After leaving the Grand Manor, Marina had spent the morning helping the young Blendbreeds who were still trying to find their way around Lilies Park. Although she'd had a modest amount of information before moving to the Otherworld, she had felt lost during her first days too, so she had great empathy for them. Seeing thirteen-year-old kids, still innocent, taking their first steps in that new environment was more than nostalgic.
When lunchtime arrived, she went to the cafeteria with her siblings, with whom she also spent the afternoon. Originally, she was supposed to teach a class at 5:00 PM, but the Lyceum had eventually decided to replace her altogether after the recent events involving Tefine's son, so she had been able to enjoy some rest.
All in all, the entire day had passed rather quickly for her.
As for Cragar's children, Dahlia had remained locked up in the Thirteenth House while there was still no news of Shirei. Marina felt responsible for what had happened, so she had organized a surprise evening to spend time with her. The reluctant Lilia had also joined the two Blendbreeds, having run into Ien's daughter by chance as she was leaving her own house.
Around three in the morning, they had all passed out, and Marina had slipped into Shirei's bed without even realizing it.
The day was supposed to end that way, but someone had decided otherwise.
Shirei materialized in the Thirteenth House about an hour later, leaning his shoulder against the wall. He was drenched in blood and covered in wounds; his clothes were worn, torn, and battered. He didn't have the strength to move, but before collapsing, he managed to summon the Blade of Discord and use it as a crutch. With great effort, he turned his head, searching for his sister. He saw Marina and Lilia still asleep. The bathroom light was on—a sign that Dahlia was awake and would see him soon.
Cragar's son tried to push himself up and reach the door, but he fell to the floor before managing to take four steps. He gritted his teeth and tried to stand again, but collapsed once more and lost consciousness for good.
Dahlia opened the door and found the body lying on the floor.
"Oh, holy father! Shirei!"
Cragar's daughter shouted at the two Blendbreeds to wake up and threw herself at her brother's side. As gently as she could, she tried to slap his cheeks to bring him back to consciousness.
She narrowed her eyes into slits. "This time we're going to talk, oh yes we are, but right now I have to get you to the infirmary."
Marina jolted awake at Dahlia's repeated screams filling the room. As soon as she saw Shirei lying on the floor, she shook her raven-haired friend and rushed to Dahlia's side. She only realized the floor was soaked in blood after crouching down.
"He's lost so much blood… what the hell happened?"
"I don't know! What do we do? Marina! Marina, what do we do?" the girl was on the verge of a hysterical breakdown.
Ien's daughter stared at the Blendbreed, trying to figure out whether he could survive the journey or not. Lilia stood silently to the side, watching the scene unfold. Marina wondered if she might be secretly celebrating, and truly hoped she was wrong about that. Dalia, on the other hand, had teary eyes—she would've liked to kill him with her own hands.
"Okay, then," Ien's daughter tried to think clearly, "we could… Dalia, you need to take a Spectral Travel."
The girl's eyes widened. "Huh!?"
"It's the fastest way if we want to get Shirei to the infirmary."
"But I—I don't know how to do that…"
Marina took her hands. "Yes, you do. Dalia, I believe in you. Your brother's life is in danger—only you can save him."
The girl didn't seem too confident in herself, but they had no other choice. She hoisted her half-brother onto her back, took a deep breath, and said, "Meet us at the infirmary."
Shadows swirled rapidly around the two of them and, in the blink of an eye, Cragar's children vanished into the Interworld.
Marina winced. "Let's hope this works…" Then, turning to Lilia, she said, "Come on, let's head to Mardi's kids' house."
── ⋆⋅❂⋅⋆ ──
Dalia and Shirei reappeared, crashing onto a cot in the infirmary.
The girl immediately rolled to the side and ended up vomiting all the popcorn she'd eaten just a few hours earlier. Trying to ignore the rancid puddle of yellowish liquid she'd just regurgitated, she looked around, then got to work laying her half-brother down.
Cragar's daughter massaged her nose bridge, still shaken from the Spectral Travel, completely forgetting to acknowledge her success.
"Where's the representative of the heirs of the god of medicine… I never thought I'd have such a foolish and irresponsible brother."
Dalia left the infirmary in search of a Blendbreed who could help her. Shirei remained still, while a flood of images filled his mind. Even though it was night, nothing around him was dark.
He saw people beside him fighting, mysterious figures locked in battle with ferocity and cruelty.The Tenebrae rose to attack rows of enemies; among them was a dark angel in armor, and the boy recognized it from the description Marina and his half-sister had given him.
A feminine voice was calling him gently.
Shirei tried to get closer, but the girl's face stayed blurry. She kept repeating his name—that much he was certain of. But every time her lips moved to shape the letters, a distorted sound filled his ears.
"Who are you?" asked the Blendbreed.
The mysterious figure smiled again. "Still sleeping? Come on, it's morning."
Shirei began to run toward her.
"Who are you?" he repeated, almost shouting.
"You need to wake up."
The ground beneath Shirei vanished, and the boy began to fall.
Below him was a blinding light, growing closer and closer.
He looked up, searching for something to hold on to.
He tried to travel through the Interworld, but failed.
The light swallowed him, forcing him to cover his eyes from its overwhelming intensity.
When he lowered his hand, expecting to still be in that strange place, he noticed familiar elements and realized he'd been wrong. His arms were bandaged, and he felt inexplicably stiff.He was staring at the ceiling of the Twenty-First House.
"The Infirmary…" he muttered with a grimace of pain.
"The Infirmary," Dalia echoed mockingly as someone checked his wounds.
"How long have I been here?"
"Since you showed up at our house and collapsed."
Cragar's son tried to get up, ignoring Luxy's complaints, and sat upright. He looked away—he hadn't been strong enough to make it on his own. Dalia still had blood on her hands and parts of her face, probably from brushing stray hairs away. Cragar's daughter took a cloth and wiped the blood—and sweat—from her face.
"Thanks, but you didn't have to bring me here."
"Exactly! I should've left my dying, blood-drained, helpless brother in front of my best friend and another young woman. That's definitelyhow people who care about each other behave!"
Dalia said the words laced with obvious sarcasm, then handed him a glass filled with a white-blue liquid. "Here."
"What is it? Smells like vomit."
"Nectar, the healing drink created by the God of Medicine himself," Luxy said proudly. "We don't have much of it, so consider yourself lucky."
"I just threw up. You know, I'm really not in the mood," his half-sister quickly added.
Shirei saw the tired, yet worried expression on his sister's face. He looked at her, then lowered his gaze and simply thanked them both.Normally, he would have refused the nectar—he didn't want to waste their limited supplies—but Dalia's expression convinced him not to argue.
The girl sighed, then once Luxy had finished bandaging him up, she straightened and stood firmly in front of her half-brother.
"Now I demand answers. What tragedies struck you? What the hell happened while you were in the Underworld?"
Cragar's son winced when he saw Marina enter the room. Ien's daughter didn't know what to say, but when she heard him speak, she chose to stay silent and listen.
Shirei simply took a deep breath.
"When I lost my memory, I was on the shores of the Uchia River. There, I met a soul. I didn't know who he was—I didn't even know who I was—but he knew me. His name was Kaede, a Japanese Blendbreed with the gift of lightning magic. He'd fought long and hard with his katana against monsters, until it finally led to his downfall."
Shirei tried to stand but realized he still wasn't able to.
"Kaede told me that I was quite famous in the Underworld. I was Cragar's son—the one who, with deadly calm, killed every Overworld monster without pause. When I told him I couldn't remember my name, he gave me a new one: Shirei."
Marina clenched her fists. "Okay, so? Shirei, what does that mean?"
"Brother, what's the connection between that story and what brought you back in this state?"
Cragar's son lowered his gaze, the bandages beginning to stain red once more.
He made a move to stand. "I'm sorry, but we'll have to continue this later."
Before Dalia or Marina could step toward him, darkness swirled around his body and engulfed him completely, making him vanish.
"You Cragar kids really need to quit it," Luxy grumbled.
"Gods, why does he always have to run off!" Marina huffed.
The girls rushed out of the infirmary, tossing a quick thanks to Mardi's son.
Outside the house, they unexpectedly ran into Chris, Lilia, and Michela. The first, like all house representatives, had been warned by Lyceum and the divine Aena to keep a close watch on the boy in order to track his movements precisely. Dalia and Marina quickly explained what had just happened.
Michela took off her headphones. "Gods, I hope he's not in pain."
"He was bleeding," Chris replied. "Unless he's secretly a woman, that is something to worry about."
"I'm going to check the arena and the forest. If I find him, I'll let you know," said Marina.
