A soft hum filled the bright room. Eve's eyeshes fluttered.

  Everything felt heavy—her limbs, her breath, her thoughts. Light pulsed gently behind her eyes as her consciousness stirred, vision still blurred at the edges.

  She recognised the glow.

  The same soft, sterile light of the medical facility.

  A shadow moved nearby. A figure.

  Levi?

  She blinked slowly, trying to focus, her throat too dry to speak. A faint groan escaped her lips instead, a strained sound that barely broke the silence.

  The figure turned toward her.

  But didn’t speak.

  He simply looked at her.

  Then without a word, he walked out of the room.

  Moments passed. Or maybe minutes. Time felt estic, distant.

  Footsteps returned—faster now. Medical staff poured in, white coats and soft voices circling her.

  "Eve? Can you hear me?"

  The voice was male. Calm, clinical.

  "I’m Doctor Tassan. You’re in the medical facility. You suffered quite the injury."

  His voice was warped at the edges, like someone speaking through water. She could barely parse the words.

  She tried to sit up instinctively, her muscles resisting.

  "Easy now..." Dr. Tassan said, pcing a firm hand on her shoulder while assisting her up with practiced care.

  A dull, deep ache bloomed in her abdomen. Eve winced.

  Her breath caught. Memory sparked faintly—cws, the creature, the surge of light. Levi’s voice, Arel’s hands. The sky breaking apart.

  She turned her head slowly, trying to speak again.

  But her voice still wouldn’t come.

  Dr. Tassan pced a monitoring node against her temple. "You're stable. The toxin slowed your system more than we expected, but the worst is behind you."

  Eve blinked hard, finally focusing. Her fingers curled slightly around the edge of the sheet.

  She was alive.

  And yet... her mind swam through fog. She remembered pain, shadows, a fsh of something bright—but it all slipped away before she could grasp it.

  Lightning? Maybe. But it felt distant. Like a dream she wasn't sure she'd actually had.

  She blinked slowly, heart racing as the question surfaced:

  How did I end up here?

  A few hours had passed. The haze in her mind began to lift, and the sterile buzz of the room no longer pressed so sharply against her senses. Her body still ached, but it was no longer overwhelming—just a dull reminder of something she couldn't quite remember.

  She was now propped up slightly in the bed, a bnket tucked around her waist.

  The door slid open with a soft hiss.

  Arel stepped in first, all cautious energy and wide eyes, followed closely by Kael, whose expression remained unreadable but observant as ever.

  Arel nearly bolted across the room the moment she saw Eve awake, her boots skidding slightly against the floor. She stopped just short of the bed, breath catching, eyes wide.

  "Hey..." she said, her voice bubbling with relief and barely-contained emotion. She reached out as if to hug Eve, then hesitated, her hands hovering uncertainly before settling gently on Eve's shoulder. "You're awake. You scared the hell out of us."

  Eve blinked at her slowly, voice dry and rough as she finally spoke. "What... happened?"

  Arel looked to Kael with concern, uncertainty flickering in her eyes. Then she turned back to Eve, her expression softening.

  "You don’t remember?" she asked gently. "Eve, the portal... it's gone."

  She pulled a chair closer and sat, her words coming slowly at first, as if trying to find the right pce to begin. "There was a breach... a swarm. You got hurt badly. We thought..."

  Arel paused, her voice catching. "But then something happened. Eve. You obliterated that thing. And the portal? You closed it. Completely. And took the barrier down with it."

  Kael, silent at her side, gave a subtle nod, eyes locked on Eve as if trying to read something beneath her skin.

  "It shouldn’t have been possible," Arel added, quieter now.

  Arel approached the next words carefully, her tone shifting. "Eve... High Commander Revan wants to speak with you. We’ve been told he’ll be visiting tomorrow. I don’t think you’re in trouble, but the higher ups like to have thorough records."

  "But I can’t remember much right now," Eve replied, her brow furrowed.

  "It’s okay," Arel reassured, giving her arm a gentle squeeze. "Just rest. You’ve already done more than enough."

  As Arel had said, tomorrow came—and with it, High Commander Revan.

