Cracking sounds emanated from the speaker, making almost everyone inside the room uncertain and uneasy. Of course, in their career, those things were bound to happen; they were trained to be aware of it. Even so, it was uncomfortable.
The reason was probably that the crackling sound came from the bones of a young adult.
It wasn't they breaking, but rather the opposite. They were returning to their original state.
If a broken bone were impeding the healing process, somehow the body would expel it to the outside, ripping apart his skin in the process. It was a slow and painful process, yet rather precise.
Aldric looked at the screen. He wasn't sadistic to like that suffering he made Naevius pass through, though it was for his own good, even if the boy would hate him later.
And even though the others in that same room wanted to say something, they all knew the truth, there wasn't a better way for novices to do good in this other, if not that one.
It wasn't cruelty; it was necessity.
Eventually, the uncanny sound that came from Naevius' bones stopped once and for all. The ugly and purple bruises all over his body now slowly started to disappear, together with his small and larger cuts.
At last, his body sent a high shock of adrenaline from head to toe. In a few seconds, he widened his eyes, sweating coldly and panting as if he had run a marathon for two hours straight.
The complex part of everything was how he had survived. Well, he of course had the help of his sister's amazing healing abilities — the one he "stole" — but that wasn't supposed to make him immortal, only heal him.
It didn't matter; he was alive, and that truly mattered to him.
Using the tree as a helping hand to stand, Naevius leaned against it for a long time, made sure to take long breaths, to regain his strength.
He dragged himself over the forest; pain wasn't the reason his path was so burdensome; rather, it was tiredness. All fibers of his body begged him for a five-minute nap, for some energy to be regained. They instead forced him to sleep.
Occasionally, he would slightly regain his consciousness for a few seconds, only to then fall asleep once more. In between those short moments of consciousness, Naevius heard his body being dragged in the mud and a heavy panting succeeding it.
Those short moments stopped happening, bringing the boy the same dream he had every single day of his life. An enormous white tower, reflecting the sun's grace and guiding humanity with its light.
However, this time, he wasn't just a spectator; he was there… or almost.
There he was, in body and mind. Being able to walk through the civilization's history, seeing people's births, their deaths, and them being forgotten.
Yet no one could see or hear him.
Why? What was the reason for the change after so much time?
His hands were wildly shaking, feeling something near uncomfortable.
He tried to point out the reason for his unstable feelings, but he couldn't.
The closest conclusion he came to was if someone opened his phone and looked through it without his consent.
Exactly how the dream would suddenly start, he ended.
Slowly opening up his eyes, the first thing he could see was a roof, entirely made of stone. Well, it was expected after all, he was inside a cavern.
He quickly sat up to scan his surroundings, doing it so fast that his entire mind was blinded. He felt weak for a moment, and his healing abilities kicked in, making sure he didn't faint due to a sudden pressure loss.
When the darkness that blinded his mind finally went away, he could finally look around.
Below him, some leaves were put in a way that reminded him of a bed, one really bad. On his left side, there was a simple but rather efficient campfire, one that, right on top, had a fish being cooked by the remaining smokes of its dead fire.
"So you're finally awake?" A sweet voice came from outside the cavern.
Naevius clenched his fists as he clumsily backed up. "Please, I don't want to fight."
"Who are you?" His voice had left husky, as if it had been dragged up from below his throat forcefully.
"You can call me Mona, please, let us talk for a bit." From the moment she appeared until now, the girl has had her arms raised in the sky.
"Stay there, hands up." She nodded, agreeing with him. "I'm Naevius."
"Look, Naevius. I found you lying on the ground; you seemed to be in a bad state, so I took you into my camp to help you out." She paused for a few seconds, then continued, "After all, we are part of the same group."
He blinked a few times. "What?"
"Huh? You didn't hea…" Naevius cut her
"I heard it, but how do you know we are from the same team? After all, I'm just a random guy you met."
Her face shifted from being shrugged, as if lost in her thoughts, to a smile and an almost laughing one.
"Sorry, I forgot sometimes not everyone can enjoy nepotism." It wasn't teasing him in a bad way, more like being self-aware of her situation. "So, as you probably noticed, or not. This place is fake."
He hadn't.
She progressed with her explanation
"This test is… well, I don't know what they're trying to achieve, but I know how it works. It's a fake place packed with monsters, ones that could easily kill anyone unprepared. "
Unclenching his hands, Naevius felt a little more… safe. It was dumb, still, he was almost sure he could trust her.
"Then, that's why I came back alive when I died back there?"
"Oh yeah, that. It's… sadistic, isn't it?" She noticed Naevius' hands as they slowly unclenched, but she still held her hands up. "Though comparing with the ones I heard about it, ours is relatively… easy."