The Big Hospital wasn’t just the largest hospital in the area and named as such; it was built a thousand years ago to serve the military medical purposes, to save injured soldiers and wizards alike. The authorities planed to demolish the building when the peace came, but the invasion of dark beasts kept the hospital running, and it later became one of the biggest shelters for the people.

To protect the vulnerable patients and refugees, the Special Mage Armed Force and the military base were built near the area, which later attracted more people to live in this environment. By the time humans finally defeated the dark beasts with the FayOra stones, a community had been built around the hospital, making it difficult to relocate them. So, the hospital remained, while the military base and Special Mage Armed Force relocated to somewhere more suitable. It underwent several upgrades and expansions, and now the oldest building has turned into a historical museum and tourist spot, while the newer buildings continue to served their purpose.

Nowadays, the Big Hospital not only refers to the medical building but also to the community built around it, which includes several rehab centers, vet centers, medical schools and nursing homes.

This is what Bahyun found on the Big Hospital’s website. He didn’t know that the secret realm was still inside the old building, remaining as it was a thousand years ago, built by the First Mage and other wizards. The secret realm was originally set up here with the initial purpose to protect immature Mages, providing a safe place for them to train. Now this old building mostly serves to displaying the history of the hospital, and the secret realm is kept in a room that can reached through the back door.

Bahyun worried if he and Almandine could be accepted into the realm. He wasn’t a girl, he wasn’t young, and Almandine was full of dark energy, but they still needed to give it a try first before giving up.

They met other candidates - six teenage girls all less than fifteen years old - in front of the door opened to the realm. It so happened that a duo Mage squad was about to retire in a few days, two months earlier than the Precaria Gem Squad. They rescheduled it, making it earlier after getting permission of the duo, so that Bahyun could retrieve the stone earlier and start saving Almandine.

Both Mages reverted to their original forms and tossed their stones into the room where the realm had activated, appearing as a blurry, misty white portal when observed from the entrance. The candidates, after cheering for each other, marched into the portal with full spirits. The wouldn’t know how nervous the man who looked like some officer standing beside them felt.

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Bahyun clenched and relaxed his fist to ease his nervousness, while Almandine cared very little about whether she could survive. She would live if she was allowed to, and she wouldn’t object if she wasn’t allowed to because she had no regret if she were to die now. However, she would prefer to live if she had the chance because of how much care she received from Bahyun.

Living for him - weird intention that she didn’t quite understand, but she wouldn’t object to it.

“Almandine, let’s go.” Holding her hand, Bahyun walked into the room under the watchful eyes of Otmeen and the other Mages.

The misty secret realm slowly cleared after Bahyun and Almandine took a few more steps into the room. They found no borders in the room, no landscapes or backgrounds, no routes or directions, only them and a white space that seemed empty.

Bahyun’s mind went blank for a moment: How am I supposed to find anything in an empty space?

“Almandine, did you sense something unusual?”

Almandine shook her head. She felt just the same as before she came into the realm.

“Nothing uncomfortable?”

Another shake of the head was her reply. Bahyun signed, held her hand tight, and started walking forward.

The walked for a very long time, losing count of time and distance. Bahyun started to feel lost. Watches and phones were not working, and orientation magic didn’t work either. If it weren’t for Almandine’s hand still within his grip, he would have thought that he was just dreaming and not awake.

Almandine walked silently beside him, but she didn’t feel as much as Bahyun did. The extended void feeling felt similar to when she was trapped within the fringe of the worlds, so she was somewhat used to it. To her, this was something that had happened, and she acknowledged it; that was all.

However, after repeating the walk for a period that she didn’t know, Almandine noticed Bahyun beginning to slow down. Initially, she thought that he was tired, being human and not a magic circuit like her, especially given his history of hospitalization due to irregular meal consumption. But Bahyun’s steps grew until he finally stopped. Only then did she sense that something was wrong.

“Bahyun?” She nudged him, calling his name, but he made no response, as if he had fainted with his feet still on the ground and eyes opened. She recalled a TV drama where the main character was possessed by an evil spirit; Bahyun looked just like that character. She patted him and even slapped his face, yet he still gave no response.

For the first time, Almandine knew what it was to feel anxious and worried.