Ah… everything felt so heavy. His chest hurt, his arms were sore, his thighs felt like they were burning even though he was just lying down. His mana was rapidly coursing through him from the moment Feather felt his consciousness stir, the magic of his concept thrumming through every muscle and every fibre of his being, having taken him by his heart and paralyzed him. He could feel himself stuck in the plush of thick blankets with his head resting on soft, large pillows, but he couldn’t move. He was trapped in his concept’s hold, the concept of anything taking the price he owed it after using it for so long without killing himself to reset.

  Usually, as long as he killed himself before his concept did, he wouldn’t feel this much pain. But the concept of anything was known to constantly kill its user the longer they used it, and Feather was not immune to that. That’s why it was taboo. If he didn’t purposely kill himself to reset that timer, the consequences would be grave. So he was stuck like this, his consciousness swimming in his mind as his body felt like it was screaming, before he finally managed to flicker open his eyes to squint in the dark room he sat inside.

  Let’s see… he was alone. And he was in a rather big room, at that. His concept would be pretty volatile for the time being, so he shouldn’t use it too much until his body started to feel functional again, but a little scan around shouldn’t hurt too much. Though of course, it did hurt when he strained himself to search for the nearest lifeforms, his brain feeling like it was being ripped apart by tweezers while his neck and the joints of his shoulders started aching. But when he sensed a few bustling bodies of life right outside his door as well as a large, large mass of glorified stone stretching for miles that he seemed to be in the center of, he suddenly began to feel a looming sense of dread.

  No way. Please, no, not this. Anything but this. Please tell him that Cirrus hadn’t brought him to where he thought he was. You know, believe it or not, Feather had actually never stepped foot on Lilino, Cirrus’ home planet. After his father locked him up with that excuse of him supposedly being sick or whatever and locked him in a tower, he was never allowed to leave his home planet. Of course, the only pro to that was that he never had to see Cirrus, but now that things had come to this, Feather simply had no clue where else he could be, because he was nearly ninety nine percent certain he was inside a castle.

  His eyes flickered around the room, the most movement he could manage being the turn of his head as he looked to his bedside table and tried to use his concept for night vision. A small task it was, but he could still feel the flesh behind his eyes becoming rather tight as his vision blurred and strained, before it finally leveled out into clarity.

  Come to think of it, he’d probably been left alone because he looked completely healthy. No one besides Leocadies or Kya would know of these invisible drawbacks that didn’t actually show up in any concrete way for other people to see. Even if Eve had examined him like the skilled healer she was, his body would have looked entirely fine after his concept subconsciously worked to heal himself. Well, as long as he’d revived quick enough, but he was sure Kya had handled that. Though, speaking of his two companions, where were they? And why had they let this happen?

  Ugh, he hated castles. Just look at how unnecessarily big this room was. Just judging by the space he'd measured before his essence hit a wall, he could fit at least six twelve-person dining room tables in a row in this room, and that was just the length. Hell, wait, even worse, Feather swore he could hear running water. Where was it coming from? He tried his best to tilt his head side to side, but he wasn’t able to strain his neck up to see if there might be an indoor pond in this room. But if there was, that was absolutely ridiculous.

  Though, on another note, he was also incredibly bored. Usually, when this happened, he had Leo ramble to him or Kya infodump about something she had knowledge on that was pretty interesting. Kya had a lot of awesome knowledge about divinity and all kinds of religions and mythical practices, and Feather liked hearing about it. Leo was just scatterbrained and you never knew what he was going to say if you got him to start talking about anything that popped into his head, so that was a different kind of entertainment. He’d gladly take either option right now, he just hated feeling stuck in silence.

  After some time, however, he sensed movements shifting by the entrance to the large room just as one of the double doors creaked open, Feather eagerly turning his head to see who that could be, only to be nothing but disappointed when he saw it was just Cirrus. He’d been hoping for someone he actually liked, like Leo or Kya or at least Eve. Why was this pushover prince here to check on him? Feather honestly just wanted him to get lost.

