When I opened my eyes... the ceiling was spinning.
Not the sky—cracked white lights seemed to whirl above my head. My body felt large, but my mind... was shattered.
Stale, old air filled my nose. I was in the infirmary. In a bed I didn't recognize, in a silence I didn't know.
When I noticed the shadow falling over my face, it wasn't warmth I felt… it was a chill.
Lucian.
But this wasn't the Lucian I knew.
His posture, his breath, his gaze... all different now. Like a storm hidden beneath calm.
"You're awake?" he said. His voice reminded me of an icy wind slipping through a crack.
I barely nodded. But I looked away.
He took a step forward.
"Tell me what happened," he said. "Now."
I opened my mouth. But the words tangled. Even my tongue didn't know what to say.
Lucian suddenly crouched. His face came close to mine. He reached for my chin.
"Speak," he whispered through clenched teeth.
I swallowed hard. My heart sank to my stomach.
"I… can't explain. Because I don't fully—"
My sentence stopped.
Because in that moment… his hand went to my throat.
Firm.
He didn't choke me—but he pressed. Enough that silence wrapped around me like iron.
"Who are you?" he said. "Those boxes… those magical devices… ME! I was there. But you were watching me from the other side."
His voice was harsh. A charge that didn't retreat.
"Were you watching me? Or… controlling me?!"
His fingers pressed harder. My breath caught.
"I…" I tried, but the sound died in my throat.
Lucian's eyes… no longer familiar. Blue but fractured. More than a mage looked back at me: a storm of paranoia and rage.
"You were watching me from outside," he murmured.
Then… his hands trembled. He pulled away, not just from my throat—but from himself.
But he didn't stop. He grabbed my shoulders, yanked me close.
"How long have you been lying to me?!" he yelled. "What are you?!"
Tears welled in my eyes but I didn't cry. Even in this state… I didn't want to look weak.
"I just…" I whispered. "I didn't do anything… I just found myself here."
Lucian's breath faltered. His hands were still on my shoulders, but the strength had left them.
I saw the tremble.
"Who are you really? And what were those visions!?"
At that moment, a voice rang out from behind:
"Lucian!"
Nina.
She rushed over. Her gaze sharp, her breath uneven.
"What are you doing?! Can't you see she's still in shock?! Let her go!"
Lucian paused. Just for a few seconds.
But his eyes stayed on me. Like I was a puzzle he had to solve. Like… I was his enemy.
I tried to say something, but my head spun. My vision blurred.
The whole world quieted.
When I woke again, I was inside a glass dome.
Walls stretched to the ceiling—clear but unsettling. I was in bed, but the room wasn't mine.
The sheets were flawless. White and unwrinkled. Light from ceiling-mounted magical orbs… too bright. Piercing my soul.
I was in the Tower. But it felt like a prison.
I was in an observation room.
I looked at the door. I noticed the seals. Silver lines shimmered around the room. I couldn't leave.
I approached and touched the seal with my finger. A slight burn. But the door didn't budge.
"Don't try," a voice said from outside.
Male. Young. Tense.
"You can only leave with Lucian's permission."
"Lucian brought me here?" I asked.
"Yes."
Cold. Short. Final.
I didn't return to the bed. I sat on a chair. The images in my head began playing again.
Kai's memories.
The darkness I passed through inside the creature.
And finally… the computer screen.
Lucian's eyes.
And on the screen… me.
The real me. Sitting at a keyboard. Not this body. The Elysia who was playing the game.
Lucian saw it.
And… he grabbed my throat.
"Were you controlling me?!"
Now, behind these glass walls, I don't know if someone's watching.
But inside me… a storm.
Did Lucian tell anyone else?
The Headmaster?
The Council?
The other mages?
What if he did… what if they think I'm some kind of demon from another world?
What if they think I'm the source of all this dark magic?
I just… woke up in the middle of this world.
But who will understand that?
If Lucian no longer believes me? That hatred in his hands when he grabbed my throat… wasn't fake.
Lucian will interrogate me.
That's probably why I'm here.
But how?
Just with magic?
Or… in other ways?
Something inside me collapsed.
My shoulders shook.
The burn on my throat still lingered.
"He'll interrogate me," I whispered.
I thought of the moment his hand touched my neck. That certainty… that darkness…
Would Lucian really do this?
The man who once taught me magic…
Would he hurt me now?
This fear is familiar. But this time, it's different.
Because now I'm afraid of someone who knew me.
Someone who protected me… who watched over me… and now, wants to uncover me.
At that moment, I heard footsteps.
At the door.
Heavy. Clear. Certain.
The seals began to glow.
They had come for me.
And I…
Wasn't afraid of the dungeon's darkness—
But of the unknown behind a familiar face.