"You let your guard down." 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"You trusted the same beings you killed without remorse."

"You let yourself get carried away by fake smiles."

"You always thought you wouldn’t get betrayed by sweet, innocent people, didn’t you? Look where that got you."

A voice whispered in the silence where Ryuen floated.

Its tone was laced with mockery and anger—familiar and deeply unsettling.

He tried to make out where exactly the voice came from, but his brain was sluggish.

He couldn’t search through to remember, but he was certain that the voice was very familiar

"You’ll never learn, Sato," the voice continued, softer now and feminine.

He felt hands brush over his body, tracing the lines of his veins until slender fingers crawled up his jaw, leaving a tinglingsensation behind.

"You didn’t listen to me. You weren’t careful. Now you lie here, betrayed, battered, and just steps away from death."

"Your overconfidence caused your downfall."

The voice disappeared as suddenly as it had come, replaced by the faint, steady beeping of monitors.

Somewhere in his mind, faint laughter echoed, mocking him before it faded completely as his senses slowly awakened.

The words, however, remained.

Whoever it was—they were right.

He had been overconfident, too arrogant to notice what was going around him.

But that wasn’t the root of the problem.

The real issue was his second-guessing, his hesitation, and his misplaced trust.

If he hadn’t grown so attached to Haruka, none of this would’ve happened.

And yet... his other three students had’t played a part in his betrayal—or did they?

Ryuen’s eyes fluttered open, light piercing through the darkness.

The white, spotless ceiling came to view, a bitter reminder that he was still alive.

"Ah, you’re awake."

The voice was casual, undisturbed, and almost mocking.

He couldn’t blame them—he deserved every bit of it.

Turning his head slightly, he found himself staring at the same figure he’d seen in the dungeon before he passed out.

The man sat on a stool, one leg crossed over the other, holding a magazine in his hands.

Ryuen’s throat was dry, but he forced out a question.

"Who... are you?"

"Name’s Daiki," the man replied, tossing the magazine into a basin with perfect aim.

"I’m the guy who saved your sorry ass from becoming beast chow," he added, leaning closer to the pod.

"You’re welcome, by the way."

Ryuen squinted, struggling to keep his gaze focused on Daiki’s face.

The drugs in his system were making it difficult.

"Where am I?"

"Vanguard headquarters," Daiki answered, gesturing at the room and the logo above the door.

"You’ve been out cold for a while. Had Doc over there patch you up."

"Doc?"

As he spoke, the sound of clicking heels drew his attention.

A silver-haired woman entered the room, holding a clipboard with a pen tucked behind her ear.

Her cold expression softened slightly when she noticed he was awake.

"You shouldn’t be awake yet," she said as she closed the door behind her.

"Your body needs more time to heal."

"I don’t have the luxury of time," Ryuen replied flatly.

He had to follow the queen’s instructions before doing anything else.

Going against her had already gotten him into trouble—he wouldn’t risk unseen consequences again.

He tried to sit up, but his body refused to move, or obey him.

His brows furrowed in frustration.

"What did you do to me?"

Kaori frowned.

"Ungrateful airhead... I saved your life, that’s what."

"You lost a lot of blood and a few other things."

"Frankly, you should be dead, but against all odds, here you are."

Ryuen ignored her and tried to sit up again, only for Kaori to place her hand on his shoulder, pushing him back down.

"Don’t be stupid. You’ll rip your stitches. Do you know how hard it is to stitch human skin to avoid tearing flesh?"

Ryuen sighed and averted his gaze, forcing himself not to smile at how she complained.

She reminded him of a certain someone.

Daiki chuckled from the corner.

"She’s got a point."

"You’re in no condition to go anywhere."

"Like I care," Ryuen scoffed, reaching for the tubes connected to his oxygen pipes, but Kaori held a scapular to his neck.

"Remove it and get another mark, and this time I will not stitch it."

"I own my body."

"I have every right to kill you right now and send your body back to where he picked you up."

Ryuen clenched his jaw and dropped his hands.

His frustration was increasing by the second.

He hated this—being vulnerable, relying on strangers.

But he couldn’t deny the truth: he was weak, and he could still feel the burning sensation from the antiseptic used to clean his wounds.

Even if he wanted to leave, his mind was a jumbled mess.

He glanced back at Kaori, who gazed at him with a deadly gleam in her eyes.

One that screamed, ’If you move, you die.’

He then shifted his gaze to Daiki and exhaled.

"What’s the catch?" he finally asked.

Daiki’s smirk turned into a grin. "Smart guy. You managed to read between the lines."

He raised his hand. "Don’t worry too much; we’re not asking for your soul or anything. Yet."

Kaori shot him a glare before turning back to Ryuen.

"The only catch is that you’re now our citizen."

"You’ll go through a few tests once you’ve recovered, and an interview."

"If you pass, you’ll be registered and free to move as a citizen of Nokori. If not..."

Ryuen’s eyes narrowed. "If not?"

Kaori’s lips pressed into a thin line.

"Let’s just say the council doesn’t take kindly to outsiders without proper credentials."

"I remember how hard it was to get mine."

She mumbled, earning a chuckle from Daiki.

The room soon fell silent.

They watched as Ryuen slowly closed his eyes, piecing his memories together.

The dungeon, the beast, Haruka, the royal siblings, Althea, the king he trusted so much, the queen who died after warning him.

And Yuta.

"Yuta!"

Ryuen’s eyes quickly snapped open, bringing himself out of his thoughts.

"Relax, Ryuen. He is doing alright," Daiki answered, standing to his feet.

"Hm?"

"I don’t know anything about whoever you’re talking about, though," Daiki laughed.

"I’m just giving positive statements."

Ryuen nodded slightly and closed his eyes.

"Redspire," he uttered. "That’s the name of the dungeon, right?"

Daiki smiled.

"You remember. Care to share what you were doing in a sealed dungeon?"

Ryuen’s eyes darted to Daiki. "That’s none of your business."

Daiki shrugged, unbothered.

"Suit yourself. But you should know, people don’t just stumble into forbidden zones. Especially not humans."

Ryuen’s eyes narrowed, but he said nothing.

Kaori sighed, clearly done with the conversation.

"Enough. He needs rest, not interrogation." She glanced at Daiki.

"Don’t push him. If he collapses again, it’s on you."

Daiki held up his hands in mock surrender.

"Alright, alright. Wisest and noblest, Miss Ito, the one and only Kaori Takeru, hehe...."

She glared at him.

"I’ll back off. For now."

Kaori scoffed and left the room, muttering something about preparing for surgery.

Daiki leaned back in his chair, studying Ryuen with an amused glint in his eye.

"You’re a tough one, I’ll give you that," he said.

"But you’ve got a lot of people curious about you now."

"Might want to start thinking about how you’re gonna handle that."

Ryuen didn’t respond. His mind was still blank, and he was slowly processing everything.

As Daiki stood to leave, he smirked and tapped the side of the pod.

"Food for thought, buddy. Rest up while you can. Things are only gonna get harder from here...." he paused with a smirk on his lips.

".....and maybe we can plan your revenge."

The door clicked shut behind him, leaving Ryuen alone with his thoughts and the endless beeping of the machines.

But then he gasped when he replayed Daiki’s last words to Kaori, in his head.

He let out a loud gasp, one that sounded like he was getting strangled.

"Takeru?!"

"Her name is...."