Thora's POV: I only realized I had been asleep. The moment my mind came back, my eyes opened on their own. It was survival instincts kicking in. Sometimes, keeping your eyes shut even one second longer could mean death. But I didn't expect that the first person I'd see would be Darius. And there was also a doctor in a white coat. His voice sounded familiar. "It's you," I said. I remembered him—he was the one who treated me at Darius's house right after my rebirth. He smiled. "Hi, Ms. Green. Do you remember me?" I nodded. "I remember your voice. Thank you for saving me last time." "Bullshit!" Darius interrupted, frowning and clearly annoyed. "I'm the one who saved you." I gave him a look that said I wasn't impressed and just replied, "Oh." The doctor chuckled, trying to ease the tension. "He's right. If he hadn't brought you here, I wouldn't have been able to treat you, Ms. Green." I glanced at Darius, checking that the injuries he'd taken for me during the explosion were healed. Then I turned back to the doctor. "Thanks." He waved his hand. "No need to be so formal, Ms. Green. My name is Yereah Hovland. Just call me Yereah." I hummed in response and tried to sit up to pull out the IV, but a large hand pressed down on my wrist first. I frowned at Darius. "Let go." "Why do you always make things harder for yourself? Rest for once. You did this last time too," he said. When our eyes met, I caught a deep concern in his gaze. Concern? Why would Darius care about me? I still didn't understand why he had risked his life to shield me from that second explosion, either. "You've been out for a whole day. And now you're trying to jump out of bed already?" He smirked, half-teasing. "Trying to get yourself hauled off by the research institute and become a test subject?" Yereah spoke softly, "Ms. Green, your external wounds are mostly healed, but you've been through severe trauma. Plus, your mental energy is badly drained. You really should rest. It's best if you stay in the hospital for now." I stayed quiet. I didn't pull the IV out this time. I just slid my hand away from Darius's and leaned back against the pillows. "Since Ms. Green is awake, and Alpha is here, I'll excuse myself," Yereah said politely before leaving. Then it was only Darius and I left in the ward. The silence was so heavy that I could hear both our breaths. I looked at Darius, and for the first time, I couldn't read what kind of person he was. In the reports and in other people's eyes, Darius was the golden boy of the Astralis Empire—top-tier combat ability, smart, yet spoiled with the arrogance of a noble-born. But after meeting him a few times, I felt that this man was far deeper than he appeared. The strange silence started to bother me, so I decided to speak first. "How's Astralis College doing now?" Darius explained, "Before you passed out, the army had already arrived. The mercenaries outside the library were taken down right away. The students inside and in the basement were rescued safely." He grabbed an apple from the table and began to peel it slowly with a fruit knife. "But the core members of the Greywolf mercenary group all escaped." All of them? A cold, striking mixed-blood face flashed in my mind. Lance Wright, the leader of Greywolf, is a top-tier fighter who has awakened both a high-level wolf spirit and dual abilities. My gut told me that we'd meet again. And when we did, we'd fight. "And besides ... " Darius looked up, carrying a deeper meaning. "You've already caught a lot of attention. If you want to keep living as a normal student, that might not be so easy anymore." I didn't show much on my face, but I kept thinking about what he said. Attention can cause trouble, though it's not always bad. He finished peeling the apple, the last bit of skin falling away. "Still, if you really want to keep pretending to be an ordinary student, I can help you."The tone in his voice was too obvious—like bait tossed, just waiting for me to bite. "If you've got the power to stand in the spotlight, why keep hiding it?" he asked. I looked him straight in the eyes. My voice was calm but firm, leaving no room for doubt. "Because only by living honestly and openly can I see the real value of my existence." Only then can I be sure that I truly exist—not just as a shadow borrowing this body, ready to disappear at any moment.