I walk back to the bed and pick up the cup of water from the side table. It's cold. I drink half of it in one go.
Then I glance down at myself.
I've already been changed into simple white recovery clothes. My uniform is gone. Probably cut off and discarded after the healers got a look at what Cyril's flames did to it.
There's a folded set of fresh academy clothes on the chair in the corner. Beside it, my boots.
'They're certainly efficient.'
I set the cup down.
"So, Codex. How long was I unconscious for?"
The Codex responds instantly.
[2 DAYS, 9 HOURS]
I pause.
'Longer than I initially thought.'
"I'm definitely going to have to get Ryn to teach me how to read a calendar in this world... on second thought, maybe not. I don't wanna experience that conversation. I won't hear the end of it from him."
"Codex? Can you teach me?"
The System can teach the User, although the System notes it would be lame—
"Yeah. Ok. I get it." I cut in.
'Anyway, considering how I'm here, and my uniform is beside me, the practical exam must be over.'
"I wonder how the rankings will go."
Somewhere in all of my thoughts, my loss to Cyril is now a matter of record.
Which is unpleasant.
I start dressing.
As I pull on the fresh shirt, another gap in memory nudges at me.
Something about the end is wrong.
"Wait, if I passed out when I lost to Cyril... how did I get out of the maze?"
Silence.
Then the Codex flickers.
[EMERGENCY PROTOCOL ACTIVATED]
I go still.
"…What? What the hell do you mean by that?"
[USER VITAL FUNCTION AND EXAM STATUS WERE AT RISK]
[EMERGENCY PROTOCOL ENGAGED]
I turn slightly toward the window, though there's no one there to look at.
"Yes, I get that an 'emergency protocol' was used, but what exactly does that mean?!" I whisper, angrily.
The response arrives with infuriating calm.
[USER CONSCIOUSNESS WAS NON-FUNCTIONAL]
[FAILURE TO EXIT THE MAZE WOULD RESULT IN ELIMINATION]
[THE SYSTEM ASSUMED TEMPORARY MOTOR PRIORITY]
I stare ahead.
"You took control over my body?!"
[CORRECT]
The phrase lands slowly.
Not emotionally.
Mechanically.
"SO YOU CAN JUST TAKE CONTROL OF MY BODY WHENEVER YOU FEEL LIKE IT??" I asked with a quiet rage.
[ONLY IN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS]
The Codex, whatever it truly is, took control of my body because I was unconscious, and the exam still required me to exit in order for me to pass.
'It walked me out.'
I close my eyes for half a second.
That should be unsettling— NO, it is unsettling.
But it's also unsettling how I find it… practical.
And right now, the practicality of it wins my composure.
"So you essentially dragged me across the finish line."
[CORRECTION: USER BODY REMAINED MOBILE]
"Great, I must've looked like a zombie, awesome way to not look like a weirdo."
[WALKING PATTERN WAS MAINTAINED]
I almost laugh.
"Right. So basically, you walked me out and finished the exam for me."
[CORRECT]
That explains the memory gap.
It also explains how I passed.
Without that…
I would've failed.
I sit on the bed for a moment and absorb that.
The Codex doesn't comment further.
Which is good, because I'm not sure what I'd say back if it did.
Suddenly...
... a knock sounds at the door.
I look up.
"Come in."
The door opens, and Ryn steps inside.
He's alone.
The moment he sees me upright, something in his shoulders drops, just slightly, but enough for me to spot.
It was relief.
But he covers it with irritation almost instantly.
"Well," he says, "at least you look less dead now."
I lean back slightly. "That's encouraging."
Ryn shuts the door behind him and walks in, glancing around the room like he doesn't trust empty spaces.
'He looks tired.'
There's a fading bruise along his jaw, and one sleeve of his academy shirt has been patched badly enough that I'm confident he did it himself.
He stops near the bed.
"You were out for a while, you know," he says.
"So I've gathered."
A short silence passes.
Then Ryn exhales.
"I was worried."
The words come out bluntly, like he's annoyed they exist.
I look at him.
I could tell that what he just said isn't something he says lightly.
"I know, Ryn," I say.
He grimaces. "Don't say it like that."
"Like what?"
"Like you expected me to say it."
"I did."
Ryn opens his mouth, closes it, then shakes his head.
"You're insufferable."
"So I've been told... by you."
He huffs a short laugh, then leans against a cupboard in the corner instead of sitting on a chair.
For a moment, neither of us speaks.
Then he asks the real question.
"So, what happened to you in there?"
I study him for a second.
"You mean in the maze?"
He gives me a flat look.
"No, Kael. I mean, in a bakery."
I nod slowly. "Haha, that's fair."
Ryn folds his arms.
"You came out at the last possible second," he says. "You looked like you got hit by a falling star."
"That's not entirely inaccurate."
His gaze sharpens. "Ok, so what happened?"
I don't answer immediately.
I replay the sequence as far as I can.
