The cold white emptiness filled Nic's vision. His head, or more accurately in his current state, his entire being hurt. It was akin to feeling sore after a long day of exercising. Of course, he currently doesn't have a body.
"I guess this is what it's like to be dead," Nic spoke as he felt around the area he was in. While he heard his voice, he believed this was just him hearing it in his head. After all, he couldn’t talk since he had no body.
The biggest mystery was why Nic even still had a conscience. He had always assumed that when he died, that would be it. There would be nothing else after that. Yet here he was. Thinking, seeing, and talking. What was next? Was he about to meet one of the gods people always talked about?
“Gods? Death? What are you even talking about, boy?” A familiar voice came from the white room. Not even a day later, Nic was once again hearing the voice of his ancestor, Noah Verilo.
“What? Are you here to guide me into the afterlife in some sort of joke?” Nic spoke into the white void that surrounded him. They were just two disembodied voices speaking to each other in the ethereal nothingness of this space.
“Again, what are you talking about? You aren’t even close to death.” The voice sighed tiredly.
“What? But I absorbed too much Irradiation for my body to handle.”
The voice of his ancestor went quiet. The sound of nothingness deafened the consciousness known as Nic Verilo.
“And then you activated the purification ability in your blood… Don’t you remember this?” When the voice of Noah Verilo finally did speak up again, it asked a question related to something that Nic had no involvement in.
“Purification… ability…?” The confusion in Nic’s voice was strong enough to cause Noah Verilo to groan in annoyance. Nic had no idea what was going on. His plan from the beginning had been to sacrifice himself to save not only Aria but his parents and the rest of the people that lived in S-012. He had no way of activating the purification ability after Aria had unintentionally cut his previous meeting with his ancestor’s memory short.
“You… don’t remember anything that happened in your village…?”
“Hmmm? Well, I remember creating my plan and charging in and executing said plan. But that plan also ended in my death.” Nic responded cooly as the memory of the day played through his mind. If he had his body, he would’ve shrugged at the end, signifying his lack of care and that his plan involved him dying.
The voice of his ancestor went quiet yet again. This time for much longer. Because he occasionally sighed or hummed, Nic thought he was thinking.
“Ugh! Well, either way, the fact of the matter is this, descendant of mine. You’re still alive. Someone must have externally caused your body to go through some huge amount of emotions, even while you were unconscious. That’s the only way I can think of someone awakening another person’s magic. Who it was, and what they did, you will have to find out when you wake up.”
“I’m alive? Are we just in my head again?” Nic had a feeling he knew who had caused him to awaken to his magic, though he was embarrassed to think of the ways that they could have done it.
“That’s right. Now, normally when one awakens their magic, they are conscious and remember how to do it.”
It was a basic magic principle to born magic. Even Nic knew this much, though he was only taught it by Aria while most people would learn it through school. When someone is born with magic, they must first awaken to it before they can use it whenever they want. In order to awaken to one’s magic, one must simply go through a moment of extreme emotions.
For most people, this happened in moments of extreme duress. Events such as watching a loved one die in front of you or wanting to surpass a rival were the two most common moments in which this happened.
“But what happened to me is different?”
“That’s correct. In your case, you were unconscious when your body awakened the magic lying within you. Because of this, your body may remember it in the future, leading to you not passing out for days on end next time. But your mind doesn’t. This means you will have a much harder time remembering how to even activate your magic. You will most likely need to experience another awakening, this time staying conscious throughout it.”
“I see,” Nic thought about what his ancestor was saying. It overall made sense. If he couldn’t remember how it felt to activate his magic, he would most likely need to experience something akin to an awakening again in order to feel what it is like. One thing that Noah said stuck in Nic’s mind more than anything else. “You said that I have been passed out for “days on end”. How long have I been passed out for?”
“Hmmm? Oh, that. Well, us talking is only possible because you are slowly regaining your consciousness. Of course, I’m stuck with you so I don’t know exactly how long it’s been, but if I had to hazard a guess… four days? Maybe five?”
“I’ve been asleep for nearly a week?” Nearly an entire week had gone by since Nic executed his plan. Yet for him, it felt like the blink of an eye. One minute he was surrounded by the murky darkness that was the Irradiation maelstrom that had formed on him. The next he was in the white emptiness that was his mind.
“Yes, and as I said, you should be waking up sooner rather than later. I’ve said everything I planned on saying, so I will leave you to your own thoughts until you wake up. Remember, you will need to experience another awakening to be able to use the purification magic again. I wish you luck and… thank you for doing this… what I could never do.”
In an instant, the white space was devoid of conversation yet again. Nic could tell that his ancestor was no longer there. He was once again alone in the emptiness. Hopefully, he would wake up soon. He wanted to see her again. He wanted to apologize. For everything.
He wanted to see her smile again. To feel the warmth of her hands, to hear her talk again, her sweet voice echoing in his ears.
