Meyara's bad premonition only came true a year later. Mysterious plagues hit almost every area of Midehelm Kingdom, and the most severe case occurred in Deterville, the village where she lived. Residents suffered from high fever and shortness of breath so they could not get out of bed. Everyone who tried to treat them fell ill with more severe symptoms. Some people started to have a rash and cough that was hard to stop, and most of them died without much resistance. In an instant, Deterville became as quiet as a dead village.

Meyara went here and there to find out what was happening because of her own curiosity. Occasionally, she would lend a helping hand so she could see how much her magic had improved. However, there wasn't much effect she could produce. She had never studied healing, and the abilities of the healers in her village were limited.

“Come on, Meyara! Try to imagine that plant as vividly as you can," she commanded her own thoughts. "You can't be the greatest mage if you can't even cure the common cold!"

She casted her magic spells non-stop. Completely ignoring her outstretched hand which had begun to shake. Blood dripped from her nose, staining the ground. Magic waves that once had beautiful waves of color were now dull with only black and white floating in the air, like smoke.

"Here you are! I've been looking for you everywhere—what are you doing? Stop!" Adriel, who had just arrived, shouted and pulled Meyara's hand by force. "Don't push yourself! You just woke up from fainting a few minutes ago!"

"Go away!" was Meyara's only response before she continued what she was doing. “I can do this! I have studied magic for so many years!“

"But you're only thirteen!" Adriel tugged at his own long, silky brown hair. "Until when are you going to keep trying to beat a grown mage?"

"I'm thirteen and a half years old, that's why I have to try to get better!" Meyara coughed so hard, she almost fainted for the second time that day. “I am the chosen one whose magic had awakened the moment I was born! People look up to me in veneration. It's my duty to do my best!”

"No! You just want to be satisfied with yourself! You think I don't know that? All you think about is how to rule the world! But you can't even tame your own ambition!"

Meyara's eyes closed tightly after all the waves that were originally coming out of her hands suddenly disappeared. She sighed and looked at Adriel. "If you don't want to help, just leave! Don't force your negative thoughts on me. I've had enough!"

To say Adriel was confused would be an understatement. All this time, all he cared about was Meyara, the girl who caught his attention from the start. He tried to support Meyara even though he had difficulty keeping up with her.

However, he should have realized that no matter what he did, he was still a nobody in Meyara's eyes.

"Okay!" he shouted, a little too loudly. The burning cheeks and eyes revealed what he was feeling. “Do what you want! I don't even care if you end up dying of exhaustion right here right now!”

He turned around. Heels felt heavy but he forced himself to go. It was no use talking to Meyara who would not even listen to him. All of this would only hurt him. He had enough weight on his shoulders, why did he add his own woes?

There were so many other things he had to do. Especially the ones he'd been working on for the past few days. The small empty vial in his hand felt extremely cold, freezing his palm, but Adriel held it as if his life depended on it. His gut told him that what he did a few weeks ago was too dangerous, but his heart kept screaming that everything he did was for the good of Meyara.

One day, Meyara would understand that he only wished for their happiness together. As friends, or as soul mates? He didn't care, as long as Meyara stayed and loved him like he did.

He had only taken a few steps when he heard the sound of something falling. Adriel tried not to care and kept walking, but the atmosphere was too quiet for him to ignore. With trembling hands, he turned around. His eyes widened to find Meyara's body lying weakly on the ground. As fast as lightning the young man ran towards the girl.

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Adriel hoisted his friend’s body up, holding her close while still keeping her lower body on the ground. Slowly, he pushed her bangs away. He gasped seeing her face so pale, her lips even turning blue. Her body felt extremely cold to the touch, that Adriel almost let go of his hug to avoid the cold. Instead, he carried Meyara in his arms, and ran as fast as he could to Warren’s house.

