The glow brightened slowly, and Sonder watched it in silence.
A warmth spread from her side, impossible to ignore, and her mind filled with worry.
Something had happened to Vell.
She placed her hand over the light.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the warmth shifted, and the light pulsed once.
A voice followed.
It did not come through the air but from inside her, through the rib itself.
"Blackbird," the voice said, flat and even.
The Yellow Mage.
She lowered her gaze.
There was a brief pause, as if the Yellow Mage had been considering how to phrase the next words.
"I am informing you that another goddess's tear has been used."
Sonder's hand tightened slightly against her side.
"How is he?" she asked, though she wasn't sure if he could hear her.
The answer came without hesitation.
"His condition has deteriorated further."
That tore at her heart.
"How?"
"Shall I describe it?"
The Yellow Mage's voice remained calm.
"His physical stability continues to decline. As I have said before, the previous tear slowed the degradation but did not reverse it. I administered another tear approximately two hours ago. And waited for the signs of its effect."
"And?"
"The result was temporary stabilization."
That was not a good answer.
Sonder already understood that.
"His appearance has changed. Loss of his usual youthful traits. His hair pigmentation is darkening. His skin elasticity has decreased. There are wrinkle formations around his eyes and mouth. In simple terms, he looks older."
"How much older?"
"I'd say about fifteen or twenty years beyond his usual state, in human terms. His mana is unstable. It has decreased in overall capacity, but there are surges that exceed even a hundred times what I could conjure. I am not capable of judging power beyond that."
Sonder exhaled slowly.
"I see."
She wasn't going to pretend to know what it all meant, but it was clear that it wasn't good.
The Yellow Mage continued.
"There have been no observable signs of recovery."
Silence stretched for a few seconds.
"If anything," the mage added, "the rate of deterioration appears to be increasing."
"And this is the second time you needed to use a tear?"
"Yes."
"Only one remains."
"Yes. I will continue monitoring his condition, and if there is nothing else, this will be the end of our conversation. As I had to create the rib in such haste, I cannot place it under too much strain. Keep it short, simply said."
Another pause passed between them.
Then the mage added one more statement.
"What about your progress? Have you found the shards you were looking for?"
"Some, but not all of them."
She turned it over in her head.
"I think that when put together, they have a lot of power, but I worry about actually using it."
"It would be Vell's best chance. Or else he will just waste away. Perhaps that would be for the best. It is your choice."
The light faded from her rib and that was the end of their conversation.
It left Sonder with little hope.