Esperra Continent, Vandalar, August 25, 2026
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"A ceiling… thankfully, it's a familiar one…"
The young man mumbled after staring dazedly at his room's ceiling for a dozen minutes. His fingers twitched against the sheets; the first movement he'd managed since waking.
Creeeak—
The door opened, and someone walked in, but he didn't react. There was only one dominating thought occupying his mind.
"I'm… alive…"
"Yes, you are. And you left all those healers questioning their sanity along the way."
Ashen finally managed to bring himself back to reality at the intruder's confirmation. He slowly pushed himself upright, muscles protesting the movement, and turned to face her.
He was glad it was Lucia and not anybody else. Right now, he needed someone to get him up to date above all else, and she was perfect for the job.
"If it isn't my dear Lucy…" He ran a hand through his disheveled hair. "Judging by your behavior, it seems I didn't stay out of it for long?"
Lucia was surprisingly wearing pink pajamas the same color as her hair instead of her usual OL attire. She took a seat beside his bedside, crossing her legs with practiced ease, and answered nonchalantly, "If you mean three months by 'not long,' then yes, you just took a long nap."
"..."
"Come again?"
"Three months. Ninety days. Seven hundred and twenty hours. Forty-three thousand, two hundred—"
"Okay! Okay! I get it… jeesh…" Ashen held up a hand in surrender.
Getting assaulted by Lucia's weird humor was the last thing he'd expected after waking from his 'long nap.'
"So this is why my body feels so heavy…?" He flexed his fingers experimentally. Moving felt incredibly tedious, as if he were wearing body weights constantly.
"Maybe." Lucia shrugged one shoulder. "But I'd say the bracelet you're wearing is more responsible for that." She pointed at his wrist with a languid gesture.
"Hm…?" Only now did he notice the additional accessory wrapped around his wrist. He lifted his arm, examining the simple band. He tried removing it, but it looked to be glued to his skin.
"What's this?"
"A suppressor."
"Yes, I can feel it already. My body can't exert more than peak Esperrian strength." He shot her a pointed look. "I just want to know why I'm being 'suppressed.'"
"Look around you." She gestured at the room with a sweep of her hand.
Ashen did. He'd already known he was in his own apartment from the ceiling alone, but when she emphasized the fact, he understood where she was going with this.
"So I'm wearing a suppressor because we're back in Esperra?"
"Yes." She nodded, leaning back slightly. "The higher-ups in Seravelle can't have you or anyone else wreak havoc on this fragile continent, so anyone who surpasses a certain level of strength is obliged to use one of those before coming here."
She paused, tilting her head.
"Naturally, they'll be removed when you go back."
"Uh-huh… but what if I'm threatened with a gun or something?" He kept scratching the bracelet. "Esperra isn't that fragile, y'know?"
"You don't have to worry about that either." Lucia shook her head, pink hair swaying. "Those things are made with the Sloth concept. They just relax your body so you don't exert more strength than configured; they don't actually make you weaker."
"If you happen to be in mortal danger, the effect will naturally recede."
"Good to know…" Ashen nodded, tension easing from his shoulders. He leaned forward slightly. "So? What happened during this time? Is everyone alright? Where are they? Also… how's my family?"
Lucia patiently waited for the barrage of questions to abate before settling into her usual pose: one hand under her breast, the other holding her chin. "I'll explain everything, no rush. Let's start with you."
Her eyes roamed his body with barely concealed fascination. "After what you did, you were brought to Paradise to be healed."
"The healers who escorted you back all thought you were a lost cause after seeing your condition, but somehow, you barely held on against all odds."
She drummed her fingers against her arm. "They said it was as if you had a fountain of vitality, constantly supplying you and keeping you away from death's embrace."
'Vital Drift… you're my new favorite skill…'
Ashen mused, catching sight of the Masterful+ tag beside the skill from the corner of his vision.
"Cornelia requested that the Lust Sin Lord herself take action after she knew you'd basically saved her and everyone else in Ashbastion."
Lucia's expression softened slightly. "I don't know exactly what deals go between Sin Lords, but the request was accepted, and after the treatment, you were stable enough to heal on your own."
"A couple of days ago, I brought you here since your condition had completely stabilized."
She looked away for a moment. "Usually, it's Alice and I who take care of you, but when she has to go back to Seravelle, you're only left with me here."
"I see… Thank you, Lucia."
"No need. I also have my reasons for sticking to you now…" She mumbled the last part, but Ashen caught it.
His family's situation weighed more on him than his curiosity, so he shelved the need to ask for later. "...And my family's reaction?"
Lucia hesitated, her fingers pausing mid-drum. Finally, she settled for one word: "Worried."
She met his eyes. "Very. You should go see them as soon as possible."
"I'll do it today." He nodded, suddenly feeling his stomach tighten with nerves.
Lucia couldn't help her lips twitching at seeing the man who'd killed a god suddenly feeling jittery because of a parents' meeting.
In a sudden act of compassion, she decided to reassure him. "The situation isn't as bad as you think. I've visited them multiple times since our last meeting and smoothed things over."
"Really?" Ashen's eyes widened.
"Of course." She waved a hand dismissively. "You asked for my help with your family before, remember? I take my tasks seriously."
"Right…" She was that competent, a fact Ashen had forgotten. He swallowed. "So… what did you tell them?"
"I didn't tell them anything too far from the truth."
Sweat trickled down his spine as he suddenly began feeling apprehensive. 'What truth, you crazy bitch?!'
Thankfully, what came out of her lips wasn't how he'd spent months in the biggest prison in the world, then went on to fight an alien that could wipe out every life on the planet if it put its mind to it.
"Remember how your job was a military weapon tester?"
"Yeah?"
"Well, not anymore." She leaned forward conspiratorially.
"What am I, then?"
"A brave Second Lieutenant of our Vandalar country, of course." Her smile turned sly.
Ashen shot her a weird look, head tilting. "How'd you make them believe that?"
"Well, I started small, naturally." She began counting on her fingers.
"A diligent man who is more disciplined than anyone else, trains the hardest, and is blessed with fine genetics, making his body the strongest and mind the sharpest…"
She spread her hands. "Isn't it a natural course to promote him to a soldier so he can better serve the country?"
"Remember the skirmishes between our country and Gallia? You were in them."
"Really now…?" Ashen rubbed his temple in exasperation.
"Yes. And you did splendidly." She nodded enthusiastically, clearly enjoying herself.
"From Private, to Corporal, to Sergeant, and finally… Second Lieutenant. You shot through the ladder like a shooting star. And you were, in fact, a star in the army."
She gestured dramatically. "Such rapid development didn't allow you to go back to your dear family, unfortunately. But you were never lonely, for you'd discovered that your beloved ex-lover Alice had followed you and been recruited as a weapon engineer for the army."
'Oh God… Alice is also in on it?'
But on second thought, this was great. It would explain her prolonged disappearance when she was with him in the Pit.
"Now, you work in a special unit that has restricted communication with unrelated personnel, which is why you weren't able to call." Lucia placed a hand over her heart in mock sincerity. "Despite that, you still found a way to send letters. What a dutiful son you are."
"..."
"..."
Ashen stared at her for a long moment, then shook his head slowly.
"Lucia…"
"Yes?" She blinked innocently.
"You're a genius."
"I know." She examined her nails with exaggerated nonchalance, but the corner of her mouth quirked upward.