Aurelion's eye fluttered open. He blinked a few times, his mind slowly returning from the depths of a dreamless sleep.
He pushed the blanket aside and sat up. "What happened?" he murmured, looking at his hands. A flicker of disbelief crossed his face. "Did I... fall asleep?"
He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. His muscles... the sharp pain from the day before had subsided into a manageable ache.
He went to his wardrobe, pulled out a pair of dark trousers and a shirt, and got dressed. He then went to the bathroom to wash his face. He looked at his reflection in the mirror. They hadn't re-bandaged him. "My wounds must be fully healed," he concluded, splashing cold water on his face.
He headed downstairs. As he reached the living room, he saw Roric, Brynja, and Sigrid sitting on the couches. Facing them, with her back to him, was a blonde woman. His gaze swept over her, and then he saw it. A pair of glasses tucked neatly behind her ear.
A thought sparked in his mind. "Is it her?"
Just then, the woman, noticing the others' gazes had shifted to the doorway, turned her head.
The woman turned her head, and Aurelion's suspicion was confirmed.
As soon as she saw him, she moved quickly, a look of deep concern on her face as she approached him while her eyes fixed on his wounded eye. She stopped a few steps away.
"May I see, Aurelion?" she asked.
Aurelion stared at her. "It has been a long time, Mistress Linnea," he said. He then added, "No. You may not look."
"Aurelion, just let me," Linnea ask. "I can do something."
"Brat. Let her look," Roric's voice came from the couch.
"What would even change if she looked, Captain?" Aurelion shot back without turning. "Even if she could heal my eye, my energy would not allow it. And neither would I."
"Aurelion, I know you are angry with me, and I know I cannot heal this wound," Linnea said. "But I promise you, if you let me examine it, I can find a way for your eye."
"No, Linnea," Aurelion said, his tone final. "If this wound is going to be healed, I will be the one who do it."
"I want to examine it so that you can do it. Please, let me," she insisted, and took a step closer.
Aurelion stood his ground, his single eye watching her approaching hand.
As her fingers neared his face, Aurelion's brow furrowed. Black sparks of lightning crackled to life from his ruined left eye, lashing out and striking Linnea's hand.
Linnea gasped in surprise and quickly pulled her hand back, looking at it. There were small red marks on her skin where the sparks had hit.
From the couch, Roric frowned at the sight of the black lightning.
"I am not giving permission because I do not want to," Aurelion said. "And because I do not want to, my energy does not give permission either, Mistress Linnea."
Linnea looked from her hand to his eye, and then a small smile touched her lips. "So this is what the energy we didn't let you use back then has become, Aurelion," she said.
"You've gotten stronger."
"Still not enough," Aurelion replied.
"I know," Linnea said. "We'll see each other later, Aurelion." She turned her back to him. "Captain, with your permission, I will take my leave. There are some things I must do."
Roric nodded and stood up. "You can come whenever you wish, Mistress Linnea."
"Thank you, Captain," Linnea said. She gave a nod to Brynja and Sigrid. "You have taken good care of him." With that, she walked out.
Brynja and Sigrid watched the woman leave. Aurelion, however, had already turned and was heading for the kitchen.
As Aurelion headed for the kitchen, Sigrid and Brynja looked at Roric. He gave a slight nod, and the maids followed the boy.
Aurelion was sitting at the table when Brynja spoke. "Your encounter with Mistress Linnea went better than I expected."
"Were you expecting me to attack her or something?" Aurelion asked without looking up.
Brynja hesitated. "No."
Aurelion paused for a moment. "I'm angry with her," he said. "But... I don't hate her."
"I understand," Brynja said softly, as Sigrid placed the first plate of freshly cooked food on the table.
As Aurelion took his first bite, he asked, "How did she find out about my eye?" He looked at Sigrid.
Sigrid's eyes darted involuntarily toward the living room, where Roric was. Brynja let out a faint sigh at her friend's lack of subtlety.
