In his office, Morpheas sat silently, lost in thought, a glass in his hand as he watched the sunrise through the window, announcing the beginning of a new day.
But despite the magnificent view, accompanied by his favorite drink, sitting peacefully in his chair…
He couldn't stop himself from thinking.
Thinking about that night.
And about yesterday.
"Halmir must have been scared… but well, he's been through worse. As for the crypt that served as a vault for artifacts… we can safely say it's out of service."
"I'll have to report this to Hypnos. And I'll probably need to explain exactly what happened… otherwise he's going to lecture me for hours. "
"The good news is that the instructors and soldiers are unharmed."
"As for Cicilia, even though she must be exhausted after everything that happened tonight, she seems to be holding up."
"The biggest problem… or should I say the two biggest problems…"
"Are Kael and Lucan."
Thinking about Kael…
"He really has grown."
"Well… he wasn't exactly weak the last time I saw him, but now… he was honestly terrifying."
"I even had to hit Halmir to save him."
A faint sigh escaped him.
"I'm getting old… If Lord Hypnos knew about this, he'd send me straight into retirement."
But his smile slowly faded.
"However… aside from his aura… that thing inside him that looked at me for a second…"
"I just hope nothing unfortunate happens."
"Let's trust them… I'm sure Lord Hypnos and the Guide know what they're doing."
Knock knock knock.
— Yes?
— Sir Morpheas?
"Looks like my moment of peace has come to an end…"
— Yes, come in.
The door slowly opened.
— I'm sorry to disturb you, but you asked me to contact you if there was any change…
— Change?
— Yes… regarding the person inside the crypt.
— Ah, yes, yes, yes! So, what happened?
— Well… how should I say this… He just woke up.
— COULDN'T YOU HAVE TOLD ME THAT SOONER?!
The soldier immediately stiffened.
— I made it clear that this was extremely sensitive and important! I was supposed to be informed immediately! How long has he been awake?
— About ten minutes…
Morpheas remained silent for a few seconds.
— And you're only telling me now?
— It's just that… we didn't really know who should come and tell you. We were a little scared… Please understand, we didn't know how you would react.
The soldier hesitated for a moment before continuing.
— And besides… aside from you, he scares us too. The problem is that, as you instructed, we didn't say anything or show anything. He's supposed to know nothing about what happened. Those were your orders, and we followed them.
Morpheas let out a long sigh.
— It's alright… You can go. Tell the others that nobody speaks to Kael until I arrive. And have someone inform Cicilia that our guest has awakened.
He paused briefly.
— Also give her this message from me: under no circumstances are Lucan and Kael allowed to meet until further notice.
— Yes, Sir!
"Alright… I have to go."
He looked at his glass for a few seconds.
"A small drink before going… wouldn't hurt."
His hand stopped.
"What am I even saying? I'm talking as if this were my last day. As if I wasn't coming back."
He let out a sigh.
"You've been through much worse than this… What are you telling yourself?"
Morpheas stood up.
"Come on. Let's go."
"Show everyone why you're the leader they respect so much. Don't disappoint them."
Morpheas walked toward the door.
He reached for the handle.
But his hand stopped.
Slightly trembling.
For several seconds, he remained motionless.
Then, with his other hand, he grabbed it.
"Come on… You're better than this."
"Let's go."
…
"I finally finished dealing with the instructors. The soldiers are almost all back on their feet. Most of them should soon be able to leave and return to their daily routine."
At that moment, Cicilia looked at Lucan, lying in an individual room of the infirmary.
"I really hope everything will be alright for him."
"He's the only one who always helps me when there are supplies to carry or organize. Always hardworking, kind, thoughtful… unlike those other idiots."
"The good news is that he stopped sweating. His fever went down, the night terrors stopped, and he's talking less in his sleep."
"But still… I need to finish analyzing his blood and I…"
Knock knock knock.
— Lady Cicilia?
— Anteros? Come in, don't stay outside. What are you doing here?
— How should I say this… I…
Cicilia frowned slightly.
— Wait… Are you sick? You're sweating, you're pale, you're shaking. Is there a virus going around that I missed?
— No, Lady Cicilia… I came on Sir Morpheas' behalf.
— Alright… but then what put you in this state? Tell me what he said.
Anteros struggled to take a breath.
