When we reached the holy land's border, Boraz hesitated.
His massive frame went still mid-stride, powerful muscles tensing beneath his skin like he'd hit an invisible wall.
He put me down carefully, then adjusted Kaito in both his hands with the ease of someone handling something precious and fragile.
Then slowly---so slowly it felt wrong for someone who moved with such explosive force---he stepped forward.
"Stop there."
The voice cut through the night air. Sharp. Dripping with authority that demanded obedience.
A figure emerged from the shadows near the border gate, stepping into the twilight. Her face drained of color the moment she saw us.
Sister Maria.
Her eyes landed on Kaito---unconscious, wounded, cradled in Boraz's arms.
Then her eyes met mine. "What happened to the hero?"
Before I could open my mouth---
"Hey, nun girl!" Boraz's rough voice cut through, desperate and demanding---so different from the confident warrior I'd watched fight Aria. "This isn't the time. Kid needs help. Now."
"I understand."
Sister Maria didn't even hesitate. No more questions about who is he and why he was carrying the hero. No fear. Just immediate action.
"Please, come with me."
She didn't hesitate to let him in.
We followed Sister Maria down the stone path leading deeper into the holy land, past gates that should have been forbidden to someone like him.
The holy land didn't have physical walls or guards from what I could see. Aria had mentioned it was protected somehow---that monsters couldn't enter, and only nuns, priests, and priestesses lived here. That much I knew from our brief conversations since arriving.
But Boraz was here. Walking through those gates. A bandit. A half-beast warrior who'd just been fighting demons.
And Sister Maria had let him in without hesitation.
*Why?*
My previous panic---the self-loathing that had been drowning me during that desperate run through the forest---it had faded the moment my mind cleared. When that single thought kept repeating inside my head like a mantra, like a prayer, like the only truth that mattered:
*I want to get stronger.*
Now my mind was working again. Analyzing. Processing. Doing what it always did.
I don't know if it's a curse or a gift from the gods, but this world has something different about it. My mind doesn't work the same way it did back home.
Here, it seems to work *too well*. Sharper. Faster. Making connections I wouldn't have seen before.
Is it because of our situation---the constant life-or-death pressure forcing my brain to adapt? Or does this world have different rules? Different physical laws that affect how consciousness itself functions?
My eyes kept searching Kaito's face for any sign of movement. Any slight twitch of his eyelids. Any change in his breathing pattern. Anything that would tell me he was alright.
When we entered the cathedral---ancient stone walls that seemed to absorb sound, making everything feel muted and sacred---Sister Maria ran inside and returned moments later with a small bottle.
Glass that caught the lamplight, filled with liquid that glowed faintly gold.
Just like the one Aria had given Kaito to save me when the minotaur's axe had nearly split me open back in our world.
Boraz knelt slowly, lowering Kaito onto the cold stone floor with a gentleness that didn't match his massive frame. His rough hands stayed beneath Kaito's shoulders, keeping him stable against the hard ground.
"Grey!" Sister Maria's voice was urgent, commanding. "Don't just stand there---give this to the hero!!"
"Yes, Sister Maria."
My hands shook slightly as I took the bottle from her. The glass was warm against my palm, pulsing with that same gentle energy I remembered from before.
I dropped to my knees beside Kaito, carefully tilting the bottle to his lips.
The liquid went down smoothly. I watched his throat move as he swallowed reflexively, watched the wounds across his body begin to close with that same miraculous speed I'd experienced.
The gashes sealed. The burns faded. The bruises disappeared like they'd never existed.
Complete healing.
Just like what had happened to me.
But Kaito didn't wake up.
His eyes stayed closed. His body remained completely limp.
Sister Maria leaned over him, her expression tight with concern.
"Why isn't he waking up?" Her hands hovered over his chest, checking his breathing, his pulse.
When *I'd* drunk that potion, I hadn't lost consciousness. I'd stayed aware the entire time, felt the healing spread through my body like warm sunlight.
But Kaito had been unconscious before drinking it. And he stayed unconscious after.
*Is that the reason? Because he was already out when he drank it?*
"How did he get these injuries?" she asked.
Boraz's voice was heavy with something that sounded like shame.