Dalia grabbed her arm, and together they broke into a run.
"Okay," nodded the other daughter of Ien, turning to the remaining two. "I'll check the Cragar kids' house—was it the Fourteenth or Thirteenth?"
Chris rolled his eyes. "Thirteenth House, I think."
Shirei materialized in the clearing and leaned against a tree. After taking a strained breath, Cragar's son let himself fall to the ground and closed his eyes. His ears were ringing terribly, and the bandages were now soaked in crimson red.
"I made it in time…" he said, pressing both palms against the soft forest floor.
He knew the secret to healing himself, but it was a power he still couldn't fully control. If his friends had stayed nearby, his attempt to heal might have seriously harmed them. That vital energy, if released without restraint, could have consumed everything around him.
With determination in his eyes, Shirei began to absorb life from the nearby plants. A wave of melancholy spread through the clearing as the grass withered under his touch. His mind was a storm of conflicting emotions, locked tightly inside and hidden from his face.
There was no time to hesitate. He had to act before it was too late.
A strange sensation filled him, as if an external hand were guiding the mana particles, channeling them toward him.
It was… easy.
With every breath, Shirei felt a little stronger, a little more alive. But the price was steep, and he knew it. The air around him vibrated with tension, as a threatening darkness loomed ever closer.
Marina and Dahlia arrived in the woods. The credit went to the daughter of Ien, who had activated her peculiar power and tracked Shirei's aura throughout the park. It hadn't been difficult—after all, he was the only one who bore the distinctive violet hue of his dark creatures. The two Blendbreeds reached Cragar's son and approached him. Marina saw the blood, and her vision suddenly blurred. It was a strange sensation for her. She had grown deeply attached to Shirei in that short period—more than what Aena and the Lyceum D'Agostini had asked of her.She kept telling herself it was just curiosity toward him, but she had to admit that staying by his side had brought her far more emotions than her usual days at Lilies Park.
She deactivated her analytical sight, but noticed a strange pinkish hue within Cragar's son's violet aura. It lasted only a moment, yet she wondered if her thoughts were affecting her vision.
"Oh gods! What happened?" she exclaimed, frightened.
Chris arrived at the group with wide eyes. "Dude! You're bleeding!"
Dahlia stopped him. "What are you doing here?"
"I followed you? What do you think?"
A wave of darkness surged from Shirei, as he warned them: "Get back."
Marina shook her head. "We have to heal you! And fast!"
Chris pulled out some bandages from his utility belt. He had stolen them from the infirmary a few hours earlier and was quite pleased with that decision.
"I can heal myself. Please, leave."
"Forget it!" Marina replied firmly. She wouldn't leave him alone—he seemed like he was losing it again.
"I just need a little time. But you need to stay away."
The eyes of the two Blendbreeds met. He wasn't lying, but he didn't want to be left alone.
"I trust you… you're not running away?"
Shirei nodded. "No."
Ien's daughter chose to back away and held Dahlia in place. "Chris, do as he says."
The son of Corgi pulled out a golden device and tossed it shortly after. The object clamped onto Shirei's ankle, anchoring him to the dying ground.
"Thank Lorenzo Scala for that. This guy's bleeding, and you wanna let him wander around?"
That's when a wave of darkness struck everyone nearby, throwing them back. Around them, most of the trees withered and crumbled, turning that part of the forest into a dead clearing right in the heart of the lush woods of Lilies Park. Shirei looked toward the other Blendbreeds and clearly saw the stunned expressions on their faces. Marina didn't know what to say—she stared at the ground, at the withered flowers, then the trees. Finally, her eyes landed on Shirei.
"Shirei, you know what? Do whatever you want," Dahlia snapped before running away.
"No! Hey! He's still bleeding, you can't just leave him like that!"
"If he wants to kill himself, let him. I'm done with his secrets."
Cragar's son tried to stand, but Chris's device kept him pinned. He wanted to reach Dahlia, to run after her and try to understand what was wrong. He couldn't grasp the reason for her anger and feared that his power had terrified her. Marina gave him one last look before running after her friend.
"Vital theft. Nice trick, I have to admit," said Chris as he approached the Blendbreed.
"Did I mess up? Is that it?"
"Dude. If you don't even know yourself, that's a bad sign. Now come to the infirmary and get treated, then you can go ahead and feel sorry for yourself."