Nic hoped she would forgive him.
Aria sat on a chair next to her bed. She had brought it in from the eating area so she could stay by his side as long as he was asleep. She had to be the first person he saw when he woke up. No one else could take that hope away from her.
Nic Verilo was asleep on her bed, tucked under the blanket that covered it to keep him warm while his body rested and healed. What he had done two days before had taken a large toll on his body, according to both Mr. Chapman and Rust. Rust had arrived in the former Rad-Town the previous day.
Both of them had spent most of their time meeting with a council of townspeople who were trying to decide the future of the former Rad-Town. No matter what they decided, Aria knew where she would be when the dust settled.
That day, in the Town Center, Mr. Chapman had offered Aria the chance to bring Nic to Sanum with her. He would make sure that the boy would be able to get in, no matter what. When she heard the offer, Aria had been ecstatic.
Even so, Aria turned down Mr. Chapman. She quickly realized that she couldn’t make the decision herself. If Nic wanted to go, he would need to make the decision himself. And Aria? She would go where Nic went. If he chose to go to Sanum, then she would go to Sanum. If Nic chose to go somewhere else, she would go with him. The only place she wanted to be was by his side.
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As for Jack Cariatal, the Vision was unable to restrain him properly, and was injured because of it. Aria didn’t know the full details, but Mr. Chapman had told her that the Vision had been in a relationship with Jack. Another member of the Sanum Hunters eventually fully restrained him and took him back to Sanum to face trial. As for Aria, she simply never wanted to see the man again, because of what he forced Nic to do.
A soft knock on the bedroom door took Aria out of her thoughts.
“Come on in.” She quietly called out to the person who had knocked. She didn’t know who it was, and was hoping they weren’t here to bring trouble to the sleeping Nic. She didn’t turn around until she heard the door softly close.
When she did turn around, she found a slightly older woman standing by the door. Nic and her shared a fair few qualities and looked very alike. They had the same murky blue eyes and facial shape overall. The only stark difference between the two was their hair. While Nic’s was Brown and shorter, the woman’s was stark black and quite long. She wore a simple outfit consisting of dark pants and a dark long-sleeve shirt. Her eyes were tinted red, undoubtedly due to crying at the loss of a loved one. In her hands was a folded pair of pants and a shirt.
When she saw her, Aria quickly stood up and gave her a small bow of the head.
“Ah, Mrs. Hea- I mean, Mrs. Verilo. Did you want to see Nic? I can leave if you want to be alone. Just say the wor-” Aria greeted Nic’s mother, fixing herself mid-sentence. She quickly offered to give the woman some space if she wanted. Aria didn’t know how to approach her interactions with the woman after what had happened. However, Nic’s mother didn’t care about any of that. She cut Aria off mid-sentence with a simple, loving, hug.
The embrace caught Aria off guard as her face was buried in the shoulder of the woman. She had been prepared for her to be cold. Prepared to be understanding about the fact that the woman had just lost her husband and her son was in a coma. Prepared to keep her distance if she needed to. And yet all she had been met with was a loving embrace, shattering all of that preparation.
“Don’t be so formal, Kayla is fine.” There was a sweetness in her voice. Hearing it, Aria’s mind raced toward her own mother, who had just passed away. Her body convulsed, growing heavy as she fought back the tears threatening to pour from her eyes. Her hands found purchase in the shirt of the woman who had wrapped their arms around her.
The warmth of the woman threatened to break down the walls she had created to hide her own struggles away from others. She wanted to be a rock for him when he eventually woke up. She thought he would need it. So much would be heaved upon him the minute others learned that he was awake.
“I knew it.” The sweet voice offered a silent whisper. Aria’s body froze. “Just let it all out. No one else is nearby and Nic is still unconscious.”
“What’re you…” One of Kayla’s hands reached up and began stroking the back of Aria’s head, stopping her mid-sentence.
“Wendy… your mother, she sacrificed herself to save you, didn’t she?” Aria tried to push herself away from Kayla, but the warmth from Kayla’s arms held on tight. “And then Nic tried to sacrifice himself to save everyone in the Rad-Town, including you.” Aria struggled against the weakness in her legs that continued to grow as Kayla spoke. “You went through a lot that day. Maybe even more than what I saw you go through. And you have kept it all in since then. Just let it out now.”
The gates snapped. The walls crumbled. Aria fell to her knees as the tears came rushing out. She buried her face in the collar of the woman who quietly sat there, supporting her. The two stayed like this until Aria had no more tears left to shed. When she finally calmed down, Aria scooted back a bit and quickly bowed her head.
“I’m sorry.” Aria didn’t know why the apology had left her mouth. It sounded hollow, even to her. When she lifted her head again, Kayla’s lips were turned into a soft smile. Kayla reached out and cupped part of Aria’s face with her hand.
