There was no sound.
Fragha felt as if he were drifting inside a darkness so vast that its edges could not be seen. His body felt light, but it was not the pleasant kind of lightness. It felt more like he had no body at all. Empty, cold, silent—every second stretched endlessly, yet he could not tell whether time truly existed in this place.
Where am I?
His thoughts moved slowly, like something being dragged out of a dream too deep to escape from.
He tried to remember.
The pain did not return clearly. He only remembered the impact, a blow so powerful that every sound in the world vanished at once. His body had been thrown away, his vision had sunk into darkness, and then everything had closed around him like a door being locked from the outside.
Am I dead?
The question rose naturally.
Strangely, it did not feel unfamiliar. This darkness reminded him of his final moments on Earth. He had crossed the line between life and death once before, and this empty space carried the same feeling.
Cold.
Lonely.
With nothing to hold on to.
Fragha tried to move, but he could not even tell whether his hands still existed. He tried to call someone's name, but no voice came out.
So this is how it ends?
He thought of Constantia. He thought of the village that had once been close to starving to death. He thought of the villagers' faces as they slowly learned how to hope again. Hana, Arad, Zael, Albert, Stella, Viktor, Hans, Oderick, and all the others who had stood behind him passed through his mind one after another.
He had defeated the Golem King, or at least he hoped he had. But if victory had cost him his life, would Constantia still be able to stand?
That thought made the emptiness in his chest feel even deeper.
Then, far away, a light appeared.
At first, it was only a small point, like the flame of a candle at the end of a long hallway. In the middle of absolute darkness, however, that faint light felt like the only real thing in existence. Fragha stared at it for a long time. It was not blinding and did not carry any heat, but it pulled him gently.
Something inside him stirred.
Hope.
Fragha tried to reach for it.
Is this the road to heaven?
The question sounded foolish even inside his own mind, but he still stretched his hand toward the light. If this was the end, he at least wanted to know where that path would take him. If it was not the end, then he had to return.
The light grew larger.
The darkness around him began to crack. Faint sounds reached him, distant and broken. He heard something like breathing. He smelled the bitterness of medicine. Warmth touched his back. Then, slowly, the weight of his body returned.
Fragha opened his eyes.
A wooden ceiling greeted him.
For several seconds, he did not move. His head felt heavy and dizzy, as if the contents of his mind had been violently shaken. His vision remained blurred for a while before gradually clearing. He saw the beams above him, the thin curtain beside the bed, sunlight entering through the gap in the window, and a small table holding a bowl of medicine.
He was alive.
Fragha drew a slow breath.
His chest ached faintly, but not the way he had expected. His body should have been crushed. Every bone should have screamed in pain. He clearly remembered the Golem King's blow, the force that had destroyed his balance and thrown him away like a broken doll.
And yet, his body felt strangely healthy.
Tired, yes. Dizzy, without a doubt. But not like the body of a man who had taken a direct hit from a five-meter-tall obsidian monster.
A transparent blue panel appeared above his vision. Its surface glowed softly, far more stable than the last panel he remembered before losing consciousness.
> [SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Congratulations. You have obtained 550 points.
— Survived an entity ranked as a Calamity: Amonn.
— Defeated the Golem King through mass coordination.
— Performed a heroic rescue and triggered a surge of absolute loyalty.
Fragha stared at the panel in silence.
"Five hundred and fifty points…" he murmured.
His voice was hoarse, weaker than he expected.
He tried to sit up, but dizziness struck his head immediately. Fragha held his breath and waited for the world to stop spinning. After a few seconds, he managed to slowly raise his body.
When the blanket shifted, he finally noticed that his face, arms, chest, and parts of his body were covered in bandages. The cloth was clean, changed carefully, and carried a faint scent of herbal medicine. Strangely, beneath the bandages, the pain was not nearly as severe as it should have been.
What happened while I was unconscious?
Then his gaze lowered toward the end of the bed.
Hana was asleep there.
She sat on a small chair, her head resting on the blanket covering Fragha's legs. Her hair was slightly messy, her face pale with exhaustion, and one of her hands still gripped the edge of the blanket as if she was afraid Fragha would disappear the moment she let go.
