Chapter 22 – Zone State
The faint hum of machines filled the silence.
White walls breathed with a sterile glow, the air scent with faint silver dust—raw Eterna suspended in containment tubes. Damon's eyes flickered open to an unfamiliar ceiling. The ache came next—deep, gnawing, buried in his ribs and spine.
He tried to move, but his body answered with pain. "Where…?" His voice rasped, dry.
Tolrex turned from a nearby console, the faint reflection of holographic data lighting his glasses.
"Still alive, reckless prince," he said, stepping closer. "That's good news, isn't it?"
Damon blinked, forcing himself upright. He felt gravity press against his bones like lead. "Where's Natsuki?" His words came fast and frantic.
Tolrex barely caught him as he stumbled off the bed. "Stop. You'll tear half your ribs open again."
"Where is she?" Damon's tone sharpened, the soft hum of Eterna amplifying around him.
Tolrex sighed, guiding him back to the mattress. "She's fine, Damon. She's safe. And possibly resting."
Damon's breath steadied, but his eyes wandered. Across the room, another bed hummed with life. The light surrounding it pulsed faintly blue, controlled energy cycling in steady waves.
Rika laid there.
Her uniform was torn and scorched, her arm wrapped in a glowing brace of light. Eterna flowed across her skin like molten glass, sealing tissue that had once been charred. The robotic arms above her moved in precise arcs, emitting soft flashes healing in progress.
Damon exhaled. "Rika…"
"She was barely breathing when they brought her in," Tolrex said, adjusting a screen. "And yet here she is. Eterna works faster on those whose bodies still want to live."
Before Damon could reply, the room changed. The light tilted. A presence heavier than any gravity filled the space.Two of them.
Bravira walked in. Draven followed.
Her steps were sharp, her aura bright enough to distort the air, light itself obeying her. Her glare alone could ignite silence.
"You're awake," she said flatly. "Good. I'd hate to waste a lecture on an unconscious idiot."
Damon braced.
She crossed her arms, her tone biting. "You destroyed the top of 3 towers including the tallest, Obscured"
"Obscuron" Damon corrected.
"Nearly exposed yourself to humans, and almost got that girl killed."
"It's Rika," Damon said quietly.
Bravira's eyes flared. "Are you correcting me?"
"Okay Bravira let's call down." Draven said.
"Hello prince Damon. I'm the late comer, Thropax's brother, Draven."
Draven's hair was white, cut in uneven layers that brushed his eyes and covered his forehead. A couple strands near his left temple was tied with a silver pendant that caught the light when he moved. His eyes looked pale green and steady. They looked like they'd seen too much to ever be surprised again. He looked younger than Bravira.
When Damon shook his hand, the grip was firm, too firm for a man with such a calm face. That's when he saw it — the thin scar running across Draven's wrist, clean and deliberate.
"You're looking at it," Draven said, noticing his stare. His tone was smooth but grounded. "A woman on Neralis — could use her hair like a whip. Nearly took my arm off."
He gave a faint smirk. "Crazy ladies, huh?"
Before Damon could , another voice entered—gentler, familiar.
"Bravira."
Nyra stepped in, smiling faintly. She looked whole again—her dark hair smooth, the faint blue of Eterna still glowing at her fingertips. Hazel followed, hovering with her magical wings humming softly.
"Good to see you awake," Hazel said, landing beside him and smacking his forehead with her tiny hands. "You really gave me a scare when your eyes went dark. Why would you go into the state?"
Damon blinked. "The… State?"
Hazel nodded. "That thing. Scary. Like watching a storm wear your face."
Damon sighed, leaning back. "I want to rest, not another history lecture."
Tolrex chuckled from behind. "You've been out a few hours."
"A few—?" Damon's eyes widened. "After that fight? You're joking."
Hazel tilted her head. "Any normal person would be dead."
Damon gave a small, tired laugh. "I guess I'm not normal."
The air thickened. A faint scent of roses and frost entered the room. Everyone straightened as the doors slid open.
Queen Thessa walked in.
Her steps were silent but absolute—grace wrapped in command. She approached Damon, expression unreadable, and without a word, she took his hair between her fingers.
"It's still as soft as your father's," she said. Then she pulled—hard.
"Ow—Mom!"
"What," she said, leaning close, "did you think you were doing?" Her voice cut through the hum of the machines like glass. "Going into that state? Do you want to delete people from existence, or worse let it tear you apart?"
