A loud voice thunders amidst the stillness in the corridor just as Cyrus pushes open the door to the room where Raiden is resting.

"Woah, Raia's already awake!"

A tall man with flaming red hair marches toward them, carrying a bag of apples. His eyes sparkle with delight as a wide smile runs around his lips, revealing one mischievous fang.

"Oh, the idiot," Raia mumbles.

Nathan's necklaces clang like clumsy bells as he rushes at them. His long coat is unbuttoned, as usual, and fluttering like bat wings. He wears a blue undershirt.

"Hey! How are you?" Nathan says, ruffling Raia's hair the way uncles do with their nieces. "I've been so worried about you and Kara. But I'm glad you're okay now. I'm guessing you've already healed yourself?"

Cyrus and Sonnet throw him a look, but Nathan tilts his head, blinking his eyes like an innocent kid, oblivious to the situation at hand.

Raia's face crumples as she glowers at Nathan. He freezes comically when he looks at her. Raia is staring at him with blazing eyes, a chilly aura radiating from her with a countenance of naked displeasure. He quickly fixes her ruffled hair, making himself look even more stupid than he already is.

"I'm sorry," he mutters stiffly.

"Enough already, you stupid young man," Sonnet scolds, dragging him inside by the ear.

Cyrus clears his throat and glances at Raia. "Let's go."

Raia says nothing as they enter the room. Silence embraces them as Raia's eyes land on Raiden, who is sleeping peacefully on a snow-white bed. He looks as terrible as she has expected. A bandage is placed on his left cheek, and a white gauze is wrapped around his forehead, pushing his blond hair up. Even though a white blanket covers his entire body, Raia knows that what lies beneath is far worse.

"Kara. He's like a brother to me," Cyrus says as he stares at Raiden. "It's difficult for me to send him on missions when I know the outcome will be like this. But, as a chosen holy warrior, it is his duty to serve Azarios by defending the people from such evils."

Raia frowns. "Brother? So Kara and you are. . . family?"

Cyrus gives her a smile that doesn't reach his eyes. "Yeah, you could say that."

Nathan's face lights up. "We're actually all family!"

Raia shifts her focus away from them and back to Raiden.

"Family," she mumbles, her voice barely audible as if trying to figure out what that word means.

Just like master said, Raia reflects with understanding. But, based on what she's seen of Cyrus and Raiden, those two are better suited to be called family. Maybe they're the real deal.

"You can also treat them like one, Raia."

Raia recalls her master's words to her, but she dismisses them. She has no interest in such a thing. They may be working toward a common goal, but that doesn't mean she can trust them. Furthermore, she cannot allow herself to become involved in any human affairs, as this will only serve as a hindrance to her.

But, family, I . . .

Raia takes a step closer to the bed after a long silence, her footsteps echoing in the stillness. She takes a deep breath and gently rests her hand on Raiden's bandaged forehead.

"Are you going to heal Kara? Cool. I'd like to see how you do it," Nathan exclaims as if he's about to open a Christmas present, sweeping away the tight air of tension in the room.

Sonnet snatches the file from Cyrus and smacks Nathan on the head with it. The redhead rubs his head and gives her a puzzled look. "What was that for, Miss Sonnet?"

Sonnet glares at him. "Young man, do you even know how to read the air?"

Ignoring their silly bickering, Raia pours mana from her palm. It emits a white light that warms Raiden and channels it into his body. As soon as the energy begins to mend Raiden's cells and fractured bones, intense pain sears inside Raia like a fire. She clenches her teeth and squeezes her eyes shut, suppressing her screams.

Cyrus and Sonnet avert their gaze from her at that moment, unable to bear witness to her anguish, but they remain rooted to the spot.

Nathan, on the other hand, watches Raia with narrowed eyes, trying to figure out what's wrong.

Raia screams.

Nathan's eyes widen in dread, and his face turns pale as he realizes what's going on in front of him.

Raia is bearing the pain of the person she is healing.

Nathan jumps to his feet and takes a step forward in an attempt to stop Raia, but Cyrus grabs his arm. He scowls.

"What the hell, Bishop Galbraith? Raia is in pain! We have to stop her!"

Cyrus shakes his head calmly, and Nathan looks at him in disbelief. "Are you telling me to watch her suffer?"

Cyrus's jaw tightens, but he doesn't let go of Nathan's arm.

"Nathan, calm down," Sonnet speaks on Cyrus's behalf. "Of course, we don't like seeing Raia in such a state. But she wants to do it, and she knows what's in store for her."

Nathan grits his teeth as he looks at Raia. He yanks his arm away from Cyrus and returns to his seat. Raia is still screaming, so he looks away, unable to look at her any longer.

"It's cruel," he whispers.

The pain is too much for Raia to bear. It feels like something is digging into her flesh and stabbing her bones with a sharp blade again and again. Every part of her body is on fire as if lava is coursing through her veins, rushing up to her head and exploding in a wave of torment. Her internal organs are roasting, and her skin feels like it's being peeled slowly from her face to her body.

Pain. Pain. Pain.

Once Raiden is fully healed, her scream drops off, replaced by grunts as she slumps to the cold floor. Nathan rushes to her aid, but she slaps his hand away.

"I'm fine," she snarls, breathing heavily.

"Fine? You're not fine, you screamed. You felt his pain, and that isn't fine. That must be horribly painful for you."

Flames of anger shoot through Raia as she glares at him. "Are you pitying me? Don't you realize how insulting that is?"

Nathan stiffens at her words, but Cyrus places a hand on his shoulder before he can respond.

"Thank you," Cyrus says softly to Raia, and silence falls over the room.

After a brief moment of silence, Raia rises to her feet and exits the room, leaving the door ajar.

***

Raia can't forgive herself for displaying such disgusting weakness in front of those people. She can't believe she failed to suppress her scream, but she's relieved that she's no longer obligated to anyone. Healing Raiden is her way of repaying him. But it will be the last time someone else saves her life. She'll work hard to get stronger so she can defeat her enemies without the protection of others.

"If he can't protect himself, no one can. Someone must be aware of this before entering a war."

She clenches her fists as she recalls the words she told Cyrus. It's ironic that she ended up being the one who was protected instead — but she can't dwell on that failure. What she needs is for her to become stronger. She doesn't have time for nonsense like self-pity. That is more tragic than receiving pity from others.

She should be used to it by now. Back at the orphanage, she was forced to heal people. Healing exhausts her — it makes her feel the pain of those she heals . . . and it doubles the pain she bears. But she had been trained to suppress her emotions until she became detached from them. Until they became unfamiliar to her.

Every time she heals, pain takes over her body and mind. And with each pain she endures, she loses a piece of herself.

But she no longer has to let anyone control her life or heal people she doesn't really care about.

Even if they die without her miracle.

"Raia! Wait, hey!"

Nathan's voice echoes down the chalky-white corridor, followed by heavy footsteps and jiggling noises.

Raia wrinkles her brow but continues to walk. Nathan lets out a sigh, and his footsteps quicken behind her.

"Where are you going?" he asks as he takes a step beside her, carrying the bag of apples in his right hand.

"I'm just going to grab something to eat," Raia responds solemnly. "What are you even doing here? Go back there and stop following me."

Nathan shrugs, but he continues to walk alongside her. "Anyways, don't bother going outside to buy something. I have apples here." He shows her the bag of apples he's carrying.

Something twists Raia's chest while she looks at the red apples. A chill runs down her spine as she feels a sense of despair rise in her heart. She clutches the cloak against her chest and stands motionless. Her expression darkens as she reaches for the silver cross pendant that hangs around her neck.