"Demons used us." He looked down at Kaito, then at Sister Maria. "Made us think hitting your supply lines would get the king's attention. But they just wanted to mess with the summoning."
He paused, jaw clenching.
"When I figured out the hero was already here… when I saw what they were tryin' to do to him…" His amber eyes met mine for a brief moment. "I'm ashamed. Led my men thinking we'd finally get noticed. Backfired real bad."
Sister Maria's expression softened slightly, though worry still lined her face. She looked at Kaito again, then at me, then at Boraz---a bandit leader who'd broken whatever rules existed, yet faced no divine punishment for entering this sacred place.
"We need to get him to a bed," she said finally. "Somewhere he can rest properly while we figure out why he won't wake."
We brought Kaito back to the place where we'd stayed for the past few days.
The Tower of Heroes.
The name felt heavier now, more significant. Ancient stone walls that had housed countless summoned warriors before Kaito. Before me.
The air Inside was cool, almost cold, carrying that distinct smell of old stone and incense that seemed to seep from every surface.
Sister Maria looked calmer now as she helped Boraz lay Kaito down on one of the beds. Her hands moved with practiced efficiency, checking his pulse again, adjusting his position to ensure he could breathe easily.
The tension in her shoulders had eased slightly, though worry still etched lines around her eyes.
Then she paused, her hands stilling on the blanket she'd been pulling over Kaito.
"Is Aria okay?"
"She asked me to get these two to the holy land and stayed behind." The words came out of Boraz's mouth, gruff but certain.
*What? She did?*
The thought hit me like cold water.
*How did she know he would be allowed inside? Aria herself said no one except---*
My mind raced, connecting pieces that didn't quite fit together yet.
*Is it related to her somehow? Did she know something? How could she be so certain the barrier wouldn't reject him?*
"If she said that, then okay." Sister Maria's response was immediate. Certain. Like that single statement answered every question she might have had.
The question appeared in my mind without warning. Sharp. Demanding.
I didn't hesitate.
"How do you know she'll be alright?" The words came out harder than I intended. "You didn't even ask why she stayed behind. You just---accepted it."
*Like you didn't care at all.*
My frustration boiled over. I turned to Boraz.
"And you, bandit guy! You didn't even stop her. Why?" My voice cracked slightly. "Why didn't you help her?"
Boraz's eyes locked onto mine.
"You think she's some helpless little kid like you?"
The words hit like a physical blow.
*Helpless. Like me.*
I didn't look away. Couldn't. Because he was right, wasn't he? In that fight, I'd been dead weight. Useless. Something to be carried while others bled.
"That girl's strong." Boraz's voice dropped lower. "Way stronger than any of us. Hell, stronger than that demon." Something dark flickered across his face. "I seen it in her eyes. When she lost control… if your hero hadn't snapped her back…"
He didn't finish. Didn't need to.
I remembered it. The purple lightning crackling across her fingers.
*Like dark magic.*
The way the air itself had felt *wrong*. The absolute certainty I'd felt in that moment that something was terribly, fundamentally wrong.
And Kaito had stopped it. Just by calling her nickname. The one he'd given her.
*Is she a demon too? Then how did she enter the holy land? Why does she look like a human?*
The questions multiplied in my mind, each one spawning three more. Connections that didn't make sense. Pieces that refused to fit together.
I needed answers. So many questions were rising in my mind, demanding attention, demanding solutions.
*If I miss any plot holes---if I fail to see something important---it might put Kaito in danger again.*
I couldn't let that happen.
*I should analyze everything.*
My eyes landed on Sister Maria, searching her face for answers.
Sister Maria's eyes dropped to the floor. Her hands folded in front of her, fingers intertwining with the kind of nervous gesture that spoke of guilt and secrets kept too long.
"I know she would be okay," Sister Maria said quietly, "because she's the one who's been protecting our supply routes. For a while now." She paused, searching for words. "We didn't ask her anything because… it was needed. And I'm the only one close enough to at least talk to her."
Her voice grew even softer.
"When she arrived here, she was younger. Like… six, maybe?"
*Six years old.*
The number hit me like a physical blow.
Aria---the powerful mage who'd fought Boraz to a standstill, who could create barriers that seemed indestructible, who'd coordinated with a half-beast warrior against a demon with terrifying precision---had come here as a child.
