing. You looked really freaked out, and then you started... crying."
I wiped at my face, surprised to feel the wetness of tears streaking my cheeks. My heart still hammered against my ribs, the echo of those terrible visions lingering behind my eyes.
"I—I'm fine," I lied. "Just a bad dream."
Their expressions made it clear they didn't believe me, so I deflected. "What's going on right now?"
They seemed to relax slightly at the change of subject, though concern still shadowed their eyes. Rowan straightened, pushing his copper hair from his face.
"Earlston and Cecilia are getting follow-up treatments," he reported. "Smith is asleep by Lilia's side. She still hasn't woken up."
As if summoned by his words, a shout echoed from down the hallway—Smith's voice, calling Lilia's name.
We froze, exchanging startled glances before bolting for the door. We tumbled into the room in an ungraceful rush, practically tripping over each other in our haste.
The sight that greeted us stole my breath. Lilia was awake, her eyes open, though clouded with confusion. Smith sat beside her, one hand wrapped around hers, the other gently smoothing her tangled hair away from her bandaged forehead.
"Wh-what happened?" she asked, her voice little more than a whisper, fragile as autumn leaves.
"Shh, don't talk just yet," Smith murmured, his words soft and tender in a way I'd never heard from the adventurer. "We'll explain everything soon."
Thalos burst into the room moments later, medical instruments already in hand. "Everyone please exit the room," he ordered briskly. "I need to run some tests."
The healer moved to Lilia's bedside, checking the enchanted bandages and examining her eyes with a small crystal that glowed blue at his touch. He gave Smith a pointed look that needed no translation.
Smith hesitated, then leaned closer to Lilia. "I'll be right outside," he promised. "You were hurt pretty badly, so they need to run some tests, okay?"
Though she didn't speak, Lilia's lips curved into a soft smile, and she managed a small nod. It was enough for Smith. He rose reluctantly and followed us out of the room, his eyes lingering on her until the last possible moment.
As the door closed behind us, I noticed Smith's shoulders trembling slightly—whether from exhaustion, relief, or some combination of the two, I couldn't tell. But the haunted look in his eyes had lightened, if only by a fraction.
I touched his arm briefly in silent support, even as the fragments of my nightmare pulsed at the edges of my consciousness.