  He arrived mid-morning, the air in the facility shifting subtly the moment he entered. High Commander Revan was an older man, his grey hair neatly combed back and his short beard immacutely groomed. His uniform was spotless, every fold sharp, every emblem perfectly pced—he carried the weight of authority with every step. He was accompanied by two elite officers in sleek bck combat uniforms, their expressions unreadable, their presence imposing. One carried a secure datapad, the other a portable resonance scanner, both clearly prepared for more than just a casual visit.

  Revan stepped forward with calm authority, his eyes nding immediately on Eve as if he'd already studied her a dozen times from afar.

  "Miss Adams," he greeted, his voice smooth but clipped, like someone who rarely wasted words. "I appreciate your willingness to speak with us. I understand you’re still recovering, so I’ll keep this brief."

  He gestured for one of the officers to set the resonance scanner at the bedside, its softly glowing interface pulsing to life.

  "This is just a passive scan," he continued. "It will log fluctuations in your energy as we talk. Nothing invasive."

  Eve sat up a little straighter, her hands tightening slightly around the edge of the bnket. She looked toward the officers, instinctively searching for a familiar face, but none were there. Arel and Kael hadn’t come with him this time—just her, Revan, and the cold hum of the scanner beside her bed.

  Revan took a seat across from her. "Let’s start with what you remember. Any details about the breach. Anything at all—even if it feels fragmented."

  Eve hesitated. Her mouth was dry again, and her mind still felt tender around the edges of memory.

  "I remember... pain," she said slowly. "Something hit me. I was on the ground. Then... I don’t know..."

  The scanner pulsed once, brighter.

  Revan sat back slightly, then nodded.

  "Do you remember using your energy in combat at all?" he asked first, voice calm but edged with curiosity.

  Eve gnced down at her hands, flexing her fingers slowly. "I remember using my energy output the way I had been during my training."

  "And did you feel the power you used in combat was more than what you’d experienced in your training at the Academy?" His questions were like a dance, carefully choreographed, circling the answer he already seemed to have in mind.

  What is he really asking of me? Eve wondered.?

  Eve frowned faintly, caught off guard by the question. "I don't know," she admitted softly. "Everything’s still a blur."

  Revan nodded thoughtfully, then continued. "We've reviewed the field reports submitted by your unit. What they described—it’s unlike anything we’ve ever seen. The sheer magnitude of energy released in such a controlled burst... Evelyn, you closed a portal. And with it, brought down a high-functioning barrier designed to withstand Tier 5 colpses. That level of power isn’t just rare—it’s unprecedented."

  He paused, studying her. "You need to understand, Eve. What happened wasn’t just an anomaly—it is something the Council has been waiting for. Hoping for."

  He gnced at the scanner again. "It’s why this next phase is so important. Your training. Your role. We need to your help Miss Adams."

  His expression was cool, but not without interest. "I’m offering you more than surveilnce or supervision. I'm offering purpose. Alignment. Solhara needs stability—and right now, you might be the key to providing it."

  "What happened during that mission is now officially cssified. If anyone asks—students, staff, even instructors—you are to direct all questions to me. For the time being, you speak to no one else about it."

  Revan nodded to the officer with the datapad, who keyed something in. "Upon confirmation, your enrolment at Aegis Academy will be extended indefinitely. Once you're cleared by medical, you'll be reassigned to a specialised training and operations track. "

  He studied her reaction carefully. "It’s an opportunity, Evelyn. One I believe you’re uniquely suited for. I hope you’ll consider it seriously. Not just for yourself—but for the stability of everything we’re working to protect."

  Then, with a final gnce at the scanner, he turned. "Rest while you can. You’ll need it."

  "Let’s go," he said, and the officers fell into step behind him.

  The team filed out with military precision, leaving a strange stillness in their wake.

  Eve sat in silence for a long moment, the hum of the scanner still fading in her ears. She took a quiet breath, her mind circling Revan’s words.

  An opportunity.

  She let the phrase echo in her thoughts. He spoke of stability, of purpose—as if all this had been building toward something inevitable. Maybe it had. Maybe this was why she was here. Maybe there was meaning behind the chaos that brought her through the portal.

  But something was off.

  Though he phrased it as if it would be her decision, she couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t. Not really. His words had the polish of diplomacy, but the weight of command.

  What choice do I actually have?

  The thought lingered, quieter than fear but louder than acceptance.