The first part of the week went by in a blur. Between her frequent searches around Ravenheart for anyone who might come within view of the city, Noble checked in with the walking world to see who had returned.
Thanks to the efforts of people like Saint Kai, many of the sleepers made it back in record time. A whole new crop of Awakened were leaving the Academy to reunite with family and select their chosen citadels.
Not all of them, though.
Unable to sleep after an evening full of flight, Noble made an early morning stop by the Academy before returning to her home for some time with her family. In the time before the sunrise, she noted one of the lucky ones exiting the building. It was Beric.
"Awakened Beric," Noble smiled at the young man.
Surprisingly, he greeted her with equal warmth. "Greetings, Professor Noble."
"Congratulations on Awakening and joining the ranks of the elite." The floating woman dipped her head.
"I did what you said and held onto my goal. I cut my way south until I reached the Stormsea and managed to flag down a ship." Beric nodded.
"Glad to hear it went well. I hope you thanked the members of the House of Night for their hospitality."
"Of course. Nothing but proper appreciation would have fit the situation." Beric seemed to remember who he was at last: an aspiring knight of Valor would never be caught lacking in manners.
"Welcome back, Awakened Beric. I wish you well." Noble walked through the door as the young man held it open.
"Thank you, ma'am. Have a good day."
'It's amazing how much more pleasant he is without bad influences.'
Noble shook her head.
She continued to the front desk, where she found a familiar face.
"You are back again already? It's still basically the middle of the night!"
"What do you mean, again? I haven't seen you since my sudden departure the night of the solstice. Thank you for setting my things aside for me to retrieve, by the way." Noble smiled at the healer.
"You can't fool me, Professor. I was told you've been here every day. I am beginning to think you don't know what it means to take a week off."
"I'm just here for a moment, don't worry. I've been out looking for Sleepers. It would be silly for me to keep searching if no one were left to be found. It's not like my communicator works in the Dream Realm, so you get a personal visit from yours truly instead." Noble shrugged. "So tell me, most wonderful Umbei, is everyone present and accounted for?"
The healer gave her a pointed look. "Wouldn't that be nice? Despite our outstanding return rate this time around, we still have a few stragglers."
"How many?" Noble held her breath.
"From your hall?" Umbei turned to a screen in front of her and tapped a few keys to pull up the manifest. "Looks like you had one more wake-up. Actually, looking at the time stamp for discharge, you might have seen him on your way in.
"If you mean Beric, yes, I saw." Noble tapped her foot in the air. "What about the other three from my group that I have been waiting on?"
"Fleur, Ray, and Tamar?" Umbei read their status. "They are still all missing in action."
The healer pulled up their three pods to the center screens. The trio seemed to be sleeping peacefully. Noble doubted their souls were getting the rejuvenating effects of the slumber.
Noble tried not to read too much into their tardy return.
'They are still alive,' Noble reminded herself. 'As long as they are living, there is hope.'
Noble bit her lip as a terrible thought entered her head. "Umbei..."
"Their vitals are stable, and I haven't gotten a single weird reading like I did with Gisel. There is no chance they are Hollow." The healer assured her.
The professor nodded as she continued to stare at the three screens.
Umbei coughed lightly. "Have you been to visit her?"
Noble closed her eyes. "Yesterday."
The professor almost hadn't made it through the door. She had faced countless monsters, but the eerie hall that housed the Hollows scared her more than any of them. In the end, Noble had overcome her fear and found Gisel among the silent witnesses: well, what was left of the once vivacious young woman. Now Giesl was just a shell.
When Noble had viewed the green-eyed lady and spoken to her unhearing ears, any doubt she had about Gisel's death was removed. The girl was gone. Like so many others, she had left for the Shadow Realm too soon.
"Did it help, visiting her, I mean?" The healer's question was more than just mere curiosity. Had she lost someone who had become a hollow as well?
"It's like talking to a living tombstone." Noble had no better way to put it. "But, yes, it did help. I said what I needed to say."
"I am glad." Umbei smiled. "Closure is good whenever we can get it."
Noble sighed. She had sought forgiveness in the hall of the dead, but the only person who could forgive her there was herself.
The professor patted her friend's shoulder. "Thank you for the update. I'll check in again tomorrow."
"Or you could stay home with your family and enjoy the moment?" The healer prodded.
"I know, I know…" Noble chuckled dryly. "But I will see you tomorrow if you are here."
Umbei shrugged. "Unless you intentionally avoid my shift, I'll be here."
"I would never avoid you." Noble averted her gaze. "Other than the Solstice, but that wasn't you, that was me. I—"
Movement on the corner screen caught her attention. The room containing the pod was not painted the calming eggshell white of the hospital. Its walls were polished steel. Inside the room, the orderlies were disconnecting the pod and preparing it for transport. That was odd.
"Which room is that?" The professor pointed at the screen. "I thought pods stayed in the rooms year-round."
"They do unless they need maintenance. That one isn't a normal room, though. That's our containment unit. They are cleaning it out because it is no longer in use." Umbei tilted her head.
"Containment unit?" Noble's heartbeat quickened. "What happened to the man inside?"
Umbei frowned. "I am not sure. My charges and another set of rooms were combined this morning as we return to normal shifts. The room was empty when I clocked in. Did you…"
"Please. I have to know what happened." The urgency in Noble's words stalled the healer's question.
She opened the file. "Keth of Aegis Rose…"
"Yes, him. Where is he? When was he discharged?"
Noble hoped that the government had come to collect him, but she feared that Clan Valor would not miss the opportunity to escort their prodigal son of a vassal Clan home personally, with or without government approval.
Or worse. What if he had pretended to leave and then looped around to finish the job to kill Tamar? Who knew what his Awakened power would be? It could easily be like Ray, where Keth could avoid detection.
Noble needed to hurry and check on the guards to make sure they were apprised of the situation.
"Keth of Aegis Rose…." Umbei repeated. "Status: deceased."