Chapter 36: Chapter 36 – The calm after the storm

A slow, steady beeping echoed in the room.

Each note a gentle reminder:

You’re still alive.

Luca’s eyelids fluttered open.

Blinding white ceiling. Cold air. A dull ache pressed into every fiber of his body—throbbing, relentless, but distant. Like pain submerged underwater.

He tried to move.

His body screamed in protest.

Where… am I?

Then came a voice—quiet, cold, and unmistakably familiar—from beside him.

“Don’t move. You’re in the hospital.”

Luca shifted his gaze slowly to the side. There, on the bed next to his, was Vincent. Propped up slightly against a pillow, his arms in slings and a bandage covering his brow.

Even now, his eyes were sharp. Focused.

Luca tried to speak—but his throat burned. Only a raspy exhale escaped his lips.

Before he could try again, another voice chimed in—this one far too cheerful for the setting:

“Ohh! You’re finally awake, brother-in-law!”

Luca turned his head to the other side, wincing from the effort.
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Kyle was there, flat on his back, most of his chest wrapped in heavy bandages. One leg elevated in a sling. Despite that, he grinned like a fool, waving at Luca with his uninjured arm.

Beyond him, Aiden lay with a tightly-wrapped shoulder, a mana IV line running into his arm. He gave Luca a faint nod. Wordless, but warm.

Luca blinked.

Then his eyes moved to the foot of the room.

Lying in the row across from him was Selena, bandages covering part of her side, her hair loose over her shoulders. She looked over, eyes widening as she noticed him.

Liliane was beside her, her arm in a cast, hugging a pillow close to her chest. Her face lit up in relief.

Elowen just lying there, still in sleep.

And then—

…Who was that?

One more figure, seated calmly at the far side of the room, leaned slightly in her bed. Long silver-blue hair tumbled down her shoulders, half-concealing her features. But something about her presence felt… familiar.

She raised an eyebrow.

“What? Don’t recognize me with my hair down?”

Luca blinked.

And then his mouth fell open.

“Professor Seraphina?!”

She gave a tired shrug, wincing slightly as she adjusted her pillow. “In the flesh.”

“But… shouldn’t teachers have a different infirmary?” he asked, confused.

Seraphina looked away. “…Yeah, normally. But I’m here to ensure your safety.”

She gestured lazily toward the ward’s door.

“You’ve got guards posted outside.”

Luca’s stomach sank.

Of course.

The corrupted treasure. The blood crystal. Emeron.

The resurgence of devil’s power…

This wasn’t just an incident anymore.

It was a threat to the entire world.

He let out a long, aching sigh, closing his eyes briefly.

And from the bed next to him, a familiar voice piped up again—

“Aww, come on, why the sigh, brother-in-law?”

Luca groaned.

Aiden turned his head slightly on the pillow, eyebrows furrowed.

“Hey… I’ve been meaning to ask you this for a while now…” he muttered, his tone suspicious but lazy.

“Kyle… why do you keep calling Luca your brother-in-law?”

That single question?

It hit the room like a dropped mana crystal.

Even Vincent, who until now looked like he didn’t care for 98% of things unrelated to swords and battle strategy, slightly raised his bandaged brow.

Silence followed.

Then—

“Ohhh!” Liliane suddenly perked up from her bed, clutching her pillow a bit too gleefully.

“You mean you don’t know? Senior Aurelia proposed to Luca!”

“She WHAT?!”

A chorus of shock erupted.

Even the heart monitor beside Luca briefly beeped faster.

At the far end of the room, a clatter followed—Elowen, just stirring awake, had knocked over the tray beside her bed in sheer reflex.

Still half-asleep, she rubbed her eyes.

“Wait, what did I just hear?”

Kyle grinned like a man who’d just won a lifelong bet.

“Yup. My sister asked for Luca’s hand in marriage—directly, seriously, and romantically. Even gave him her ribbon.”

Selena’s jaw dropped.

Liliane squeaked.

Aiden blinked like he couldn’t decide if he’d hallucinated the last twenty seconds.

Vincent… coughed.

Luca, voice still weak, raised a shaking hand.

“Wait—wait! First of all, I haven’t agreed to anything yet! And second… why do you even acknowledge me as your brother-in-law already?!”

Kyle placed a hand dramatically over his heart and sighed like a tragic prince.

“What are you even saying, Brother-in-law? After yesterday, I’m not sure my sister’s even good enough for you anymore!”

Selena choked on her water.

Vincent actually blinked twice.

Kyle wasn’t done.

“You fought a corrupted priest, awakened some double-colored slash-of-doom combo, and somehow

broke time and space. That’s peak husband material.”

He nodded solemnly, as if bestowing divine truth.

