The smell of antiseptic saturated the air.
Talon opened his eyes slowly. The white light from the ceiling blinded him for an instant until his pupils adjusted. He was in a hospital room.
He turned his head to one side, and there was his father, sitting in a chair beside the bed, absorbed in a book.
"Well, would you look at that..." he said in a calm voice. "You're finally awake. Seems like you took quite a long break, don't you think?"
Talon tried to speak, but his throat was parched. "W-what happened?" he managed to articulate. "What am I doing here?"
Cedric finally looked up. His eyes were cold as ice. "Well, I think you're the only one who knows." And he returned to his reading.
'The last thing I remember is...'
The images of what happened in the coliseum came flooding back like a torrent.
'That monster... it devoured me... I should be dead.'
He reached that conclusion quickly.
'Wait...'
Then he remembered that strange message he accepted when he was on the brink of death.
'So all of that really happened...? Am I alive thanks to that...? Or was it all a product of my imagination...? I think that's most likely.' He thought as he realized his body was unharmed. 'It's definitely very strange, but... I can't complain, I'm alive after all... And maybe I'm not the only one.'
"T-the others..." Talon looked at his father. "How are they?"
Cedric stopped reading and looked at him. "You're joking, right?"
"No."
Cedric let out a short laugh, without humor. "They all died. Don't you remember anything?"
The words hit like a hammer.
'So it did happen. Everything was real, and not only that, I'm the only survivor...'
Talon considered telling him about what happened. But then he stopped.
'I can't tell him anything about what happened there. He'll think I'm crazy.'
He shook his head. "No... I don't remember much."
"HA!" Cedric let out a bitter laugh. "And here I was hoping you could explain to me exactly what happened. I guess I had expectations that were too high for you." He paused. "As always."
Silence fell between them, heavy and uncomfortable. Only the sound of turning pages could be heard.
"I know why you're here," Talon said, barely whispering.
"Excuse me?"
"You came to do what you said, didn't you?" Talon lowered his head. "To kill me if I didn't become a sentinel... isn't that right? Any moment now you're going to attack me. I'm sure of it."
Cedric said nothing, just continued peacefully with his reading, provoking even more terror in Talon without revealing his next move.
"I tried, okay?! I really did my best! So... it's not fair. It's not fair!"
'He's going to pull out a weapon... I know it. And he won't hesitate for an instant to kill me.'
Talon's hands began to tremble under the sheets.
'I was happy to have survived that, but I completely forgot about the ultimatum he had given me... So it was all in vain, I'm done for anyway...'
Cedric sighed and set the book aside. He stood up and walked to the window.
"I'm not going to kill you."
Talon looked up, confused and stunned by his words.
"Besides," Cedric continued, looking outside, "I wouldn't do it here, in a hospital room."
"But I..." Talon swallowed. "I didn't pass the exam. You have every right to—"
"You did pass."
Talon's world stopped. "W-what?"
'But... how? If Edward in the rift said...'
Cedric turned toward him. "When the sentinels arrived at the location, after detecting the massive electromagnetic waves coming from the rift where you were taking the exam, they didn't find anyone. There was just blood everywhere. And there you were, completely intact on the ground. It was surprising. Even I didn't believe it when I heard it." Cedric crossed his arms. "You were unconscious for seven days. There was no way to wake you up to find out what had happened. However, one thing was clear: you had the misfortune of encountering an anomalous rift."
"Anomalous?" Talon repeated.
"Gray rifts are supposed to only cover floors 1 through 5 of the underworld," Cedric explained. "But the rift you were in had a passage that led directly to floor 35."
'Floor 35?!'
"Those floors are only found in blue rifts. So it's very likely that whatever killed everyone was there." Cedric looked out the window. "Which is normal. Let's be honest, not even Roxanne, who has the Volgrim rune, would be able to survive there. The lower floors require a lot of experience. They're an absolute minefield."
He paused.
"But the Sentinel Association is so stupid they determined you survived because you were able to defeat the monster you faced down there." Cedric turned toward Talon. His gaze was piercing. "But we both know that's not true, right?"
Talon didn't respond. He couldn't.
"By the way," Cedric added casually, "I also noticed a large transaction in my bank account. That was you, wasn't it?"
A chill ran down Talon's spine. He didn't respond. His silence said it all.
"It was obvious it had been you," Cedric continued. "And I immediately realized you had used it to enter the exam illegally." He stepped away from the window. "I would demand you return what you stole from me, but the Sentinel Association already gave me compensation for what happened. And truthfully, it even triples what you took. So we're even."
Talon looked up slowly. "So... the other families also received compensation?"
"Of course not." Cedric said it as if it were obvious. "It's a benefit that only I get, because of how important my position is."
Talon's fingers closed around the sheet. "I know... but I wasn't the only one who suffered in that incident. There were other kids there too. Their families must be deeply affected by their deaths..." His voice trembled. "They should receive compensation too. I'm alive. They're not."
"And that benefits us."
Talon looked at him, confused. "Huh...? What do you mean?"
Cedric stared at him. "You know perfectly well."
Silence stretched between them.
"Are you going to make me spell it out for you?" Cedric sighed. "Fine. If they were alive, they would have told everyone you cheated on that exam. And that's not exactly something that's looked upon favorably, is it?"
"You forced me to do it..." Talon murmured, his gaze lowered.
"Did I specifically tell you to cheat to get into the exam?"
