"Um… you mentioned customers, Helen. What exactly do you do here?" Neo spoke just before stepping through the door back into the building.
"I mean, I treated you right? Take a guess?"
Neo considered. "So it's a hospital? Sort of?"
Helen looked briefly confused, but answered anyway. "Well, I'm not sure what you mean by a 'hospital'—is that what you called it?—but this is my family's inn and my home. I perform small treatments here. And don't worry, the Temple—"
Neo stiffened at the word, startling Helen, who was still supporting him as they moved toward his bed.
"I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?" she asked quickly, sensing his tension.
"No… no, it's fine." Neo paused, studying her face. "Helen...? I know my appearance has changed a little, but… are you going to say you don't remember me? I mean, back on Earth?" He whispered the last part, offering a faint, confused smile.
Helen's expression only grew more perplexed. "I'm sorry… I do know you, but you've obviously been in a coma for years now. So I know 'of' you, but you're not supposed to 'know' about me."
Neo had no proper response. He just stared, realizing she was being completely serious.
"Okay, can—"
Just then, voices and movement came from the main room outside, drawing Helen's attention. "Neo, can I…?"
Seeing she needed to leave, Neo nodded, but asked, "Can I come with?"
A small chuckle escaped him—it reminded him of Curtis's words to him on that last morning before the world vanished.
Helen helped him into the large common room and settled him on a bench along the wall before turning to her patient: a man sitting slumped forward, bleeding profusely from a deep gash across his stomach.
Without hesitation, Helen summoned her Relic—a six-inch needle that glowed with a soft, steady golden light.
"This is going to hurt a little. Please endure it for a moment."
Neo watched, fascinated. When he'd first seen something like this—Mev's white dagger materializing out of thin air—he'd been blind with rage. Now, seeing Helen call forth this glowing needle, he could finally observe it clearly. It was real magic—and definitely unlike anything from the Earth.
"Amazing. It's actually magic." Neo watched carefully as Helen worked for thirty minutes to heal the old man's wound before helping him to a separate room to rest. When she returned to his side, she found Neo deep in thought.
"What's on your mind? You don't look so depressed anymore," she observed.
Neo's attention snapped back. "What was that thing just now? The glowing needle you used to treat him?"
Helen humored him, summoning her relic once more into her palm. "This? It's called the Needle of Thurma. My relic. Though it's too low-ranked for me to join the Academy. My Light element makes me good at treating small injuries. I stitched you up the same way."
Neo stared, entranced, as the golden needle floated gently above her hand. He reached out to touch it but hesitated halfway, remembering the golden cube.
Helen chuckled softly. "Go on, you can touch it. It won't hurt you."
Given assurance, Neo brushed his inked finger along its surface
The needle felt cool, solid yet thrumming with subtle energy."You said this is a relic. Does everyone have one? I've seen something similar with those people dressed in white."
Helen smiled faintly. "Not everyone. It's actually quite rare to possess a relic."
Neo, noticing a slight tremble in her hands, she was trying to hide, pressed further. "How do you know if you have one?"
She retrieved her needle, taking a steadying breath. "Well, the Tem—" She paused, remembering his earlier reaction.
"It's fine. You can say it." Neo's expression flattened slightly as the chill tightened its grip on his emotions.
Helen chose her words carefully. "There's no safe way to awaken your relic without the help of the Temple academies. But first, you need to be able to absorb spiritual energy."
Neo nodded. The terms felt strangely familiar, echoes of the comics and novels he'd devoured in solitude back on earth. "I'm guessing the Temple checks potential with one of those orb things, right?"
Helen nodded, surprised. "You're right. At the academy, they test you for two gold coins. No refunds. But…" Her eyes took on a dreamy, distant look. "If you're lucky enough to have potential for a C-rank relic or above, you get admitted on the spot."
Neo tuned out her wistful tone. 'The academy. That's where Curtis was taken.' His mind turned to the orb Mev had forced on him. *No reaction. So I shouldn't have a relic. Or at least, not one useful to the Temple.*
Helen noticed his prolonged silence. "Uh… I hope you don't mind me asking," she ventured gently. "Where's Curtis, exactly?"
"Hmm? You know my brother Curtis?" Neo asked in surprise, then quickly caught himself. "Of course, you know Curtis. The white-robed bastards took him."
Suddenly, Helen went, "Shhh! Be careful how you speak of the Temple—at least not in Demoor City. You could be killed, taken for a heretic, and maybe branded as a slave. Trust me, you don't want that."
Neo sobered, realizing the gravity of the words he spoke. This wasn't Earth anymore, human right probably didn't exist anymore.
Helen spoke again, softer. "The Temple taking Curtis… it isn't necessarily a bad thing, right? It probably just means he has the potential to attend one of their academies."
Neo raised a brow. From where he stood, being taken against your will was wrong, no matter what opportunity it offered. He felt the Temple had more to gain from Curtis than Curtis ever would from them. Feeling his anger simmer, he rubbed his temple, consciously settling himself—this time without the chill's forced intervention.
"Thank you, Helen, for answering my questions. You didn't have to."
Helen smiled. Despite his cold exterior, he seemed kind underneath. Standing, she said, "I'll make you something to eat. In the meantime, try not to move around too much. You need to recover." She walked away, then called over her shoulder without turning, "Nice ink, by the way. Strange tattoos—It's strange that I never saw them during any of your checkups while you were in a coma—but nice either way."
"Tattoos?" Neo murmured, confused.
He finally lifted his hand, staring at the intricate black ink running from his index finger all the way up his arm. "Huh? When did this—" He cut himself off, lifting the sleeve of his shirt. The markings looked familiar, like script in some ancient language.
"Ahhh…"
He remembered. The black void. The cube. The golden letters. These were exactly the same symbols, only now dark and permanent, staining his skin where the brilliant gold letters had once burned.
Then another detail surfaced. "The cube!"
Quickly, he pulled off his shirt, revealing a pale torso that looked drained of blood. There, on the left side of his chest, was a perfect cube tattoo—exactly where the cube had merged with him before he lost consciousness.
He traced the ink, now ordinary-looking, against his skin. "So that wasn't just a dream?" he muttered aloud, unintentionally.
"Pretty strange… but looks badass, though."
"I know, right?" Helen's voice came from across the room. She was setting a food tray on a corner table before helping him, over—shirtless, leaving the virgin Neo suddenly flustered, the chill sparking uselessly at the back of his mind.
Helen noticed his embarrassment but didn't mention it. Secretly, she was glad to see he wasn't as cold or hardened as he appeared.