— He asked me to tell you, and I quote: "The guest has awakened" and "under no circumstances are Lucan and Kael allowed to meet until further notice."
Cicilia remained silent for a moment.
— Alright… I understand your state a little better now, Anteros.
She gave him a faint smile.
— Do you want to sit down for a bit? I know this isn't easy. Lie down for a moment and rest.
— But… I was only supposed to…
— You delivered the message.
He stopped.
— Don't worry, I understood perfectly. So now, think about yourself and rest.
She looked around.
— This is the infirmary. People are supposed to leave here feeling better. What would they say about me if they saw you walking out pale, exhausted, and trembling?
She smiled softly.
— Come on, rest. It's not a problem. I'll take care of it.
— Sniff…
Anteros looked at Cicilia, tears filling his eyes.
Unable to hold himself back any longer, he finally went to lie down on an empty bed, sniffling like a child.
…
Tap.
A first step echoed through the corridor.
Behind the doors, every conversation stopped.
Tap.
The soldiers exchanged silent glances.
Tap.
No one opened.
No one asked who was coming.
They already knew.
Yet that didn't stop them from trembling.
Because they knew.
They knew the mistake they had made.
And even knowing the consequences beforehand… they had chosen to do it anyway.
Morpheas walked down the corridor, his eyes red, anger filling his mind.
But not because he had been offended.
Not because he had been disrespected.
Not even because they had disobeyed him.
No.
That wasn't it.
He thought back to that moment with Anteros in his office.
That trembling soldier.
Gathering every bit of courage he had.
Knowing perfectly well what he was risking.
And yet, still completing his mission.
Morpheas knew his harshness toward Anteros had been excessive.
But he hadn't been able to stop himself.
Because only one thing occupied his mind at that moment.
Seeing him get manipulated again.
Sent to the front line again simply because the others knew he would accept.
Still so naive.
Still unable to refuse.
And that was exactly why Morpheas was boiling with anger.
A complete silence followed.
Morpheas, with a calm yet cutting voice, simply announced:
— I know you're there. I know what happened. You know what comes next.
A short pause.
— We'll see each other later.
Then Morpheas resumed walking.
Calmly.
With a steady rhythm, all the way to the door at the end of the corridor.
There, he stopped.
He closed his eyes for a few seconds.
A slight hesitation crossed his mind.
His hand moved toward the door, ready to knock.
But it suddenly pulled back.
Morpheas clenched his fist, closing his eyes as if praying.
Then he guided his hand toward the door once more.
As if the second attempt would be the right one.
And this time…
That same spark of courage could be seen in his eyes.
The same one Anteros had shown.
Knock knock knock.
— Forgive me, I'm coming in.
He opened the door.
It creaked despite him, and the atmosphere it created did nothing to make the situation better.
But despite all the thoughts clouding his mind, despite all the problems that had happened and every possibility he had to consider…
The sight before him erased every thought.
A young man, sitting upright in his bed, was looking out the window.
The rays of the rising sun gently caressed his face.
An innocent face.
The scene carried a beauty and purity that even a painter could never reproduce.
Then Kael slowly turned his head toward Morpheas.
— It's been a while. It's nice to see a friendly face when waking up.
He looked around.
— Unless this is heaven.
Morpheas continued staring at him intensely, without even realizing it.
— Are you alright?
That was when Morpheas realized his mind had drifted away from reality.
— I'm truly happy to see you in good shape. I was really hoping you would wake up, and I'm glad to see you're doing better.
— Sir Morpheas… there's one small question bothering me.
— No need for "Sir" between us. Morpheas is enough.
— Are you sure? You're older than me.
— No problem. Let's do it that way. I prefer it.
— Alright. Then I wanted to ask you… Please confirm something for me. This isn't heaven or hell, right? I'm still alive? Just making sure.
— Hahaha, of course you're still alive. There's no one more alive than you here.
— Then… where are we?
— Where else could we be? The tenth floor, of course. You earned it after that Tutorial. Did you doubt it?
Kael frowned slightly.
— What do you mean?
— We're on the tenth floor. You completed the ninth.
A silence settled.
— Morpheas…
His expression changed slightly.
— The truth is… I don't remember anything.
Morpheas remained motionless.
— Nothing?
Kael looked away, searching through his own memories.
— My last memory…
A short pause.
— It's when I lost consciousness on the ninth floor.