Kain stepped into the chamber, the golden light washing away the bone-deep pain that had been lingering since the battle yesterday, replaced by a soothing sensation that seemed to seep into his very core. His eyes quickly scanned the room, taking in the sight of the raised dais at the center and the figure lying motionless upon it while 4 spiritual creatures surrounded her in concern.
Serena.
Her silver hair fanned out around her like a halo, and her hands were clasped over her chest as if in prayer. The sight of her so still, so vulnerable, sent an unfamiliar pang through his chest. But before he could even take a step forward, the illusionary Prismarin beside him shimmered and then vanished.
Kain blinked. “Huh?”
A soft rustling sound drew his attention to the center of the room. One of Serena’s contracts—a much larger, more substantial Prismarin—the Prismarin’s true body—had just opened its eyes. The creature stretched lazily before locking onto Kain, its expression unreadable.
For a long moment, they simply stared at each other.
Then Kain, ever tactful, tilted his head and muttered, “You’re a lot fatter than I remember.”
The Prismarin froze mid-stretch. Then, in a high-pitched voice tinged with offense it yelled, “EXCUSE me?!”
Kain stiffened, his eyes widening. “…You can talk?”
The crystalline creature huffed, flipping its ears dramatically. “Of course, I can talk! Do you think I just hop around chirping like some simple-minded rabbit all day?”
Kain narrowed his eyes. “I mean… Yes.”
The Prismarin made a sound somewhere between a snort and a chime, clearly offended. “First of all, I am not ‘fat.’ I am perfectly proportioned, and adorably plump! Second, if you must know, my consciousness in one of my illusions was simply limited while I’ve been multitasking, thank you very much.”
Kain tilted his head. “Multitasking?”
The Prismarin lifted its head with exaggerated pride. “Monitoring my illusions. The one that brought you here was just one of many I sent out to search for help and information. Normally, they operate independently, like pre-programmed constructs, but when I heard your voice, I temporarily transferred some of my awareness into that one to confirm it was you and lead you back here.”
Kain processed that information for a second before raising an eyebrow. “So, what, you just abandoned the others?”
“They’ll be fine,” the Prismarin said dismissively, waving a paw. “I don’t have time to worry about disposable scouts when my Contractor is in this state.” At the reminder of Serena’s condition, its large floppy ears drooped down, and its large eyes sparkled as they grew misty. Although Kain wasn’t a fan of the Prismarin who gave him so much trouble in previous spars, he did have to agree with its statement about its aesthetic appeal…even sad it was quite adorable.
Kain’s gaze drifted back to Serena. “What happened?”
The Prismarin’s expression softened as it explained, “When we first arrived in this relic, something attacked us— partly animal, and partly mechanical.”
‘They must have run into something similar to what I faced before…’ Kain thought. But then he was surprised that such a creature could bring Serena to such a state. He listened as Prismarin explained further.
“However, it appears to have possessed an ability to disrupt or contaminate spiritual energy. Given the nature of Serena’s gift, such an ability was particularly harmful for her. I suppose normally, the average person would have had their spiritual power exhausted by now and either died or, after the contaminated energy all ran out, started the process of recovery. But since Serena’s spiritual power is without limit, she’s been fighting off the contamination constantly, and ever since, she’s been like this—unconscious, unresponsive. We’ve tried everything to wake her, but nothing has worked.”
Kain’s gaze shifted to Balens, who stood silently at the foot of the dais. “Why hasn’t Balens tried to heal her? Isn’t that its whole thing? Equivalent exchanges for wishes? Just wish for her to wake up. Who cares what the consequences are, they likely won’t fall on her anyways! And its not like you all care about the others that may be in the relic!” Kain couldn’t help yelling at them, unable to fully understand why he felt so angry by their apparent lack of action.
Although Kain wouldn’t have liked to be the sacrifice for the wish, he had to admit that from the perspective of Serena’s contracts, whose sole loyalty lied with her, they shouldn’t care about the potential consequences of their actions. So he couldn’t comprehend why Balens simply didn’t wish her awake.
Prismarin visibly flinched. “We tried.”
Kain’s stomach dropped. “And?”
“Nothing.”
The word hung in the air heavily, and Kain felt almost as if he’d been sucker punched in the gut.
Balens, the contract with the power to make any wish come true through equivalent exchange—failed? That didn’t make sense. Even if the cost had been outrageous, it should have at least worked. Kain’s gaze flickered between the glowing contract and Serena’s unmoving form, his mind racing with possibilities.
Something was very wrong.
Kain frowned, his mind racing. He glanced back at Serena, her pale form lying motionless on the dais. “So, what now? Is there anything in these ruins that can help her? You’ve been scouring the place, right? Did you find anything?”
The Prismarin nodded, its luminous eyes flickering with a glimmer of hope. “Yes, that’s why I sent out my illusions. I’ve been searching for anything that might help Serena, and I did find a few things. But I needed someone to retrieve them—someone with a storage device. That’s why I led you here.”
Kain’s heavy heart lightened softly at the knowledge that there was some hope in sight.
The Prismarin’s ears perked up, and it turned to gesture toward the strange mechanical devices Kain had stored earlier. “Those devices you collected—one of them may possess the potential to withdraw the contamination in her spiritual power. If we can activate them, they might be able to purify Serena’s spiritual energy and wake her up. But we’ll need to figure out how to use them first.”
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter