After we finished eating, Kia said she’d show me to my room. We walked down this really long hallway—again—and then up some spiral stairs. Of course, at the top, another hallway was waiting for us. Honestly, I was already lost. There’s no way I’ll ever figure out where anything is in this place. Luckily, we didn’t have to walk much farther before we stopped at a door with a golden nameplate. It said:

GUEST BEDROOM.

“Please do not pay any mind to the plaque on the door. I will see to it that it is changed as soon as possible.”

Kia opened the door, and I just kind of stood there for a second. Calling the room ‘spacious’ didn’t really do it justice. There was a huge bed—way too big for one person—plus a bunch of bookcases, drawers, and a desk that looked like it belonged to someone important. Even with all that, there was still plenty of space to walk around. A red carpet with gold edges covered the floor, and a small lamp hung from the ceiling, making everything look warm and fancy.

“Wow… ”

Kia showed me the bathroom next. Yeah, I actually had my own bathroom. The floor and walls were all black-and-white tiles, which looked kind of cool, but the bathtub at the end of the room really got me. It was huge. I’m pretty sure you could fit four people in there. Maybe even five, if they didn’t mind being squished.

“Is this really all mine?”

“Yes. You are free to use anything in the room.”

I just kept staring at the bathtub for a while. This whole place was kind of ridiculous. After Kia finished showing me around, I flopped down on the bed. I hadn’t realized how tired I was until then. Today had been… a lot.

“So, does this room meet all your needs?” Kia asked.

“This is more than I could ask for. Thank you so much, Kia!”

“I am glad to hear that.”

She sat down beside me on the bed.

“I still have some time before I must leave. If you have any questions, I would be happy to answer them. What would you like to know first?”

“Well, first… how do you even set your sword on fire?”

She glanced at the sword resting beside her and remained silent for a few seconds. Then she turned back towards me with a smile.

“Would you mind terribly if I explained that to you tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow?”

“It would be much easier to show you than to explain it. Unfortunately, this is not the best place for a demonstration.”

“Fair enough.”

I thought for a moment.

“Do you know how I even got here? I mean, to Fira?”

Kia shook her head.

“No, I’m afraid I do not.”

I sighed. I thought long and hard about what to ask next. There were so many things I wanted answers to that I didn’t even know where to begin.

“I guess… I also kind of want to know how I’m still alive after Lucifer killed me.”

Kia’s expression became more serious.

“I promised I would tell you that, did I not?”

I nodded.

“Well, to keep it brief, it has to do with something we Firans call The Flow of Life.”

“The Flow of Life?”

“Yes. It is an energy that exists within every living being. It is what allows life to continue within us.”

She paused for a moment, making sure I was following.

“The Flow of Life consists of three parts, which we call Life Spots. They are located within the brain, heart, and diaphragm. As long as even one of these Life Spots remains intact, a person can still recover from injuries that would otherwise be fatal.”

“So… I wasn’t really dead?”

“You were–but not fully.”

She looked at me carefully before continuing.

“To truly die, all three Life Spots must be destroyed simultaneously. If that does not happen, the Flow of Life will eventually repair the damage and restore the body.”

I slowly looked down at my hands.

“So that’s why I’m alive…”

“Precisely.”

I sat there in silence for a moment, trying to wrap my head around it.

“A world where you can’t die, huh…?”

Kia let out a quiet, pained chuckle.

“It is both a blessing and a curse.”

“A curse? How?”

Her smile faded slightly.

“Because not being able to die does not mean being unable to suffer.”

I didn’t know what to say. Just thinking about it—getting hurt like that and still remembering all the pain—made my stomach twist a little. Maybe living forever wasn’t as great as it sounded.

“Well then, I think it is best if we leave it at that. I reckon you must be feeling pretty tired right now. Take some much-needed rest, and I will see you tomorrow morning.”

Kia stood up and left, and I just lay there for a bit, staring at the ceiling. Eventually, I dragged myself to the bathroom. When I turned on the tub valve, Ignis started pouring out. I got undressed and waited for the tub to fill, then poked my toes in, just to make sure it wasn’t, you know, actual lava or something. It wasn’t. The bath felt really nice, actually. I could see why Kia liked it. For a while, it felt like all the stuff I’d been worrying about was just floating away.

“Ah, this is exactly what I needed.”

I lost track of time in the bath. It could’ve been half an hour, or maybe a lot longer. I wasn’t really in a hurry to check. When I finally got out, I dried off, pulled on underwear, brushed my teeth, and dove straight into bed.