"So, Seraphina. How is your mana now?"
Lira asked the question while sitting in the dining hall of the Golden Griffin. Evelyn and Kayla stood behind Seraphina while she sipped on her tea before putting it down slowly,
"It's good."
"Liar."
Lira stared at her as if she was staring into her soul.
"Your black mana is not mixing right with your original mana."
"Teacher! You promised you wouldn't see into me anymore!"
"And you promised me to send me letters but you didn't."
Seraphina gave a small smile before putting her hands together,
"I assume you heard then."
Lira nodded while Thorin was diligently hearing,
"I did. Your husband beating a demon…I say that's impossible and sorry for my language, but bullshit too."
"But it's not, teacher. My husband really did kill a demon. Two demons at that."
Lira raised both eyebrow in scepticism but also knew that she wasn't lying from the flow of her energy,
"Right…well enough chit chat. I am here to see that man and also to make sure your mana is properly regulated. Prince Thorin here also wants to see Vayne."
Seraphina cleared her throat, "Evelyn. Kayla."
Both of them walked forward and Seraphina gave them order,
"Bring the prince to see him. You may explain as well what happened to him if has any question."
Thorin was suspicious to say the least when he heard this.
Question? Why would I have questions? I just want to see him. How is he doing.
Hmmm, but it is weird he hasn't greeted me since I arrived. Is he sick or something?
Thorin stood from his chair and followed them.
"I'll see you in a bit, Lira."
The three of them left the hall, leaving Seraphina and Lira alone.
"So? What's really going on? I can't feel his mana flow from here. Is he…"
Seraphina shook her head, "He's not dead. Well, he was for abit but I managed to bring him back to life."
Lira immediately had a concerned look but never raised her voice, "You did what now!?"
Seraphina scratched her cheek, "I…somehow brought him back to life. I made an original spell where it allowed me to bring him back to life."
"Hmmm, but what is the cost? Your magic is tricky. Most of the time, magic don't require anything but mana and mental. But yours require perfect control of mana, mental and over your soul as well."
She put her finger on her chin, "The more powerful your spell, the more unstable your mental and soul become. So what did it cost?"
Seraphina looked uncomfortable and looked away from her. Lira was even more concerned now.
"Sera. What the hell did it cost? Why would you save a man who cheated on you!?"
Lira stood up and stretched her arm to cast a spell. It was a cancelling bubble, a spell design to isolate noise coming out from a specific area. She cast the spell around them and use her magic to close all the door and lock them.
"Seraphina. Please tell me the cost."
Seraphina clenched her teeth and gripped her dress. Lira kept looking at her and grew more concerned by the minute.
"This is Vayne we are talking about. The guy humila-"
"He's not Vayne! He's…not."
"What are you talking about? It's him! It's-"
"NO! It's…it's someone else. Someone else is inside the body. There's another soul in the body. His name is Aric…you probably can feel the disturbance inside his body. It's not Vayne…I would never sacrifice…myself for him…"
Lira grabbed her shoulders and made Seraphina look at her,
"Seraphina. What did you do? What was the drawback of the spell?"
"My…memories."
Lira was taken aback from this and unknowingly released her hands.
"Your…mem…ories?"
"The cost of bringing him back was…one of the happiest days of my life. Something I can't remember now but I can feel the gap in my memory. I can feel the emptiness when I try to find for that memory."
"What…did you…give up?"
"I don't know." Seraphina shook her head, "But it had something to do with Aric. Something important…"
Lira breathed in deeply and exhaled before asking more questions,
"Just one memory? That's not so bad…"
"No… there were two." Seraphina admitted after a pause.
"One involved Aric. The other…"
She hesitated, struggling to piece together fleeting sensations.
"All I can recall are bits and pieces."
"Okay, go on..."
