Chapter 68

In the darkness, Avis groggily opened his eyes, the heaviness in his head making his thoughts muddled and chaotic.

A bed, a room.

The room was very dark, but the faint moonlight gradually made his vision clearer. The air faintly carried a hint of blood, evoking a certain memory.

He struggled to sit up, and a wave of pain instantly surged through him. He took a sharp breath and noticed a figure lying by the bed.

"Avis, you're awake?"

The small figure lifted its head, speaking with a mix of tension and concern.

"Raki?" Avis carefully identified the person in front of him, seemingly surprised. His roving gaze made him realize his situation.

This is... the infirmary ward?

His head throbbed again as hidden memories began to flood his mind.

Raki moved forward to embrace Avis, her voice choked with emotion. "I'm so glad you're okay. You know, when you lost consciousness and fainted, I was terrified."

She still remembered Avis's frenzied state, his incoherent words, and his mad shouting.

The pain and fatigue in his body, the shock to his nerves, gradually subsided, and it seemed he had lost his strength and fallen into a deep sleep.

His mind became clear, and he began to reflect silently.

What had he done? What had he been trying to achieve? A jumble of thoughts flooded his mind.

"Click—"

The door creaked, and a small head peeked through the gap.

"Avis, are you awake?"

Maggi, seeing the situation in the room, smiled in relief and walked in.

"You, you two, why are you here?"

Shaking off his thoughts, Avis looked at Raki and Maggi, asking the question that now mattered most to him.

"Do you even need to ask? Of course, it's because Raki was concerned about your safety that she found this place!" Maggi quickly interjected before Raki could speak, determined to do something to help mend the relationship between Raki and Avis.

Then, Maggi began to recount what had happened after the square was released.

Raki remained silent, perhaps out of shyness or for some other reason, her head hanging low as Maggi spoke.

After Maggi finished, Avis reached out to stroke Raki's head, his gaze softening. "Thank you."

"Avis, can you promise me that you won't do such dangerous and reckless things again?"

This time, Raki seemed unusually docile in his arms.

His hand paused, and he unconsciously bit the scab on his lip.

This was the gentlest she had been in days, not arguing with him or making him feel uncomfortable, as if they had returned to the cherished times of the past, all because of her concern for him.

They had argued, and their relationship had developed cracks, but at this moment, he understood that she still cared for him, just as he loved her.

He suddenly felt like a scoundrel, having hurt her time and again due to his emotional outbursts.

Was it all because of that ridiculous pride?

She was beginning to shake his resolve, the path he had chosen.

The room fell into an eerie silence, each of the three lost in their own thoughts.

"Well, it seems your body has recovered well. I might be interrupting something here."

At that moment, a familiar yet unfamiliar voice came from the doorway.

"Vassen, is that you?"

Hearing the voice and seeing the person, Avis, lying on the bed, narrowed his eyes.

"What? Not welcome?"

Vassen walked into the room on his own, leaning against the wall opposite Avis, his smile oddly unsettling.

"Where were you when we were fighting for our lives?"

The memory stirred, and Avis clenched his fists, his voice cold and accusatory.

"I don't have your admirable courage, so the coward in me chose to leave quietly."

Vassen's indifferent self-mockery only seemed to mock Avis's rashness and foolishness.

Sensing the tension in their conversation, Maggi looked worriedly between them, wanting to intervene but finding no good reason. Helplessly, her gaze turned to Raki.

Raki silently moved away from Avis, not speaking, as this was a matter between him and Vassen. As a woman and an outsider, she did not want to interfere.

"Why do you have the nerve to come back here?" Avis asked harshly.

Vassen shrugged slightly, his gaze shifting to the window, seemingly unwilling to meet Avis's cold stare.

"Are we still friends?"

Avis laughed coldly. "We were, but not after today."

Vassen turned to look at him seriously. "Is it really just because of a hopeless riot that you're severing our years of friendship?"

Avis replied, "A riot? Perhaps it's a riot to you, but to me, it's a belief, an ideal. I'm not you, so you don't understand me."

Vassen shook his head and sighed. "I don't understand you? Don't you think I've known you for years? You've changed, you're not the Avis I used to know. If you don't believe it, ask Raki. I think she's more qualified to answer this question than I am."

Avis's gaze turned to Raki, who looked at him, seeing a hint of pleading in his eyes.

What was he worried about? What was he afraid of?

"Avis, do you think you've changed?"

She knew, but she didn't answer directly, not wanting to hurt his fragile ego, unable to face the truth.

So, she left the choice to him, to decide for himself.

"Raki, do you think I've changed?" Avis asked after a long silence.

She didn't answer, choosing silence.

"Maggi, what about you? As an outsider, I don't think you would lie to me."

Maggi nervously fidgeted with the hem of her dress, looking at Raki and Vassen. Neither of them spoke, knowing that some words, even if spoken, would be useless.

"Avis, I only know that you used to be a very gentle person, always able to solve problems with a smile and optimism. But these days, every time I see you, I feel a bit afraid."

"Afraid? Why afraid?"

"Because... you've become more irritable than before, lacking patience and calm, and..."

"Enough!"

Avis sharply cut off Maggi, making her shrink back and hide behind Raki.

"Raki, do you feel the same?"

She didn't speak, unwilling to speak.

Perhaps she could support him, but what good would it do? If he couldn't see his own problems clearly, their relationship would still have cracks, perhaps even irreparable ones.

She loved him, the Avis of the past, the one who could walk through life with her.

When he was no longer himself, that love lost its direction.

"Raki, you should go."

Avis closed his eyes, his voice soft, but the heaviness in his breathing betrayed his restrained emotions.

Taking Maggi's hand, Raki turned back expressionlessly. He needed to clear his mind, to make his own choice, and she would wait for the final answer.

Maggi silently followed her out of the room, feeling as if an invisible wall had once again separated them.

"You're not leaving?"

After Maggi and Raki left, Avis asked Vassen, who was still in the room, coldly.

"I just came to tell you some news." Vassen said calmly. "This is the last message from a friend."

"What news?"

"Check the time."

Time. Avis frowned, suddenly realizing that something must have happened in the guild during his unconsciousness. A sense of foreboding began to rise in his heart...

"The guild's grand ideals have been shattered. After the negotiations failed, the king sent the royal guards to completely crush the guild."

"What?" Avis sat up straight, incredulous and agitated.

"Senior Angelo led some members to escape from the academy, while Senior Tylrand and the remaining members died under the royal guards' blades and hooves."

"No! That's impossible!"

"Don't believe it? This news came from the members who were disbanded by Senior Tylrand. Of course, to verify the rumor, I secretly went to the main building—believe me, it's a scene you wouldn't want to see."

"How... how could this happen..."

Avis lowered his head, muttering to himself. If everything Vassen said was true, then his efforts, his actions, were they all just delusions?

Without ideals and beliefs, what was the meaning of his existence?

Vassen left, as he no longer had a reason to stay.

Accept reality, abandon the pursuit of illusions—this was his last piece of advice as a friend to Avis.

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