Shirei cast one last glance at the tree he had leaned on earlier. It was still intact—unlike all the others.
"Come on, you're feeling better, right? Walk on your own, let's get to the infirmary," Chris repeated.
Cragar's son merely nodded and followed him with effort.
Shirei and Chris returned once again to the infirmary located in the House of Mardi's sons. The violet-eyed Blendbreed kept his gaze down and made his way toward the still-unmade bed where he had spent the entire night. With the help of Corgi's son, the boy pulled off his black hoodie, revealing the raw wounds and scars across his back. Chris respectfully kept his gaze low, but Marina—who had been waiting for the right moment to enter—froze in place and blushed. Shirei noticed her. At first, surprise crossed his face, but he quickly masked his emotions.
"Do my scars bother you?"
Receiving no answer, he decided to slip into one of the hospital gowns set aside for inpatients. "Thanks, Chris."
"You're welcome. Now comes the self-pity phase."
Shirei leaned against the bed. "You couldn't take this off for me?"
Corgi's son smiled and replied, "So you can disappear again? No way, little ghost."
Marina approached with a gentle expression. "Shirei… now… can you tell us what happened to you?"
Chris nodded. "I'm no doctor," he said, pointing at Luxy, "but I'd like to know who did this to you too."
"Seems like everyone wants to know. How's Dahlia?"
The daughter of Ien let out an embarrassed laugh. "She locked herself in the Thirteenth and didn't even speak to me."
"I'm taking priority. We'll deal with the little princess later. First of all, who gave you that wound?" Chris asked, then added, "And I'm not removing that ankle lock until you answer, just so you know."
Shirei lowered his gaze. "Without getting into details… it's because of what happened yesterday."
Marina sat next to him. "What do you mean?"
"You want to force me to talk just to go report everything to Lyceum and Aena?"
Both Blendbreeds froze. The first to respond was the son of Corgi, who raised his hands and began unlocking the golden anklet.
"Look, whatever this is—I'm out. I'd rather face Lyceum's punishment than get tangled in this. We good?"
Cragar's son simply nodded.
"Great, I'm outta here then. See ya!"
With those words, Corgi's son took off in a hurry. Marina covered her face with her left hand.
You just confirmed our role… what an idiot.
Luxy, who had overheard the entire conversation, bit his tongue. "You know what, I've got some things to take care of too…"
The son of Mardi hurried off, and within seconds, the two Blendbreeds were alone.
"Even him… and now we're alone. Here we are."
She felt incredibly guilty. Sure, what he had said was true.
Once the explanation was over, she would report every single detail to the goddess of love and the headmaster of the park. But she also wanted the boy to understand that she was genuinely worried about him. This wasn't about personal gain—it was genuine concern for his problems and his health.
She wished he would see her as a friend he could count on.
"I was walking toward Cragar's palace when something caught my attention and forced me to change course."
"What was it?"
"Monsters in the Overworld. They wanted to ambush me."
"Wait," Marina leaned in a little. "You went to the Overworld?"
"Yeah?"
"B-but the Over—" she needed to calm down, this wasn't the time to interrupt or get distracted."Sorry, go on."
"The monsters were waiting for me and attacked the moment I stepped in. I thought I could beat them, but they'd been sent by someone specifically for me. There were more than I expected, and I couldn't stop them."
"So you ran away?"
"No," replied the Blendbreed, clenching his jaw, "Cragar appeared out of nowhere and told me to return to the park since he couldn't heal me."
"The only way to do that was to absorb life force through plant mana, or be healed…"
"Yeah, but Mardi would've refused because of who my father is. I had no choice but to come here, but having you near me would've only put you at risk of being drained."
Marina gave a sad smile and gently touched his cheek with her hand. She felt the coldness of Cragar's son's pale skin under her fingertips. Despite heading into adulthood, the boy's skin was smooth and free of fat. The daughter of Ien widened her eyes and froze in place. Shirei gave a puzzled look and pulled back, unsure how to react to such an intimate gesture.
Marina stayed silent, questioning what she had just done. She must have lost her mind. There was no other explanation. She scooted a few inches away and stared at the wall in silence.
They stayed like that for a couple of minutes, until Shirei said, "I think you should go now."
The daughter of Ien jumped to her feet. "Right! You're right! Then you'll tell me the rest later in detail! Bye!"
Without another word, she shot out of the infirmary like a rocket.