  Yet seeing Cirrus’ eyes light up the moment he realized Feather was awake made him feel a little guilty for thinking that. Seeing the relief in those amber hues felt odd, and he quickly shifted his heavy, aching arms over his stomach to fidget with his hands as Cirrus moved closer, turning on the crystal lamp at his bedside, light shining over the pristine violet bedsheets as Feather met his eyes.

  “Hi,” the mostly paralyzed blond spoke, his tongue still feeling a bit tangled in his mouth as Cirrus hovered over him, moving to press a hand against the side of his face that Feather would surely have swatted away if he’d had the strength.

  “Are you okay?” Cirrus whispered, voice soft and a bit fragile, confusing him further. Why did he sound like that? They’d only known each other for a month, and Feather hadn’t even been nice to him. Why did he sound like he was actually worried, and why was he touching his face like this? It was annoying.

  “Don’t touch me, my face hurts,” he snapped, using whatever strength he had in his arm to lift it up and push Cirrus’ hand away from where he’d been caressing his cheek and curls, the upright man looking a little startled as his hand flinched back.

  He saw the way Feather’s arm was trembling, and his little swat hadn’t had any of his normal power behind it. That couldn’t be good. But if he didn’t want to be touched, Cirrus wouldn’t push him, so he just kept hovering and questioned softly, “Are you still injured somewhere? Should I go get Eve?”

  “No, a healer won’t help. This is just the consequences of overusing my concept,” he snapped, irritated but honest, shifting his head on the pillow as he kept rambling about everything that’d annoyed him after he’d woken up in this godforsaken place filled with dumb stupid royalty. “And why did you bring me here? I can’t really move or do anything right now, but I’m somewhere in the Royal Palace of Lilino, aren’t I? And is that a fucking pond I hear? Why do you have a pond in a guest room? Talk about weird. Unless you’re using it to shower, it doesn’t need to be there. And why isn’t Kya or Leo here? I’ve been so bored just sitting here, you know, I need someone to talk to. Oh, but I don’t wanna talk to you, because you’re nothing but a stupid pushover prince and I hate that you brought me to Lilino without my consent, so I want nothing to do with you. Nothing at all, do you hear me? Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing…” he kept babbling, voice shaking while he moved his trembling arms back down over his stomach, shooting Cirrus the fiercest glare he could manage despite his pounding head. “Now get me out of this damn castle.”

  “Uh… I understand how you must be feeling, I do, but I don’t think I can grant that wish right now,” Cirrus hesitated, voice just a step off from mumbling as Feather’s expression turned even more frustrated.

  “Yes you can! Teleport me somewhere else, I’d rather sleep and recover on the ground!”

  “I am not doing that,” Cirrus retorted, voice firm as the blond’s features shifted into a darker glare. Though he suddenly didn’t know what to feel when the prince lowered his head in shame. It made Feather pause, mind racking for a reason why Cirrus would be bowing in front of him, before the dark-haired man spoke quietly in a very low voice, “And I’m sorry, but we really do have bigger problems right now, and I… I need you, Feather. You’re the miracle worker, aren’t you? I need you to help me. Please…” he begged, and the blond wasn’t oblivious to the desperation in his voice. “In fact, I should have started with this. Kya, your companion, she’s been infected. She’s morphing more into a monster right now as we speak. You can barely recognize her anymore. And Jayce, his arm has been completely mangled and turned white, like it’s been diseased… it doesn’t seem to be getting any worse, but I just don’t know. I know you’ll obviously heal Kya, since she’s your ally and all, but please, please help everyone else too,” he pleaded, Feather’s brows furrowing as he stared at Cirrus. “I know I brought you here, somewhere I know you didn’t want to go, but I didn’t know where else to take you where we could handle all of this. Please understand.”

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  “...yeah, you’re right.”

  “Wait, um. Huh?” Cirrus questioned, looking up with his visible eye staring right at Feather, the blond’s glare fading into a look of exasperation.

