Elydes-Chapter 316: Picking up the Pieces

Chapter 316 - Picking up the Pieces

A spark of consciousness stirred in the depths of oblivion. Once aware of itself, the rise became inevitable, dragged by insistent pain and confusion.

Kai mourned the fleeting rest.

Every muscle, ligament and mana channel hurt as if they had been pulled through a grinder and just stopped bleeding. A dull throb split his head—likely skill strain. His thoughts waded through a swamp to connect.

What the hell did I do?

Untangling himself from the sheets and blankets, he pulled up on his elbows. Soreness made him huff a groan. It took him several tries to lift his back on the headboard of the bed and adjust the pillows.

How—

Underground tunnels. His lungs heaved cold air to run. They were being chased. The cultists. A fight… Mist. Blood. A woman with crimson eyes and a lot of pain. He was burning alive. Then sinking…

Did we… escape?

Nothing made sense.

The thick curtains on the window left the room in darkness. Kai brought his hands close to see—he wasn’t chained or constrained by any enchantment. The sheets were scratchy but clean, the mattress lumpy but warm. Only sharp pain stopped him from using the mana in his veins.

Where am I?

Kai spun the spatial ring with his thumb—everything was still inside. The room seemed to belong to an inn. How had he gotten here? He remembered throwing Rain into the lake and fainting beside that crazy woman.

Did I escape that monster? Is this part of some twisted game? A skill or ritual I—

“Kai?” A figure roused in the shadows beside the bed, her voice hoarse. When she stood, a chair creaked, wood on wood. “Kai? Are you awake?”

The bright light from a crystal made him squint. When his vision refocused, Kea stood a palm from his face, eyes red and puffy. Her lips parted in hesitant relief as if seeing a ghost.

“Yeah… I’m awake.” Kai relaxed upon seeing her face—she was safe. That meant Flynn, Mari and Niel probably were too. He’d deal with the aftermath later.

I must find a cure for Niel. I could ask Reishi… or Valela for help…

Whatever bout of Luck let them escape, he felt overwhelming gratitude.

“Hey, it’s okay, Kea. I’m alive. Just a little sore.” Kai shuffled back under the intense scrutiny and took the glass of water that was thrust upon him. He didn’t realize how thirsty he was till he downed it. “Are you alright? Also, my name’s Mat.” He added, setting the glass aside.

Kea nodded and rubbed her eyes with a sleeve; his words didn’t seem to register. “I’m happy you’re fine. I… I was worried. The healer said there was nothing they could do for you except wait. But you didn’t wake up for four days and I…”

Excuse me?

Kai sat straighter, sore abs protesting. Any movement that sped the mana in his veins sent new waves of pain. How had he slept that long?

And I still feel like shit…

“I’m… I’m sorry.” Kea fell back into the chair, hands folded in her lap. “I shouldn’t have trusted Caeli. Or Caeden…” She gazed at the window as if it weren’t covered. “I thought I could handle it, but I couldn’t… my mess almost got you killed. If you hadn't come, we’d all be dead. Or worse…”

“It’s… alright.” Kai stretched an arm to pat her, unsure how to react.

Irritation had long left him. Staying in Limgrell was reckless, but he couldn’t blame her. Who would imagine a pair of siblings had joined her group for months, woven a fake friendship, all to use them as pawns for a cult? It was too deranged to consider. And if Kea had realized the manipulation and tried to leave, things might have turned out worse.

You can’t reason with crazy.

“I’m just happy we made it out. No one could have predicted—”

“Hmm,” Kea extended her arms around him in an awkward hug. “I’m also glad you’re okay.” She patted his elbow twice and jerked back, face flustered. “I—I should probably go tell Flynn and Rain you woke up. I’ve promised to tell them. They were so anxious.”

Before Kai could get in another word, she retreated to the door, fumbled with the brass knob and ran out.

Hmm… that happened.

He might make a more acute realization if his head weren't pounding. As things stood, a blinking notification captured his attention.

C’mon, out with it!

*Ding*

You’ve been granted a Feat for your actions:

Slippery Investigator: You’ve uncovered the culprits behind Limgrell’s disappearances and escaped the cultists’ hideout alive. You are awarded: 5 Favor!

