Morning came slowly.
Arin hadn't moved from the corridor. His back ached from the wall, his legs were stiff, but he didn't stand. The door to Lina's room was still closed. The lights had shifted from dim to grey, the same grey that filled the sky outside the window at the end of the hall.
Hana was asleep beside him, her head resting against his shoulder. He hadn't asked her to stay. She just had.
Maya appeared with a tray of food. She set it on the bench across from them and looked at Arin.
"You need to eat."
"Later."
"You said that last night."
He didn't answer.
She sighed and sat down on the bench, her kit beside her. "Adanna has been in there all night. She hasn't come out."
"I know."
"That's a good sign."
"Is it?"
Maya hesitated. "She's not giving up. That's what matters."
The door opened at mid-morning.
Adanna stepped out, her face pale, her eyes rimmed with red. She leaned against the doorframe and looked at Arin.
"She's stable."
"Did you start the treatment?"
"Yes."
Arin stood. His legs protested, but he ignored them.
"How did she react?"
Adanna rubbed her eyes. "Her vitals fluctuated at first. Her heart rate spiked. The monitors showed some activity in the gap—like something was trying to respond."
"Something?"
"I don't know what else to call it." She looked back at the door. "The gap is still there. But it's not empty anymore. There's something moving in it. Something small."
Hana stirred beside Arin, her eyes opening. "I felt it too. A flicker. Like a light going on and off."
Adanna nodded. "That's the first step. If the gap can react, it can close."
"How long?" Arin's voice was tight.
"I don't know." Adanna's voice was tired but steady. "Days. Weeks. Maybe longer. She's fighting. But she needs time."
She looked at Arin.
"You should go in. She can feel you when you're near. It helps."
The room was the same.
White walls. White sheets. The machines hummed their quiet rhythm. Lina lay on the bed, her face still, her chest rising and falling.
Arin walked to the bedside. He pulled the chair closer and sat down. He took her hand.
It was warm.
"I'm here," he said quietly. "I'm not leaving."
Her fingers didn't move. Her breathing didn't change.
But the monitor beeped. Slow. Steady.
He held on.
Hana stood in the doorway, watching. Maya was beside her.
"He hasn't slept," Maya said.
"He won't. Not until she wakes up."
"That could be weeks."
"I know."
Maya was quiet for a moment. "What do we do until then?"
Hana looked at Arin's back, at the sword still strapped across it, at the way his shoulders didn't move.
"We stay," she said. "We wait. We protect them both."
She turned and walked down the corridor.
Maya followed.
Ren was in the training yard when they found him.
He was moving through his forms slowly, deliberately. His katana cut the grey air. He didn't stop when they approached.
"Arin?" he asked.
"With Lina," Hana said.
"Adanna?"
"Resting. She was up all night."
Ren completed a strike, held the position, then lowered his blade.
"Then we wait."
Dmitri stood at the edge of the yard, his metal arms folded. He didn't speak. He didn't need to.
They waited.
The sun set. The lights in the corridor dimmed.
Arin didn't move.
His hand was still around Lina's. His eyes were on her face. The crystal at his neck was warm against his chest.
"You're going to wake up," he said quietly. "You have to. I promised Mom I'd bring you back."
The monitor beeped.
Slow. Steady.
He closed his eyes.