Fragha fell silent.
A warmth he could not easily explain rose in his chest. He slowly lifted one hand, about to touch her head, but the door suddenly opened.
Viktor entered, carrying a small tray with water and clean cloth.
The moment he saw Fragha sitting on the bed, Viktor froze.
The tray in his hands almost slipped.
"Lord Fragha…?"
Fragha turned his head. "Viktor."
Viktor's eyes widened. Relief, shock, and near panic crossed his face all in a single breath.
"You're awake!"
The shout shook the room.
Hana woke immediately. She lifted her head with a confused expression, then her eyes met Fragha's as he sat on the bed.
For a moment, Hana did not move.
Then tears fell from her eyes.
"Fragha…"
She stood so quickly that her chair was pushed backward. Without waiting for anything else, Hana hugged him. Her embrace was tight, but still careful, as if she feared his body would break again if she held him too strongly.
Fragha was startled, but he did not push her away.
Hana lowered her face against his shoulder. Her voice broke. "Thank you…"
Fragha looked at her from so close that he could see the exhaustion beneath her eyes. "For what?"
"For saving me." Hana gripped his clothes harder. "I saw it. I couldn't move. If you hadn't pushed me away, that blow would have hit me."
Fragha was quiet for a moment, then let out a soft breath. "You're alive. That is enough."
Hana cried harder after hearing those words.
At the door, Viktor finally snapped back to his senses and turned around.
"Lord Fragha is awake! Call everyone! Quickly!"
Before long, hurried footsteps sounded from the hallway. Several people entered almost at the same time. Hans arrived first with disbelief written across his face, followed by Oderick, who was usually calm but now looked visibly shaken. Albert came in while holding his breath, Stella stood behind him, and Zael appeared last with quick steps despite the exhaustion still marked on his face.
Hana slowly released Fragha from her embrace.
"Leader…" Albert murmured, then gave a short laugh like someone who had just escaped a nightmare. "You really woke up."
Zael stared at Fragha for a long moment. His jaw tightened, but his eyes were wet. "Lord Fragha, I knew you would wake up."
Hans rubbed his face. "Thank goodness."
Stella said nothing. She only covered her mouth with both hands while tears gathered in her eyes.
Fragha looked at them one by one. "How long was I unconscious?"
Silence fell for a moment.
Oderick stepped closer. The old man's face showed relief, but his voice remained serious. "A little over two weeks, Lord Fragha."
Fragha frowned. "Two weeks?"
"Yes." Oderick nodded slowly. "After the Golem King collapsed, you fell into a coma. Your body suffered severe damage from the impact and from using a skill far beyond your limit. We thought…" He paused, then drew a careful breath. "We thought you might never wake up."
Fragha looked down at the bandages wrapped around his arm. "But my body feels too good for someone who was hit by a monster that large."
Oderick turned toward Stella.
Stella lowered her head, clearly uncomfortable with everyone's attention, but Oderick continued.
"That is because of Stella Leslie."
Fragha looked at her.
Stella slowly raised her face.
"When she saw your body in that condition," Oderick said, "the pressure on her mind triggered the awakening of her magical talent. Stella awakened as a Healer. Without her healing magic, your broken bones would never have mended this well."
Stella clasped her hands in front of her. "I didn't know how to do it at first. I just… didn't want you to die." Her voice was small, but clear. "So I kept trying. Again and again."
Fragha stared at her for a long moment. "You saved me."
Stella quickly shook her head. "No. You saved us first."
Fragha did not argue.
Viktor then stepped forward. "There is something else you should know, Lord Fragha."
Fragha turned to him.
"I have returned from the border of Asgard," Viktor said. "Following your last order before you fell into a coma, I brought Arad's adopted child here."
The room became quiet again.
At the mention of Arad's name, several faces turned gloomy. Fragha noticed the change, but he did not ask yet. His body had only just awakened, and his mind was still piecing together everything that had happened during the two weeks he had lost.
"Where is the child?" Fragha asked.
"Safe," Viktor answered. "He is under our protection. The journey was not easy, but he has arrived in Constantia."