Huh, I’ve gotten away…

It wasn’t some elaborate mind magic; he escaped and had the reward to show—more Favor.

Take that, Derrell!

His triumphant fistpump caused a spike of pain and immediate regret. Kai flopped on the pillows, waiting for the throbbing to fade.

This is just a coincidence. I’m still luckier!

Even breathing and getting excited hurt. How could he be so battered after days of rest?

I did overuse Spatial Shift to run…

The skill warned of a heavy strain that escalated with repeated casts. How long would this last? None of the potions in his ring could soothe bruised channels. And Kea said a healer had already visited him without success.

In his excitement over the new profession skills, he failed to consider that the price for abusing them would be just as high.

I wish someone had told me.

True, he would have recast Spatial Shift anyway, but still, why did nobody prepare him? Not Elijah, Dora, or his supposed friends. This was a good reason to complain and metaphorically shake his fist; the righteous indignation helped alleviate the pain.

If I got a feat for getting away, I should be safe from the cultists.

Looking for more distractions, Kai summoned his status.

Body stats

Boons:

Profession Skills:

General Skills:

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Not too shabby.

Nothing rewarded experience like flirting with a gruesome death—the Guide was consistent with that at least. Hallowed Intuition had grown by a whopping seven levels, and other skills made similar leaps. Shadow and Earth Magic had hit their first specialization, though choosing could wait till his mind didn’t throb.

It was crazy progress worthy of the craziest week of his life.

The XP from general skills flowed into his Race, while his Domain XP fully went into his profession. He didn’t regret the distribution. Each level in Favored Mystic of the Isles netted him six attributes, and he had already hit the first one.

He needed all the power he could get. How many monsters like Aela lurked on the mainland? Tens of thousands, or more?

I’ve gotten too comfortable with my advancement to Yellow.

In a life-or-death battle, no one cared if he wasn’t yet fifteen or a century old. Complaining was the privilege of the living, and he not only lacked strength but also the knowledge. His grasp on the applications of mana and professional skills was embarrassingly shallow; when he fought the cultists, he stumbled in the dark to guess at their abilities.

I cannot avoid dangers I ignore exist.

Bridging the gap to Green was an endeavor of several years, but he should at least know what to stay clear of. The encounter with Aela woke him up enough. Even with 91 Favor, he didn’t wish to tempt Fate more.

I got away…

Kai slowly massaged his temples. Now, he understood why people favored their profession over their grade. Even with Yellow ★★ relatively close, the next profession level was much closer.

And the return is better. I should at least get a couple more level—

The door swung open, letting two heads poke inside. Both brightened upon seeing him, a wide grin and a quieter smile.

“You’re awake!” Flynn reached his bed in two strides, eyes passing over him with a studious look.

Behind him, Rain closed the door and drew open the curtains. From the luminous pallor and shrouded buildings outside, they were still in Limgrell, sometime around noon.

“You made us all worry, sleepyhead.” Flynn stood back after finishing his inspection, his attempt at a stern expression defeated by his grin. “How’re you feeling? Do you need anything?”

“I’m okay.” Kai pushed back against the pillow to sit up. “Well… okay like I’ve swum through a storm and repeatedly slammed on shore. But alive.”

“Right… the usual then.” Flynn let out a sigh that mixed relief and exasperation. His hand reached over the bed to tap his head. “Maybe next time, think before wrecking your own body. The healer said you were a step away from doing permanent damage. You got lucky.”

Damn…

“I didn’t think it’d be so bad…” Kai tried to swat away the hand, but the spiking ache made his movement sluggish. “Can you stop it? Is this how you treat a patient?”

“Only the stubborn, very reckless ones. Hmm… if you’re not flinging spells back at me, you must be in real pain.” Flynn continued poking him with the zeal of a scientist on the brink of a revolutionary discovery. “You told me you’d safely get out, instead, you looked like a corpse when Rain brought you back. It scared me half to death.”

