Orin’s heart sank as the nurse relayed the news. His mother’s condition was deteriorating rapidly. The relief he’d felt after saving Tio evaporated, replaced by a gnawing dread. He knew that time was running out for Edua, and every second spent not acting could be fatal. Lysandra and Huter were quick to offer their support, pledging to help him save his mother no matter the cost. But it was Tio, his voice still strained from the ordeal of having his soul restored, who made the most compelling argument. “You need me,” Tio insisted, his voice firm despite the weariness etched into his features. “I’m the only mindwalker here. If we’re going to reach Edua, I have to be there.” Orin’s instincts screamed at him to protect his friend, to let Tio rest and recover from the near-death experience they’d just endured. But deep down, Orin knew Tio was right. They couldn’t save Edua without him. The tension between them boiled over into a heated argument, voices rising as they each tried to assert their will. But Tio, despite his weakened state, was resolute, and in the end, it was his determination that won out. With no other options left, Orin reluctantly agreed, and the group prepared to head to the hospital, their hearts heavy with the knowledge of the battle that lay ahead.
When they arrived at the hospital, the sight that greeted them was dire. The magical barrier that Orin and Lysandra had painstakingly constructed around Edua’s room was still standing, but it was clearly under immense strain. Dark tendrils of magic lashed against it, seeking any weakness, desperate to break free. The air around them buzzed with a malevolent energy that made the hairs on the back of Orin’s neck stand on end. Tio turned to Orin, offering his hand. “We have to find her, Orin. Together.” Orin hesitated only for a moment before taking Tio’s hand. The moment Tio’s fingers brushed Edua’s forehead, the world around them shifted. They were plunged into a space so dark and empty that it felt like the universe itself had ceased to exist. There were no walls, no sounds, no light—just a suffocating void that pressed down on them from all sides. Orin called out for his mother, his voice echoing hollowly in the endless blackness. Panic began to claw at him as his calls went unanswered, the silence deepening the fear that gripped his heart. What had happened to her? What had Eileen done? Orin closed his eyes, forcing himself to focus. He pictured his mother’s face, her warm hazelnut eyes, her gentle smile. The image grew stronger in his mind, and suddenly, the darkness parted, revealing a small cave. In its center was a faint, flickering pink flame. As they approached, they heard a soft, continuous whispering—a sound that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once. It was a voice Orin recognized all too well. His mother.
Edua stood behind the pink flame, her form shadowy and indistinct in the dim light. She was whispering incessantly, her words a jumbled murmur that Orin couldn’t decipher. Tio stepped forward cautiously and reached out, lightly touching her arm. The moment his hand made contact, Edua snapped out of her trance, blinking rapidly as she tried to regain her bearings. Her eyes, once so full of life, were now clouded with confusion and fear. “Orin?” she murmured, her voice cracking. Orin rushed to her side, pulling her into a tight embrace. “Mother, what happened? Why did you let the darkness in? Why is your flame so weak?” Edua leaned heavily against him, her strength sapped by the darkness that had taken root inside her. She spoke in a trembling voice, recounting the encounter with Eileen and the moment she allowed the darkness to seep into her being. “It was the only way,” she whispered, tears brimming in her eyes. “I had to do it to save all of you. But now... I don’t know if I can ever recover. The dark magic has poisoned my flame, and it’s spreading. I can feel it consuming me.” Orin’s heart twisted with sorrow and guilt as he listened. He had always known his mother was strong, but to hear her speak of being poisoned, of being unable to recover—it was almost too much to bear.
Tio, his voice steady despite the turmoil surrounding them, asked the question that had been hanging over them like a dark cloud. “What will happen if you wake up with that dark power still inside you?” Edua looked at Tio, her expression one of deep sorrow. “If I wake up,” she said slowly, “I will become a vessel for the darkness. It will control me, and I may even fight for it. I will be its weapon.” The revelation hit Orin like a physical blow. The thought of his mother, kind and compassionate, being turned into a weapon of dark magic was unbearable. “There must be a way to stop it,” Orin insisted, his voice shaking with desperation. Edua shook her head sadly. “I’m afraid it’s too late for me, Orin. I’m already doomed.” But Orin refused to accept that. He had just saved Tio against impossible odds, and he was determined to save his mother, too.
