The operating room buzzed with a grim energy, gauze pads heavy with blood were discarded into a biohazard container.

Leonel was stretched out, as pale as the sheet beneath him, lost in a haze where steel pins were meticulously inserted into his flesh.

He drifted back to a memory, only sixteen, lying next to Alexis under the trailing lights of a meteor, Cordelia in the vision with them.

Back in the present, on the sterile bed, Leonel's hand twitched involuntarily.

He attempted to move his legs, a futile effort.

Meanwhile, Alexis, ensconced in the VIP ward, found herself ensnared by the same vision. Awakening with tears streaming down her cheeks, she searched the room, slowly recalling the events that led her there.

Rena was at her side in a heartbeat, clutching her hand. "Alexis?"

Her voice raspy with concern, Alexis managed to ask, “Leonel, Cordelia~ where are they?"

Rena's heart clenched as she pondered Leonel's plight, her voice wavering ever so slightly. “Cordelia's unharmed. And Leonel- just a few bruises. He's left the hospital earlier. There was urgent business, seemingly a trip overseas."

Alexis, taken aback for a moment, processed the update.

He was alright, merely away on work.

She sank back into the pillow, a whisper of relief escaping her.

“That's good."

Rena brought over a glass of water, her hands shaking slightly-a silent witness to her inner turmoil.

Alexis' voice was barely above a breath. "I dreamt of us, under the stars, back when we were sixteen. Do you think we could ever recapture what we've built?"

Rena set the glass beside her, her own voice soft with contemplation.

"Alexis, perhaps when you're better, we could explore the world together?"

With that, Alexis found comfort resting against Rena's supportive presence.

As evening fell and Rena succumbed to her own exhaustion, Alexis was left to her thoughts, absorbing the day's events through the lens of the latest news articles.

Uncertainty gnawed at Alexis. Answers eluded her, but one thing she craved was the reassurance of Leonel's wellbeing.