  “You’re right, you really should have started with that. Ugh, and don’t act like that!”

  “Um… act like what?”

  “Don’t act like a kicked puppy with that stupid face and stupid voice of yours! It makes me feel bad! What are you, a real dog?” Feather snapped, Cirrus’ features reddening slightly as he leaned a bit further onto the blond’s bed.

  “No, I’m sorry. Please don’t feel bad. You’ve already done so much, so thank you.”

  “Shut up! Stop talking! You damned pushover prince!” Feather snapped again, his emotions fueling his strength as he moved his hands to start clawing at his eyes. He rubbed his eyelids furiously, aggravated at everything that was going on and at all he’d missed when he was unconscious. Looking at the window through the thin curtains, it was barely morning, with just a sliver of orange light slipping in through the cracks of dawn. This must be when Cirrus naturally woke up, even though Feather had been up for the past few hours just trying to regain the ability to properly function. And he rubbed even more aggressively, feeling annoyed and angry and overwhelmed and overstimulated and like he just wanted to get out of this fucking bed.

  Though, suddenly, he felt very gentle, tender hands get placed over his, soft thumbs rubbing over the tops of his hands as Cirrus pulled them away from his face, bringing them right in between them as he rubbed at Feather’s knuckles with so much tenderness it made him feel like his brain was lulling to a stop. “It’s okay, mister miracle worker. We’ll get through this just fine. You’re awake now, aren’t you?” Cirrus soothed, Feather’s mind setting into the rhythm of how the prince repeatedly rubbed the tops of his hands, luring him into a sense of security as he rolled onto his side. He leaned towards Cirrus, knees curling up to hit against the prince's side, his breathing evening out as his eyes fluttered shut.

  “Yeah. I’ll be able to move soon, just give me a minute and I’ll go heal them,” he nodded, pulling their hands closer to his face as he nuzzled Cirrus’ fingers that encased his own so firmly. “Keep doing that.”

  “Huh? Mm, okay,” the prince nodded, feeling almost hypnotized by how much Feather seemed to respond to this kind of touch. He’d only been trying to mimic what he saw Leo do, with how the ginger man had gripped his hands and pulled them away from Feather’s face so that he didn’t hurt himself, but this… it made Cirrus want to touch him so much more, to see what other kinds of touches Feather liked. To see what else got such a reaction from him, something that looked so innocent and adorable Cirrus didn’t know what to do with himself looking at it. It felt strange, realizing how much he wanted to keep Feather so satisfied, and he tried his best to process those strange thoughts as he kept rubbing over Feather's hands.

  But as the blond closed his eyes, shallow breaths falling on their hands as Cirrus kept watching him, Feather eventually whispered, “How urgent is Kya? Jayce sounds stable, so what should I focus on first?”

  “Hm, Kya is definitely in the worst shape,” Cirrus responded, fingers started to feel a bit tingly as he kept kneading Feather’s hands, and to be honest, he wasn’t even sure why the blond seemed to get so much gratification from something so small. But as he moved, he kept talking, trusting that Feather was awake and paying attention to everything he said. “I think the most notable thing about her changed appearance is that her hair is turning white, and she is constantly drooling black saliva. She can no longer keep it in, and her teeth are starting to grow larger and out of her mouth. It’s been nearly seventeen hours since she got infected, so our doctors have been predicting she doesn’t have much time left before the transformation is complete.”

  “I see,” Feather responded, eyes snapping open before he suddenly sat up without warning, slapping Cirrus’ hands away from his own as he somehow found the energy to move, the prince staring at him with a bit of shock as he tried to mask his disappointment of not being able to hold his hands anymore. Feather, on the other hand, barely seemed to register what they’d been doing for the past five minutes or so to be intimate at all, and merely began to ignore that it’d ever happened as he threw his legs out of the covers and off the bed. “Help me stand for a minute. I’ll be back to normal soon, I just need to get my legs working again,” Feather ordered, Cirrus carefully standing up to be in front of him as he let Feather hold onto his arms.

