Liam planted both feet on the wooden floor and pushed himself upward, determined to stand despite the heavy feeling weighing down every muscle in his body. The moment he tried to straighten his legs, however, a violent wave of weakness surged through him. His knees buckled almost immediately, his vision swayed for a brief second, and his body tilted forward before he could even react.

"Tatiana..."

Before he could completely lose his balance, Tatiana was already moving.

The book she’d been quietly reading landed softly on the bed as she sprang to her feet without hesitation. In only a few quick steps she was beside him, slipping one arm around his waist while guiding one of his hands over her shoulder. Her other hand caught his wrist firmly, supporting almost all of his weight before he could collapse.

"Easy," she said softly. "Don’t force yourself."

Liam let out a slow breath, trying to steady himself while leaning against her. He hadn’t expected to feel this helpless. His entire body felt as though every ounce of strength had been drained away. Even standing required concentration, and his muscles trembled from an effort that normally wouldn’t have even registered.

"What happened?" he asked, frowning as he flexed his fingers weakly. "I feel... used. Like somebody squeezed every drop of strength out of me."

Tatiana nodded slowly.

"That’s... actually not far from the truth."

She adjusted her grip around his waist before continuing.

"When we traveled through the portal, Mary realized midway that she’d underestimated how unstable it was. To stop it from collapsing, she had to draw far more energy from you than she originally intended."

Liam blinked.

"So I was basically... a battery."

Tatiana couldn’t help smiling.

"...Pretty much."

He sighed dramatically.

"Fantastic. I crossed galaxies just to become magical electricity."

Despite herself, Tatiana laughed quietly before continuing.

"Mary said your body will naturally recover, but she estimates it’ll take around five days before you’re completely back to normal."

Liam nodded thoughtfully. Five days wasn’t terrible. Considering they had just traveled to another galaxy using something that sounded completely impossible even by Earth standards, surviving with only temporary weakness was honestly better than he expected.

Still...

He frowned again.

"And why does my side hurt so much?"

Tatiana’s smile slowly disappeared.

Her expression became noticeably more serious.

"...Because you were attacked."

Liam turned his head toward her.

"...Attacked?"

She nodded.

"When we arrived here, everyone lost consciousness for a while because of the strain from the portal."

"So far, not surprising."

"But..." she continued quietly, "...a giant spider-like beast found you before any of us did."

Liam stopped walking entirely.

"...What?"

Tatiana looked him directly in the eyes.

"It dragged you into the forest."

Liam stared at her for several long seconds, waiting for the punchline.

"...You’re joking."

"I’m not."

"A giant spider abducted me?"

"Yes."

"A literal monster picked me up..."

"Yes."

"...while I was unconscious?"

"Yes."

Liam slowly looked toward the ceiling.

"I have officially heard the most ridiculous sentence of my life."

Tatiana couldn’t laugh this time.

"It wasn’t funny."

Her voice had become noticeably quieter.

"I found you... only because I caught your scent."

Liam looked back at her.

She wasn’t exaggerating.

The memory alone was enough to make her fingers tighten slightly around his arm.

"You were wrapped in its web," she continued. "There were dead creatures everywhere... and you were bleeding."

Instinctively, Liam lowered his eyes toward the two puncture wounds still visible beneath the edge of his shirt.

"So that’s where this came from."

She nodded.

"The beast bit you."

He remained silent for several seconds before finally looking back at her with genuine gratitude.

"...Then I owe you my life."

Tatiana immediately shook her head.

"You don’t."

"I do."

"You would’ve done the same."

"I still owe you."

She opened her mouth to argue again but eventually gave up with a small sigh.

"...Maybe."

A smile appeared on Liam’s face.

"Thanks."

She smiled back, a little embarrassed.

"...You’re welcome."

The atmosphere between them grew lighter again as they slowly continued toward the door. Liam still relied heavily on her for support, one arm resting comfortably around her shoulders while her arm remained securely around his waist. Despite being considerably weaker than usual, he still towered over her slightly, making their pace slow but comfortable.

The hallway outside was unfamiliar, built from polished stone instead of wood, with strange glowing crystals embedded into the walls where lanterns should have been. Their soft golden light illuminated everything naturally, almost like permanent evening sunlight trapped inside gemstones.

Liam looked around with open curiosity, trying to absorb every little detail of this world’s architecture.

Then...

His steps froze.

"Huh?"

He had just passed one of the polished metal decorations hanging along the wall.

