“How are you even breathing right now? Your body is in shambles,” Faye muttered under her breath.

“You say?” I was surprised.

“Your lungs have become colanders and the rest of the organs have basically become a homogeneous paste. And don’t get me started on the state of your musculoskeletal system”

“That explains the overall discomfort”

“Really, you…” she sent me a reproachful glare.

She sighed deeply.

“Thank your lucky star that you found me, got it?”

“I always do”

We exchanged smiles and Faye got to work. She put her hands all over my body. She injected mana, grasped at my skin and limbs, pulled and pushed and slowly got my bones back into their respective position. Done by hand, it was a work that entailed a remarkable level of precision.

After this first step Faye momentarily left my side to recover a few necessary tools. She looked around the room for scalpels, needles, pliers and other supplies, which she kept floating in the air around her by winding mana around them.

She tried to perform incisions around my body but failed.

“John, I need your cooperation,” she told me while keeping her sight on the point where she was pressing the scalpel against my skin.

“This time I can’t help you”

“Why not?”

“The material itself is different”

She gave me a simple “understood” signed and changed her approach. She let the instrumentation fall down to the ground and focused her mana into an extremely concentrated spherical volume. It shone brighter with each passing second. Sweat fell from her forehead and I raised my hand to wipe it off from her.

“Don’t move,” she reprimanded me.

An electric arch discharged from the sphere of mana and hit my skin just under my left clavicle. It stung severely and continued to burn at the same exact point, slowly digging through my skin. I consciously disabled my regeneration to let her perform her work.

The high-voltage discharge pierced through my body and hit a region deep inside my flesh. I winced in pain.

“Don’t move,” Faye said once again, the electric arch turning to accommodate my movements.

The process lasted for several minutes and ended once Faye retracted her mana and extracted some sort of golden marble from the open wound. Once the foreign body was removed I immediately felt my circulation get better.

“I don’t know what these are, but I doubt they are good for your health,” Fay commented while twisting the marble in her hand.

“A fragment of her authority, to lessen my own,” I mumbled instinctively.

“Whom?” Faye raised an eyebrow.

“... Later,” I stalled for time.

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She gazed into my eyes. I avoided hers. I didn’t know how to breach the subject. She simply nodded and resumed her work.

There was a total of seven of those marbles scattered around my body. One was even found just next to my heart. Anyone else would have been unable to remove it safely.

I felt like a weight had been removed from my shoulders. I made as if to stand up, but Faye put her hand on my chest and pushed me downward. Verdant energy raised from the ground, travelled through her body and got infused in my circulation, encompassing my entire body. A wave of relief washed over it as I felt the nourishing power guided by Faye and repairing my deepest injuries.

I had barely noticed it, but after the battle with Sandoval, I had been reduced to a walking corpse. The wounds and golden marbles had meddled with my perception, making me feel as if I was in better condition than I actually was.

“You saved my life,” I finally came to the obvious conclusion.

“You’re welcome,” Faye proudly answered my declaration.

“I could have died”

“Yes, you could have”

I immediately jumped to my feet. I began to walk towards the exit with an unsteady gait.

“For goodness’ sake, just stay put!” Faye grabbed my arm from behind, forcing me to turn around.

She opened her eyes wide once she saw my expression. I couldn’t see myself, but I knew my eyes were bloodshot and could feel my teeth gnashing. She grabbed my head with her hands and put her forehead against mine.

“John, calm down,” she spoke in a soft tone.

“I-I must end this,” my voice trembled due to anger.

“... What is that you must end?”

“This damned game!” I roared.

The mountain shook. Faye closed her eyes for the pain inflicted on her ears.

“... I’m sorry,” I lowered my voice.

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it,” she reassured me, welcoming me in her embrace.

I opened my mouth and words came out by themselves.

“I’ve remembered many things. Who I was, where I come from, and more. The family I left behind and the one who took it from me. The friend who betrayed me and the ones I lost”

“I see”

“And I know who they are. But I don’t know where they are. But I know I must find them because there are things I must do”

“Do you? Didn’t you do enough?”

“It’s not enough. It’s my responsibility. I’m the only one who can stop her. We made this together, but to her, it’s just a game. But it is not! Not to me”

“With her?”

“Yes, her. The…”

My tongue froze and I returned to my senses. I had let the remnants of my past take over me. I didn’t want to speak anymore. I found myself unable to find the right words to explain the current situation. More importantly, I didn’t know how she would react.

Faye took a step away from me, while firmly grasping my shoulders. She held my gaze and spoke with a serious demeanour.

“John, I know”

“... You know?”

“Not everything, not exactly. But more than enough. Well, if one thought carefully, it didn’t take a genius to make a deduction. You always knew too much, did too much and grew too much. You died, John. The day Patriarch Miller hurt you, you died. Yet you came back. When you returned from the Garden, you had with you the authority to grant life where there wasn’t.

While you were away, I investigated. They strictly guarded important information, but did they truly believe I couldn’t piece together what transpired about the Mother they revere so much?

Not to mention Isaac’s stories about Caleb.

With all these, how couldn’t I piece it together?”

She gave me a big smile.

“Wasn’t I given a good head?” she giggled, her eyes moist.

I remained speechless. She resumed speaking.

“I have just a couple of questions I want to ask you. Did you want it?”

I averted my gaze.

“... No”

“I see. Were you forced?”

“Yes…”

“Umh. Do you regret it?”

“No,” I spoke with absolute certainty.

I gazed at her. She was still smiling at me.

“I see. So you have decided to take responsibility in her place. Well then, what are you waiting for? Go out there and clean up this mess. Remember, I’ll always stand with you!”