The silence lingered longer than it should've. I wasn't stalling. Okay, maybe a little.
I peeled my eyes off the candlelight and focused on the cracks in the ceiling. It was easier than meeting her gaze.
With a deep inhale and slight soft sigh, I began to explain.
"You didn't see why," I muttered. "The dream. Vision, or whatever it was. You just heard what she said.
My voice tightened. "'You killed us.' Right?"
She gave a slow hesistant nod. Her voice barely above a whisper,
"I heard… enough."
I forced a weak grin. It sounded pathetic even to me.
"Yeah… that part's not exactly easy to explain."
My palms rubbed against the blanket, the fabric rougher than it looked. My hands wouldn't stop shaking.
Cae stayed quiet, but I could feel her staring through me.
"My sister… Tenshi." Her name caught in my throat. "She's… gone. My parents too."
Her posture stiffened. I couldn't tell if it was sympathy or fear. Maybe both.
"I didn't—" The words found their way out of me. "I didn't mean to. But… it was all my fault."
My lungs burned as I fought for the righywords.
"I was driving," I finally said. "One stupid glance. One second I looked away and that's all it took."
She placed her book softly on the endtable, her chair creaking as she shifted,
"First we spun, then we crashed into water. Metal Crunched, I still hear their screams…"
I shook my head. "I survived. They didn't."
My gaze drifted to my lap, fingers curling tight.
"So yeah," I exhaled, throat raw, "when she looked at me in that vision… when she said I killed them…"
I squeezed my eyes shut.
"She wasn't wrong."
The candle crackled again, breaking the heavy silence.
For the first time since waking here, I looked her straight in the eyes.
"Do you still think I'm a monster?"
Her guarded expression cracked, not completely gone, just… sadness in her eyes. Maybe regret and pity as she opened her mouth, paused, then shut it.
After a moment of silence. She put a hand on my shoulder and finally whispered, quiet but steady:
"I think monsters lie about it," she continued, her gaze locked with mine. "But... I know your a danger to yourself more than you are to me."
It wasn't exactly a confession of trust… but not condemnation either.
I just… sat there. Letting her words was over me.
She doesn't believe me... Maybe she was right.
Then...
She smiled, patting my shoulder before grabbing her book. "Your hurting. That proves your human. Not a monster."
After that, she relaxed. Minutes passed of silence, the occasional cute chuckles she gave from reading.
A sudden knock on the door interrupted the moment,
Cae stiffened immediately, her eyes darting towards the door then to me.
"Hurry," she whispered, already straightening her robes and collecting the empty medicine vial beside my bed.
"You need to act like you're ready."
I blinked. "Ready for—?"
Another knock interrupted me. Impatiently firmer this time.
"Cae... open the door," His voice was husky and grating. "The king is ready to see him now."
"Visitors," she muttered, moving toward the door, voice clipped. "Important ones."
She swung the door open with a loud creak before I could protest.
Two figures stepped inside: one tall and broad-shouldered. The tall one was wrapped in a dark green cloak with silver embroidery curling along the seams.
The other, slightly shorter but intimidating was dressed head-to-toe in uniformed leather armor, a silver crest pinned to their chest like a badge of authority.
What are there wearing? Stuff from a medieval fair?
The taller man spoke, his voice gravelly and commanding.
"The King wishes to see him."
Cae opened her mouth, hesitating. "He's still—"
"He's awake," the armored one interrupted, eyes narrowing at me. "That's enough."
Cae's jaw clenched, but she didn't argue.
I barely managed to swing my legs over the side of the bed when the tall man approached, offering his hand.
"Come. The others are waiting."
"The others?" I rasped, my voice still sore from earlier.
His expression didn't change. "The other Spirit Beast Wielders. You'll want to make a good impression."
Spirit Beast what now?
I swallowed hard, ignoring the pounding in my temples.
Cae hovered near the doorway, watching me with unreadable eyes. Her gaze kept returning to the floor like she was concerned, expecting something bad.
"Go," she murmured softly, arms folding. "It's better to get it over with."
I stopped, fighting the armored guard's arm pressed along my shoulder. His stare left little room for argument.
Didn't Cae say she might die if something were to happen to me?
"What's the problem," leather armor man snapped, same voice who knocked on the door. "Move!"
