The roar of the crowd was deafening, a wave of human emotion that washed over the coliseum and surged toward the man standing in the center. David William, the "Scourge of the William family," was now a hero. They chanted his name, their voices thick with a mixture of awe and disbelief. They had come to witness a public humiliation, and instead, they had been a part of history. The defeat of Prince Valerius, the "Silver-Tongued Serpent," was a victory for every commoner, every upstart, and every legend that had ever been scorned.
But David heard none of it. All he could feel was the warmth of Elisa's arms around him, a fierce, tight hug that was both a shield from the noise and a lifeline to a world he was only just beginning to understand. He was numb with exhaustion and pain, his mana core throbbing with a dull ache that was a brutal reminder of his victory. The golden lines on his skin, a remnant of his aetheric breakthrough, had returned, now a deep, burning crimson.
Elisa finally pulled back, her face a mixture of immense relief and tears. She was glowing, not just from the cheers, but from the raw pride in her eyes. "You did it," she whispered again, her voice thick with emotion. "You really did it."
David simply nodded, his eyes fixed on her. The public hug, the tears, the sheer, unbridled emotion—it was all so foreign to him. He was a man who had built his life on emotional walls and solitude. He had never been hugged like this. He had never been looked at like this.
A tall, familiar figure broke through the jubilant crowd. It was Prince Arion, Elisa's brother. His expression was no longer one of wary concern, but of grudging respect. He stopped a few feet away, observing the torn tunic, the disheveled hair, and the faint, glowing lines on David's skin.
"Master David," Arion began, his voice surprisingly formal. "Your victory was... unprecedented. You have not only defended my sister's honor, but you have brought a glory to the Snowess Kingdom that has not been seen in generations. My family, the Winston's, are in your debt."
David offered no response, his gaze still fixed on Elisa.
"My brother is a man of few words," Elisa said with a small, playful smile. "He doesn't do 'thank you' very well."
Arion's stoic facade cracked for a second. "I have no words for this, Elisa. A **Transformation Five Mage** was defeated by… by a strategist and a man with a genius for building rocks." His eyes met David's, a hint of genuine awe in them. "You are an enigma, Master David. My kingdom will be watching you."
With a final, respectful nod, Arion turned and departed, leaving them once more in their own private bubble amidst the roaring crowd. The moment was gone. The politics of it all, the grand display, the public acclaim—it was all a blur. All that was left was the two of them.
Elisa took his hand, her touch surprisingly firm. "Come on. We can't stay here. The crowds will never let you go. And besides," she said with a mischievous glint in her eyes, "you look like you're about to fall over."
He was. The adrenaline was fading, replaced by a crushing wave of fatigue. The pain in his mana core, a dull ache just moments ago, was now a sharp, searing fire. He allowed her to lead him away, through a side gate and into a waiting carriage.
The ride to the palace was quiet. David sat in a corner, his head resting against the velvet cushions, his eyes closed. The victory felt hollow. It was a culmination of a lifetime of pain, and it only served to remind him of how far he had come from the "waste" of a child he used to be. But the satisfaction was fleeting, replaced by the reality of his body screaming in protest.
Elisa watched him, her hand hovering over his arm, a worried expression on her face. "Are you alright?" she whispered.
David simply shook his head, too exhausted to speak.
They arrived at the royal palace and slipped in through a private entrance, avoiding the throngs of people who would undoubtedly be waiting for them. Elisa led him to a small, private study, a room with a soft sofa and a lit fireplace. It was warm, and it was safe.
"Rest here," she said, her voice soft and full of concern. "I'll send for a healer."
David managed a pained laugh. "A healer? My path... it's not something a healer can fix. They would just be confused."
"Don't be a fool," she retorted, her tone hardening. "You're bleeding from your nose and your mouth. And those lines on your skin are glowing a deeper red than before. That's not a good sign."
He tried to stand up, to show her he was fine, but a wave of dizziness hit him. His legs buckled, and he would have collapsed if not for Elisa catching him. He fell to his knees, his body trembling, and he could no longer hold back the truth.
"It's not… it's not just mana strain," he said, his voice raspy with pain. "My mana core… it's been torn and put back together. It's the cost of my path. Every time I break through, every time I use its full power… my body pays for it. It's not a wound that can be healed. It's a consequence of the Aetheric Flux."
His vision blurred, and he felt the familiar rush of consciousness fading. The last thing he saw was Elisa's face, filled with a mixture of immense sadness and deep, profound empathy. The public triumph, the defeat of his enemy, the roar of the crowd… it all felt so insignificant in that moment. All that mattered was the quiet, terrifying reality of his own broken body.
When he woke, he was lying on the soft sofa, a warm blanket covering him. Elisa was sitting in a chair beside him, her head in her hands. The tears were gone, replaced by a quiet, fierce determination that was even more terrifying.
"You've been in and out of consciousness for six hours," she said, her voice a low murmur. "I sent for a healer, but as you predicted, they were baffled. They said your mana core is a contradiction of all the laws of magic. They said they've never seen anything like it. It's... beautiful, but impossibly broken."
David simply stared at the ceiling, the pain a constant reminder of his lonely struggle. "It's a broken path for a broken man. I told you, Your Highness. I am not a genius. I am a desperate man who learned how to be powerful with nothing but pain."
"You are not a broken man," Elisa said, her voice firm. She stood up and walked to the fireplace, her back to him. "You are the strongest person I have ever met. I've seen the way you fight. Not just with mana, but with your will. And I've seen the price you've paid."
She turned, her face resolute. "And I'm not going to let you pay it alone anymore. When I said I would help you, I meant it. You told me you needed a strategist. I was wrong. What you need is a partner."
David's breath hitched. A partner? He had never even considered the possibility. He had been so used to fighting alone, to living in the shadows of his own pain, that the idea of a partnership was alien to him.
"I am a **Transformation Four Mage**, but my knowledge of healing is not enough," she continued, her voice filled with a new, a more desperate urgency. "But my knowledge of the world... it's vast. I've spent years studying ancient texts, lost legends, and forbidden lore. There is a way. There has to be."
She walked to the desk and pulled out a leather-bound journal, its pages yellowed with age. "In the legends of the old world, before the guilds, there were whispers of ancient healers who did not just mend the body, but mended the soul. They were said to have access to something called the 'Wellspring of Life,' a place of primordial magic that could heal even the deepest aetheric wounds."
David's eyes widened. A wellspring? He had never heard of it, but the very thought of a place that could heal him… a place that could make his path less of a curse and more of a blessing… was intoxicating.
"This is not just about your next breakthrough," Elisa said, her eyes meeting his. "This is about your life. The next time you use your full power, the damage could be catastrophic. We have to find this place. We have to find a way to heal you."
David looked at her, at the fire in her eyes, at the determination in her voice, and for the first time, he felt something he had never expected to feel in this life. He felt… hope. And it was a much more terrifying, and much more wonderful, feeling than any power he had ever commanded.
"Alright," he said, his voice a low, gravelly sigh. "So, where do we start?"
Elisa's face broke into a relieved, beautiful smile. "We start with a map. An old, lost map that shows the way to the forgotten continent. This is no longer just a competition, Master David. This is an adventure. And we're going to face it together."
The cheers of the crowd had long faded, the victory of the duel now a distant memory. The real battle was just beginning. It was a journey into the unknown, a quest to heal a broken man and a broken path, all for the sake of a hope he was only just beginning to believe in.