Aodhán’s consciousness drifted in and out, the harsh fluorescent light above causing him to wince in discomfort. It took a few seconds for his eyesight to adjust, but when it did, he turned his head to take in his surroundings. Sterile white walls and medical equipment filled his view, and the faint scent of antiseptic hung in the air.

As he took in his surroundings, the memory of the speeding mega-shuttle flashed across his mind, and Aodhán suddenly remembered the explosion. He lurched forward, pushing himself to his feet, but he was knocked back down by an intense wave of dizziness. He stumbled as his vision swam, but managed to stay upright by bracing himself on the metallic frame of the hospital bed.

The nurses must have been alerted to his awakening because a trio of them rushed in a few seconds later, followed closely by Aldric, who let out a sigh of relief when he saw Aodhán awake.

“Bless the ascendants!" Aldric exclaimed. “Mother would have killed me for sure.”

The nurses helped him back to the bed, but before Aodhán could ask any questions, the door swung open once again, and a procession of government officials marched in. “Please excuse us; we would like to have a moment with Aodhán Brystion.” One of them, a nerdy-looking man with ginger hair and copper-rimmed glasses, stated, but Aldric scowled and placed himself before them. “Okay, you fucking nutjobs, he’s just waking up. He hasn’t even said a word; it wouldn’t kill you to wait a few more minutes.”

“We’ve been waiting for an hour now.” The agent scowled, but Aldric refused to budge. “Tough shit ginger, you’ll just have to wait for another. As you can see, my brother is in no position to sign your damnable contracts.”

The agents exchanged glances and frowned before hesitantly stepping out of the ward along with two of the nurses, leaving only Aldric and one of the nurses left in the ward.

The nurse was an advanced-class healer with honey brown hair and two green rings around her golden pupils. She was dressed in a similar manner to the nurses back on earth, but her uniform covered her entire arms, leaving only the tip of her fingers bare.

She smiled kindly at him and said, “Your younger brother is alive and well. You have no need to worry.”

Aodhán sighed in relief and smiled at her in gratitude. She patted his palms gently before leaving, and Aodhán turned his gaze to Aldric, who was seated at the edge of his bed. Aldric raised an eyebrow and chuckled. “You don’t look much like the child prodigy from this angle.”

Aodhán snorted in amusement. “How bad is it?”

Aldric shrugged. “You’re pretty healed up, actually. I’m surprised you aren’t more injured; from what I saw, you took that mega-shuttle to the face like you were made of reinforced steel.”

Aodhán winced at the memory and shook his head. “How are you not injured, though?”

“Luck.” Aldric winked. “I was thrown into a cart of newspapers instead of—he gestured to Aodhán with a grimace—you know, a mega-shuttle. Ascendants know I wouldn’t have survived it.”

Aodhán chuckled lightly and sighed. “What about Daruk?”

“He’s still asleep. Unsurprisingly, he’s not quite as resilient as you are.” Aldric shrugged. “He’s doing okay, though, and he should wake up soon.”

Aodhán closed his eyes and pictured the explosion again. It had happened so suddenly that all he'd sensed was an abrupt spike in energy density, only about a second before the world went black. He shook his head slowly and asked. “What even happened? One minute we’re trying to escape from a ton of paparazzi, and the next, I’m getting railed by a mega-shuttle.”

Aldric laughed and explained all he had seen after the explosion. “The person responsible for the explosion was caught almost as soon as he stepped out of the pavilion. Say what you will about this hideous sector, but their security is top-notch.”

Aodhán snorted. “Not good enough to have stopped the explosion before it happened, though.”

Aldric grinned. “Disaster is the spice of life. What’s the fun in preventing it?”

“I’m sure the dozens of people who died from the explosion all share your sentiment.” Aodhán scowled, and Aldric's grin faltered. He stared at Aodhán for a moment before sighing. “Aodhán, people die all the time. I’m not taking joy in it; it’s a fact of life. Besides, I can assure you that most of those people died of shock rather than pain. I’m not sure if that’s a better way to die, but it’s definitely an easier one.”

Aodhán contemplated Aldric’s words for a moment before he shrugged. “I guess it’s better to die of shock than pain.” He pushed himself to a sitting position and said, “Wave those officials in; we might as well get the necessary paperwork out of the way. We still have an event to attend after all.”

“This break just keeps getting better and better.” Aldric rolled his eyes and moved towards the door. Immediately he pulled it open, and the three government officials walked in—two women and a man—all dressed in the same crisp black suit, their faces a mask of professional concern and discomfort.

