"This man's misfortune has reached even the blind. He has cried so much that he may as well have no sight to see in his next life.
Dear brother.. if you must see, please find someone else foolish enough to guide you."
The man in question could only cough up a mouthful of blood in response.
The other sighed, the sound catching in his chest so it came out more like a groan. "Forget it.." His voice trailed off weakly. "There's no such thing..." He finally said.
Then came the enveloping silence. There was no sarcastic follow-up, no more labored breathing. The man's eyes watered, but no tears came. They stung at first, as he shut his eyes, then his mind faded into the nothingness.
Until he coughed again, sharp and sudden.
But instead of the dull salty tang of blood, another bitter taste filled his mouth. He leaned over the bed and threw up, before lying down on his back. He groaned, eyes tightly shut.
His chest still ached, but air freely moved in and out again. And the surface beneath him wasn't hard anymore, he noticed.
A dream? I can still dream in the afterlife?
He opened his eyes and looked forward. The lighting was poor, but he was clearly in a small room. He could make out a row of shelves that had bottles of different shapes and sizes, along with books. Lots of books.
After adjusting his eyes to awake mode for some seconds, he turned to the side. To his surprise, there was a man seated quietly, small bottle in hand, gaze fixed on him. He jolted and coughed violently again.
"Hey! Be careful!" The stranger chastised. "You already vomited your medicine out, do you want to damage your rib cage further?! Fucking careless brat!" He hissed.
"Why were you just silently watching!?" He was startled, but tried to assess the situation.
The person certainly sounded like they were familiar with him, but he couldn't place a finger on that pale, almond-shaped face at all. He would definitely remember someone so handsome that his handsome features permeated the bad lighting. He didn't know whether to apologize or just pretend. They obviously seemed to care a lot about him, despite the vulgar way of speaking— sitting by his bed, feeding him his (unnecessarily bitter) medicine while he slept, and all.
Wait.. Medicine? Bed? Sleep? He blinked.
"What the hell is going on? I.. I didn't.. Huh?"
They cocked an eyebrow. "Didn't? We don't have all day, finish your words." Then they gasped slightly. "But Eryn said you didn't have any brain damage.." They suddenly looked very worried and deep in thought.
"What? Who? And didn't I just die? I'm confused."
A look of understanding instantly crossed Nix's features. "I knew it! You tried to commit suicide! Kaelen, just because Master was a little mean to you, you try to kill yourself?! Are you trying to implicate him?" He slammed the little bottle, probably containing the medicine, on the bedside table.
"You jump to the craziest conclusions, don't you." He deadpanned, then wondered again.
Kae..len? Who is that?
This guy seems a bit triggered by questions, but I still need to know what's going on.
"Okay, alright, look. Maybe I have brain damage, but I really am confused here, help me out and stop getting mad, okay?! I'm the one on bed rest here.. so.. it would be nice if you answered some things for me.. like what's my name? What's your name? What am I doing here? What in the world happened? And no, it wasn't suicide, I think."
"If you can't remember, then how would you know?" He crossed his arms. They stared at each other, until he finally rolled his eyes, huffed a breath and stood up from the stool. He walked into a joined room and came back out shortly after, with a rag and a bowl of water. His handsome face held a twisted expression, with eyebrows knitted and lips slightly pouting.
He answered, while he wiped the vomit off of the floor. "You're Kaelen Veyne. I'm your older brother, Nix. What are you doing here? Well, after you were found passed out under a mountain far away from home with a broken rib, you were brought here for treatment. Eryn, our younger brother, is training as a guild physician... How can you not even remember him?" He grumbled the last sentence and stood up to put everything back, having finished cleaning.
"Thank you." He only grunted in acknowledgment of the thanks. "So.. where are we, exactly?" Nix returned and took a seat once more.
"The Sanctum Vitae. It's the most famous healer's guild. You've been here for four days now. They were the ones who found you at Silverthorn mountain. Miles away from Starlit Order, might I add." Seeing Kaelen's confused expression, he added. "That's our guild, Starlit Order." Kaelen nodded.
"I think I get the picture now. Somewhat. Before anything else, who brought me here? I'd like to thank them first."
"Don't bother with formalities. Your impressive brother already did the needful." He replied haughtily, and folded his shoulders with a smirk. Then his face turned serious and he lowered his voice, "I know that the only reason they didn't kill you on the spot was because of Master, anyway. No need to thank these bastards."
Hearing that, goosebumps appeared on Kaelen's forearms and his body ran hot and cold at the same time.