"I... I’m fine."

Noah forced a faint nod before meeting her gaze. "And yes... I have many questions."

Morgana quietly walked toward his bed. She pulled the wooden stool closer and sat beside him with graceful composure, crossing her right leg over her left. Folding her arms beneath her chest, she studied Noah for a brief moment.

The usually cold instructor seemed noticeably quieter today.

Noah hesitated. His lips parted several times before any words came out.

There was only one question that truly mattered. One question he had been terrified to ask ever since he regained consciousness.

He slowly lowered his eyes. "Instructor Morgana..."

His voice had become almost a whisper.

"...Mary."

He swallowed the lump forming in his throat. "Is she... alright?"

"...Did you save her?"

Silence filled the room. It lasted only a few seconds, yet to Noah it felt unbearably long.

Morgana lowered her gaze.

A quiet sigh escaped her lips. "...I’m truly sorry, Noah. We couldn’t save her."

Time seemed to freeze.

Noah’s breathing stopped. His blue eyes widened slightly before all emotion drained from them.

For several long moments, he said nothing.

Slowly he leaned his head back against the pillow and turned his face toward the white ceiling.

"...I see."

His voice was calm. It carried no anger. There was no disbelief.

Morgana quietly watched him before continuing.

"Everyone else survived. Damien... Kaelan... Ken... Lyria... Arisha...They’re all safe."

Noah remained silent.

Morgana continued speaking, her tone calm yet noticeably heavier than before.

"When we finally reached your location... We found the battlefield completely devastated. There were enormous pillars of ice covering a large section of that place."

"Many trees had been destroyed. The ground itself had shattered. There was also the frozen corpse of a demon." She paused briefly.

"You were lying several meters away. Half of your body had been buried beneath collapsed earth and debris. You had already lost consciousness."

Noah quietly listened.

"We couldn’t find Mary anywhere. So we assumed she had been separated from you."

Her expression gradually darkened.

"When we noticed that the ground beneath you had partially collapsed...We ordered others to dig immediately. They discovered a hidden underground passage."

Her eyes lowered.

"After clearing away the rocks and debris...We found three bodies trapped beneath the collapsed tunnel."

Noah slowly closed his eyes.

He already knew what she was about to say.

"One of them was Mary."

The room became silent once again.

"The other two belonged to human men. They appeared to be around thirty years old. Our investigation confirmed they both were at High Rank of the Condensed Core Realm. They had died beneath the collapse."

Noah slowly raised his forearm and covered his eyes.

"..."

Not a single word escaped him. A single warm tear slipped from beneath his arm.

It rolled quietly down his cheek before disappearing into the white pillow beneath him.

Morgana’s usually cold expression softened. She reached out without hesitation. Her slender fingers gently brushed through Noah’s soft white hair.

The movement was slow.

"You shouldn’t blame yourself, Noah."

Her voice remained calm.

"You and Mary did everything you could. You survived against opponents far stronger than yourselves. You fought until the very end."

She looked away for a moment.

"...The responsibility belongs to us. We arrived too late. The Academy failed to protect its students."

There was unmistakable guilt within Morgana’s voice.

Noah slowly shook his head. "...I’m not blaming anyone."

His voice trembled slightly.

"...Not you. Not the Academy. Not even myself."

He paused.

Another tear quietly escaped.

"...I’m just."

His lips tightened.

"...Sad. It hurts."

Those two simple words carried more weight than any scream could have.

Morgana said nothing. There were moments when words only made pain heavier.

She continued gently stroking his hair while her other hand quietly found his resting beside the blanket. She wrapped her fingers around his hand with a reassuring grip.

The room remained silent.

Outside the infirmary window, the afternoon breeze gently rustled the leaves of the Academy trees.

---

Several minutes passed in silence.

Noah gradually steadied his breathing. Although the pain in his heart remained, he had finally managed to regain enough composure to speak without his voice trembling.

He took a slow breath before lowering his arm from his eyes.

"...I’m okay now."

His eyes were still slightly red, but he no longer looked as though he would break down at any moment.

Morgana quietly withdrew her hand from his head and released the hand she had been holding. She studied him for a brief moment, making sure he had truly calmed himself.

Noah turned his gaze toward her.

His expression had become much calmer than before, though the sadness lingering in his blue eyes had not disappeared.

"You probably wanted to ask me some questions..."

He paused briefly.

"...About what happened. What we saw. And everything that took place after we separated."

Morgana gave a small nod.

"Yes."

Her voice remained gentle.

"But only if you’re in the right state of mind. "We can postpone this conversation until tomorrow if necessary."

Noah slowly shook his head.

"No. I’m fine now."

A faint smile appeared on his face. Morgana noticed it immediately, but she chose not to point it out. Instead, she simply nodded.

"Very well."

She folded her hands together on her lap.

"Then tell me everything. Start from the moment you separated from Damien, Kaelan, and Ken. I want every detail you can remember. Nothing is too insignificant. We’re still investigating what happened during the examination."

Noah nodded.

"...Alright."

He leaned back against the bed and slowly organized his thoughts.

Then he began.

Morgana listened quietly without interrupting.

Whenever Noah mentioned a spell, an ability, or an unfamiliar detail, she occasionally asked a short question for clarification before allowing him to continue.

When he finished speaking. The room became completely silent.

He didn’t told her about he being on moon and meeting moon goddess.

Nearly half an hour had passed without either of them noticing.

Morgana remained seated in thoughtful silence.

Her calm expression had become far more serious than when the conversation had begun.

She slowly closed the notebook resting on her lap.

"So..."

She looked directly into Noah’s eyes.

"It seems this incident is really complicated. Demons... two unknown explorers. That hidden temple... we found it... but you know what? There was no statue of a woman there, as you told me."