  “Oh, okay… how often does this happen? Should I make note of it?” he asked as Feather pushed against him to lift himself up, legs shaking underneath him as he leaned heavily on Cirrus’ chest.

  “It doesn’t happen often, you don’t have to worry about it,” he merely snapped against him, not liking this proximity one bit as he gritted his teeth. Holding hands had been one thing, but this was too much. Cirrus rubbing his hands like that had been really soothing and had helped calm him down. But just because that had been an enjoyable experience didn’t mean he wanted to be this close. The pure determination to not lean on him so heavily was what got Feather to push himself off, holding onto Cirrus’ arms with all his might as he started balancing on one leg, tapping the other on the ground with heavy movements.

  “You know, if you need to rest some more, that’s okay. I’m sure we have another hour, at least,” the prince tried, Feather purposely digging into his arms at that statement, angry to have even heard it.

  “Don’t treat me like I’m weak. I’ll stomp you into the fucking dirt,” he spat, Cirrus’ gut feeling like butterflies were eating it up as he nodded his head.

  “Uh, right, of course.”

  “Good, I’m glad you understand,” Feather responded, finally able to push himself off the man as he tested his balance, carefully walking around the room with slow, dragging steps before he tried to jump. Though he nearly fell over when he tried that, catching himself and hissing at Cirrus for trying to reach out and support him as he walked further away. “Don’t help me! I can do it myself!”

  “Ah, I’m sure you can… I’m just a little worried,” Cirrus hesitated, watching Feather like he was watching something fragile, which only made the blond glare at him harder.

  He hated being looked at like that. Like he was being looked down on. He was better than Cirrus ever would be, so he wasn’t about to let himself get looked at like he was some petty weakling who didn’t know what he was doing! Agh, he would prove it by going right now to heal Kya and Jayce without Cirrus’ help at all! And he’d make him stand and watch as he solved everything and then took his companions and got the hell out of this place!

  “Come with me,” he seethed, barely able to hide his anger as he snatched Cirrus by the wrist, the man’s eyes widening as Feather dragged him over. For some reason, the prince's skin was kind of hot, and it made him wonder if Cirrus also got sick somehow. Maybe he should go see a healer. Ah, but, whatever, that didn’t matter. He’d still stomp a sick person into the ground if the sick person was Cirrus. It made him a bit smug thinking that, and he quickly teleported them both to where he felt Kya and Leo’s presences with a smug grin, before he soon laid eyes on the scene in front of him. And suddenly, all sense of bratty competitiveness left him in a heartbeat, and he found himself angry.

  There she was, her hair white and falling out as teeth mauled over her pale face. Kya was being held back by two people he’d never seen before, and she was growling and trying to attack them as they restrained her. Leo sat on the other side of the glass, looking worried beyond all belief as one of the scientists in all their gear was forced to stab Kya’s shoulder to keep her down, pushing her against the wall as she let out a half-human scream.

  This was sickening. What were those people even doing inside the glass cell with her? It looked like unbreakable glass, too, so they’d be just fine on the outside of it. Wait… were those vials in their hands? Were they trying to get blood from her, as if Kya was some sort of experiment to them? No, his subordinate was not fuel for experimentation. He would not let someone use her that way, even if she was on the brink of monstrosity at that very moment. And, with just a flick of his wrist, the glass exploded, and the two scientists were flung to the opposite wall. And Kya stared at him, her eyes already swelled black and beady as she staggered closer to him with claws twice the size of her normal hands.

  “It’s alright, Kya. You can come here,” he welcomed kindly, the monster tilting her head at him, as if she didn’t quite comprehend. And when she ran to him, lunging forward with teeth that took up her entire face in a mouth that was being ripped apart, white hair falling from her features the more she moved, his outstretched hand began to glow with the righteous concept of good… and with a single soft touch, the moment he managed to tap the top of Kya’s head with the power stored within him… she was healed.