"Hiro... what's wrong?" asked Cae concerned, her eyebrows raised.
I sighed softly, my voice lighthearted,
"What if Silky returns?." I smiled sharply, "I can't leave without my doctor."
"What's a doctor? angrily spat the tall man towards Cae. "Or a Silky..."
He doesn't know what a doctor is?
"He's talking about a healer... Me," she replied softly, suppressing a smile. "Silk is... a silkling."
The tall one scoffed, "Enough games, I'll step on the Silkling if we see it."
As much as I would love that, that wasn't the goal.
But, I didn't budge. My voice sterner than before, "Not without my healer..."
The hand on my shoulder released, laughing,
"Seems you made a friend Cae... Just in time too."
Her gaze quickly hit the floor,
"That's fine, she can come," smirked the tall guy, walking towards the door. "The king has deemed a punishment for her anyways."
What punishment?
And so I followed with Cae at my side.
The second I left that room, everything seemed... bigger. Almost ancient or medieval.
The walls stretched high and wide, carved from evenly cut stonebrick that arched towards the cieling. The floor beneath my feet was cool, smooth, and so polished it reflected the torches lining the walls.
One thing was certain... it wasn't a hospital.
It looked like the inside of some medieval castle crossed with a fantasy movie set.
"What…" My voice cracked. "What is this?"
Cae hovered close, adjusting her robe, eyes darting nervously to the guards. "Keep walking," she whispered under her breath. "You need to keep moving, your on thin ice after that stunt you pulled."
"I just—"
"I know..." she smiled. "Thank You."
"Move," snapped the shorter guard behind me, his hand pressing lightly against the center of my back.
I forced my legs to stumble forward, every step making the knot in my chest pull tighter.
This isn't real. It can't be real.
I'd barely made it ten feet before I had to stop again, gripping the wall as a dizzy wave crashed over me.
The taller guard paused, his expression hidden beneath the hood of his dark green cloak. "You'll need to get used to this place quickly."
I blinked at him, fighting the scratchiness crawling up my throat. "What place?"
Cae shifted beside me, her gaze softening.
"Hiro, we're in the King's Royal castle… You're… not home anymore."
Not home? Not a hospital? Not… anywhere I recognized? Where the hell am I, another world?
I opened my mouth to argue, to demand answers, but the hall itself stole the words. It was bigger than I'd realized... high arched ceilings with silver lanterns dangling overhead, stone walls etched with spiraling patterns of beasts and stars.
"How long…" I rasped. "How long have I been here?"
Cae hesitated. "Days."
Days?
I barely had time to process that before the armored guard shoved me forward again, his tone sharp. "Enough gawking. The King's waiting."
King. The word alone rattled me.
Cae's hand hovered near my arm, close but not quite touching as we walked. I wasn't sure if it was to steady me… or herself.
We passed more guards stationed along the pillars... silent, watching, their gazes hidden beneath their helms. But the cold chill along my back told me they were pinned on us.
At the end of the hall, two massive doors loomed ahead, carved with curling images of hybrid creatures I couldn't name. Lions? Serpents? One looked suspiciously like a dragon.
The tall cloaked man stopped before them, pressing a hand to the wood.
With a low, grinding creak, the doors slowly swung open.
A wave of unfamiliar air mixed with incense smacked me as both doors flew open. The room,
No... the hall, was huge.The ceiling soared above us like the inside of a cathedral, lined with beams of dark, polished wood. Stone columns ribbed the hall with guards on either side.
Lanterns floated midair, casting a soft glow that made everything tint with a sparkling glare. Murals of past kings hung the polished stone walls, some larger than me.
And around the room… they waited.
Nine figures stood scattered along the curved walls, their eyes fixed on me the moment I stumbled inside.
Each of them was different: different builds, different clothes, some smiled, one winked, but many scorned. Every stare felt the same, confused, lost and tense.
I barely noticed Cae drifting closer, her arm locking mine as we stopped near the center of the room.
"Hiro... don't forget to bow, she muttered shakily, barely above a whisper. "That's them."
Her head barely nodded to two figures across the room, past the nine ominous bystanders.
I followed her gaze to two thrones against the wall.
And on them sat... a king and queen.