The Chief's house was the largest house in Deterville, equivalent to 20 ordinary houses combined. Walls were made of the strongest and oldest tree woods and dry leaves that decorated the roof made his house look like an ordinary house in general. However, every inch of the house had been enchanted with strengthening magic and protective walls, which give a calming and comforting effect to anyone who enters it.

Some of the rooms were converted into treatment rooms due to emergency situations. When Adriel arrived, there were already many people crowding every available space. Some of them are families of patients who had been treated by the Chief and other mages.

“Excuse me! I have to meet the Chief!” Adriel nimbly made his way through every crowd, as if Meyara's body in his hands was as light as cotton. However, there were too many adults around him, so it was hard for him who hadn't grown to his full potential to look ahead. "Sorry, I'm in a hurry! Help! Anyone, help me!"

Some of the people he passed by swore at him, saying that he wasn't the only one in a pinch right now. One man even deliberately pushed Adriel's shoulder so that the boy almost fell.

The poor boy was really surprised to witness the change in the attitude of the residents who were usually kind and friendly. But he didn't have much time to think about that. He could clearly feel Meyara's energy getting weaker. The magical energy that usually emanated from the girl's body had almost completely disappeared.

A dark red rash in the form of curved lines began to appear on the side of Meyara's face, making Adriel's knees weak. He didn't need to know what it was to realize that this was a really bad situation.

Just when he almost decided to lay Meyara's body in any empty place, Warren's messy figure approached him.

"Come! You can lay her down here!" he ordered. There was not the slightest hint of confusion on his face, like he knew that Meyara would faint at any moment.

"This is my fault!" Adriel pressed his own eyes to hold back the tears that gushed out. "I should have stopped her."

"It's okay," said the Chief calmly. He inspected Meyara’s body very carefully. "She's a wonderful girl, she's going to be fine."

"I don't understand why she's pushing herself so hard. Is it really important to be the best mage in the world?"

Warren didn't answer, instead he scanned Meyara's body, his hands floating in the air. Adriel could see how the air shifted under the man's palm, but unlike Meyara's energy, Warren's energy had no color at all.

Adriel frowned. He never knew for sure what was so special about Warren. As the Chief, Warren must have hidden a lot of formidable power under his palm.

"I knew it. She couldn't escape this plague either." Warren said after he finished planting a big flower right beside Meyara. The plant was about half a meter tall, with dark green stems and leaves while its spider-like flowers were bright blue. Adriel knew it as Mirabilis, a healing flower that Meyara tried her best to grow.

"I'm afraid she won't be able to last long. This plague is even more striking to people with great power."

"W-what?"

Warren took the two nearest chairs, asking Adriel to sit nearby. "You see the curved lines on his face?"

Adriel, who had just sat down, stood up to take a closer look at Meyara's face. His breath caught in his throat when he saw the dark red pattern that almost covered the girl's entire face.

“Her body is fighting the virus that’s attacking it in every way possible. It was the reaction of that resistance. Not all patients show this reaction.”

"Wait," Adriel clenched his fists, “Are you saying that Meyara is at a disadvantage because she has so much magic energy in her body? Do you think that makes any sense?" he cried out. His head felt so heavy with all the troubles that came like a storm. His ears started ringing so much he wanted to smack himself on the head. Why did things end up like this? He just wanted to do a little change with his own hands, but in the end he ruined everything.

“I heard that from all over the Midehelm Kingdom, only two villages have patients with these symptoms. Now three, including our village. And the patients from the other two villages are no longer living in this world.”

"We can't give up! There must be something we can do!"

"Let's see what I can do." Warren stood up and patted Adriel on the shoulder. He left after saying something about telling Meyara's parents.

The commotion was still heard everywhere, people were crying over every sick family member. Even so, Adriel heard absolutely nothing as he was too focused on his raging thoughts, staring intently at Meyara's body that was still lying weakly. As much as possible he focused all his attention on her chest which was still moving up and down even a little. At least the girl was still breathing.

"You should wake up soon, Meyara," he whispered. "Or I will never forgive myself."

***