"The headache is still there, though it's much lighter now."
Raven answered.
Nyx had just asked him a question.
Two days had passed since he had agreed to become Nyx's disciple, today he was just discharged from the hospital.
"Is there any pain aside from that?"
She questioned.
Raven shook his head in response.
New metal fingers were attached, his brain was back to normal and his injuries and broken bones were healed.
He was as good as new at this point.
"That's good to hear."
She said, the car coming to a stop.
The woman came out of the car, Raven followed after her.
'A restaurant?'
That was where the driver had dropped them.
She must have told him to do so before she visited at the hospital.
"You've been at the hospital all this time so I supposed you would like something else to eat rather than the food they serve at the hospital."
She explained.
'I didn't eat anything at the hospital though.'
They didn't give him anything.
He also had a much more pressing thought.
'Is she doing all this because I'm disciple, or is it just out of her goodwill?'
From what he had observed from her, Raven was leaning towards the first one.
But then again, he didn't know much about her.
"Hurry up."
She called out from the front.
He walked faster and quickly caught up to her.
The smell of grilled meat greeted Raven as he entered, leaving Nyx to order while he rest his head on the table.
'The ringing.'
He tried closing his ears, but it did little to stop the ringing.
The side-effects out getting your brain blown out—an activity Raven swore never to partake in again.
When he raised his head, he saw Nyx staring at him.
"Are you alright?"
She asked.
Her expression was still that of detachment with a hint of boredom, however, he could also see her concern.
"I'm fine, it's just the headache. Sometimes it gets worse and I can't bear it."
That sometimes was never. It had never happened before.
He was just bullshitting, it had never happened before, this was a first.
"A side-effect of the transplants, don't worry it should go away on it's own soon."
Raven nodded in response.
He stared at the food she had brought.
Grilled meat.
Just looking at it made him hungry.
'I suppose it's time to eat.'
He moved his hand in the direction of the chopstick and reached to grab it....
"Wait, Raven."
Nyx said.
He paused mid-motion and stared at her.
"Those are mine."
That was when the realization hit him.
"There's only a single pair here."
He murmured.
"Exactly, that's because I'm going to feed you."
Nyx smiled at him, though it was still with her current expression.
"Huh?"
The word's didn't quite register before she grabbed the chopsticks, picking up a piece of grilled meat.
"Open up~"
Raven was embarrassed by the whole ordeal.
And then, his stomach grumbled.
He had no choice but to open his mouth.
….
"In summary, you were lucky to survive that."
Nyx explained.
The quiet hum of the car's engine sounded as the driver drove to their destination.
Nyx had just finished explaining everything that they had found out.
'So the instructor was actually a fake.'
The realization hit him hard.
He was paying for a fraud to teach him how to fight and how to wield elemental magic. It was really a scam!
The instructor used some sort of experimental contraption that allowed him to channel magic throughout his body without actually being an awakened himself.
But according to what she said, it was hardly anything special.
It allowed one to tap into mana, but nothing too strong, hence Raven was able to kill him.
Currently he leaned on the backseat, staring at the roof of the car.
"He wasn't too strong, it was just that I was too weak."
He quickly grasped her words.
"Exactly.... You're a quick learner."
Her words did little to ease him though.
The entrance exam was coming in a few days, or was it a week from now....? Either way, the problem was that with his current strength, Raven could already see himself ranking average.
Was a week enough time to get stronger?
No.
But maybe with her, a PRU agent, he could.
No words were spoken as the car passed into a quieter district.
Raven's eyes drooped, but every once in a while, he caught Nyx's reflection in the window.
'Damn, almost forgot.'
He had a question he wanted to ask her.
"Ms. Nyx."
She turned her head from the window.
"What?"
Raven took an imaginary deep breath.
The times he spent in the hospital awake were often spent on a single thought, just one thought.
"Back then, what exactly did you mean by 'nothing'?"
Just that question.
He pondered on it for hours on end.
Nothing.
Just what did it truly mean?
A slight grin spread on her face.
"Please elaborate."
Raven noticed that smile on her face.
It felt.... genuine.
Just like two days ago when she smiled at him.
"What you said at the beginning, and the way you emphasized 'nothing' too much."
He had two days to think about it.
"....You're a quick learner."
She said those words again, though this time it was different.
Nyx then continued. "I would do nothing if you had refused my order, yes. Even if your sister sold both herself and you, it wouldn't reach half of the money required for healing your brain, limb reconstruction, and the stabilization process...."
Raven was left silent by her answer, his expression blank.
"So I didn't have a real choice after all."
It was a disappointing realization.
"Factors aren't determinants, they're just influencers. Ultimately, the choice of how it ends is up to you. A choice in itself is a real choice, you're just being influenced by the factors."
The car came to a stop, and Nyx stepped out of the car.
"Let's go."
For a moment, Raven sat there, her recent words weighing over him.
He clenched his fists and bit his lips, as if he was trying to stop something from coming out.
It wasn't that her words weren't cruel.
Just right.
And that was the worst part.
The truth hurt the most, after all.
Finally, Raven sighed and opened the door of the car.
'Perhaps it was always a matter of perception.'
True choice and all.
It all depended on his perception.