Sota had collapsed on top of Mike, crying uncontrollably while Medusa sat beside them in silence.
A warm breeze passed through the battlefield, gently brushing against their hair.
In the middle of that peaceful silence—
a weak voice suddenly echoed.
"Ahh…"
"Sota… you're really heavy…"
Sota immediately lifted his head and looked down at Mike.
"Ahh…"
He quickly stood up and shouted,
"I just saved your life and the first thing you say is that I'm heavy?!"
Mike slowly sat up while smiling faintly.
His eyes were still wet with tears, yet the smile on his face could not hide the pain inside him.
"…Thank you."
The moment Sota and Medusa heard those words, both of them looked toward Mike.
They saw him sitting on his knees.
Sota's eyes widened in shock as he took a step back.
"A-Ara… Mike, what are you doing?"
"There's… no need for this…"
Mike slowly raised his head and looked at both of them.
"If you two weren't here today…"
"I would have died."
"And…"
"I would have kept seeing myself as a monster forever."
"But you guys…"
"You treated me like a human."
Hearing those words, Sota scratched the back of his neck awkwardly before smiling.
"We're friends."
"And saying stuff like that is just making us embarrassed."
Medusa quietly stepped toward Mike and extended his hand.
"And friends help each other."
"There's no need to say thank you."
Mike grabbed Medusa's hand, and Medusa pulled him back to his feet.
For a moment, Mike simply stared at him—
then suddenly burst into laughter.
"Hahaha…"
"By the way, Medusa… why are your spell names always so weird?"
The moment Sota heard that, he immediately rushed toward Mike and started throwing punches at him.
Mike easily dodged every single one while laughing.
"Look, someone got offended."
Sota continued swinging at him until he finally got tired and started breathing heavily.
Meanwhile, Medusa stood silently behind them before suddenly speaking in a calm voice.
"Sota…"
"Does your body feel normal right now?"
Sota immediately stopped breathing heavily and looked toward Medusa.
Even Mike stopped laughing.
"What do you mean?"
"What happened to Sota?"
Medusa slowly walked closer to Sota.
"No one in history has ever controlled that much raw mana."
The moment Mike heard those words, disbelief filled his eyes.
"…Raw mana… control?"
He stared at Sota carefully.
"Sota… can control raw mana?"
Medusa continued speaking.
"And that spell…"
"Do you really not remember it?"
"That was a Fourth Stage healing spell."
"A blessed one."
After hearing everything, Sota remained silent.
He opened his mouth slightly, wanting to speak—
but no words came out.
Seeing his reaction, both Mike and Medusa realized that Sota truly remembered nothing.
Medusa continued in his usual cold voice.
"If you can't remember anything, then forget about it for now."
Sota slowly looked toward Medusa.
Then he began trying to remember that moment—
the waves of mana around him…
the light…
the feeling…
He tried recalling every small detail.
And then—
a voice suddenly echoed inside his mind.
"Blessing…"
The instant he heard that word—
his consciousness was dragged deep into darkness.
An endless black void spread around him.
Sota's body trembled violently.
Smoke slowly began rising from every direction within the darkness.
The smoke gathered together in one place.
It burned Sota's eyes, forcing him to shut them tightly.
Then—
within the smoke—
a figure slowly appeared.
A tall man.
He had long hair that was perfectly arranged behind him.
He wore an ancient robe from another era.
Sota instinctively tried to walk toward him—
but suddenly—
one eye from the shadowy figure opened.
That single eye stopped Sota completely.
It was empty.
Cold.
Emotionless.
Then—
a deep voice echoed through the darkness.
"Shadow…"
The voice shook Sota's mind violently.
Suddenly—
his eyes snapped open.
Mike and Medusa were standing right in front of him.
Mike was just about to ask something—
when blood suddenly started flowing from Sota's mouth, nose, and ears.
His body lost strength instantly.
And he collapsed unconscious.
"Sota!"
"What happened to you?!"
Mike and Medusa immediately caught him before he could hit the ground.
In this world—
there are some names…
that are better left unknown.