The ginger-haired man stepped forward, his slightly pudgy features giving him a look that seemed stuck halfway through puberty. He was a mundane class Awakened like Aldric, with no visible bloodline manifestation save for the above-stated hair. The man adjusted his copper-rimmed glasses and took out a stack of documents from his spatial storage. “Mr. Brystion.” He began. “I’m Agent Selwyn, a representative of the MAA.” He gestured to the diminutive woman on his right. “My partner here is Agent Meira, a representative of the ministry’s emergency response unit, and to my left is Agent Nevaeh, our legal consultant.”

Aodhán nodded, and the man continued. “We are here to discuss the next steps following the unfortunate incident at the energy pavilion.”

Agent Meira took it up from there. “There was an explosion. You were caught in the blast, but we managed to get you out in time.”

Aldric snorted. “That wasn’t a random explosion.”

“It wasn't a planned attack either.” Agent Nevaeh replied curtly, glaring at Aldric, but Agent Selwyn stepped in before an argument could break out. “There’s no need to argue. The nature of the explosion doesn’t matter. What matters is that you’re safe and healthy, but before the healing center releases you, we need you to sign a few documents, some of which are compensation forms for your injuries, while others are agreements related to this incident.”

“Uhm…No.” Aldric interjected. “We’re not agreeing to anything. This might not have been a planned attack, but there's a criminal involved. We're not signing or agreeing to anything without getting a lawyer involved.”

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“Okay, Mr. Brystion, calm down.” Agent Meira spoke quickly. “This is not an interrogation, but a compensation. You're not being accused of anything, nor are you being suspected of anything.”

“Still…” Aldric began, but Aodhán cut him off. “Let them speak, Aldric.” He chuckled and waved for Agent Selwyn to continue.

Agent Selwyn stuttered. “Well, the thing is, we’ve got a few documents for the both of you to sign before the hospital releases you." He glanced at Aldric and added. " Your brother insisted that he won't sign his portion of the documents until you awoke."

Aodhán eyed the stack of papers suspiciously. “How many documents are there?”

Agent Selwyn chuckled nervously and turned to his partners as if seeking their reassurance. “Just a little over a dozen. We’ll be done in no time.”

Aodhán stared at the man with a mixture of disbelief and alarm. “Why so many?”

Agent Meira sighed. “I’m afraid there’s a lot to go through, but that’s why we’re here—to guide you guys.” She gestured toward the first stack of papers. “This set covers your medical expenses and compensation for your injuries.”

Aldric leaned closer and scanned the first document. “When you say compensation, what exactly do you mean?”

Agent Selwyn exchanged a glance with his partners before speaking. “Let's just say some very powerful people would like to keep any information about the explosion secret. We've been tasked with compensating the affected victims.”

“Bribe us, you mean?” Aodhán asked as he read through the compensation documents with Aldric. When he was done, he looked up and frowned at the officials. “What about those who didn't make it alive?”

Agent Selwyn sputtered, his mouth opening and closing without sound. After a few seconds of silence, agent Naveah responded. “We cannot do much for them, but we will compensate their families and put the criminal behind bars. That is all we can do.”

Aodhán frowned, but before he could speak up, agent Meira spoke. “I know what this seems like, but we're not compensating you to keep the information to yourself. We're not trying to keep the criminal out of prison. He will definitely pay for his crimes, which are numerous at this point. But the main reason we're paying you is so that his family's name doesn't inadvertently get dragged into the cesspool that going public will create.”

Aodhán exchanged a glance with Aldric and asked. “What if I want to pursue legal action?" I mean, me and my brother were knocked out and injured.”

Agent Nevaeh considered his question for a moment before shrugging. “I mean, you could get some traction, cause a few waves, get people talking, maybe even protest, but it doesn't matter because the criminal is already being put behind bars. You will gain nothing, save a little more fame and the enmity of the noble family that wants to keep their name away from this mess.”

Aodhán grimaced at the thought of more fame. Besides, did he want to incur the wrath of a noble family strong enough to pay off the ministry of awakened affairs? The deaths of those who didn't survive the explosion were a disaster, a sad one, but he wasn't a hero, nor did he have the capability to be one either.

“I don't want to incite a protest.” He said after a moment of thought and turned his gaze to agent Meira, who seemed the most trustworthy among the three agents. “However, I want to know what noble family we're dealing with.”

“It's not important.” Agent Selwyn cut in, trying to steer the conversation away from the topic, but Aodhán refused.

“We won't sign any document without this information.” He smirked and tapped the papers gently. When the agents didn't respond, he continued. “We can always get it by asking around; Aldric saw the criminal after all. It would only take us a few weeks to identify them, which means we'll know eventually, so you might as well tell us.”

