Meanwhile...
Inside the Guild’s Infirmary, a chamber made entirely of white marble remained silent as Alberion lay unconscious on the bed assigned to him. His entire body was covered in long, continuous strips of undyed cloth, wrapping around his arms, chest, legs, and parts of his face where the injuries had been more severe. Beside the bed floated a disc-shaped Relic, its surface producing a thin wave that repeatedly rose and fell at a steady pace, showing that Alberion’s heartbeat remained stable.
The chamber had been allocated to Alberion alone, while Himalton was being treated in the room beside it. Because Himalton’s condition had been far more threatening, he had been moved into one of the special chambers prepared with several Healing Relics capable of dealing with more serious injuries. As of now, both Alberion and Himalton had already received the treatment they needed, but neither of them had regained consciousness yet, leaving the entire section of the Infirmary quiet.
Everything inside the chamber remained still until Alberion’s right hand, which had been resting beside the bed, twitched slightly. The movement was small at first, but the next moment his entire upper body suddenly rose from the bed as a gasp escaped his mouth. "Hah!" His breathing immediately became heavy as he panted several times, while his blurry vision slowly returned to normal and his eyes moved around the unfamiliar chamber, opening and closing repeatedly as he tried to understand where he was.
"Wh-Where am I?" The question escaped his mouth as his eyes lowered toward his own body, which felt sore despite the treatment it had received. The strips of cloth covering him immediately caught his attention, and the moment he saw them, his memories began returning one after another. He remembered the SSS-rank Monster attacking him with a single hand, and even the roots strengthened through a small portion of the World Tree’s power had been rendered meaningless against that attack.
His breathing gradually became steadier as he took a long breath and released it slowly, trying to calm himself before thinking about what had happened after that.
’...I survived that somehow, huh? But who even brought me here? An Infirmary...is this the Guild?’ Questions immediately began piling up in his mind as he tried to understand how he had come out of that Ruin alive. He didn’t even consider the possibility that the Boss Monster had been killed by anyone other than someone far above them, because its strength had been so superior that even Alberion, who had encountered countless individuals around the same rank, had considered that Monster to be on an entirely different level.
There was only one person Alberion could imagine being capable of killing that Monster, and that was the Guildmaster he had seen before entering the Ruin. However, the Guildmaster had not been present when they fought the Monster, which left Alberion unable to understand who had actually dealt with it or how he had been brought out of the Ruin. Sitting on the bed would not give him an answer, so Alberion pushed himself up completely and stepped down from the bed, his body surprisingly capable of moving normally despite what he remembered.
Just as he took a step toward the door at the far end of the chamber, a voice suddenly sounded directly inside his mind.
’Alberion.’
The moment he heard it, his eyes widened as he immediately recognized the voice.
’Y-Your Majesty? What is it?’
It didn’t take him long to remember that the Elven Queen possessed the ability to communicate through telepathy with Elves regardless of the distance between them. As long as the other person was an Elf, the distance of thousands of kilometres meant nothing for this particular form of communication, although the ability to initiate such a connection belonged only to the Queen herself and ordinary Elves could not simply establish a telepathic connection over such a distance.
’You need to come back to the Elven Continent. I am taking back my previous orders for you to travel through all the continents and learn everything they have to offer. The World Tree needs all the Elves back in its Embrace.’
Alberion frowned slightly after hearing those words. The tone Eliana carried made it clear that this wasn’t a request she expected him to question, and he wouldn’t have disobeyed her order regardless of how she had spoken. Whatever had happened during the time he was unconscious, something had clearly changed for the Queen to suddenly call every Elf back.
’Alright, I will immediately head back, Your Majesty.’
’Good, you should also know that Kael is coming back from his mission, and when he does, I don’t think I need to remind you what he will do, right?’
Alberion’s jaw tightened the moment he heard that name. He suppressed the irritation that immediately rose inside him before replying in a calm tone, ’...I know, Meet you in the Palace, Your Majesty.’
With that, the connection was cut off. The moment he no longer felt Eliana’s presence inside his mind, Alberion’s expression changed as he cursed internally, ’Tch! Perverted Bastard. I need to quickly go back before he finds out about my relationship with Elowen.’
Before he could leave, however, there were still questions he needed answered. He needed to know who had brought him out after he lost consciousness, what had happened to Himalton, and most importantly, what exactly had happened inside that Divine Rank Ruin after he could no longer remember anything.
Alberion stepped toward the door and opened it, revealing the Guild’s corridor outside. From the structure of the building and the faint presence of Spirit Energy around him, he could already tell that he was still inside the Guild, so he didn’t need to ask anyone for directions. He knew where the reception counters were, and that was where he could begin asking about what had happened to him and the others.
Whatever answers he received there would finally tell him the truth about the Divine Rank Ruin and how he had managed to survive it.
- - -
Some hours later...
On the other hand, Atlas was already inside the Villa of the Rosaria Household, though he wasn’t in the same room where the previous meeting had taken place. Instead, he had been brought into another massive chamber on the first floor, one that was clearly meant for receiving important guests.
The room was spacious enough to accommodate several people comfortably, with polished flooring, large windows allowing natural light to enter, and several pieces of finely crafted furniture arranged around the centre. A few decorative Relics were also placed along the walls, their faint presence of Spirit Energy making it clear that even the ordinary rooms of the Rosaria Household contained things that would have been considered valuable elsewhere.
Atlas had arrived only a few minutes ago when Kaelion asked him to wait for some time. Seraphiel was currently speaking with a Guest, so Kaelion informed Atlas that he would go and tell Seraphiel about his arrival once their conversation was finished. Atlas had no reason to object, so he simply took a seat on one of the couches and waited.
His eyes moved around the chamber for a moment, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings before his attention eventually shifted inward. As usual, his mind began going through the things he had learned recently, especially the information he had obtained from the Evaluation and the changes that had occurred after reaching 100 in all of his Attributes.
Unknown to Atlas, however, the Guest currently speaking with Seraphiel was none other than Solaris, the Queen of Celestara herself. She had come to the Rosaria Household because Seraphiel was one of her closest friends, and after the events of the past few days, she had specifically asked Seraphiel to meet her whenever she had the opportunity without requiring her to leave Solara herself.
For now, Atlas remained completely unaware that one of the strongest individuals in the world was only a few rooms away from him.
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