Xain didn't know where he was. Darkness stretched endlessly around him, the only things keeping him tethered to reality being the steady thud of his heartbeat and the faint rhythm of his breathing—until even that faltered.
"Such a shame~" Annie's voice slithered through the void, brushing right against his ear.
He turned sharply and found her there—face to face with him. Same face as him, but her hair was styled differently. She was grinning wide, eyes glinting with mischief.
"If I had been in control, I could've easily beaten the magic man. But now?" She chuckled, her tone mocking, almost sing-song. "Poor little albino~ How's he supposed to save his mother like this? Say… why don't you give me control again? That way something like this never happens again~?"
Her words dug at him, tempting, gnawing at the part of him that considered it. But his answer came firm.
"No. Never again. I don't want to lose myself, not ever. I already told them I wouldn't."
Annie clicked her tongue in annoyance, lips twisting in a sly smirk. "So stubborn. Fine, be that way. But you'll give in eventually. You always will." Her gaze lifted past him into the unseen. "Looks like it's about time you woke up. So—bye, bye~!" she sang, lifting her hand in a playful wave.
The darkness collapsed.
Xain's eyes blinked open to the ceiling above him. He was lying on a cot in the medical room, light spilling faintly across the walls. Several faces hovered over him, their presence pressing down on him all at once—Zee, Mae, Larkin, Drack, 'Nerissa', Clara, Elsa, and Roland.
"I lost…" he whispered hoarsely. His chest tightened. "I really lost…"
The group reacted instantly to him waking up.
"You're awake!" Zee exclaimed, leaning forward, her tone edged with concern. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, you alright? Need me to give you mouth to mou—" Mae started, only for Zee to stop her with a swat to her arm.
"Not the time!" Zee snapped, while Mae only grinned mischievously at her sister's reaction.
"You took a real bad hit to the ol' jaw," Larkin muttered, scratching the back of his neck and ignoring the twins' bickering. "Surprised it ain't broken or somethin'."
"Does it still hurt?" Nori scribbled quickly into his notebook, flipping it around for Xain to read.
Xain shook his head. "It actually doesn't, surprisingly enough, 'Nerissa'."
"Probably because the medics gave you something to dull the pain," Drack remarked, leaning closer to inspect his jaw. It looked fine, as if nothing had happened.
"You did really well!" Clara chimed in brightly. "Even if you lost, that was so much better than yesterday!"
Xain blinked at her, confusion flickering across his face. "Wait… why are you here, Clara? There's still another match to watch." His eyes moved across the group. "That goes for all of you, actually."
"I'm here to check up on my friend," Clara pouted, lowering her head slightly. Then her voice softened, uncertain. "Unless… you don't consider me your…" She trailed off, hesitant.
Xain immediately sat up, hands raised and waving quickly. "No, no, no—we're friends, don't worry! I was just confused, that's all!"
Her face lit up at his reassurance, the pout gone as fast as it had come.
"You are doing much better than expected, considering how fast you sat up," Elsa observed, arms folded, her eyes scanning him carefully.
Xain glanced down at himself, flexing his fingers as though testing his own body. "I guess I really am," he muttered.
*I healed you up a little. That was a nasty hit you took, ape,* Ercale's said in side his head.
Xain blinked in surprise. *Thanks… Erkie,* he answered back quietly, not expecting the Demon Lord to help without asking. Ercale said nothing further.
Finally, Xain's gaze landed on Roland. His expression turned apologetic, his voice low. "I'm really sorry I lost. But don't worry, I'll still find another way to help your mother. I promise."
Roland raised a brow, confusion flashing across his face. "What are you talking about? You still got third place—made it to the semi-finals. The coin you'll get from that is more than enough to help me and my mother."
Xain blinked at him, almost disbelieving. "Really?" His voice wavered, unsure if Roland was just trying to comfort him.
Roland nodded firmly, crossing his arms. "Yeah, really. Actually, I'm pretty sure I told you that before." He sighed, waving it off. "Don't worry about it. Ten thousand gold is more than enough. You did good, Xain."
Relief washed over Xain. His shoulders slumped, tension bleeding away as he exhaled deeply. "That's good… I'm glad. And," his eyes drifted over the circle of faces surrounding him, "since I'm fine, why don't we all go watch the rest of the tournament?"