In a boxing ring, a faceless man was hammering his opponent with a flurry of punches. A right hook, left jab, right uppercut, and left straight. The opponent’s guard couldn’t keep up with the onslaught, and the uppercut snuck between his arms, nailing him right in the chin. He was struck in the jaw before he could even put his guard back up. The blow sent him reeling, leaving him dazed as he collapsed in the ring.

“You did your best out there today. Next time, try aiming for one blow, okay?” The man smirks confidently. 

Only his lower jaw and part of his upper body could be made out; the rest was blocked by a veil of mist, and everything became obscured as the scene darkened. The darkness faded into a shining light as the field widened, revealing a room with white ceilings and walls. Yvie stared into the ceiling blankly for a few seconds before coming to her senses. The brightness of the room caused her to shield her eyes as she began shifting about in the bed. She turned on her side to see a row of beds along the wall. She pulled back the warm blanket over her and noticed she was in a blue medical gown. Connected to her left arm was an IV drip.

“What the?” She questions.

She sat up in the bed and crossed her legs. Her mind recalls past events, piecing together what led her here. 

“Oh! The test! That damn bladed bearfish showed up!” She sits up straight. “Did I even pass…?”

The chill of the room causes her body to shiver. 

“Whoa… This room is chilly.” Yvie says as she flips the lower half of her gown up. “Yeah… It’s super breezy. This gown is as thin as paper, but it’s surprisingly warm.”

She continuously flips it up and down to stave off some of her boredom when the door opens.

“Cold… Warm… Cold… Warm… Oh, Palla, it’s you!” Yvie states.

Palla sees Yvie flashing her lower half, and a vein appears on her forehead, then throws her arm to the side in anger. 

“Quit flipping your gown! Have you no shame at all?!” Palla shouts at the top of her lungs.

Yvie puts the gown down and rolls the blanket over her legs with her face reddened.

“...Sorry… I guess I should stay warm since I just got injured.”

“That’s what you think the issue is?! Sheesh… I swear.” 

She pulls up a steel chair and sits beside Yvie’s bed. She clears her throat before speaking.

“You’re lucky to be alive. The venom would’ve been fatal had it reached your brain, but I guess you had luck on your side. You were in a coma for three days, but you managed to make a full recovery.”

“What about the test?” Yvie says from under the blanket.

“Worry about your own body first, fool,” Palla pauses, taking a deep breath. “…Or so I’d like to say, but aside from scars due to your injuries, there won’t be any lasting effects to your body. As far as the test goes, we had a retest of the final exam during your coma. Twenty-three people ended up passing. And I’m sure you’re just dying to know, so yes, your friend Grace made it.”

“She did it!” Yvie rises onto her feet in bed. She almost jumps for joy, but remembering what she’s wearing, she calms down a bit.  “Ah… W-what about me? Do I have to wait for a retest?”

“The tribunal and I discussed it at length.” Palla begins. “Ultimately, they handed the final decision to me, as I was a proctor for the exam.”

Yvie gulps. Palla crosses her legs and grins.

“The decision wasn’t hard. After watching your footage, there was no doubt in my mind that if you were stranded underwater for months, even years, you would be fine. The situation in dealing with the bladed bearfish showed me that you have the drive to survive even under the most difficult circumstances. Not to mention, the artifact you found and the way you used the environment to survive. It’s those qualities that are exactly what we’re looking for in Divers.”

Yvie froze up. Her arms were at her sides, shaking; she began to ball herself up before exploding into a leap on the bed. Afterwards, excitedly, Yvie began dancing around the room.

“I paaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaassssed!!!”

Seeing Yvie’s excitement was contagious, as even Palla had a wide smile on her face. 

“By the way,” Palla continues. “You were pretty wise to not use that artifact you found. Not many people would resist in such a dire situation.” 

“What kind of artifact was it?” 

A chilling grin slithers across Palla’s lips. 

“Ah, it was a ring of everlasting agony. So, a cursed artifact. Good thing you didn’t put it on.”