Aurelion noticed the glance. "I already guessed that," he said, and continued to eat.
Sigrid smiled, trying to lighten the mood. "So, how are you feeling, Aurelion? Soft as cotton, right?" She wiggled her fingers at him playfully.
"Better," Aurelion said curtly. Then he added, "You don't need to do it again."
"No," Brynja said firmly. "That won't do."
"You even fall a sleep, wasn't it nice?" Sigrid pressed on cheerfully. "Don't you want that again?"
Aurelion turned and gave Sigrid a withering glare. Brynja also shot a look at Sigrid.
"What?" Sigrid asked innocently.
"Don't wind him up too much, Sigrid," Brynja said. "The more tense he gets, the more work he'll be for us in the evening."
Aurelion turned away from them and focused on his food.
When Aurelion finished his meal, he left the kitchen. As he passed through the living room, Roric stood up. "Come to the training room, brat," he said.
Aurelion followed Roric.
When they entered the room, Roric asked, "What was that?"
"What?" Aurelion replied.
"The lightning," Roric said. "Normally, you make it blue. Why did black sparks come out of your eye when Linnea reached out her hand?"
"I'm not entirely sure," Aurelion admitted. "I think it's related to my eye. The first time I used it was when I was killing that spider, after I killed the goblin chief."
"Do it again," Roric commanded.
Aurelion raised his hand and tried to summon the black lightning, but only the normal blue sparks appeared. He frowned, looking at his hand, then turned back to Roric.
"What were you feeling when you attacked the spider?" Roric asked.
Aurelion thought for a moment, and as the memory returned, his expression hardened with anger. "I was furious," he said. "I wanted to tear them all to pieces." As he spoke, the sparks in his hand seemed to darken for a moment before returning to their normal blue.
Both Aurelion and Roric noticed it.
"You're angry with Linnea, too, aren't you?" Roric stated.
Aurelion just nodded, continuing to stare at the blue sparks before looking back at Roric.
"So... that's your Law," Roric said, a look of realization on his face.
Aurelion smirked slightly. "The Law of Nervous Breakdown, you mean."
"More like the Law of Wrath," Roric corrected him. "I thought you would be weaker than before because of your eye, but being influenced by a Law more than closes that gap."
He then smirked himself. "For a single, weak goblin to cut your eye must have made you quite angry for this Law to be triggered."
Aurelion's jaw tightened at the comment, and the sparks in his hand darkened again, more noticeably this time.
Roric gestured toward the sparks with his eyes. Aurelion grumbled, shook his hand, and the sparks vanished. "So it really was because of a damned goblin," he muttered in disgust.
"The Law of Wrath, then," he said. "Are you sure, Captain?"
"We'll be sure in time," Roric replied. "You've learned the name of the Law you possess. You tell me. Do you think this is it?"
"The Law of Wrath... The Law of Wrath..." Aurelion thought to himself.
"It could... be," he said finally.
"Yes, it could be," Roric said. "It suits you."
"Then how can I better develop myself in this Law, Captain?" Aurelion asked.
"Laws that represent an emotion can be developed with that emotion, brat," Roric said with a dry smirk. "If a few more goblins cut up some more of your parts, your Understanding might increase."
Aurelion just stared at him.
"You will understand it better yourself, with time," Roric said, his tone becoming serious once again. "There is no need to rush." He walked to the side of the room and gestured to twelve iron balls that were hanging from the ceiling.
Aurelion looked at the balls, then back at Roric.
"There is a Core inside each one," Roric explained. "You will compensate for the lack of vision in your left eye with your energy sense. Get between the balls." As he spoke, Roric tossed an eye patch to Aurelion. "Wear this."
Aurelion looked at the eye patch, and a slight smirk touched his lips. He then pulled the strap over his head and positioned the patch so that it covered his good, right eye.
"Let's begin, Captain,"