Waking up

Liam slowly opened his eyes. He tried to move, but a weak sensation washed his body.

There was a burning feeling on his chest, and his right arm and leg felt sore. His head felt like it was about to split.

A green aura enveloped him, alleviating those feelings, but none of those registered on his mind.

What stood out to him was the silence. It wasn't silent in the sense that there weren't any noises. He could hear the bustling sounds of people moving around.

The silence was in his mind. It was a kind of silence he hadn't experienced in a long time.

Before he could even understand what was happening, tears formed in his eyes. Shocked, he wiped them off, but there was no stopping it.

Liam was different from his friends. They all had a life before falling into the Rift — people they loved, dreams that they wanted to pursue, and obligations they had to fulfill.

For Liam, none of that existed. As far as he could remember, every lucid memory of his originated in the Rift.

Blank faces and unintelligible voices filled the memories of the life before.

His initial years inside that place were bearable due to Sera's presence. When she died, a part of him died along with her, and he just aimlessly wandered around.

To resist the voices, he gained greater and greater control over his emotions, creating a nigh impregnable barrier around himself. His only solace was the friends he found later on. He gathered their group members over time by finding people whose abilities were useful.

At first, they were only a means to an end, but over time, their bond evolved into a friendship.

Unlike him, they hadn't given up on escaping from the Rift. Unable to dash their hopes, he went along with their plans without harboring any expectations.

Only after escaping did he understand how great his desire to flee from that place was and how deep he had hidden it.

In the Rift, he always calmed himself by imagining the outside world.

It was similar to how a starving man satisfied himself with the filthiest piece of bread. The real deal paled in comparison to anything he could imagine.

He could no longer control his emotions. All the pain, anger, and suffering flowed out in the form of tears. They rushed out in an unending stream.

Eventually, they dried up, and he was once again in perfect control of his emotions. However, he knew his defenses were no longer invulnerable. There was a tiny opening in his perfect armor.

He sat up as energy returned to his body.

Surrendering himself to momentary weakness and ignoring his surrounding was an amateurish mistake he never thought he would make.

When he examined the surroundings, a few things stood out.

Due to the softness of the bed, Liam did not notice he was lying on tree roots. He ran his hands along the surface, feeling as if he was touching feathers. They gently wrapped around his body without restraining him. Whenever he moved, they moved along with him.

He activated mana vision, noticing numerous runes etched onto their surface. It didn't take a genius to guess the bed was an Elven artifact.

If the ones treating him were elves, the treatment wouldn't be too costly. If it was any other race, it involved a hefty favor. After traveling with Ioriel, he understood how precious elven artifacts were.

The second thing standing out was the lack of objects within the tent. Apart from the bed, it was empty.

A single entrance was present, and mana vision showed him two guards placed near the opening.

The last thing bothering him was the lack of clothes. He was buck naked, and there was nothing to cover himself with.

He began thinking about the future steps. The top priority was learning about his situation and figuring out what happened to his friends.

The answers to both of the questions will arrive in due time. Someone who used such a precious item on him wouldn't just ignore him.

As if on cue, Liam could hear voices moving in his direction. He focused on their words, trying to understand the conversation.

The sounds were muffled, but he was able to make out the words.

"Absolutely not! The commander has decreed she will be the first person to meet and question him." A woman's voice said.

"What makes you so sure I am not acting on her orders." A male voice retorted.

"Because," the woman said, and Liam clearly heard the smile in her voice. "She asked me to fetch him."

"You can take him." There was a short pause. "After I finish questioning him. It won't take long, so your precious commander doesn't have to wait."

"I'm sorry, but I can't allow that. I am only here to escort him. If you want to question him, you can ask the commander for permission."

"You can suck up to her all you want, but don't forget she has been assigned to this area momentarily. Don't forget that you belong to the military. If you think she can protect you, think again. The Inquisition has a lot of authority, but it also has a lot of restrictions. They will not interfere in the army affairs without good reason." There was a dangerous undercurrent to his voice.

"You can interpret my actions any way you want, but I am following my orders. Or are you telling me you are going to cover for me?"

Her words were met with silence.

"I thought not."

"As the deputy commander, I wish to ask him a few questions! Not even Alisha can deny me!"

"Let me also remind you something 'Deputy Commander Mitch'. The commander may be temporarily assigned, but she is still THE commander right now. Also, I am quite surprised by your lack of fear towards the Inquisition. A lot of people would be interested in knowing that."

The deputy commander ignored the last part of her words, but the authority in his voice fell by a large degree.

"Even if she is the commander, many soldiers are displeased by her actions. I am only acting on their behalf and seeing why she wasted a large amount of precious military resources on a stranger. If used correctly, they could have saved the lives of our people."

He stressed the words military resources indicating the severity of the situation. Unless Alisha provided a valid reason for using them on a stranger, her actions could be considered as embezzling resources.

Liam understood the gist of the conversation. People were unsatisfied by the commander's decision to use a large number of materials to heal him.

He pondered about the reasons behind her decision. For her to go ahead despite the stiff opposition meant she had an iron-clad reason behind it. She could have done it on a whim, but he seriously doubted that. What attracted her and what did she want with him? Liam never believed in free lunch.

The other interesting bit was the information about injured soldiers. Injuries meant battles. The crucial point was against whom?

The flap opened, bringing two visitors. Liam was finally able to put the voices and faces together.

Both of them had black hair and black eyes.

The deputy commander was a short-man of around 45 years. He had a bulbous nose and a mean-eyed stare. Medals decorated his armor and there was a scimitar hanging at his waist. Both the armor and sword were enchanted with runes. The mana pool inside his body indicated he was an evolved and a strong one at that.

Liam's mana vision saw an active spell over his right eye. As far as he understood, the spell was neither defensive nor offensive. It was an illusion spell and a complicated one at that. What was he hiding?

The lady was young, maybe 21 or 22. Her hair was shorter than that of most men, and she was as flat as a board. She was also carrying a mace that was disproportionate to her size, but it wasn't enchanted. Her lack of mana pool indicated the reason.

The moment she saw him, the corner of her mouth downturned, confirming Liam's guess.

The commander's decision wasn't well received. Even the lady standing in front of him was only supporting Liam because Alisha ordered her to. It showed the attitude of most of the people in the camp and also meant trouble.

"Think about what you are doing. The commander might not have written the instructions in a military decree, but her words mean the same."

"She won't do anything," Mitch said. "Especially when our soldiers are demoralized."

"Really?" A soft voice said, making him jump.