"Cyril happened," I say finally.
Ryn's eyes widen. "WHAT?! You fought him?"
"Yes."
"And?"
I look at him.
"And I lost."
Ryn winces, but only slightly.
Then, after a beat:
"…Yeah, alright. That tracks."
I snort quietly.
"Thank you, Ryn. Really doing wonders for my confidence."
"You know what I mean," he says. "It's not because I think you're weak. It's because that guy's a monster."
"That's one accurate way to describe him," I say.
Ryn studies my face for another moment.
"Do you remember coming out of the maze?"
The question lands right in the gap.
"No," I say.
He straightens slightly. "You don't?"
I shake my head. "I remember the end of the fight. Then white. Then here."
Ryn looks genuinely confused.
"Then who walked you out?"
I don't answer immediately.
The Codex doesn't wait.
[EMERGENCY PROTOCOL RELEVANT TO CONVERSATION]
'No, Codex. I can't tell Ryn about you. At least not now.'
I ignore the phrasing and focus on the content.
"I didn't," I say slowly. "Not consciously."
Ryn narrows his eyes. "That doesn't sound good."
"It's… complicated."
"Complicated how?"
I glance away for a moment.
How much can I explain to Ryn without explaining the Codex?
Not much.
So I choose precision without detail.
"My body was still functional," I say. " But my mind wasn't. Something in me just willed me to the exit."
Ryn blinks.
"That sounds horrific. Like a nightmare, to be honest."
"It probably was."
He stares at me.
Then, slowly:
"So, let me get this straight. You're telling me you blacked out… and still walked yourself out of the maze?"
"Yes."
"That might singlehandedly be the dumbest thing you've ever said to me."
"It may not even make the top five."
Ryn drags a hand down his face.
"That's not normal, Kael."
"No, I know it's not."
"That's SERIOUSLY not normal."
"I'm aware, Ryn, thanks."
He points at me. "You don't get to say things like that in a calm voice."
I almost smile.
"But then, when would I get to say them?"
Ryn looks like he wants to argue, but doesn't. Instead, he exhales hard and drops into the chair at last, leaning forward with his forearms on his knees.
"I waited for you," he says.
"I know."
"And you came out at the last second looking like death."
"So you've told me."
"And then you collapsed before saying anything useful."
I tilt my head. "That doesn't sound like me."
Ryn glares.
Then his expression softens.
"I thought…" He stops. Tries again. "For a minute, I thought maybe you weren't going to make it."
The room goes quiet.
I don't answer with a joke.
I don't dismiss it.
I say, "I made it, Ryn."
Ryn looks down, then nods once.
"Yeah," he says. "You did."
A pause.
Then I ask, "What about you? How did you do?"
That catches him off guard.
He blinks. "In the maze?"
"Yes."
Ryn's mouth twitches.
"I made it out before you."
"... I noticed."
He straightens a little, some of his usual edge returning.
"Which means I'm obviously the superior roommate."
"Obviously."
"I knew I was good," he says, trying for casual and failing because the pride is too obvious, "but I didn't know I was that good."
I raise a brow.
"That was a joke you made out loud at the arena, wasn't it?"
Ryn freezes.
Then squints.
"How do you know that??"
I let the silence answer.
His eyes narrow further. "I hate how your face does that."
"It was an educated guess."
"Of course it was. Lil ol' Ryn, the predictable one."
I lean back slightly.
"So, you passed. I passed."
Ryn nods.
"Barely."
"Still counts."
"Yeah," he says. "Still counts."
He glances at me again.
"You going to be alright?"
I think about Cyril.
About Null Vortex.
About Empyrean Sunfall.
About the difference between Adept and Master.
Then I answer honestly.
"Yes."
Ryn looks sceptical.
He stands, stretching once.
"Well. Good."
Then, more quietly:
"Because next time you decide to get nearly vaporised by an heir, I'd like a little warning first."
I nod.
"I'll schedule it in for you."
"Please do."
I let out a small laugh as Ryn heads towards the door, then pauses with one hand on the frame.
Without turning, he says, "I really was worried, you know."
"I know."
A short silence.
Then he glances back over his shoulder.
"What happened in there, whatever it was… don't let it happen again, please."
And then he leaves.
The door clicks shut behind him.
The room is quiet again.
I stand in the centre of it for a while, looking out at Valoria through the tall window.
The city glows.
The Academy hums.
And somewhere inside all of this, there's a ladder I've only just begun climbing.
Ignis Adept.
That's where I am right now.
I can finally see the gap from the top.
And that makes it solvable.
I glance down at my hand.
The same hand that formed Null Vortex.
The same hand that landed a hit.
'It's not enough.'
'For one swallow does not make a summer, nor does one day. One of my favourite Aristotle quotes I heard growing up. Perfect for my situation now.'
I close my fingers slowly into a fist.
'I lost, and that's fine.'
Now I know what that feels like.
And I have no interest in feeling it again.