The three agents exchanged glances, obviously a little confused about what to do. Aodhán fixed his gaze on agent Meira, and just like he thought, she cracked. “I’ll level with you, Mr. Brystion, because unlike my partners here, I see no reason for dishonesty in a procedure such as this. The person responsible for the explosion is Nikolaus Valerion, a noble whose family name I assume you’re quite familiar with considering the sector you reside in.”

Aodhán’s eyes widened, and he shook his head incredulously. “Just how many Valerion children are scattered around the kingdom anyway?”

“Less than a dozen, I think.” Agent Meira responded with a wry smile and continued. “Despite Nikolaus’s estrangement from his family, the duke prefers not to have his family’s name dragged into the mud. This is a bribe from Duke Solaris himself for you to keep your mouth shut and keep his family's name out of this mess.”

Aodhán nodded in understanding and exchanged a glance with Aldric, all thoughts of going public with this information gone from his mind. Aside from the fact that Duke Solaris was a potential ally, his family lived within the duke's territory. It would be better to keep his mouth shut than make an enemy of a man like that.

Aldric nodded and asked. “How much are we talking about here?”

“Just about a hundred golds." Agent Selwyn responded, but after a glance at Aldric, who was glaring furiously at them, he added. “For the three of you.”

“Bullshit!” Aldric rolled his eyes. “What are we supposed to do with a hundred gold?”

“It is a decent amount, agent Nevaeh began, but agent Meira cut her off with a glare and stepped forward. “You're each entitled to three hundred gold coins, which total 900 gold coins.”

It was an incredible amount of money, more than Aodhán had even expected. Rather than accept right away, he glanced at Aldric, who stepped forward and smirked. “I hope you're not lying, agent Meira, because I can tell when you're lying.”

Agent Selwyn and Nevaeh exchanged confused glances, and Aodhán smirked. “Aldric is an empath.”

Aodhán was unprepared for the reaction his words caused. Agent Selwyn jerked, his eyes going wide behind his rimmed glasses, while Nevaeh began murmuring some sort of chant to ward against telepathy and all related mentally intrusive abilities. Agent Meira, on the other hand, had no visible reaction to the statement, save for a slight twitch of her eyes. It didn’t exactly mark her as trust-worthy, but Aodhán was more inclined to trust her than the others.

“I speak the truth.” She responded calmly, and a second later, Aldric smiled. “So she is. Thank you for your honesty, agent Meira.”

“You're welcome.” Agent Meira nodded, took out a pouch from her spatial space, and handed it over. “That pouch contains your individual compensations. However, we'll have to speak to your younger brother to certify that he is in agreement before paying his quota." Aodhán accepted the pouch and agent Meira continued. "Please note that this isn’t the same amount we’re paying every victim, but you're a special case. A particular high duke was quite dissatisfied to hear of your accident and has urged us to pay you more handsomely.”

Aodhán grinned. “Thank you, Agent Meira.” He exchanged an excited glance with Aldric before proceeding. “We won’t speak to any reporters about this.”

“Good.” Agent Meira responded and moved closer. “That being said, you’ll both have to sign an NDA to ensure that the details of this explosion are kept between us as—

—as well as a settlement confidentiality agreement.” Agent Selwyn cut in, but when they all glared at him, he muttered. “Fine, I’ll just be a spectator then.”

“There're also liability waivers and indemnity agreements.” Agent Meira continued and waved a hand dismissively. “Trust me, these documents might seem like a lot for a simple explosion, but they’re all just a formality. All you need to do is sign, and you’re free to go.”

Aodhán gazed at the mountain of paperwork and exchanged a glance with Aldric. They came to an agreement without issue, and Aldric sighed. “Fine, let’s get it over with.”

Aodhán took out a pen from his spatial space and began reading. Like Agent Meira had said, the documents covered his medical expenses, consent to access his nonexistent medical records, and details of the treatment he’d received. The treatment he’d received was very minor, as his regeneration had done the most work. Still, Aodhán went through every single detail before signing.

He moved on to the compensation agreements next, which were essentially a provision of financial compensation for his injuries, medical expenses, and any other damage he might have suffered as a result of the explosion.

It took him and Aldric more than fifteen minutes to read through and sign all the documents placed before them, after which they returned the documents to agent Meira.

The agents left shortly after that, arguing inaudibly amongst themselves, and Aodhán pushed himself to his feet. He still felt slightly woozy, but he estimated he would be alright in an hour.

“How’re you feeling?” Aldric asked, and Aodhán chuckled. “Much better after all that money.”

Aldric laughed and waved him forward. “Let’s go check on Daruk and get out of here. A grand party awaits us.”