“I get it. I’m sorry.” Kai surrendered to the probing torment with a sulk. “I didn’t do it on purpose. It was the only way…” Remembering his questions, he turned to Rain. “Do you know what happened after I fainted? Did you carry me? What about that crazy woman? ”

Did he use some kind of siren artifact? Would that even work against a green grade?

“We… escaped into the lake. And the praetor didn’t follow.” Rain said dryly as if it was nothing much. “I couldn’t have gotten out without your help. I’m glad you’re fine. I tried to tell you the third blink was close enough to shore, but you didn’t seem to hear.”

“Yeah… It’s all a little fuzzy.” Kai scratched his head. “So you just carried me into the lake…?”

“He’s being modest.” Flynn elbowed Rain lightly. “Why don’t you tell it properly. Or do you want me to do it?”

“No.” Rain crossed his arms, his face pinkish. “She wasn’t taking us seriously, so I took advantage and scared her off.”

Kai arched an eyebrow. This was making less and less sense. “You scared her off…?” He sure respected his skills, but struggled to imagine that.

“Yes, I morphed into a siren and hummed a song,” Rain stared at his feet. “The lake wasn’t like being in the ocean, but it was enough to make her believe I could charm her. Or maybe she thought there’d be other sirens nearby. I don’t know… She ran away after I swayed her the first time.”

So that's what you meant by scared.

Mythical siren magic that messed with your mind.

“Thank you for saving me…” Kai said when the silence stretched. “I thought I was done for.”

Rain dismissed it with a gesture.

“Yup! Isn’t that so cool?” Flynn chirped, throwing an arm around an increasingly flustered Rain. “But he doesn’t want to show me his tail!” He watched the siren, sulking like a kid denied an ice cream. “It’s totally not fair. He has seen my legs, why can’t I see his tail?”

“I—I can’t transform outside the water.” freeweɓnovel.cѳm

“We can go to the lake. Pick the time and place. Please.”

Seeing Rain throw him increasingly desperate looks, Kai changed the topic. “What about you, Flynn. How was your escape? Is everyone alright? How’s Niel? I hope he feels better than I.”

The sudden quiet made Kai proud of his success till he noticed their somber faces. “Flynn? What is it?” Fear started gnawing at him.

He can’t…

Flynn let go of Rain, chewing his lip. “They were expecting us at the exit. Niel, he…”

***

Dammit.

Kai leaned on the trunk of a pine, the bark scratching his back. Nature Healing’s once-a-day rejuvenation had soothed his channels—enough to move around at least—but the pain didn’t seem to matter anymore.

Why him… Why Niel…

He had done everything he could to save him and still failed. Of course, the selfless hero died saving Kea and taking down the villain. Why couldn’t he just look after himself?

Spirits… Kea’ll beat herself up for it too.

Green motes still swirled around him. If only he could take back the physical pain and leave the wrenching ache.

Focus on what you can do.

Kai slowly exhaled in the cold air—there wasn’t time to lose himself. The Republic had finally decided to show up in Limgrell. They were too late to help, but at least they’d keep the cult away.

I’ll have to talk with the investigators…

There was no way to hide his involvement; too many people knew. When Rain offered to carry him outside the town to escape Flynn’s pestering, they could hardly cross a street without seeing a patrol.

How did Valela get them to—

A rustling alerted him to a presence. Kai turned to the sound. Instead of Rain, it was Kea who walked into the meadow. “He told me you were here. I hope it’s fine. I can help you get back. Are you feeling better?”

“Hmm… thanks, yes. The Nature mana here helped the pain.” Kai drummed his finger on the tree, spying her with the corner of his eye. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” She answered automatically, then pursed her lips. “I’ll be fine.”

That’s the best I can hope for.

“Have you decided what you’re going to do after this?” Kai asked. “I heard Mari’s going back to the archipelago. Will you go with her? Mom sure would like it.”

“I… don’t know.” Kea shook her head. “Probably not. Don’t get me wrong, I plan to take only the most boring and safe quests from now on, but I can’t go back. Not like this. It’d feel like it was for nothing. I’d go crazy back in the archipelago.”

“I understand,” Kai said and meant it. While he’d sleep easier if she went back home, he was the last person who could judge her choices.

