The first thing Ryuji heard was a sharp sound.
A simple crack.
Yet, in his still-clouded mind, it echoed like the collapse of a mountain.
His eyes flew open.
His body nearly sat upright on instinct.
His breathing was fast.
Uneven.
His heart hammered violently against his chest.
The dragon.
Its crimson eyes.
That sea of blood.
The mountains of corpses.
The flames.
The screams.
Every image remained engraved in his mind with terrifying clarity.
For several seconds, he remained motionless.
Sitting on the edge of the bed.
His hands trembled slightly.
He took a deep breath.
Then another.
Little by little, reality returned.
His gaze swept across the room.
A bedroom.
Simple.
Peaceful.
The walls were clean.
Soft light filtered through a half-open window.
No sounds of battle.
No screams.
No scent of death.
The contrast with what he had just witnessed was almost disturbing.
Then his eyes stopped on a figure sitting nearby.
Aeryn.
Seated in a chair.
Legs crossed.
Arms folded.
She looked as though she had been waiting for a long time.
The moment she noticed him moving, she opened her eyes.
A faint smile appeared on her face.
"You're finally awake, princess."
Ryuji immediately fixed his gaze on her.
Cold.
Hard.
Suspicious.
"You..."
Aeryn rolled her eyes.
"What a charming welcome."
Silence fell again.
Heavy.
Familiar.
Ryuji looked away and examined his body.
His torso was wrapped in bandages.
His shoulder as well.
A dull pain remained.
But it was too weak.
Far too weak.
Something was wrong.
His gaze slowly drifted toward his left arm.
Then he froze.
His expression changed.
Instinctively, he reached with his right hand toward the place where he remembered losing it.
The place where Marcellus had torn it away.
He could still feel the pain.
As if the memory had been carved into his flesh.
And yet...
His arm was there.
Attached to his shoulder.
Whole.
Ryuji slowly opened his hand.
Then closed it.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
His fingers responded perfectly.
No weakness.
No stiffness.
As if nothing had ever happened.
His brows furrowed.
He remembered it perfectly.
The blinding light.
The impact.
The pain.
His arm being separated from his body.
It had not been an illusion.
He was certain of it.
Then why...
Aeryn immediately noticed his confusion.
"Well, your injuries are completely healed."
She paused.
Then pointed at his arm.
"Still, that's incredibly strange."
Ryuji raised his eyes.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that people don't usually regrow limbs."
She shrugged.
"When someone loses an arm, they generally have the decency to stay one-armed."
She pointed again.
"You just got yours back as if your body decided to correct an administrative error."
Ryuji looked away.
His stomach tightened.
The core again.
Always the core.
Ever since he had swallowed it, everything had become stranger.
More dangerous.
As though something inside him was slowly changing.
Something he couldn't understand.
"Get dressed."
Aeryn stood up.
"Someone wants to see you."
"Who?"
"You'll see."
Ryuji sighed.
Naturally.
A few minutes later, they were walking through a long corridor.
Silence reigned.
Only their footsteps echoed across the stone floor.
Ryuji observed everything around him.
The architecture was unfamiliar.
The walls were decorated with delicate carvings.
Every hallway seemed maintained with almost excessive care.
No dust.
No cracks.
Not the slightest sign of neglect.
It felt more like a sanctuary than a military building.
"Where are we?" he finally asked.
Aeryn glanced over her shoulder.
"You really don't know?"
Ryuji's stare was enough to tell her he had no patience for guessing games.
"..."
"Right."
She cleared her throat.
"You'll find out in a few seconds."
Ryuji let out a long sigh.
This strange human habit irritated him.
Why hide information that was about to be revealed anyway?
It was like announcing a meal while refusing to say what it was even though the plate was already on the table.
Humans were sometimes impossible to understand.
They continued walking.
Then they stopped before a massive wooden door.
It was enormous.
Ancient.
Its surface was covered in intricate patterns.
Trees.
Roots.
Stars.
Aeryn placed a hand against it.
"Go in."
"And you?"
"I'm staying here."
Ryuji studied her for a moment.
Then he slowly pushed the door open.
It opened without the slightest creak.
And the moment he stepped inside...
He stopped.
Completely.
The sight before him surpassed everything he had imagined.
He had expected a meeting room.
An office.
An interrogation chamber.
Maybe even a luxurious prison cell.
But certainly not this.
Trees.
Everywhere.
A true garden stretched before him.
Colorful flowers lined small stone pathways.
A gentle scent of vegetation filled the air.
The atmosphere was peaceful.
Almost unreal.
As though this place had been separated from the rest of the world.
Then his gaze rose.
Higher.
And higher still.
Until it reached the center of the hall.
There stood a gigantic tree.
Immense.
Majestic.
Its trunk was colossal.
Dozens of men would likely have been unable to encircle it.
Its roots disappeared deep into the earth.
Its branches stretched so high they seemed to support the ceiling itself.
Its leaves shimmered softly beneath the light.
As though they possessed a glow of their own.
Ryuji stood frozen.
Something inside him refused to look away.
A strange sensation washed over him.
The tree was alive.
But not merely alive.
It was aware.
The thought was absurd.
And yet...
Ryuji felt as though he were being watched.
As though the tree knew exactly who he was.
As though every leaf followed his movements.
As though every root listened to the beating of his heart.
A chill ran down his spine.
Then a voice rose behind him.
Calm.
Gentle.
Peaceful.
"She's beautiful, isn't she?"
Ryuji immediately turned around.
A figure was slowly walking between the trees.
Black hair.
Blue eyes.
A relaxed stride.
A discreet presence.
Yet impossible to ignore.
Aurelius.
The leader of the Calamity Suppression Association.
One of the most influential men on the continent.
He moved with the serenity of someone who had never known fear.
Or who had surpassed it long ago.
"Many people forget how beautiful trees are."
His gaze settled on the immense tree.
A trace of melancholy flickered in his eyes.
"They watch wars begin and end.
They watch kingdoms rise and fall.
They outlive hatred.
Ambition.
The madness of mankind."
For several seconds, only the rustling of leaves could be heard.
Then Aurelius slowly turned his eyes toward Ryuji.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"I'm glad to see you're awake."
Ryuji remained silent.
He remembered perfectly what Aeryn had told him.
The leader of the Association.
The man who commanded those who hunted Calamities.
One of the most powerful beings on the continent.
And yet...
Something about him bothered Ryuji.
Something he couldn't identify.
Aurelius seemed perfectly calm.
Perfectly kind.
And that was precisely what worried him.
He reminded him of still water.
Beautiful on the surface.
Yet deep enough to swallow anyone who ventured too close.
Aurelius continued to watch him.
Still wearing that same peaceful smile.
Still carrying that same strange gentleness.
Then he simply said:
"We have many things to talk about, you and I."
The silence that followed seemed endless.
And for the first time since awakening...
Ryuji became certain that the real battle had never been against Marcellus.
It began here.
Beneath the branches of this tree.
Facing this man.