In the corner of the dark room, Zeff was still hanging like a forgotten hammock, battling the ropes and his boredom with a voice bordering on a comical wail of despair:
"Vanice... Serayn... Nir... guys! Are you really going to ride the wave of sleep and leave me all alone like this all night? This isn't fair... damn this loneliness!"
After a few minutes, the silence of the corridor was broken by quiet footsteps. Nir emerged from the bathroom, having regained some of his vitality after washing the dust of battle from his body, and headed toward the common room. There, under a dim light, he saw Serayn lying on her bed, fighting off sleep. He approached her with a soft whisper:
"Serayn... are you awake?"
She opened her blue eyes slowly, as if recovering consciousness from a distant dream, and replied in a weary, velvet voice:
"Yes, Nir... I hear you."
She sat up, giving him her full attention, and asked curiously:
"What's wrong? Is something troubling you?"
Nir sat on the edge of the bed, staring into the void for a moment before asking seriously:
"Serayn... do you realize how much time has passed since the gates of hell opened and the Fros monster catastrophe began?"
Serayn thought for a moment, as if counting the scars in her memory, then answered:
"I'm not sure of the exact days... but I think it's been about six years."
Nir was surprised by the accuracy of her estimation and asked:
"And how did you know it was exactly six years?"
She smiled with a faint bitterness, looking at her palms:
"It's simple... when the disaster struck, I was eighteen—the spring of my life that never bloomed... and now, I am twenty-four."
Nir raised his eyebrows slowly, beginning to run his own calculations:
"That means... I am now twenty-three... The years of our youth have been lost in bunkers."
Serayn laughed softly, trying to break the tension with a playful tone wrapped in affection:
"Ha! That means I am older than you, boy, and from now on, you must show me the proper respect and veneration... agreed?"
The smile gradually faded, replaced by a deep-seated anxiety in Nir's eyes:
"Serayn... why didn't you tell them the truth about what we faced with the Fros monster outside? Why did you hide the danger?"
Serayn's features clouded with a thin veil of sadness as she answered:
"I don't want to poison their minds with fear... Vanice is only sixteen, and Zeff hasn't passed seventeen. They are still children in the eyes of this cruel world. I'm fine, Nir; us being together is what matters now."
Nir nodded understandingly, realizing the heavy responsibility on her shoulders:
"I think you're right to protect them... goodnight."
Nir headed to his bed and lay down, while Serayn closed her eyes again, whispering a firm vow to herself:
(I hope this peace lasts... if I have to lose my family again as I lost my mother and father, I won't let fate snatch them from me this time... even if the price is my own life.)
In another part of this shattered world, under the uncharacteristically clear sky of Kenimar, Rion was walking with steady steps beside Kairen until they reached her mother's house—a sanctuary breathing with the scent of beautiful memories.
Kairen knocked on the door eagerly. It opened to reveal a face worn by worry that suddenly ignited with joy:
"Kairen! Oh, my daughter... the light of my eyes!"
Kairen threw herself into her mother's arms, inhaling the scent of safety she had missed so dearly:
"I missed you, Mother... I missed you so much."
The mother embraced her with warm tenderness, tears welling in her eyes:
"And I haven't slept a wink worrying about you. Come, both of you, get inside quickly; the outside air can't be trusted."
Rion entered behind them, bowing with deep respect:
"Hello, Mrs. Thaner."
The mother smiled and said in a teasing tone:
"Rion... are you still calling me by that formal name?"
Rion corrected himself with an endearing awkwardness:
"Ah... forgive me. Hello, Mother."
The mother laughed and said with a warm welcome:
"That's much better. Come in; I've prepared food for you that I dare say you won't find a match for anywhere else!"
She closed the door behind them, sealing out the brutality of the outside world with the warmth and intimacy of home, if only for a while.
