“Tell me, is it normal to see certain things when you are not interacting with crystals?” Heron hesitantly asked.

  “What kind of things?” Irene asked back, with evident caution.

  “Umm… Never mind. It’s likely just exhaustion. Once I’ve recovered my strength, I’m sure it will pass,” Heron said, attempting to steer his voice toward a more cheerful note.

  Irene’s tone softened. “Heron… if anything is troubling you, please feel free to share it. It will remain confidential between us. Lend me your trust.”

  Heron took a deep breath. “I’m seeing things that I’m fairly certain shouldn’t be there.”

  “What kind of things?”

  “That’s the problem!” Heron groaned. “I don’t know how to explain it. The floor, the bed, the wood… everything seems to have… extra lines. Do I sound mad?”

  “I think I know what you are describing,” Irene thoughtfully tapped her forehead.

  Heron’s eyes widened. “Really?”

  “Yes. The problem is, you aren’t holding a crystal, nor do you have an active aura. I’m concerned about the source.”

  “So, this might be bad?”

  “No, no, no,” Irene waved her hands dismissively. “Just wait here. I need to go grab something.”

  Irene left the room and returned a moment later with a small, see-through crystal cradled in her palm.

  “I would like you to hold onto this,” she said, pressing the crystal into his hand.

  “It has no color,” Heron noted.

  “A medical crystal. Occasionally, people suffer from an overdose of crystal miasma. These are designed to draw out the excess and bring them back to themselves.”

  “You think I’ve overdosed on crystal miasma?” Heron looked down at the stone.

  “I don’t know, but we can give it a try,” Irene sent a reassuring smile.

  “I suppose. So, what do I do?”

  “Normally, it works passively when a patient is incapacitated. So, try gripping it hard, close your eyes, and then try to visualize the lines you are seeing moving towards you.”

  Heron gripped the crystal tightly. He closed his eyes, trying to focus, to visualize the phantom lines infesting his vision and draw them toward the stone in his hand.

  At first, nothing changed. The lines remained elusive, flickering at the edges of his perception. But then, fragments of the battle with the Ulv flooded his mind.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  He saw the depthless, wireframe beast charging, flickering into existence, becoming a skeletal, monochromatic predator. It surged through the black void, dragging all the lines behind it. One by one, those lines tore free, dragging themselves toward him as if pulled by an unseen force.

  Then an echoing roar of the ulv tore through his skull, shaking his very core, and then a sudden flash of white light consumed everything. Heron’s vision was shattered.

  He was back in the room, gasping, the afterimage burning in his eyes. The crystal in his palm pulsed with a fierce, dying glow before dulling to a murky grey.

  Heron was back in the room. The void had vanished. The crystal in his palm pulsed with a fierce, dying glow before dulling to a murky grey. His breath hitched as his eyes adjusted to the dim light. Irene was no longer standing by his side.

  Irene lay motionless on the floor.

  Heron jumped out of the bed, throwing the crystal aside, and rushed to her side. He gathered her limp body into his arms.

  “Irene!” Heron screamed.

  He clung to her body. It was cold. Heron’s breath hitched, and he began to sob, cradling her as if he could will warmth back into her.

  Suddenly, the door slammed open with a thunderous bang as Richard burst into the room.

  “There was a loud noise from above. Is everyone… alright?” His question died as he saw Heron holding Irene’s body.

  Richard’s demeanor shifted. Rage burned in his eyes.

  “What have you done?” he hissed, his voice trembling.

  “I don’t know,” Heron choked out through ragged sobs, his breath hitching. “She… she was trying to help me…” He gestured toward the furniture, his voice failing him. “The crystal… the bed…” It was all he could utter.

  Richard’s gaze snapped to the bed, then to the crystal. Footsteps followed close behind him as the others arrived. Almir appeared first, followed closely by Lucia.

  “What’s going on? We saw you run—” Almir’s voice faltered as he saw Irene.

  “Irene?” Lucia whispered from the back. She rushed forward and snatched Irene’s body from Heron’s arms.

  “Stay away from her!” she spat at him, as she moved to create distance between them.

  Heron remained frozen on the floor, motionless, unable to react.

  Almir stood back for a moment, analyzing the situation. Everyone else in the room had stopped thinking rationally. The room had descended into a state of collective delirium. Lucia was hunkered over Irene, cradling her body and weeping, while both Richard and Heron remained trapped in their respective shocks.

  He felt the tremor in his own hands, but he suppressed it. This was no time for him to give up. Then it occurred to him.

  He crossed the room and seized Richard by the shoulders, giving him a hard shake.

  “Richard, I need you to focus,” Almir commanded. “Go grab Irene’s ankh. I’ll go get May.”

  Richard didn’t answer. He simply moved, stiff and silent, as if his body had found a command to obey when his mind would not.

  Hopefully he understood, Almir thought, and bolted down the stairs.

  Almir returned with May close behind. Without a word, May snatched the ankh from Richard’s hand and knelt beside Lucia. She pressed the key-shaped relic against Irene’s chest. A soft, rosy luminescence bloomed from the instrument, enveloping both of their bodies.

  “Creators in plane above, I pray you return the soul of this fallen one,” May prayed, her eyes closed.

  She visualized the stagnant flow of blood in Irene’s veins and willed the stalled currents to stir. Little by little, in her mind, the thump of a heartbeat returned. First, it was a single beat; then two; then a few more, until the rhythmic pounding of a heart began to normalize.

  Suddenly, Irene’s body convulsed. She lurched out of Lucia’s arms, gasping for air.

  “Easy,” May murmured, leaning close to Irene’s ear. “Take it easy. You’re alright.”

  Irene continued to draw ragged breaths, but they gradually evened out. Richard’s shoulders finally relaxed as Almir patted him on the back. Lucia broke into loud, relieved sobs, clutching her friend once more.

  So I'm writing at the bottom of the chapter this time. This is a first I know :D

  So why the delays? Well, I hosted the chapter images on PostImages, and they seem to have died and aren't coming back. Well, at least I thought so. Seems my PiHole firewall started randomly blocking postimg.cc, and it was blocking the images for me. So I transferred those and a few others to my server, relinked everything, and that was before I discovered what had happened. That is the bad news, and the delay it caused in releasing the Thursday and Friday subchapters, and I was busy with some things written below.

  Choco