Lady Luck Is A Tsundere

Oh great. Yet another unfamiliar ceiling. I think I should start applying for Guinness World Records. This ceiling was different from anything I've seen before though. A vast dome of crystalline glass that filtered sunlight into gentle, prismatic rays that danced across my vision. The rays seemed to pulse with a rhythm that matched my heartbeat, creating patterns too intricate to be accidental yet too organic to be designed.

I blinked, trying to clear the fog from my mind. My body felt strangely weightless, as if I were floating just above the surface of the bed rather than lying on it.

"He lives!" came a familiar voice, thick with mock dramatics. "The heroic protagonist awakens after his valiant collapse!"

I turned my head to find Finn slouched in a chair beside my bed, his feet propped up on my mattress. Despite his jovial tone, the dark circles under his eyes betrayed his exhaustion. His uniform was rumpled as if he'd been sitting there for hours, maybe longer.

"How long was I out?" I croaked, my throat feeling like I'd swallowed sand.

"Long enough for me to compose your eulogy," Finn replied, handing me a cup filled with shimmering liquid. "Two days, give or take. You missed all the boring orientations, so consider yourself lucky."

I nearly choked on the drink. "Two days? Are you serious?"

"As serious as Professor Gravitas's facial expression." He mimicked a stern, unblinking stare that's probably very accurate. "You went down like a felled tree at the end of Zephyr's speech. Face-first, I might add. No graceful swoon for Asher Ardent."

I groaned, both at the mental image and the dull ache that pulsed through my body as memories of the trials flooded back.

"What happened after I passed out?" I asked, pushing myself to a sitting position. My muscles protested, but the pain was far less than it should have been after what we'd endured.

Finn's expression shifted to something more genuine. "Zephyr wrapped up his little welcome speech, basically told us that everything we just survived was a gentle warm-up for what's to come. Said the real challenges of Arcanis would make the trials look like a pleasant stroll through a garden." He smiled wryly. "You know, standard encouraging educator stuff."

I snorted. "Sounds motivational."

"Oh, it gets better," Finn continued, leaning forward. "He said that our success wasn't just about raw talent or magical power, but about our ability to 'transcend imposed limitations.' Then he looked right at you—unconscious you, mind you—and said something about how sometimes the greatest magic manifests when we stop fighting against our nature."

That last part made me pause. "He said that while looking at me specifically?"

"Dead-on stare, like he was seeing through you." Finn shrugged. "Then he waved his hand, and next thing we know, we're all being teleported to this place. Most students were healed and released within hours. You, however, decided to take a vacation."

I looked around properly for the first time, taking in my surroundings. The infirmary was unlike any healing ward I'd ever seen. The beds weren't arranged in rigid rows but in flowing circular patterns, each with ample space and privacy. The walls seemed to be composed of living crystal that pulsed with a gentle blue radiance. Plants with luminescent leaves and flowers grew from elegantly curved alcoves, their vines twining along the walls in patterns that somehow reminded me of anatomical diagrams; veins, arteries, nerve pathways.

"This place is..." I struggled to find the right word.

"Excessive? Pretentious? A clear overcompensation for something?" Finn offered.

"I was going to say 'beautiful,'" I countered, "but your words work too."

He grinned. "That's the Academy of Arcanis for you. Nothing can just be functional, it has to be transcendentally, mind-bendingly functional."

A soft chime echoed through the chamber, and I noticed the plants stirring as if responding to the sound. The crystalline walls pulsed more vibrantly, and the air grew heavy with the scent of herbs and what I could only describe as pure vitality.

"Ah," Finn said, sitting up straighter and removing his feet from my bed. "Her Radiance approaches."

"Her who?"

Before Finn could answer, a figure materialized at the foot of my bed, not through conventional walking, but through a gentle coalescence of the light itself. One moment there was empty space, the next stood a woman whose presence filled the room like sunlight after a storm.

Her skin glowed with a golden luminescence that made her appear lit from within. Her hair, an impossible shade somewhere between silver and the palest blue, flowed around her as if suspended in water, defying gravity's constraints. Her eyes were the most striking feature, irises that continuously shifted through every imaginable shade of green, from the palest jade to the deepest emerald.

When she spoke, her voice carried hints of flowing water and rustling leaves. "Asher Ardent," she said, my name sounding like a diagnosis on her lips. "You have tested the limits of my domain."

I blinked, unsure how to respond to that. "I... sorry?"

A smile touched her lips, transforming her ethereal countenance into something almost human. "No apology necessary. Your injuries were... interesting. Most students suffer physical trauma, magical depletion, or mental strain. You, however, experienced a unique form of systemic collapse that affected your very connection to probability itself."

I glanced at Finn, who mouthed the words told you so with exaggerated emphasis.

"I'm Lady Althea," she continued, "The personification of Vitality and Restoration." She moved closer, and I noticed that her feet didn't quite touch the ground. "Your recovery has been fascinating to observe. Your body heals according to patterns I have never witnessed before, random cellular regeneration that should be inefficient yet somehow achieves optimal results through the most chaotic pathways imaginable."

"Um, thank you?" I ventured, not entirely sure if being a medical curiosity was a compliment.

Lady Althea laughed, a sound like wind chimes and flowing streams. "You are most welcome, Asher Ardent. And you are also cleared to leave my domain. Your body is healed, though your connection to your... unique abilities may fluctuate for a few days." She fixed her ever-changing eyes on me with sudden intensity. "I would advise against any strenuous magical activity until your internal patterns stabilize."

With that cryptic warning, she dissolved back into light, leaving behind only a lingering scent of herbs and honey.

"Well," I said after a moment of stunned silence, "that was…"

"Excessive? Pretentious?" Finn suggested with a grin.

"I'm sensing a theme in your observations."

I changed quickly, relieved to be out of the infirmary gown and back in regular clothing, though 'regular' was perhaps the wrong word. The uniform was unlike anything I'd worn before: deep blue fabric that seemed to absorb and refract light simultaneously, with silver threading that formed subtle arcane patterns across the cuffs and collar. It fit perfectly, tailored specifically for me.

"Ready for the grand tour?" Finn asked as I laced up the boots that had been provided. "Fair warning: your jaw will drop so many times today, you might strain something Lady Althea didn't heal."

"Lead the way," I said, standing on legs that felt surprisingly steady. "I can't wait to see what all the fuss is about."