"And how else was I supposed to get into the sentinel academy to become one?" Talon raised his voice. "It was the only thing I could do... I had no alternative."
"If you say so." Cedric shrugged. "But anyway, let's not think about the bad. We should see the positive. The fact that they all died means there are no witnesses to what you did, which benefits us both. In my case, the Thornveil name will remain intact. And in your case..." He grimaced, dragging his finger across his neck in a cutting gesture. "You'll stay alive. Because if they had gotten out of there alive, I think you know how you would have ended up, don't you?" He lowered his hand. "So let's enjoy the fact that this situation favors us."
'I don't know why I'm surprised. That's how he is. That's the kind of monster my father has always been. For him, the deaths of all those kids aren't a tragedy. They're a convenience. And the worst part is that he's right. If they were alive... I would be dead.'
"Oh, right. I forgot to mention," Cedric added casually. "When they found you, you were carrying a dagger."
'Shin's dagger...! So it survived after the monster devoured me?'
"It should be stored with you in that drawer. Honestly, at first glance, it looks like a good dagger. I don't know where you got it, but it's much better than that trash you had."
Talon immediately got up from the bed. His legs trembled and he stumbled, but he reached the drawer. He opened it with shaking hands. And there it was. Shin's dagger. He took it carefully, as if it were a precious treasure.
'It's intact...'
"You're a disappointment as a son, Talon," Cedric said from behind. "And I don't think I'll ever change my mind about that. But you've got guts, I'll admit that. Entering a rift without being able to manipulate even the slightest amount of magic and coming out unscathed is something that sounds pretty surreal, actually."
'If it hadn't been for him... I would have died the instant I set foot in that rift. I'm here because of him. Only because of Shin.'
"From now on, think your decisions through better," Cedric walked toward the door. "Tomorrow is the entrance ceremony to the sentinel academy. From there on it won't be easy at all. But if you've made it this far..." He stopped, turning toward Talon with a cold and threatening look. "Don't screw it up. Use your head and think carefully about your next decisions. Because if you don't..." His expression hardened. "You'll regret it."
Then, Cedric opened the door to leave, and right there he ran into the nurse who was about to enter.
"Huh? Mr. Cedric? When did you get here?"
He didn't respond. He just looked at her and walked away down the hallway.
The nurse then looked inside the room and froze when she saw Talon standing beside the bed.
"And what are you doing standing up? When did you wake up?"
Talon swallowed. "J-just recently, actually..."
The nurse ran toward him, alarmed. "Get back in bed right now! It's not safe for you to be standing!"
She tried to force him back into bed, pushing gently but insistently. "Come on, lie down again."
"Don't worry..." Talon murmured, lightly pushing her hand away. "It's not necessary, I'm fine, really."
"Fine? Do you even know how many days you were in a coma? That's not exactly being fine!" She frowned. "Besides... who gave you permission to remove the medical equipment? Are you crazy?"
"I don't think they're necessary... I'm better."
"And who are you to determine that? I'm the nurse here and you're the patient, so lie down again right now."
Talon let out a sigh. "I'm pretty sure it's more painful for you to push me to force me to lie down than to be standing."
The nurse stopped, looked at him, and took a step back, frustrated.
"Fine," she said. "Then tell me, what do you want? Why are you standing?"
Talon took a deep breath. "I need clothes... so I can leave here."
"What? Absolutely not!" The nurse's eyes widened. "You can't leave without direct permission from the doctor."
"But you could help me leave. You just have to get me clothes."
"I won't do that! Do you want me to lose my job?"
"I don't think it's that serious... they won't fire you."
She clicked her tongue. "Agh, fine. Your mother brought you clothes a few days ago. They're over there." She pointed to a small sliding door on the side of the room.
"Thank you."
Talon took a step, and his legs gave out. He almost fell, saving himself only because he grabbed onto the bed.
The nurse ran toward him. "See? You can't even walk and you expect to leave!"
"It was just a slight dizzy spell." Talon stood up and headed to the door. He pulled out the clothes with trembling hands.
Then he turned to her. "Could you step out so I can change?"
"I won't! What if you fall again? Who helps you then?"
"At least turn around."
She gritted her teeth and turned abruptly, crossing her arms. "I was already planning to do that." Then she muttered: "As if I wanted to look at you..."
Talon began to dress. First the pants. Then he removed the gown to put on his shirt. In the process, a reddish mark on his abdomen was revealed, like a strange symbol engraved on the skin.
'And this...? What is it?'
The nurse suddenly turned around. "You know what? I changed my mind! You're not going any—"
"I didn't say you could turn around!"
But she had already seen it. Her expression changed from anger to total alarm.
"Is that... bleeding? It looks like it! We need to call the doctor right now—"
Talon gently took her arm, stopping her. "It's not necessary. It's a birthmark."
"What? Don't lie!"
"Please... just forget about it, okay? Seriously, all I want is to leave here. I have things to do."
He put on his shirt and took Shin's dagger from the drawer.
She looked at him, frowning. "Oh yeah? And what's so important that you'd completely ignore your health?"
Talon looked at the dagger and held it firmly. "It's a long story..."
He put away the weapon and looked at the nurse once more.
"Thank you so much. I really hope from the bottom of my heart that this doesn't cause you any trouble."
And he headed quickly toward the door to leave.
She just exhaled, tired. "What a strange kid..."