In her luxurious office, Director Dalia was submerged in a heavy silence, staring at the papers scattered across her desk as if trying to arrange complex chess pieces. This silence was broken by Iris entering with her quiet, confident strides, asking in a gentle tone:
"How are things going, Lady Dalia? The burden seems particularly heavy this time."
Dalia sighed helplessly, leaning back in her chair:
"I don't know, Iris... I have a feeling I may have rushed the decision for this mission. The details are still eluding me, and time is running out."
Iris smiled, trying to dispel the tension:
"Well, worry doesn't build plans. Let's start with the instructors... who have you chosen?"
Dalia replied, the spark of resolve returning to her eyes:
"You are at the forefront, followed by Toby and Manata."
Iris raised her eyebrows in surprise:
"Only three? Wasn't the planned number four? Besides, sending the elite teachers all at once might provoke the Council."
Dalia gave a mysterious smile:
"Don't worry about the Council; I'll tame those beasts myself. As for the fourth instructor... it is Pier Hasbon."
Iris's face went pale, and her tone shifted to alarm:
"Pier?! He's a member of the Council! Aren't you afraid he'll be a spy waiting for you to trip instead of being a help to you?"
Dalia replied with piercing confidence:
"He has already agreed. I knew he wouldn't refuse... I know the secrets of his past, and I know his desire to go there outweighs any loyalty to the Council."
Iris fell silent for a moment, then asked:
"Fine, since that's the case, let's define the comrades. Who will be under my care?"
Dalia placed her finger on her cheek, thinking:
"The leader in your team will be Rion. His strength and cunning make him the most suitable for leadership."
Iris nodded in agreement, and Dalia began to list the final team formations:
Team One: Iris Valon (Instructor), Rion Grein, Trangen Sorl, Amani Walter, Mai Powell, Touka.
Team Two: Toby (Instructor), Kiron, Yuya Lead, Natsumi Maren, Vodo Kaba, Bern Shiron, Seiya Witer.
Team Three: Manata (Instructor), Tyren, Alex Wilson, Meow Bell, Kim, Ken, Misaki Maosi.
Team Four: Pier Hasbon (Instructor), Atsuri, Rika, Kairen Shiro, Mira Grein, Max Mitra.
Iris commented in surprise:
"Only four in Pier's team?"
Dalia replied with certainty:
"Pier doesn't need an army... these are perfectly sufficient for what he will face."
Iris laughed as she rose to leave:
"Do as you see fit, Dalia. The important thing is that we are done with this organizational nightmare."
Iris left, leaving Dalia to face the silent map of Valdoris, where these souls would soon be sent.
Not minutes had passed before the phones of all the students vibrated with a single official notification... the announcement of the mission team formations.
In Mrs. Thaner's warm house, silence reigned before Kairen let out a cry of bitterness, staring at her phone screen with eyes flooded with tears. She turned to Rion, her voice trembling:
"I... I'm not on your team, Rion... how did this happen?"
She threw herself into his arms, sobbing in despair as if the earth had split beneath her feet:
"No... I can't believe it... this is impossible!"
Her mother rushed over anxiously:
"What has come over you, my daughter? Why all this wailing?"
Rion patted her hair calmly, trying to hide his own personal disturbance:
"Don't worry, Mrs. Thaner. It's just routine academic distributions... everything will be fine, I promise you."
Meanwhile, Rion whispered in the depths of his mind with bitter irony:
(Trangen is surely dancing with joy right now... and as happy as she is, I'm certain my sister Mira is going to burn the Academy down with her screaming.)
At the massive Academy gate, Trangen stood tall, her eyes gleaming with the spark of victory:
"Yes! That's how things are done! Finally, Rion is mine... I mean, Rion is on my team!"
Mai laughed beside her enthusiastically:
"And I'm with you too! It's going to be an unforgettable adventure!"
On the other side of the courtyard, Mira was on her knees, screaming with a voice that shattered the local silence, her tears falling like rain:
"I'm not with Rion?! Damn you, Director Dalia! Damn this wretched luck!"