In the massive containment room, it was eerily quiet—well, it usually was, so there was no big conversation in that part of the day. But today was quite different. Today was the day Richard had bought the most expensive wine in the entire facility.

Why would that be? With the disgusting food cooked here, sure, if watching a Marked did not kill him, that bit surely would.

Richard had been the Awakened who saw Steven off into the realm, explaining the details needed for the young lad to complete the realm and secure a sponsor. And according to his job, he was particularly forced to stay here, despite being an Awakened himself, to watch Steven until he awoke from the Realm.

His gaze traced from his expensive bottle of wine toward the transparent containment room, where there on the cold metallic ground lay a pile of bones, with dirty clothes strapped loosely onto it... This was the cursed Cocoon.

According to human studies and proven experiences, all humans that entered the realms as Marked had their souls drawn out of their bodies, so the moment they entered the realm their bodies would collapse, skin and flesh alike decomposing within seconds, leaving nothing remaining but a pile of bones.

It was Richard’s job to watch this pile of bones until the Marked returned, or until the Marked perished.

When a Marked perished in the Realm of entry, its dead body became a portal for Shadow Eaters to cross over from the realm into the human world, making that Marked an Husk, and also a ticking time bomb.

It was a scenery that could not be explained, only seen with one’s own two eyes.

At this moment, Richard found it more profitable for Steven to perish. At least then he would be able to go right into the containment cell and strike him down instead of waiting here like he did every single day.

"For crying out loud, it’s been over a month! Other Marked make it out of the realm in days!" Richard complained, raising the bottle in his hands and threatening to throw it away, though he dared not let it go flying into the air.

After all, he had spent a lot of money on it.

He sighed, reclining back into his chair and sighing again, ’I didn’t expect much from a peasant, especially from him, to last this long. He should have died in the first three days like the others, I step in and then snuff out his bones, as usual... But this idiot.’

Richard looked once again at Steven’s files. ’He’s pretty damn tough.’

During his time of boredom watching Steven for almost twenty-four hours a day, he had done a lot of digging and was able to find some crucial information about the lying bastard.

It wasn’t like Steven had no family or surname; he had just run away from home, for reasons that made Richard’s skin crawl anytime he thought of it. Still...

Richard’s eyes once again settled on the bones of the young Marked. "Even with how much you hate your family, you are still compelled to live for them."

Richard’s lips curved slightly, recalling more about Steven’s files. "How stupid... can’t believe I’m getting all sappy." He frowned at the bottle in his grasp. "Must be the wine..."

A magnificent grey light shone from across the room at the containment cell, catching Richard’s sight. He quickly got up, clenching his fist as he prepared for the worst and then...

The skeletal figure of the young man did not send out an outburst of Shadow Eaters, nor did it produce any negative reactions that would have worried Richard. Instead, skin began to form all around the bones, slowly clothing it in a weird and grotesque way. Richard, if not for the horrors he had seen in the realms, would have bent over and puked out his wine.

Then in the end, in the place of the skeleton, was Steven; the young man sitting upright, with a bright, uncanny grin plastered across his expression.

"Finally, a decent cage," he mused.

Richard snickered at Steven’s remark. "It took you long enough, Steven. Or should I say, Awakened Steven."

Steven smiled halfheartedly. He was glad for one thing as finally, he was back in the human world, though still not free from the harshness of reality.

---

After Steven returned from the realm, he was taken out of the cage, and Richard led him out, firstly to a part of the facility with clothes of the same color but different sizes. Total black joggers and a blue sweatshirt with writing on it that said outspokenly:

"The Military is your friend."

Steven scoffed at this. "Fat chance."

Still, he accepted the clothing and was led into a bathroom where he had the hottest bath he had gotten in a while. Who could have thought warm water gave such a soothing degree of relief after sleeping on cold, hard ground violated by the smell of piss and—

And there was the soap. It smelled like flowers and a strange hint of chewing gum... Steven could have sworn he took a bite out of it in the delusion that it was as sweet as it smelled, well, it was not. Still, let’s call that a figment of our imagination and act as if we never heard it.

After leaving the bathroom and putting on the new clothing offered to him by Richard, they finally went somewhere Steven had been long awaiting.

A cafeteria.

Steven sat opposite Richard and they waited for a while before a few waiters came to the table, serving all manner of delicacies. All of it enthralled Steven to the point of literal drooling, as this was the first dish he had been served in a while that wasn’t the balls of some so-called self-glorified god.

Without waiting for permission, he began to dig in, welcoming the variety of tastes onto his tongue. It was exhilarating.

Richard did not eat any of the food; he only lingered for a moment until the wine arrived. Then he poured some into a cup, sipping and twirling the glass between his fingers as he watched Steven eat his fill.

After a while, he spoke. "I am Awakened Richard, since we weren’t properly introduced. Now that you are done being a Marked, I am to guide you on what comes next."

Steven froze for a moment and stared at Richard before continuing to eat, not bothering to give him his full attention until he had his fill.

Richard nodded to this and sighed. "So, would you like to fill me in on what happened in your first realm?"

Steven stopped, chewing slowly before swallowing the remnant of food in his mouth. Placing a hand under his chin, he sat and thought for a moment before replying.

"Well, I was hung, fought a Dreadling, met a Cohort, killed a fucking fat god, killed a few people, and then killed a disaster."

Richard did not look impressed. No! Rather, he could not believe half of the information Steven had just said. Many wouldn’t, especially when it came from the mouth of a peasant.

"Okay, I guess," Richard continued, dropping his wine glass and acting as if he had never heard Steven’s absurd feats. "Now I’ll explain your situation as a half-Awakened."

Steven’s face paled at that. "Wait... half-Awakened?"

***Author’s note***

King Beast Art!