—Don't move yet —Maika said a little later—. I'm about to start the healing spell, I need you to stay still while I finish the preparations.

In her hand, she had several types of plants and flowers that she had surely picked up from somewhere while returning to the bedroom with an unconscious Aiden.

She threw them over his head, and they dispersed among and around them, then she drew a seven-pointed star on the floor with various letters and symbols around it.

—What are you doing? —he asked, observing with great attention.

—It's called 'Elven', it's an emblem of Celtic culture and the marks that I make symbolize the seven main metals of alchemy. Healing magic by itself doesn't work on you, so I'm going to ask for help. I'll invoke a fairy.

—I see… What?!

—Each metal represents a spirit of nature, things like spirits and angels are often represented by a specific type of mineral or element attributed with the unique characteristics the ritual requires; the reason I scattered flowers is to create a suitable environment for the fairy. It's what we call a sanctuary.

He processed the new information and immediately subconsciously classified it as unnecessary, since there was something else going around in his head.

—I think I understand —Obviously not, but he said it anyway, the wild-haired young man—. But a fairy!?

—What are you surprised about now, if there's an angel, why shouldn't there be creatures from legends and other religions? It makes sense, doesn't it?

—Ahh aah… I believe my head will explode —Aiden intentionally colored his words with a heavy sigh before continuing—. How can you do that, invoke a fairy so easily? If that can be done, wasn't there another way to invoke an angel instead of creating those homunculi and having to kill innocent people?

—Altering the order in which this world works is not so easy, what we saw was an event so big that it dangerously shook the reality we live in. Spirits are manifestations with an ego of energy, it's normal that they exist, but an angel is a race from a different plane than ours, it wouldn't be incorrect to say that they are aliens.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

—In short, what you do is similar to hacking a server and illegally downloading content that is normally impossible to get and then cracking the program to make it run, correct?

Strangely, Aiden was able to understand a little more than usual and translated Maika's words into a language that he could understand.

With hacking, she was referring to the action of exploring and looking for the limitations of a code or a machine, in this case, the magic seals falsifying the 'signature' of these seven spirits of nature.

And the computer crack is a patch whose purpose is to modify the behavior of the original software obtained without authorization, making it work in the same way as if said software had been legally generated, the sanctuary.

He wasn't particularly good with machines nor software, but at least he had a passive idea of what she was talking about. After all, compared to the occult arts, a little computer science that anyone who has downloaded an illegal program would understand, was three times easier to digest.

Maika looked at Aiden in amazement for a second and laughed. She hadn't imagined that he would understand something that, although she explained it with simple words, is fundamentally so complicated.

Both were silent for several more seconds, but it wasn't because they had nothing else to ask, Aiden's pain prevented him from continuing the conversation at a normal pace while Maika was busy doing her mage things.

—You need to move. Even though I sedated you with a powerful medication, it's going to hurt more than just a little. You need to be conscious for what's coming, please hold on just a little longer Aiden —she continued to move the sheets that covered him, but before doing so, she said—. I covered the wound with another sheet, but try not to look anyway, okay?

In addition to feeling the saliva going down his throat, he could clearly hear the sound it produced. His senses sharpened, and his mind went blank. His body prepared itself for what was coming.

He whispered the words, “okay,” and stared at the ceiling.

He clenched his fists on both hands with all the strength he could apply with his body in the state he was in.

The next thing he knew was that the thin and soft arms of Maika were pulling him, one pushed him forward, away from the support of the backrest, while the other pulled on the injured leg.

She made sure to move him as carefully as possible to avoid Aiden suffering, but it was impossible. Between each movement, Aiden felt how a surge of pain went to his brain and then spread throughout his body.

He tried to be strong and hold on, but it was too much for him. Between moans of pain and desperation, and a few suppressed tears, Aiden finally found himself sitting on the edge of the bed, touching the edge of the circle that Maika had prepared with his toes.