Chapter 109 - The Last Ember of Life

I jolted out of bed, startled. My shirt was drenched in sweat, and something felt strange inside me. I could feel my mana circulating through my body, but somehow it was hot.

I placed my hand over my stomach and felt the familiar warmth of my Gem. When I touched my face, the same warmth was there.

“A Gem… these Celestial Eyes… that’s what they are. It’s the Mana Gem… from that creature…” I murmured, not fully understanding how I acquired that knowledge.

The warmth in my face began to fade, and somehow, I knew that the Celestial Eyes had gone dormant. Knowledge lingered in my mind, as if it had been instinctively implanted there.

My mana began to flow normally again through my body. I finally understood the purpose of the cup training; I could now differentiate between the mana generated by my Gem and the one generated by my eyes.

I closed my eyes and forced the mana from my eyes again, but something was different. The mana generated was cold, and somehow, my brain knew that this was the mana of my Special Eyes.

What madness…

I tried to conjure magic again, but my channels were in chaos. There were conflicting directions within them, as if they were confused and unsure how to circulate through my body.

I focused, trying to mimic the cup training, but the heat from the Celestial Eyes returned with force, and my entire body felt the pain of their awakening.

WHAT!?

The pain came back intensely, and somehow, my body understood it was a side effect. Those eyes still needed to feed on my mana to complete the healing process. My soul had been wounded by receiving that Gem, and it needed to adapt to it.

It was the same pain as the infernal chains!

The Celestial Eyes went dormant again, leaving only my Special Eyes active, but I didn’t want to risk finding out what they could do. I was hesitant to circulate my mana again, afraid that I might awaken that painful power once more.

Then, I felt something heavy on my leg.

“Where is Sisika?” I asked out loud, to myself.

I looked around the cabin, but I didn’t see her.

The sound of thunder crashing in the sky and the loud noise of rain echoed outside.

Something on my leg moved. I pulled off the blanket, and what I saw surprised me.

“Who? Who are you!?” I stood up, startled, jumping out of bed.

A red-haired girl, a little younger than me, was sleeping there. She stretched and yawned.

“You woke me up…” she complained before falling back asleep.

The girl must have been around 10 years old. She was dressed in boy’s clothes and snored as she slept.

“Who is this girl?”

I looked around the cabin, searching for the mysterious red-haired woman, but there was no sign of her. The small table still blocked the door, so she hadn’t left. Still, I pushed the table aside and opened the door to look outside.

It was raining heavily, and the storm, with its strong winds, shook the trees. In the darkness of the night, there was no sign of Sisika. The thunder echoed, and lightning lit up the sky every now and then. I knew the truth: Sisika had never left this cabin. The red-haired woman was still here, with me.

I closed the door and looked toward where the girl was still sleeping. She had short red hair and was hugging a pillow, practically crushing it in her sleep.

Could this girl really be Sisika?

I went over to the fire, which was nearly out. I grabbed some dry leaves and threw them onto the flames, rekindling the fire. On the small table, I noticed a pot covered by a cloth. Inside, there was what seemed to be soup, probably left ready by Sisika. I placed the pot on the fire to heat the food and sat down, waiting for my kidnapper or friend to wake up.

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A part of me still didn’t fully understand what she was, but for some reason, being near her calmed me.

“Hmm… smells good,” I heard a voice.

I snapped out of my thoughts and saw the red-haired girl sitting on the bed, looking sleepy.

“Who are you?” I asked, standing up.

“My name is Sisika. Are you lost too?” she replied, looking at me with curiosity.

What!? It’s really her.

The girl stretched, got up, and walked over to where the soup was warming. “Did you make this? It smells delicious,” she said, sitting in front of the fire.

“Y-you’re Sisika?” I asked, perplexed.

“That’s my name. What’s yours?”

The situation was getting even stranger.

“My name is Nathan…”

“Oh! So you’re my beloved! I’ve always been alone here, you know?” she said with a sad smile. “I waited for you for so long... through all the nights… through all the years... I always hoped someone would come and not leave me alone anymore.”

The girl rested her face between her knees, staring at the fire with a melancholic look. “It’s really hard being alone in the world…” she murmured.

“But I know you have to leave. You already know the way out of here. Don’t worry about me, beloved. I’ll stay here until my time comes…”

Is this the real Sisika speaking? Or just the little girl?