"They were sound of bells ringing faintly in the background, the scent of chocolate lingering in the air. They felt significant, like moments I'd cherished deeply. But now…"
"Now they're gone. Every time I try to revisit them, my mind skips over the gaps, as if they never existed. The memory I lost with Aric...felt very soft. While the other...just felt something that I will never experience again."
"Hahaha...I don't know when Aric became such an important memory to me but...I can always make new ones no?"
Lira sank into a nearby chair, exhaling sharply as she processed this revelation.
"You sacrificed some of your happiest moments for him."
"I…had to. I wanted him back. He's impora-"
"And what about you, Seraphina?" Lira cut her off,
"What happens when those missing pieces turn out to matter later? When you realize you've lost something irreplaceable? What happens when you regret it?"
Seraphina frowned, "I don't regret it. Not really. I just… feel empty. Like part of me is missing, but I can't even remember why it mattered. Ah, I meant like I'm not sad you know."
"Is that so?" Lira stared at her for a long moment before reaching out to grasp her arm gently.
"Then explain this."
She raised a hand to point at Seraphina's cheek.
"Explain what, teacher? I don't get it. I'm not sad about anything it's just..."
Lira guided Seraphina's hand to touch her own face. Seraphina felt confused as she felt the dampness beneath her fingertips.
"Eh?"
*******************************************************************
Thorin stood infront of Aric who was still in the coma. His heart felt a little sting seeing the man he called a good friend.
"So…you're saying that, Aric may never wake up?"
Evelyn nodded, "Yes. We don't know how to heal him. We have tried every single trick that we know of and we cannot find anything to heal him."
Hearing this, Thorin felt guilty for some reason. Maybe he thought that Aric deserved better. Thorin touched Aric's chest that was going up and down slowly,
"You know, Aric, I always knew you were different. Remember that night we stayed up talking? You told me crazy things like how your world doesn't have magic. But somehow, you all found ways to do incredible stuff anyway. Faster travel, instant communication…"
Evelyn immediately picked on up on the cue and gestured Kayla to immediately leave the room and give Thorin some space. They both left the room with soft steps and shut the door with no noise.
He chuckled softly. "That Wi-Fi thing you mentioned sounded insane, but now I kind of wish we had it here. Imagine being able to talk to anyone, anywhere, anytime. Hell, I'd settle for just having it to check in with you once I'm back home."
He paused, glancing around the room as if searching for something. Then he continued,
"And speaking of home, my kingdom loves your inventions. Especially the heated floors. People say it's the best way to unwind after a long day of work. Even my father admitted they're useful."
Thorin smiled faintly, but the expression faded as he leaned back in his chair.
"Actually, I brought someone with me this time. Someone special. She's currently with your wife but I think you'd like her. She's sharp-tongued and stubborn, but deep down, she's got a heart of gold. Kind of reminds me of you, actually."
He rubbed the back of his neck, looking uncharacteristically nervous.
"You gave me the push I needed, you know? Seeing you do things even when everyone else hates you, it made me realize I could do the same. Start fighting for what matters. So yeah, I've been working up the nerve to propose to her. Figured if you can rebuild a whole town, I can at least try to build a life worth living."
Thorin sighed, "It's funny. Most people wouldn't expect a dwarf to take advice from a human, let alone the prince of dwarves. But here I am, sitting here hoping you'll wake up so we can share another drink. Just like that night in your room."
"So yeah, wake up soon, alright? There's still so much we have to talk about…"
There was a twitch near his fingers. Thorin saw the twitch and felt confused but also intrigued. He leaned in closer and thanks to his hyper focus self, he noticed something else.
It was very faint but the raven black hair of Aric, started to change in colour.
"What the…?"
At first he doubted himself and played it off as something a trick from his mind but the more the minute passed by, the more noticeable his hair colour was changing.
"Shit. I have to get Lira!"
He dashed towards the door and yelled,
"LIRA! SERAPHINA! SOMETHING IS HAPPENING TO HIM!"
As he heard the sound of chairs being moved from below, he turned back to see Aric and saw that his hair, was becoming white.