Under the pale illumination of the moon and the flickering orange light of the fire torches, the cadets of the Cradle began their trek toward the limestone cliffs and the inner districts of the city.

Princess Aurora and her scouts took the lead, guiding the weary group toward a zigzagging stone-paved path that had been carved directly into the face of the cliff.

Despite being utterly exhausted, the joy of finally being so close to leaving this realm overrode their fatigue.

They reached the top of the cliff and continued past the city limits. To Cedric, the territory still resembled the marble heart of Ancient Greece, though it was a hollowed-out version of the place he remembered. Rather than the vibrant city from his time playing the game, the entire district now looked like a quiet graveyard. The air was stagnant, reeking of death and the slow crawl of decay.

Eventually, after what felt like hours of trekking, the long line of cadets got to the base of hill which housed the obsidian castle that had once belonged to the leader of the Lords.

Even from a distance, they could all see the blue bridge. It was massive, a portal as wide as a city gate and high enough to dwarf the castle walls. It hovered in the air just outside the main gate, pulsating like a beating heart and visibly warping the space around it.

As the cadets approached the flickering light, Cedric intentionally slowed his pace, lagging behind the others. His blue eyes were blank as he stared at the ground, appearing completely lost in his own world. Perched on his hand was Aika, who had taken the form of a raven, and he absentmindedly stroked her dark feathers as they walked.

Around him, his party members kept up a steady stream of conversation. Evelyn was busy telling Dion about how she had fought off a swarm of bat creatures on her own, or at least with just Julius.

She also mentioned how she went on a tangent about taking revenge on some kids dressed in white, like witches or something of the sort. Celeste listened to the boasting and just kept chuckling to herself, not bothering to contribute a word, despite having battled the literal leader of the Lords.

The only other person who wasn’t joining the conversation was Audrey. She wore a troubled expression, frequently stealing glances behind her at Cedric. Because he continued to lag, they had all drifted to the very back of the long line of cadets.

After a long moment of hesitation, Audrey bit her lip and turned slightly. She slowed her pace, taking a few steps back until she was walking side by side with him.

Then, a frown creased her brows when she realized he hadn’t even noticed her presence. Since his gaze remained fixed on the ground, she suspected he might simply be too drained after the intensity of his fight.

After all, he was the one who had driven a sword into the neck of the leader of the Lords!

Audrey suddenly got lost in that thought for a moment because truth be told, that was crazy.

Infact, the fact that they were even alive right now, finally heading home, was hard to wrap her head around. When she thought about it, it was all possible because of the plans Cedric had made for them. If not for him, perhaps...

She shook her head, refusing to let her mind go there. Suddenly, she was filled with more than just gratitude; she felt an immense sense of respect for him. It caused her lips to curl upward slightly.

’I think he’s probably sad that Leon died,’ she thought. ’I noticed they were close. That has to be why he’s feeling down. It makes sense, everyone here has lost someone.’

She nodded to herself, deciding then and there to cheer him up.

’But... how do I even do that?’ she wondered. ’I’m so bad at this stuff. I don’t even know how to talk to people most of the time, even the ones I call my friends.’

She suddenly felt nervous and reached up to adjust her glasses.

A moment later, a possible conversation topic finally popped into her head. ’Oh! I should remind him of that.’

She nodded again, adjusting her glasses for a second time. After a few seconds of mental preparation and gathering her courage, she cleared her throat to draw his attention.

She watched the color return to Cedric’s eyes as he finally turned toward her. A warm, tired smile spread across his face as he spoke in a soft, raspy voice.

"Oh... hey, Audrey."

She smiled back, her response quick and a bit breathless. "Hey."

’Gosh, his smile is so bright, it’s making me nervous.’ She immediately looked away from his face, focusing on the massive bridge that wasn’t very far now. She adjusted her glasses yet again as she looked down at her feet. "Uh..."

She looked back at him, forcing a small smile. "Do you remember our first dance together? I mean, the one at the ball, the night before we all ended up in this realm?"

Cedric seemed to think for a moment. It took him a while to pull the memory forward, but when he did, he bobbed his head back. "Oh. Yes, yes. I remember that. You looked really stunning that night." 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Audrey gasped inwardly. ’He thinks I was stunning? Stunn—oh my...’

She looked away to hide the fluster she felt from the compliment, but all of a sudden, she felt as if someone was watching her intensely. It was enough to give her shivers.

Turning to find the source, she realized the one staring was the raven in Cedric’s arms. The bird, who had been sleeping, had suddenly woken up and was alternating its sharp gaze between Cedric and her.

’Huh?’

Since she couldn’t quite make sense of the bird’s stare, Audrey gathered her thoughts and continued. "You know, you gave me a lot of confidence that night."

"I did?" Cedric arched a brow, looking genuinely confused.

Audrey nodded like a bobblehead. "Yes. I was so scared, and I really believed that I wouldn’t make it. It wasn’t until you assured me that we would all make it back alive that I started to believe it too."

She turned to look at him, a genuine, grateful smile spreading across her face. "Not only did you encourage me back then, but when we got here, you even saved my life. Even though we lost a lot of people, a lot of us are making it back home because of you. Just as you said."

She brushed a stray hair behind her ear, then looked away again, speaking sheepishly. "Thank you, Cedric. I’m really glad that both of us are making it back."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a bright smile form on Cedric’s lips again. This time, it felt different... warmer, and it caused her own smile to widen.

***

...

..

.

Cedric’s POV

——

’Ah...’

Cedric suppressed the urge to laugh.

’So the reason I had gained Karma points for lying that night wasn’t because Audrey wouldn’t make it back alive. Gamer Privileges had flagged it as a lie because I... I was the one who wasn’t going to make it back alive.’