At first he’d only caught the reflection from the corner of his eye.

Slowly...

He took two steps backward.

His reflection stared back at him.

Liam’s mouth opened.

"...No."

He leaned closer.

"...No way."

Tatiana immediately knew what he’d seen.

For the first time since he’d awakened, she looked slightly nervous.

Liam reached toward his head almost instinctively.

His fingers disappeared into long strands of silky white hair.

Not silver.

Not gray.

Pure white.

"...Tatiana."

"Hm?"

"...Did you dye my hair while I was unconscious?"

She blinked.

"...What?"

"My hair."

He pointed accusingly at his reflection.

"It wasn’t this color before."

Tatiana couldn’t help letting out a tiny laugh.

"No..."

She shook her head.

"When I found you, it was already like that."

Liam continued staring at himself.

He slowly pulled a lock of hair in front of his face.

"...You’ve got to be kidding me."

"It surprised all of us too."

"Mary says it’s most likely a side effect of everything your body endured during the portal crossing. She thinks your body changed while adapting to the strain."

Liam sighed so heavily it sounded almost theatrical.

"Excellent."

He lifted another handful of hair before letting it fall again.

"So not only did I lose all my strength..."

His fingers brushed through the noticeably longer strands.

"...but now my hair’s white."

He paused.

"...And somehow longer too."

Tatiana looked at him carefully for a few moments.

Then she smiled.

"I actually like it."

Liam raised an eyebrow.

"You do?"

She nodded without hesitation.

"It suits you."

He looked back at his reflection again.

The white hair framed his face differently than before, falling lower across his forehead and brushing lightly against the back of his neck. Combined with his naturally sharp features and striking blue eyes, the change somehow made him look older... calmer... almost unreal.

Liam stared for another moment before sighing one last time.

"...I suppose there are worse things than accidentally becoming handsome in another galaxy."

Tatiana burst into laughter.

"There he is."

"There who is?"

"The Liam I know."

A grin spread across his face.

"Good."

He adjusted his grip around her shoulder again.

"I was worried the portal knocked my personality out too."

Still smiling together, the two of them slowly continued down the hallway toward the stairs, ready to reunite with the others after two long days apart.

——-

The wooden staircase creaked softly beneath Liam’s feet as he descended one step at a time, his movements noticeably slower than usual. Even with most of his weight no longer resting on Tatiana, she refused to move far from him, staying close enough that if he lost his balance again she could catch him before he hit the floor. The strange weakness lingering inside his body was unlike anything he had experienced before. It wasn’t pain exactly—his wounds had already begun healing—but an emptiness, as though every cell inside him was still recovering from being stretched far beyond its limit.

The first floor of the inn was considerably larger than the room upstairs. Thick wooden beams supported the ceiling while glowing crystals had been embedded into carved stone brackets along the walls, filling the hall with a soft amber light despite the sun outside beginning to sink toward the horizon. A few travelers sat around scattered tables quietly eating meals that smelled unfamiliar to Liam, while the innkeeper moved between customers with practiced efficiency. In one corner of the room, however, five familiar faces had gathered around a large circular table, and spread across its center was an old parchment map held flat by smooth stones placed around its edges.

The moment the group noticed movement near the staircase, every conversation stopped.

Five pairs of eyes immediately landed on Liam.

For a second nobody spoke.

Gregor’s weathered face relaxed first as the old witch released a quiet breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Agatha’s calm silver eyes softened ever so slightly, the faintest trace of relief passing through them before disappearing just as quickly. Mary smiled openly, while Leonid simply leaned back in his chair with his usual unreadable expression, although the tiny upward curl at the corner of his mouth betrayed that he, too, was glad to see Liam awake.

Irina folded her arms and leaned comfortably against the back of her chair before the teasing smile she had been suppressing finally appeared.

"Well," she said, looking him up and down, "look who’s back from the dead."

Liam rolled his eyes so dramatically it almost made Tatiana laugh.

"I leave you people alone for two days and you’ve already buried me."

"We considered it," Irina replied with a completely straight face.

"I hate you."

"I know."

Despite the sarcasm, the atmosphere around the table visibly relaxed. The worry that had lingered over the group for the past two days seemed to disappear the instant Liam walked into the room under his own power.

Tatiana carefully guided him toward the empty chair that had obviously been left for him.

Only after making sure he was seated comfortably did she finally let go of his arm and take the seat beside him.