The room smelled of medicine and boiled herbs.
Light filtered through narrow Ossuarium windows, pale and thin.
Shura's eyes opened slowly.
The ceiling above him was unfamiliar stone.
His body felt heavy.
He tried to move.
Pain answered first.
His leg trembled as he forced himself upright.
A sharp pulse ran from thigh to ankle.
He inhaled through his teeth but did not lie back down.
He swung his legs over the edge of the bed.
The floor felt colder than expected.
"How many days?" he asked.
His voice was dry.
Zenkyou, who had been leaning against the wall with folded arms, straightened.
"Five."
Shura blinked.
"That's too much."
Zenkyou gave a small breath that was almost a laugh.
"You woke too early as it is. According to the healers, you shouldn't be able to move at all."
Orin stepped closer.
"They said you were nearly gone."
Shura didn't react to that.
He tested his weight.
Pain shot upward again.
He stood anyway.
Orin hesitated before speaking again.
"But what is Velcrisa? And how… how did that even happen?"
Yura looked down before answering.
"We checked Xyrrhal. There's nothing there. No trace of what you described. Even the statue… it's empty."
Shura's expression didn't change.
"Conditions," he muttered.
Orin frowned. "What?"
Shura leaned slightly against the wall.
"I have many answers. And more questions. Velcrisa is one of them."
Zenkyou exhaled sharply.
"Enough. Questions later. You can barely stand."
There was no argument in Shura this time.
They began walking toward home.
The corridors of Ossuarium echoed strangely.
Too quiet.
Luna and Lior turned down a separate path without a word.
Yua and Juro left in the opposite direction.
Shura's eyes narrowed slightly.
"What happened? Why is no one here?"
Zenkyou answered casually.
"Lockdown."
"Why?"
"Control over illegal activity."
Shura stopped walking.
"How ?"
Zenkyou's voice lowered.
"Valryn."
Shura looked at him.
"One of the Odyssey Who is Dea…"
He didn't finish the sentence.
Zenkyou didn't need him to.
"Yes."
Silence stretched between them.
"Questions later," Zenkyou repeated. "Your leg still isn't right."
Shura tried to step forward again.
His knee buckled.
Before he hit the ground—
Ren caught him and lifted him without comment.
Shura didn't protest.
He simply looked away.
They reached home.
The door creaked open.
Shura was placed gently onto the floor mat near the entry.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Then he said softly:
"I think I need to bath first."
"…Don't collapse in there."
A faint smile touched Shura's lips.
"No promises."
Bath Chamber
Steam rose slowly around him.
The sound of water masked everything else.
He sat carefully at the edge.
His injured leg submerged last.
The sting grounded him.
Five days.
Lockdown.
Velcrisa gone.
Lior silent.
He leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees.
Water dripped from his hair.
His reflection wavered.
"I overslept," he whispered to no one.
His shoulders trembled once.
Then again.
He pressed his palm over his eyes.
His breathing faltered.
The sound that escaped him was small.
Contained.
Outside the bathing chamber—
Zenkyou stood quietly against the wall.
He heard nothing.
That was what relieved him.
If Shura had screamed…
If he had broken loudly…
Zenkyou didn't know what he would've done.
Instead, there was only water.
And silence.
Zenkyou closed his eyes.
"Fool," he muttered under his breath.
But his shoulders finally relaxed.
For the first time in five days—
Shura was awake.
And still standing.