Everyone was looking with fear-filled eyes when Drake broke the silence.

  Drake: [cold, detached voice, almost clinical] "You've been in a coma for 10 years. Everything you're experiencing right now is just a dream within that coma."

  Raiden: [voice trembling, eyes widening in disbelief, hands shaking] "What do you mean? I was in a coma? And all of this was... just a dream?"

  Elvira: [soft, mournful, eyes glistening with held-back tears] "Yes. We waited for you to wake up... every single day."

  A chilling silence fell over the room. The air grew heavy, suffocating.

  Drake: [authoritative, commanding, already turning to leave] "Benihime. Monitor Ashura's vitals and everything about his condition. I need to inform Suho."

  Benihime: [bowing respectfully, voice steady and obedient] "As you command, my lord."

  Elvira and Drake exited the room. The door closed with a soft, ominous click. Now only Benihime and Ashura remained. The space between them felt vast, uncertain.

  Raiden: [apprehensive, trying to mask his fear with a shaky breath] "So... what happens now?"

  Benihime: [calm, professional, yet with an undercurrent of ancient wisdom] "Young master. Now I will examine your blood values... and your Will."

  Raiden: [confused, brows furrowing, defensive] "My Will? What does that even mean? What's happening?"

  Benihime: [patient, explanatory, a faint pride in his voice] "My Will is named Rafael. In battle, I am... lacking. Destruction is not my nature. But Rafael grants me extraordinary talent in healing and restoration. That is the nature of Wills."

  Raiden: [still lost, shaking his head slightly] "I don't understand..."

  Benihime: [lecturing, almost reverent] "Wills possess colors. Black, Light, Red, Green, Blue—these are the five primary mana core colors passed down from the Ancient Ancestors. All other Wills evolved from these five."

  Raiden: [hope flickering in his chest, voice tentative] "Then... do I have one?"

  Benihime: [hesitant, carefully choosing words] "Ten years ago, you did not. Whether you possess one now... that is what I intend to find out."

  Benihime raised his hand over the table. Medical equipment materialized from pure mana—glowing, humming with energy.

  Raiden: [whispering, nostalgic, melancholic] "This... it's just like the stories I read. From my old life..."

  Benihime: [firm, correcting gently but without mercy] "Young master. There is no 'previous life.' Our world began with fifty people. Now it is divided into eight regions: Kurohane Valley, Shinkai Wastelands, Aokiri Forest, Tengoku Ruins, Gokuen Circle, Yami no Kotei, Reikon Border, and Ketsumi Mountains."

  Benihime: [matter-of-fact] "We are currently in Yami no Kotei. Of these regions, you may enter all except Ketsumi Mountains."

  Raiden: [curious, slightly frustrated] "Why not?"

  Benihime: [voice darkening, heavy with memory] "While you slept... a child was born in Ketsumi Mountains. He was seventeen. You were twelve then—the fourth year of your coma. He was one of the Nine Guardians, bearing the Dark Core. He fought the other Guardians when they tried to seal him. He was... slaughtered. Since that day, only merchants and certain explorers dare enter."

  Raiden: [awed, intimidated] "How powerful was he?"

  Benihime: [grim, respectful despite the tragedy] "He was their strongest warrior."

  Benihime took blood samples from the side. The results left him visibly shaken—his composure cracked for the first time.

  Benihime: [troubled, suspicious, studying Raiden with new intensity] "Young master... do you feel as if something else resides within you?"

  Raiden: [honest, vulnerable, pressing a hand to his chest] "Yes. Since I woke... it feels like I'm not alone in my own body."

  Benihime: [grave, preparing for the examination] "My lord... your core was dormant. You should have had no Will since age eight. But now..."

  Benihime's hand approached Raiden's chest. Raiden flinched, fear spiking in his eyes.

  Benihime: [reassuring, gentle] "There is no need for fear. This will not hurt."

  Raiden: [nervous, forcing himself to stay still] "How long will it take?"

  Benihime: [calm, focused] "Not long."

  Raiden: [trying to distract himself, voice tight] "Then... how do you even tell?"

  Benihime: [concentrating, eyes closed] "I am attempting to connect my core's energy to yours. But right now... my mana is being rejected. Constantly."

  A heavy pause. Benihime's eyes snapped open, realization and dread mixing in his gaze.

  Benihime: [horrified whisper, as if naming something forbidden] "Unless... you possess the Dark Will."