Ryan woke with a dull heaviness pressing against his skull. For a moment, he could not tell whether his eyes were open or closed. Light burned through his eyelids, sharp enough that his body reacted before his thoughts did, forcing him to shut them tight again. He stayed still, breathing shallowly, waiting for the sensation to settle before slowly opening his eyes once more.
The room came into focus in fragments. White walls. A ceiling that looked too clean to belong anywhere outside a hospital. Shelves lined one side of the room, filled with books arranged carefully rather than decoratively, their spines worn from use. A faint antiseptic smell lingered in the air, subtle but unmistakable.
Someone was sitting near the bed.
A girl stood from her chair the moment she noticed his movement, the book in her hands snapping shut.
"Captain," Ryan said, or tried to. The word came out weak, barely louder than a breath. "Why am I here?"
Anya froze for a heartbeat, then her expression shifted. Relief crossed her face so quickly that she did not manage to hide it.
"You're awake," she said, the tension in her voice breaking despite her attempt to keep it steady.
Ryan nodded once, then immediately regretted it. Pain tore through his head, sudden and violent, like lightning striking inside his skull. His vision fractured, white flooding the edges as a raw scream ripped out of his throat.
Anya was beside him instantly. She caught his wrists and held them down before he could reach his head, her grip firm and unyielding.
"Don't move," she said sharply. "If you move right now, you'll make it worse."
The pain lasted only a few seconds, but it felt longer. When it finally eased, Ryan lay still, his chest rising and falling as he forced himself to breathe through the lingering ache. Sweat dampened his skin, and his hands trembled under her hold.
After a moment, Anya loosened her grip but did not move away.
Ryan swallowed. "So," he said hoarsely after collecting himself, "what happened? Did everything go well with the Holding Wing?"
She stared at him.
Instead of answering, she asked, "Is that really the first thing you care about?"
Her tone hardened. "Do you even understand how close you came to dying?"
"If I hadn't stopped you," she continued, her voice rising despite herself, "you would be dead right now."
Ryan had no immediate response. Memory returned in pieces. The wall. The residue. The strange clarity that followed the pain. The decision to approach the wall again even after his body had warned him to stop.
It had been reckless. He knew that now.
What unsettled him more was that, even knowing it, he could not clearly explain why he had done it. Backup had already been on the way. Others were prepared to take over. Yet he had stepped forward anyway, driven by something he still could not name.
He looked at Anya, then away, unable to meet her eyes for long.
Silence stretched between them until she broke it.
"Your condition is serious," she said, her voice lower now, controlled. "You cannot be healed through supernatural abilities. Your body has to recover on its own."
Ryan's attention snapped back to her.
"That will take months," she continued. "During that time, you cannot move freely. If you do, the pain will be unbearable. This isn't something you can ignore or push through."
His brow furrowed. He had expected consequences, but not this. One of the reasons he had acted so boldly was because he believed he could be healed afterward, as long as he survived.
That assumption shattered under her words.
"So what happens now?" he asked. "Will the Association help me? This situation happened because I dealt with their problem."
Anya shook her head.
"No," she said. "They don't have the manpower or the resources to take special care of every injured agent. At best, they'll cover your hospital expenses. The rest depends on where you're treated and who's available."
Ryan exhaled slowly. It was not ideal, but at least he would not be buried under medical costs.
"Do you regret it?" she asked quietly.
He hesitated. "Yes," he said after a moment. "If I'd known the side effects of overusing my ability would leave me like this, I might have hesitated."
Anya studied him carefully.
"Since you've realized that," she said, "I'll tell you the full situation."
Ryan's eyes widened in surprise, "Then, you are telling me a lie the whole time to make me realise the decision I took?"
Instead, Anya shook her head. "No, I didn't lie. I only partially told the truth."
"Your body is still in danger and you cannot move yourself at all, or else you will feel the pain."
"If treated using ability, then maybe a week or two would suffice."
Ryan asked, "Then, didn't you lie? You said I cannot be healed using ability."
"Oh, did I lie? Why don't I remember saying that at all." she replied.
Ryan sensed that she was dodging the question, but still cooperated with her. Currently, he was in her care and he had to do his best not to upset her.
"Yeah, maybe, I heard it wrong."
Anya gave a small nod, accepting the answer without pushing further.
"About the Holding Wing," she said, shifting topics, "everything turned out fine. No monsters escaped. Your actions forced every branch to re-evaluate their containment protocols."
She hesitated briefly before adding, "You'll likely be rewarded for this."
Relief washed over him. The last thing he remembered was pushing energy through his heart and then darkness. Knowing that his effort had not been wasted eased something tight in his chest.
He opened his mouth, about to ask about the strange text he had seen before losing consciousness, when a knock sounded at the door.
"Who is it?" Anya asked.
"It's me, Captain," Watson's voice replied.
"Come in."
Watson stepped inside, his expression neutral but strained.
"What's wrong?" Anya asked. "Didn't I make it clear that I'm busy?"
"I know," Watson said with a tired smile. "But headquarters has been calling nonstop. They want to meet you immediately."
Anya shook her head. "I can't. I'm injured from the fight and unavailable. Tell them to wait."
"I tried," Watson replied. "They don't believe it. An extraordinary monster from the Holding Wing shouldn't have been able to injure you at all."
"That's not my problem," Anya said flatly. "I'm not attending."
Watson hesitated. "They anticipated that response."
He glanced at the door before continuing. "There's a representative from headquarters waiting outside."