Sister Maria's eyes stayed on the floor, but I could see her expression shifting. Remembering. Pulling up memories that clearly caused her pain.
"When she arrived, she was like…" Sister Maria paused, struggling with how to describe it. "Empty. That's the only word for it. Empty. Like someone had hollowed her out and left just the shell behind."
She took a shaky breath.
"She didn't speak. Not for months. Didn't cry. Didn't smile. Didn't react to anything. We'd try to talk to her, comfort her, and she'd just… stare. With those eyes that looked through you instead of at you. Like she was seeing something else. Something we couldn't see."
Sister Maria's hands clenched tighter.
"She'd follow instructions perfectly. Too perfectly. If you told her to eat, she'd eat. If you told her to sleep, she'd sleep. But there was no will behind it. No choice. Just… obedience. Like a puppet responding to strings."
My chest tightened as I listened.
I tried to reconcile that image---a hollow six-year-old who moved like a puppet---with the Aria I'd seen. The one who'd called Kaito "Sir Kaito" with that slight warmth in her voice. The one who'd worried about us enough to come looking.
"The only time she showed any emotion at all," Sister Maria continued, her voice barely above a whisper now, "was when someone got hurt. If one of the sisters cut themselves while cooking, or if a priest fell and scraped their knee---Aria would *panic*. Her hands would shake. Her breathing would get fast. She'd try to heal them immediately, desperately, like their lives depended on it even if it was just a minor scratch."
Sister Maria finally looked up, meeting my eyes.
"But if you asked her why she was so scared, she couldn't answer. Or wouldn't. She'd just go back to that empty stare."
Boraz had gone quiet, listening. His expression was unreadable, but I noticed his jaw was clenched tight.
Sister Maria's voice grew quieter still.
"Priest Sebastian brought her here. He found her at an orphanage in Lumindale---in the Holy Kingdom's capital. He saw potential in her…" She paused, searching for words. "At first, she was like a lost puppy following him around. Quiet. Obedient. Empty."
Her hands tightened In her lap.
"He stayed to train her himself. For nearly five months, he worked with her every single day, trying to reach through that emptiness. Just trying to get *any* response at all from her."
A faint, sad smile touched Sister Maria's lips.
"When she finally did respond---even just a little---he continued training her. For nearly a full year in total, he stayed here with her, teaching her magic, giving her access to the holy library and the training grounds. Slowly, piece by piece, she started coming back. Not all at once. But enough."
Sister Maria's voice softened.
"Then he left her in my care. Said I was better suited to help her than he was. His role is finding candidates across all the continents, so he couldn't stay forever. But he didn't abandon her. He's visited over the years---his last visit was two years ago. That's when he gave her the enchanted robe and staff, and officially gave her the role of aiding heroes."
She looked toward the window, as if she could see across the holy land to where Aria stays in the residential area with her.
"So I raised her. Or tried to. For nine years now, I've watched her slowly come back to life, piece by piece. But I still don't know what happened to her before Priest Sebastian found her. What happened at that orphanage, or before she even got there. She's never told anyone. Not even me."
*She's just fifteen.*
The realization settled over me like a weight. She looked our age---seventeen, maybe eighteen. Mature. Composed. In control.
But she was still a child.
"I don't know what made her like that," Sister Maria said again, softer now. Almost to herself. "Part of me is afraid to ask. Afraid that knowing would somehow undo all the progress she's made."
She looked back at us, her eyes tired.
"All I know is that something terrible happened to that child. Something that broke her so completely that even now, nine years later, there are moments when that emptiness tries to pull her back." Her voice cracked slightly. "She wakes up with tears almost every night."
The silence that followed felt like a living thing.
I looked at Kaito's unconscious form. At Boraz standing there with guilt written across his face. At Sister Maria with her secrets and her fear.
And I thought about Aria, alone in the forest, facing a demon that had nearly killed Kaito.
*How did she know the barrier would let Boraz through?*
The question sat in my mind like a splinter I couldn't remove.
But I didn't ask it.
Not yet. At least not until she decides to tell me herself.
Because right now, all that mattered was that Kaito wake up.
Everything else could wait.
***