In a quiet room, an open window let the sunlight pour in, gently illuminating the space as it nded on the face of a resting teenager.

  His brows furrowed, and his eyes slowly opened, trembling slightly as he stared at the ceiling with a hazy, confused expression.

  He gnced around the room with a strange feeling in his chest. Then, raising his hands, he stared at his arms and in that moment, everything came rushing back.

  He gnced at his right hand and saw that it was there. It was not gone.

  He touched it with his left hand and slowly made a fist. It felt real. He was not hallucinating.

  He brought both hands to his face and felt the sensation clearly. There was no pain, no numbness. Everything felt normal.

  "Was it all a dream?" Damien muttered in disbelief.

  It had been too vivid and too painful to be just a dream. Then he remembered, Ariana. She had been there when he killed the beast, and after that, he had passed out.

  She was still out there in the forest. He needed to find her. But just as he sat up in bed, the door to the room opened.

  A man stepped inside. He stood over six feet tall, with sharp brows, a tall nose, and an aura that radiated strength.

  He carried a sword sheathed in his right hand, and when Damien noticed the man looking directly at him, he froze where he sat.

  "So, how do you feel, kid?" the man asked.

  Damien flinched slightly before replying, "I'm fine, mister. Were you the one who carried me back when I passed out?"

  "Yes, it was me," the man said.

  "My name is Dimitri. I'm one of the core officers in the Sanctuary Division of the Covenant Alliance. Because of my negligence, you suffered and nearly died. Please forgive me." He slowly bent forward, bowing his head in a sincere gesture of apology.

  Hearing what he said, Damien looked at him intently. A core officer? He had heard that someone with that rank was supposed to be incredibly strong.

  Dimitri still hadn't lifted his head, waiting in silence. Damien didn't answer right away. Instead, he asked quietly,

  "Are all of my friends okay especially James and Ariana?"

  He clenched his fists as the memory of James's st moments fshed through his mind.

  If they were saved, didn't that mean James was also okay?

  That small hope flickered inside him as he waited anxiously for Dimitri's response.

  "Yes, James, the kid who awakened earth elemental magic, is doing fine. I found him with a lot of injuries. Thanks to his strong defense using earth magic, he suffered some serious wounds, but he didn't lose any limbs. He was unconscious when I found him, so I treated him right away. He woke up but before he passed out again, he told me to look for his group. That was when I found you and the girl," Dimitri responded.

  Hearing that James was treated and alive, Damien let out a sigh of relief. When he learned that Ariana was also safe, his emotions finally began to settle.

  "I forgive you, mister. I was just overwhelmed for a while. But there's something I want to ask. I remember losing my right arm. How is it still here?" Damien asked, clearly confused.

  Dimitri stood up straight and replied, "That's because I used one of my elixirs to regenerate your missing arm. Since this happened because of my mistake, I had to take responsibility."

  Hearing this, Damien was shocked. There was actually an elixir powerful enough to regenerate a limb?

  "What a powerful elixir," he thought to himself.

  "Well, is there anything else you want to ask? If not, I suggest you go out and meet your friends. They've been worried about you for days," Dimitri reminded him.

  "Days?" Damien repeated, confused as he looked at him.

  "Oh, you don't know? You were unconscious for over three days. That might be one of the effects of the elixir," Dimitri expined.

  "Even though it can heal your limbs, it also draws from your vitality, which likely caused this situation."

  "What, three days!" he shouted loudly as he jumped out of bed and rushed outside, leaving the man behind in the room.

  As he stepped out and made his way to the cafeteria, he was surprised to see so many kids gathered there.

  The moment they saw him, they all ran toward him with bright, relieved faces.

  "Big brother, you woke up!"

  "Big brother Damien, how are you feeling?"

  "Brother Damien, are you hungry?"

  …

  A flood of caring words bombarded him from all directions, making him feel a little dizzy.

  The reason for this overwhelming concern was simple it's because of his caring personality.

  He was always helpful, kind, and loving toward everyone in the orphanage. So when they found out he had fallen into a coma, all of them had been deeply worried.

  "Alright-alright stop everyone, Damien just woke up and his still feeling confused. Let him refresh for a moment," James appeared with a smile.

  Seeing this, the crowd of orphans offered their greetings and caring words one by one before slowly dispersing.

  "Damien, you finally woke up," James said, feeling ecstatic as he hugged him tightly.

  "James, you really are alive," Damien replied, his voice filled with relief.

  "Do you really want me to die?" James said.

  "Not really," Damien smiled.

  "Hahaha, let's go have some lunch. Arven and the others will be arriving ter," James said with a burst of ughter as he gave Damien a hearty sp on the back.

  They walked over to an empty table, where food was already set out. Damien noticed that the meal looked different from usual, this time, it seemed grand, like a feast.

  "Do you want to know why there's meat today? Well, it's all thanks to Mister Dimitri. He donated one million Soris to the orphanage as compensation," James expined.

  "Aunt Cellia didn't want to accept it at first, but that officer insisted. He literally left no room for negotiation."

  "Wow, is he that rich?" Damien asked in surprise.

  Since one million was no small amount.

  "Yes, he is. He's a very famous core officer," James replied.

  "Because of a mistake during the transportation of those beasts, the door broke and they escaped. He managed to kill all of them except one, which got away. Out of guilt, he donated the money to make up for it."

  "Wow, he's really strong then," Damien said, still amazed.

  "Of course he is! He's a captain! Don't you know what that means? He has a lot of awakened people under his command," James said, almost shouting in excitement.

  Just then, Arven and the others arrived. Seeing Damien awake and well, their faces lit up with relief. One by one, they greeted him and asked how he was feeling.

  He simply replied that he was fine and had no problems. As they all began eating and enjoying their meal, some time passed before Damien noticed something.

  "Uhh, where is Ariana? Why haven't I seen her?" Damien asked, looking around.

  Arven, James, and the others gnced at each other. A heavy silence fell over them, as if none of them wanted to be the one to speak.

  Seeing their silence, Damien's heart began to race with panic. His eyes filled with worry.

  "Did something happen to her? Did that officer lie to me?" he said, his expression turning ferocious as he started to stand up.

  James quickly pulled him back down, "Calm down, it's not what you think. She's fine. In fact, she might be living a better life than any of us right now," he expined reassuringly.

  "What do you mean?" Damien asked, confused.

  "Well…" James paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts before continuing.

  "When you passed out two days ago, Ariana was always by your side. She even took care of you like a housewife, cleaning you up, wiping your face, watching over you every minute. You really struck a treasure, Damien," James said.

  "And?" Damien pressed, clearly not satisfied with the answer.

  "Then ter that night, some strange people arrived at the orphanage. They spoke with Aunt Cellia and told us that Ariana Willow is not her full name. Her real name is Ariana Willowcrest. She's a high-ranking noble and the missing daughter of Lord Aric. He had been searching for her for years after an accident, but with no news, she was presumed dead." he stopped and continued.

  "That changed when they received a message, and they immediately came here to retrieve her, taking her away,"

  "Ariana didn't want to go because you were still in a coma, but those people were her family. Left with no choice, she had to compromise. She also said she wanted to meet her parents," James expined.

  "Before she left, she wrote you a letter."

  James took a folded piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Damien.

  Damien didn't know what to say. Ariana was actually gone, the girl he had been close to since childhood.

  He took the letter and held it tightly in his hand, a deep sense of loneliness washing over him.

  His appetite vanished, and without a word, he left the cafeteria and walked back to his room alone.

  Arven was about to follow and console him, but James gently stopped him.

  "Let him be. He needs some time alone."