Kea ambled toward his pine tree, her gaze on the dewy grass. “I I know I’ve been… difficult to be around. I gave you a hard time since well… forever.”

“It’s alright. You were a child.”

“But you were a child too.” Kea dug at a weed with her foot. “I don’t think I ever properly apologized.” Her dark green eyes snapped on him. “I’m sorry that I treated you like crap. That I couldn’t stand my little brother being better than me at almost everything.”

“Hmm… thank you…” Kai scratched his brow to cover his face, burning with embarrassment and guilt. He had been young, but not that young. “I was a smug little brat. It’s normal you were annoyed by me. I would have strangled myself.“

“Mhmm… maybe. You were Mom’s favorite boy.” Kea said, gaze lost in the misty woods. “You weren’t there to see her expression break when the Republic told us you died. Mom… she didn’t take it well. Of course, she said she was fine in front of us. But it was a lie. She stopped eating. Or sleeping. And cried when she thought we couldn’t hear.

She shook her head with a quiver. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard a worse sound. I was scared I’d lose her too and tried to take care of things… Me, and mostly Moui… Eli came when she could, but she had just gotten married and was dealing with her own stuff.”

“I spent months holding my breath, waiting for Mom to crack.” Her voice turned distant and Kai couldn’t interrupt her. “It felt like years before things got better. Slowly… Mom started going out and working odd jobs. Her smiles weren’t as warm, but she laughed at Moui’s awful jokes. I could see her picking up the pieces. Though it wasn’t until Kien arrived that I saw her truly happy.

“It was strange. Things were looking up in our family, but I wasn’t. I don’t know if it was exhaustion or what. I snapped at everyone, more than usual. Everything at home reminded me of you,” she chuckled mirthlessly. “I had already planned to travel to the mainland. So I moved it up a little sooner. I needed something for myself. To keep busy.

“I think it was the right choice. Setting foot on the continent gave me a goal. It felt like I spent my life in a pond, believing it was the sea. There was never a dead moment. I was just getting my footing when I got Mom’s letter saying you were alive.”

Kea wore a dry smile. “Honestly, I wasn’t even that surprised… I verified the letter was authentic and thought, ‘Of course he has returned from the dead. That’s exactly something he would do.’ It had been so long I didn’t think being that happy was possible…”

“I—” Kai opened his dry mouth, searching for the right words. What could he say?

“It’s alright.” She wiped a tear from her cheek. “I wanted to come see you, and Mom. But we had just accepted an extermination quest in the Acarynn Woods. I couldn’t abandon my team. So I got annoyed instead. I was frustrated I couldn’t be there, and that you were probably being cuddled by mom as if your death didn’t almost break her.”

Kea raised a hand as if to anticipate a protest. “I knew it was unfair and stupid. You wouldn’t disappear on purpose, and must have done your best to return. But we were an ocean apart and I was mad.” She rubbed her face, looking melancholic.

“I put more focus on adventuring. We had advanced our badges and earned enough coin to not worry about the next meal. Looking back, that was when Caeli and Caeden joined. Still, I thought we were doing fine. Even when we came to Limgrell and that jerk staged his kidnapping. I dumbly believed I had things handled.”

Her smile turned bitter. “That's when you showed up and saved us from the cloud fairies. After months honing my skills, you emerged from the mists like some blessed champion of legends to save us. But you weren’t Kai. It was Mat. I had to feign barely knowing you. Weigh every word I said. All the frustration I buried came back. So it was just easier to push you away…”

A breeze blew through the thin plumes of mist. Kai moved closer to her, their shoulders brushing, his mind still blank for words.

How did she get so eloquent?

As if to prove the point, she spoke first. “I almost had to die to regain some common sense. When I saw you in that bed, I thought I might lose you again.”

“I’m… I’m sorry I scared you.” Kai forced out his voice. “I promise I won’t die anytime soon.”

“Thanks. I’ll hold you to that.” Kea turned to leave, stopping on the line of trees that circled the meadow. “I guess what I was trying to say is… I hope you know I love you, little brother. Even when I want to punch you."