Orin stood before his mother, the weight of what he was about to do heavy in his chest. His hands trembled as he began to weave the intricate spell, channeling the earth’s steady resilience, the fluid adaptability of water, and the relentless flow of time. The air around him thickened with the energy he was drawing upon, the very essence of the elements bending to his will. Slowly, painstakingly, a crystal began to form around Edua. It started as a faint shimmer in the air, a translucent veil that hovered between her and the encroaching darkness. As Orin poured more of his power into the spell, the crystal solidified, its walls growing denser and more impenetrable with each passing moment. The pink flame at the heart of his mother’s magical core flickered weakly, its light dimming as the crystal encased it, but Orin knew he had no choice. He had to shield her from the darkness that threatened to consume her completely. Edua’s eyes widened in alarm as she realized what Orin was doing. “No!” she cried, her voice echoing through the cave. “Orin, stop! You can’t do this!” She pounded her fists against the walls of the crystal, the sharp crack of her hands meeting the unyielding barrier reverberating through the air. The sound was like a hammer striking Orin’s heart, but he forced himself to continue, his jaw clenched in determination. Edua’s once calm and composed demeanor was shattered, her desperation mounting as the crystal closed in around her. “Please, Orin!” she pleaded, her voice breaking with emotion. “I need to be free! You don’t understand what you’re doing!” But Orin couldn’t afford to waver. He knew that if he faltered now, if he let her go, the darkness would consume her entirely, turning her into something monstrous. Something beyond redemption.
Tears streamed down Edua’s face as she continued to fight against the crystal, her fists leaving faint, glowing imprints on the barrier as she struck it again and again. “I can’t lose you, Orin,” she whispered, her voice barely audible over the sound of her frantic pounding. “Not like this.” But Orin was resolute. He channeled the last of his strength into the spell, completing the formation of the crystal box. The barrier sealed shut with a final, resonant hum, the light within dimming to a soft, steady glow. Edua was now completely encased, her form barely visible through the translucent walls. She stared at Orin, her hazelnut eyes wide with a mixture of fear, sorrow, and a faint, flickering hope. “I’ll come back for you, Mother,” Orin said, his voice thick with emotion. “I promise. But for now, this is the only way to keep you safe.”
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Edua’s cries became muffled as the crystal’s walls thickened, her voice fading into the background as Orin stepped back. The pink flame at her core continued to flicker weakly, but it was protected now, shielded from the darkness that had been slowly eating away at it. Orin took a deep breath, forcing himself to turn away from the heart-wrenching sight of his mother trapped within the crystal. His work wasn’t finished yet. He still had to fortify the barrier he and Lysandra had built around the room in the physical world. Edua would wake soon, and when she did, the darkness within her would undoubtedly try to break free. Orin needed to be ready. As he prepared to leave his mother’s mind and return to the hospital, he cast one last glance at the crystal, at the faint light that still shone within it. “I’ll save you,” he whispered, more to himself than to her. “No matter what it takes, I’ll save you.”
Back in the hospital room, the sterile smell of antiseptic and the soft hum of machines made the world feel unbearably ordinary after what Tio and Orin had just experienced. But there was nothing ordinary about the weight of the emotions that now bore down on them. Orin stood by his mother’s bed, the reality of what he’d done crashing down on him like a wave. His hands trembled, the adrenaline from casting the crystal prison around his mother beginning to wear off, leaving only a hollow ache in its place. Tio, sensing his friend’s turmoil, moved closer and wrapped his arms around him. They stood there for a long moment, tears streaming down both their faces. Orin leaned into the embrace, his shoulders shaking with silent sobs. Edua’s time was ticking away, each second a step closer to an unknown fate. The crystal would hold for now, but how long before the darkness within her found a way to break free?