“And besides—my sister never changes her mind once she’s set on something. So really…”

He beamed.

“You’re already family. Might as well start calling me Little Brother now.”

Luca buried his face into his pillow.

This… this can’t be real.

After fighting for my life, nearly dying, saving the soul of a man buried in darkness…

This is what I wake up to.

He peeked an eye out toward Kyle.

“…Can I trade rooms?”

“Never.” Kyle winked. “I’m emotionally attached now.”

Elowen groaned from her bed, tossing a pillow across the ward—poorly aimed.

“I can’t believe I woke up for this. Someone put me back into a coma, please.”

Selena still hadn’t recovered. She was blushing so hard she looked like she was being boiled alive.

Aiden just mumbled, “…No wonder the guards outside looked afraid. It’s not the demon crystal—it’s this soap opera.”

Professor Seraphina chuckled softly from her bed.

“And here I thought your generation was boring.”

Vincent, somehow, still looked composed. But his voice held the faintest sigh.

“Can we please go one morning without a surprise engagement?”

Luca sighed again, long and slow, his voice muffled by the pillow.

“Please… let the demons come back. That was easier to handle.”

Everyone started laughing.

The laughter began to fade.

Not all at once—but slowly. Like embers dying in a hearth after the fire’s passed. The room that had been filled with teasing, awkward smiles, and pillows being lobbed across beds… now settled into a long, contemplative silence.

And then—

“…Luca.”

Selena’s voice cut through the air. Quiet. Measured. But there was something in it—something heavy.

All eyes turned toward her.

She sat up a little straighter in her bed, her golden eyes sharper now, locked on him.

“That… conversation you had with the corrupted professor.” Her voice was careful, deliberate. “The things you said to him… the things he said to you. How did you know all that?”

Luca’s breath caught.

Even Vincent, who usually kept his emotions sealed behind a knight’s stoicism, looked at him now—watching.

Kyle, who had just been joking about family bonds, went quiet.

Aiden sat up slightly. Even Elowen’s teasing glint vanished.

Liliane clutched her pillow, worried.

And at the edge of the room, Seraphina leaned back against the wall, arms crossed—not intervening, but observing closely. Her eyes betrayed a flicker of understanding.

Like she already knew something.

But she didn’t speak.

She was waiting—for him to.

Luca lowered his gaze for a moment, swallowing dryly.

He didn’t want to talk about this. He never had. Not even with himself.

But after what happened… in front of everyone… staying silent wasn’t an option anymore.

He took a deep breath.

“It’s… related to my attribute.”

His voice was quiet, but steady.

“Time and Space.”

That earned a sharp look from Aiden. Even Seraphina’s fingers twitched slightly.

“Sometimes,” Luca continued, “I… I don’t really know how to explain it. But… I see things.”

Everyone stayed silent, listening.

“Not visions of the future. Not dreams. Not illusions. More like… memories. But not mine.”

His throat tightened.

“I experienced a part of Emeron’s life. Not just heard about it—I felt it. His sorrow, his loss, Mirelle… the little moments. It was like I lived through it. And it all just… happened. I didn’t choose to see it. I didn’t even know it was possible. It just… triggered.”

A pause.

“And when it does… I understand them. On a level that’s hard to describe.”

Selena looked shaken. So did Kyle.

Vincent’s expression barely changed—but his fists had quietly clenched under the sheets.

Even Elowen, who usually had a biting remark ready, said nothing.

No one had heard of anything like this before.

It wasn’t a magic. It wasn’t a spell. It wasn’t divination.

It was something else entirely.

“It’s not something I can control,” Luca added. “And honestly… I don’t know how long I’ve had this. Or what triggers it.”

He glanced around the room.

At these people—battered, bloodied, but alive.

The ones who had seen him speak to Emeron like an old friend. The ones who had fought beside him, trusted him.

His voice trembled, just for a moment.

“But please—don’t speak of this outside. I’m still figuring it out myself. Until I do… I’d like to keep it between us.”

Another beat of silence.

And then—one by one—they nodded.

Even Seraphina gave a slight, slow nod, her expression unreadable… but not unsupportive.

They didn’t have answers.

But they understood what it meant to carry something impossible.

And they wouldn’t betray that.

Luca exhaled, finally allowing himself to lean back against the pillows.

“…What about Eric?” he asked after a pause. “Is he okay?”

Seraphina’s voice was soft for the first time that day.

“He’s fine. He doesn’t have any serious injuries. He’s resting in the main wing.”

Luca closed his eyes, a soft wave of relief washing over him.

“Good…”

The sun had long dipped below the horizon.

Outside the infirmary window, twilight settled into full night. The moon hung high, silver light pouring into the ward.

And standing there, in the pale moonlight…

Was a figure none of them expected to see.

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