The room was still. Even Bravira stayed silent.
Damon blinked, somewhere between guilt and awe he thought. "How fierce is she that even Bravira shuts up?"
Damon blinked. "I… didn't even know what it was."
"Then next time, don't use what you don't understand." She tugged again.
"Alright—alright—please—hair—still attached—"
She released him and sighed, sitting beside his bed. "You're impossible."
Tolrex, half amused, muttered, "Reckless prince fits."
Draven folded his hands. "The state you entered just a few have ever reached it. Only one before you."
"My father?"
He nodded slowly. "He called it The Zone of Eterna. When emotion and power collapse into one stream. But it's dangerous. In that state, you're conscious—but your soul is… not entirely yours. Your will is adapted to your rage."
Nyra's brows furrowed. "So he's… half-awake?"
Queen Thessa nodded. "Exactly. It's like the 'zone' athletes talk about on Earth. But his version—" she glanced at Damon— "is a beast without a leash."
Daichi, lying near the console, raised his head. "So… like when Damon looks at Natsuki?"
Hazel covered her face. "Daichi, no."
Damons eyes bloomed with relief. "Your alive. I noticed you and the baby."
"That was one annoying baby" Daichi said in comedic disgust.
Bravira smiled, faintly. "Well… he isn't wrong."
Damon exhaled sharply, his ribs still aching. "Wonderful. Even my dog betrays me."
One of the twin sisters, Meyren, rolled her chair closer, holding a metal cup. "Drink this."
Damon looked suspiciously at it. "What is it?"
"Painkiller."
"It smells like molten socks."
"Then drink it quickly."
He downed it in one go and grimaced, his face contorting. "What the hell was in that?"
"A good distraction," Thessa said calmly. "So you don't complain when I finish lecturing."
Bravira folded her arms again. "All you needs to know is that the state is dangerous. He tore an low-class demon apart with his bare hands, with no training. Imagine if he'd lost control completely."
Damon ran his fingers through his hair, exhaling. "How much worse can this get…"
And then—
A sound. A weak breath.
Everyone turned.
Rika stirred. Her fingers twitched. The light around her healing chamber pulsed in rhythm with her heart. The faint burns along her arm closed before their eyes. Skin smooth, unscarred. She blinked once, then screamed.
Her eyes shot open.
She gasped—then screamed. Again.
Damon reacted as fast as he could, moving faster than his pain should allow. He reached her side as she kicked against the light restraints, panic wild in her eyes.
"Damon!" she shouted, voice cracking. "We have to get out—there's a thing outside—it's—"
"Rika," Damon said firmly, his hand gripping her shoulder. "Stop. You're safe."
She froze, staring into his eyes. The wild tremor in her chest slowed.
"You're… serious?" she whispered.
He nodded. "You're in Woewyn. No one's going to hurt you here."
She stared at the ceiling, breath shaky. "Then how—how am I healed?"
Tolrex stepped closer. "Science. And Eterna. You're welcome."
She blinked at him like he was a hallucination. "I'm dreaming. Definitely dreaming."
Hazel fluttered closer, waving. "Hello!"
Rika's head turned slowly, her face pale. "What… what is that?"
Hazel frowned. "Rude."
"Okay. Definitely dreaming," Rika muttered. She turned back to Damon, clutching his wrist. "You're here too. Great. My brain really hates me."
Nyra burst out laughing. "She thinks this is a dream!"
"Because it is!" Rika said. "There's no way any of this—" she looked at Daichi, then at Nyra who was replying to Daichi's barks. "That's a talking dog! What's he barking!? Oh, I'm gone. I've died."
Daichi tilted his head. "I'm offended." he barked.
Bravira muttered under her breath, "Can we put her back to sleep?". Thessa shot her a look.
Damon exhaled, crouching slightly so his eyes met Rika's. "You've been asking a lot of questions," he said quietly. "Do you want answers, or do you just love panicking?"
She blinked, stunned for a moment. Then, slowly, she sat back. Her hand didn't leave his wrist. The light from the robotic arms bathed them both in silver.
"What the hell is going on, Damon?" she whispered. "And who are these people?"
Damon sighed, rubbing his temple. "I'm really getting tired of telling this story."
Bravira stepped forward, her voice cutting through the air. "Then stop giving us new reasons to make you repeat it."
The silence that followed hung like cooled glass—fragile, clear, and full of everything unsaid.
End of Chapter 22 – Zone State.