The next morning, Theo woke up breathing heavily.

His shirt had been soaked by sweat while his heart raced.

’Shit,’ he thought, rubbing his head. ’Those nightmares....’

Even though he’d resolved himself to change, the horrors from that night didn’t disappear.

’They’ll probably be staying for a long time, huh,’ he thought, shaking his head with a bitter smile.

If it wasn’t for his ability to fall asleep whenever and wherever he wanted, he truly wouldn’t know if he could ever get a wink of rest again.

After letting out another deep breath, he finally forced himself to calm down.

That’s when his eyes fell on the screen above him.

[Time until completion: 63:04:12]

’It’s still there,’ he thought as he just stared at it.

His mind flickered back to the previous night.

Many windows had popped up one after another, each telling him bits and pieces of the full picture.

’So this is happening because I reached Silver Core,’ he thought, glancing down at his hands. ’And the system owes me another Would You Rather too...’

Even now, he wasn’t quite sure what to think or feel about the ordeal.

His emotions were already a wreck from the previous few days, and now this dose of nonsense piled itself up on top of it.

’A system upgrade... it probably won’t be something simple.’

He stretched his arms over his head as he let out a yawn.

’But I’m not even sure what it would upgrade...’

Just then—

Knock! Knock!

His door slowly shifted open, revealing a familiar face.

’’Are you up?’’ Owen asked loudly.

Theo snapped out of his thoughts and glanced over, still slightly dazed.

’’What...?’’

A small grin grew on Owen’s face.

’’The plane’s leaving in around two hours, just needed to make sure you were awake.’’

Bang!

He slammed the door shut behind him again.

Theo gripped his head, the sound echoing through it.

’Fucker,’ he thought, groaning.

Theo slowly pushed himself up from the bed while letting out another long sigh.

His entire body still felt sore, almost like he’d been beaten up repeatedly during his sleep.

Even so...

’It still feels lighter than it did when I was a Bronze Core.’

For the first time since everything, he finally got the chance to properly look at himself.

His muscles were far more defined, his senses sharper, and even the flow of mana inside his body had become far smoother than before.

He flicked his fingers, gray mana instantly spreading out over his hand.

It only remained there for a few seconds before vanishing again.

Theo remained silent, his mind flashing back to an unpleasant memory.

’If I’d been able to break through earlier... I could’ve probably used this to stop the majority of that breath.’

He quickly shook his head and pushed the thoughts aside.

After changing clothes, Theo finally walked toward the bedroom door.

The moment he opened it, the smell of food immediately hit him.

At the same time—

’’HE’S ALIVE!’’

Owen’s loud voice echoed through the apartment.

Theo closed his eyes, the loud voice vibrating in his head.

He tilted his head slightly and clenched his fists.

Before Theo could even react further, loud footsteps echoed out from the living room.

Then Lyra suddenly appeared around the corner.

’’What the hell is all that screaming for?’’ she said, running a hand through her messy hair.

That’s when her eyes landed on Theo.

She froze for a moment, tilting her head slightly.

’’Oh, right,’’ she said slowly.

A smile appeared on her face.

’’Welcome back!’’

Theo raised an eyebrow, taken aback.

’’Thanks?’’

He’d not expected to see her here in the slightest.

Before he could even think further, something far more shocking happened. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Lyra continued walking, heading straight for Owen.

A sweet smile appeared on her face as she spread her arms.

’’Good morning!’’ she said, wrapping her arms around him.

Owen chuckled lightly.

’’Did you sleep well?’’ he asked, hugging her back.

Lyra pulled back slightly, also letting out a light chuckle.

’’Of course!’’

As the two let go of each other, Owen burst out laughing as he looked back at Theo.

Theo’s mouth had fallen open while his eyes nearly popped out of his head.

’’What the...?’’ he muttered. ’’When did this happen?’’

Owen puffed his chest out proudly.

’’Well, a whole lot happened while you were busy saving your parents,’’ he started. ’’But the real moment was after we finally made it outside the barrier.’’

A shameless grin spread across his face.

’’That’s where she completely broke down in my arms like a baby.’’

He shrugged casually.

’’After that, I really didn’t have much of a choice anymore.’’

The next second—

Bam!

Lyra’s fist slammed straight into his jaw.

’’W-what kind of nonsense are you saying?!’’ she snapped, her face turning bright red instantly.

Owen stumbled back dramatically while clutching his jaw.

’’Domestic violence, again!’’ he shouted.

Lyra raised her fists right away.

’’It’s your fault for making everything weird again!’’ she shouted back as she approached him.

Owen shrunk back dramatically right away while reaching out to Theo from afar.

But Theo didn’t move.

He just stared at the two of them blankly.

’’All of this... is serious?’’

Owen immediately stopped retreating.

Then a smug grin slowly spread across his face again.

’’Of course it’s serious,’’ he said proudly, wrapping an arm around Lyra’s shoulder before she could punch him again.

Lyra’s face immediately reddened further.

’’Stop acting so smug about it,’’ she muttered, though she didn’t push his arm away this time.

Theo rubbed his eyes for a moment.

For some reason, seeing the two of them like this felt strangely surreal.

’’All of this happened that fast... in just three days?’’

Owen nodded right away.

’’Yup,’’ he said, a wicked smile flashing across his face. ’’Not everyone takes as much time as you and Iris.’’

Theo remained silent for several seconds.

Then he just rubbed his forehead.

’’You know what?’’ he muttered, letting out a tired sigh. ’’I’m not even going to question it anymore.’’

A smug grin instantly spread across Owen’s face.

"That’s the spirit."

Theo glanced at the two of them once more before quietly shaking his head.

Somehow, after everything that happened, these two idiots had actually ended up together.