When they finally pulled apart, Orin wiped his eyes and turned to Lysandra and Huter, who had been waiting anxiously by the door. Their eyes were full of questions, but also a quiet resolve that Orin had come to rely on. He explained everything—the dark void where they’d found Edua, the pink flame that had been her only light, and the desperate measure he’d taken to save her. Lysandra’s face paled as she listened, her eyes wide with concern. Huter clenched his fists, a muscle in his jaw twitching as he absorbed the gravity of the situation. “We don’t have much time,” Orin said, his voice hoarse from the strain. “The darkness will try to break through the crystal. I need your help to fortify the barrier around her room. It’s the only way to give us more time.” There was no hesitation. Lysandra and Huter moved to stand beside Orin, their determination mirrored in his own eyes. They raised their hands, channeling their magic into the barrier that had been built to contain Edua’s volatile energy. The air around them thrummed with power as they worked together, their combined magic weaving a thicker, more resilient shield around the room. The sound of the dark magic clashing against the barrier was almost deafening, a low, menacing growl that made the floor beneath their feet tremble. It was a reminder that this new defense, no matter how strong, wouldn’t last forever. But it didn’t need to. It just had to hold long enough for them to find a solution—before the darkness found a way out.
The strain of fortifying the barrier weighed heavily on Orin. The energy required to maintain such intense magic left him drained, both physically and emotionally. His friends could see it in the way his shoulders slumped, in the weariness etched into his face. They tried to comfort him, offering reassurance that they would find a way to save Edua, that there had to be a solution. But Orin’s thoughts were a storm of doubt and despair. The reality of what they were up against seemed insurmountable, and with every passing second, the possibility of losing his mother to the darkness grew more likely. When they finally returned home, the familiar surroundings did little to ease the tension that had settled over them. They were exhausted, each of them lost in their own thoughts about what was to come. Orin sat heavily on the couch, his mind spinning, while Lysandra and Huter paced restlessly, the unspoken fear hanging in the air like a shroud.
It was Tio who broke the silence, his brow furrowed in confusion. “Do you hear that?” he asked, his voice cutting through the quiet. Lysandra and Huter stopped pacing, turning to look at him. “Hear what?” Huter asked, glancing around the room. “That beeping,” Tio replied, his voice growing more insistent. “It’s constant, like an alarm, and it’s getting louder.” Orin exchanged a puzzled look with Lysandra, then turned back to Tio. “We don’t hear anything, Tio. Are you sure it’s not just... I don’t know, the aftereffects of what you’ve been through?” Tio shook his head, pressing his hands to his ears as if trying to block out the sound. “No, it’s real. It’s like... it’s getting closer.” Before any of them could respond, a familiar figure materialized in the room, startling them all. Cassy stood there, dressed incongruously in a bright gym suit, as if she were about to go for a run. Her sudden appearance left them all gaping in surprise. “Cassy?” Orin managed to say, his mind struggling to comprehend how she had appeared without being summoned. Cassy’s expression was one of mild amusement as she surveyed the room. “Surprised to see me?” she quipped. “Well, get used to it. I’m not exactly tied to your summons anymore.” The shock of her arrival began to give way to confusion and concern. “What’s happening, Cassy?” Lysandra asked, her voice tinged with unease. Cassy’s demeanor grew serious. “What Tio is hearing isn’t a regular sound. It’s the Dark Magic Song. Only certain magical creatures can hear it, and unfortunately, that now includes Tio.” The three friends stared at Tio, who was still trying to drown out the noise in his head. Cassy explained, “His soul was destroyed and then restored. That kind of trauma can leave... side effects. In this case, he’s become sensitive to dark magic. Think of him as your personal alarm system. If he’s hearing the Song, it means something—someone—is coming. And it’s not friendly.” Tio’s eyes widened in alarm as the implications sank in. The constant beeping in his head wasn’t just an annoying sound—it was a warning. Something dark was approaching, and they needed to be ready for whatever—or whoever—was on its way.