“There’s no need for you to apologize, Aria. As long as you want to stand at Nic’s side, you’re already a part of our family.” Aria’s face grew hot after hearing that and furiously shaking her head. She stammered trying to give a response only to hear a small giggle coming from the woman in front of her, stopping Aria.
“Mrs. Ver-, uh, Kayla is something funny?” Aria cooled down as she asked the question.
“It’s nothing. You just remind me of my younger self. I guess Verilos really have some pull that affects certain people.” Kayla Verilo, Nic’s mother, stood up, grabbing the pile of clothes that had dropped out of her hands earlier. She put them on the bed next to the sleeping Nic, a small smile passing on her lips as she gently stroked her son’s forehead. “These are a fresh change of clothes that Mrs. Carnie made for Nic. When he wakes up, please make sure that he changes into them.”
“Mrs. Carnie… made them…?”
“Mhm. She said it was thanks for Nic saving her husband. What he did in the Town Center… He absorbed the Irradiation in everyone, including Mr. Carnie.” Kayla continued stroking Nic’s head as she spoke.
“Does that mean…?”
“Mr. Carnie has been cured of his Irradiation Sickness.” A small chuckle escaped Kayla’s lips. “To think that an ability that wasn’t supposed to appear in our family for another two centuries would appear within Nic. Samuel and I, always tried to talk Nic out of his ideas of gaining this ability. We knew the level of despair that it would bring when Nic would be unable to reach it. After all, Samuel was the exact same way when he was younger.”
Nic had always complained to Aria about his parents when they had spent time together. Every day he came bearing tales of a new argument that they had. And here his mother was, explaining their side of the story.
“So you did all of that… because you didn’t believe it was possible? But why did you think that?” Aria was confused about one thing. As far as she knew, the book only ever stated that they needed to go to the place where their ancestor had lived. It had never stated the 500-year requirement.
“Aria, why do you think that Samuel and I set down here?”
“Huh?” Kayla finally stopped looking down at her son and turned to face Aria once again.
“Samuel and I were born in a village to the East of here, at the base of the World End Mountain range. We came here to visit the building that was specified in the journal. There we met that Dwarf, I think his name was Rust, who told us about the time requirement.”
“You’ve met Rust before?!”
“So you met him as well.” Kayla lowered her head. “It was because he told us what he did that we decided to try and keep everything from Nic. But despite that, he managed to do all of this. And you were at his side the entire way. If I had to guess, you had something to do with why Nic managed to do it.”
Aria shook her head and put up her hands to stop Kayla. She knew the truth. She had nothing to do with it, no matter how much she had tried to train Nic. Everything was thanks to the Wind Spirits.
“I, sadly, had nothing to do with it. Nic was able to do all of this because the Spirits agreed to help him out.”
“Spirits?”
Aria nodded before whistling and holding her hand out above the blanket covering Nic. It quickly began to shuffle a bit before stopping again.
“It’s alright, she’s Nic’s mother, she won’t hurt you.” The blanket wiggled again before a small green blob flew out from underneath it. It floated up and landed on Aria’s hand. Ever since she had poured her magic into the little blob, it had been more than happy enough to float around her while Nic was unconscious.
“That’s… a Spirit…?” Aria nodded her head as Kayla asked about it.
“To be specific, this is the wind spirit that has been lending Nic its strength. Because of it, Nic was able to gain the abilities of the Verilo bloodline two hundred years early.” Aria held out her hand, and the spirit with it. Kayla slowly put out her hands and the spirit jumped from Aria’s and into hers.
“You’re the reason?” Aria was sad to admit that she was a bit afraid that Kayla might try something rash. But her fears turned out to be unfounded when she saw a few tears fall out of the corners of the woman’s eyes.
A creak came from the other side of the only door leading into the room. Hearing it, Kayla quickly put the Spirit down on top of Nic’s chest. It sat there, seemingly confused at why it had been put down. It tried to float back up into her hands, but Kayla quickly turned around and took a step toward the door.
“I should get going now.” In the blink of an eye, Nic’s mother had her hand on the door, ready to open it.
“Ah- Kay- ahem, Mrs. Verilo… One more thing.” Aria reached out her hand instinctively. She wasn’t sure why, maybe she was trying to stop the motherly figure in front of her from leaving. Maybe it was the question burning in her chest, hoping for an answer.
“Again, just Kayla is fine, Aria. What is it?”
“Mr. Chapman, he has a plan…” Aria’s voice faltered. She wasn’t sure how to approach the plan itself.
“Ah, yes. He wants Nic to head to Sanum when he goes back after the funeral, correct?” Kayla looked up slightly as she paused to think. “I think Nic should go. It would be best for him to get out of this place.”
Without giving Aria a chance to respond, Nic’s mother opened the door and walked through, leaving Aria alone with the unconscious Nic once again. She walked over to the side of the bed and sat down. Reaching out, Aria grabbed Nic’s hand and held it tight.