“Haha… Yeah…” 

On another note, Palla inspects Yvie.

“Uh… Looking for something?” Yvie asks, confused.

“Strange question, but do you… Know what you are?” She asks.

“Uh… Yvie… Moore…?” 

Palla chuckles.

“Don’t worry about it.” 

As Palla rises from her chair, she tosses a tiny sack onto the bed, and a few loons fall out of it.

“It’s compensation for the artifact. It’s not much, but we do pay for all artifacts.”

“Oh yeah, when I was about to head into the ravine I saw… Something in the distance.” Yvie said.

“Something? Could you be a bit more specific?” 

“Um… It was a bit far away, but it felt like I saw someone else down there. But there was something weird about how it wasn’t moving anything to float in the water.” 

“That is strange. I’ll look into it. Rest up.”

As Palla walked down the hall, one of her aides came over to her.

“Bring up the footage from all the spy fish during the exam; there’s something I want to verify,” Palla ordered.

“Right away!” 

Meanwhile, after letting the doctors run their final checkup on Yvie. They gave her the okay, allowing her to leave the diver's infirmary. After retrieving her clothes and other trinkets from her locker, she merrily heads back home.

“Not only did I pass, but I also got a bit of extra loons too! Today’s a good day!” 

After the short walk from the dive corp, Yvie managed to make it home to Eli’s. Before even walking into the house, she could hear the sound of ringing steel and smiled. Using the spare key she was given, she entered the house.

“He’s hard at work, I see. Then I won’t interrupt him.”

Yvie giddily walked up the stairs and entered her room. She stripped herself down to her undergarments, throwing her clothes atop the chair at her desk. She did a spin in her room before collapsing onto her bed. 

“Ah… Nothing beats the comfort of your own bed!” 

She rolls onto her back from her side, her olive skin glistening in the rays of the setting sun that creep into her room through the window.

“This is where it all begins!” 

A knock on the doorframe causes Yvie to sit up. She notices Eli by the doorway.

“What day is it?” He asks.

Yvie ruffled the back of her hair and peered up at the ceiling.

“Wednesday…?” She says with uncertainty.

“Damn, It’s been three days already?” He questions.

Yvie pinches her nose. 

“I was wondering why the smell of smoke was so strong…” 

Eli wipes away some of the dirt from his hands with a damp towel. 

“How was the exam?” 

“Pretty damn good! I was in a coma for three days, but I passed!” Yvie exclaims while rising from the bed.

“Congrats! And rewind that a little bit… A coma?!”

“It was just a minor thing that happened during the test, but I beat it!” She exclaims.

Eli blinked twice as his head shifted. 

“You can’t just say something like that and not give me the rundown.” He states.

“Hehe… You already know I’ve got it prepared!” 

Yvie gives him the rundown on the whole exam, sparing no details.

Eli nodded with a grin.

“At least you kicked its ass.” 

“Right?!”

“And you made a new friend out of the Grace girl.” 

“Aw shucks, I don't have Grace's slate number! I totally forgot!” Yvie groans. 

“You’ll prob run into her again. Oh yeah, you know Marissa was blowing up my line to reach you, right?” 

Yvie’s expression darkens as she checks her slate.

“Oh, crap.” 

A wall of notifications from missed calls to unresponded text messages filled the screen. Yvie sat back on the bed as if the wind had been taken out of her sails. Her skin was pale as she stared at the wall lifelessly, her voice climbing into a high pitch. 

“She’s going to kill me!”

“Youch… You’re really in for it now.” Eli pats her on the back and says before grinning widely.  “Maybe she’ll take it easy on you since you were in a coma?” 

“She’ll just put me in another one…”

Eli exited the room; the last thing Yvie saw as the door slowly shut was Eli grinning mischievously.

Yvie hesitantly dials the number, and the slate rings for only a second before it is picked up. The shouting on the other end is so loud that Eli can hear it from the ramp.