“You have important people waiting for you. You don’t need to stay here to see what happens to me. I lived here and chose to spend my final moments in this place,” the girl said.

I looked at her, still gazing at the fire.

You told me you’d be taken away bit by bit. Is this what you meant? Are you going to disappear like this, slowly?

“Can I sit next to you?” I asked.

“It’s better if you don’t, beloved. I’d rather you leave soon…”

“Then why are your eyes tearing up?”

As soon as I asked, she hid her face. “It’s nothing… just an eyelash in my eye,” she said.

I ignored her words and sat down beside her.

“I want to stay with you, until the end. Can I?” I asked.

“I-I don’t want to be a burden, beloved. You have important people waiting for you.”

I sighed deeply. “They’ll understand if I’m a little late. Can I stay with you, Sisika?”

“I’d love that…”

I sat next to her, and together we watched the fire dance.

I looked at the red-haired girl and took a deep breath. “Can I do something to help you? Can you tell me why this is happening to you?”

“There’s no way to stop nature from following its course. That’s the beauty and the sadness of life. It constantly reminds us that everyone has their time and that nothing lasts forever. If things lasted forever, we wouldn’t recognize the beauty in the simplicity of small things.”

The little girl rested her head on my shoulder.

“Even so, I need to try. How can I help you? Is there something you want?” I asked.

“Just stay by my side until my last ember fades. Will you talk to me?”

I nodded.

“Who are you?” she asked, confused, staring at me.

Upon hearing that, I understood better what was happening. Sisika was losing her lucidity. Her mind and body were... fading away.

"Are you my beloved?" she asked.

"I am... I am your beloved," I replied.

"Will you stay with me? I... I don’t feel well."

I looked at her. "Of course. If you're tired, you can rest your head on my shoulder."

She smiled and nodded. "You're a bit warm, my beloved," she said.

"I think you're warm too. Even in this cold, just being near you makes me feel warmer."

She rested her head against me.

We sat in silence, staring at the fire. I had so many questions I wanted to ask Sisika, but none of them would come out. She had that same look of sorrow and despair I'd seen before—the look of someone who knows they're going to die.

"I'm back here again..." she murmured. "I'm in this place again... alone."

"Are you alright?"

"Who... who are you?"

I took her hand and wrapped my arm around her shoulder. "I'm your beloved. I'm here to stay with you."

"I waited for you, you know? I waited for so long..." her voice slowed.

"But I'm here now. I was just a little late."

She held me tighter. "It's getting dark... why is it getting dark?" I looked down and realized the one holding me was no longer a 10-year-old girl but a small child, about 5 years old.

"Is it dark?" I asked.

"Yes... everything's dark."

I glanced at the fire burning in front of us, then back at the little girl who was trembling as she clung to me. "Are you still there?" she asked. "I'm scared... I don't want to be alone."

"I'm right here, I'm with you," I said, holding her close.

She gripped my hand tightly. Her fingers were so small, her hand tiny. At that moment, she seemed like a 3-year-old child.

"I don't like rainy nights. They scare me so much..." she whispered, hugging me.

"You don't need to be scared at all, I'm here to protect you."

She hugged me even tighter. "Can you hold me, my beloved? I... I'm in pain. I can't see anything, it's all so dark. Are you still there?"

I held her tight and kissed her forehead. "I'm here... I'm with you, and I always will be."

Sisika kept holding onto me, squeezing with her little strength. "It's getting darker... but the pain is going away... are you still there?"

"I'm here, everything's fine," I replied.

"Don't leave me alone... please... I'm scared..."

"I told you, I'll always be with you."

I looked down at the trembling girl, who struggled to smile. Even as she looked at me, she couldn't see me anymore. The life in her eyes was fading.

"Can you call me by my name one last time? It's such a beautiful name..."

"I think your name is beautiful too, Sisika," I said, tears streaming down my face.

She smiled wider. "I'm not talking about that name. I'm talking about the name you gave me..."

The girl's presence was growing weaker. The warmth she radiated was fading away.

"I didn't give you a name..."

She looked at me one last time.

"Yes, you did. You called me Cylla," the little girl said, and then she disappeared, turning into embers that flickered in the air one final time, leaving me alone in that cabin.