The cloth that had been warm became a little colder, but Adriel still rubbed it gently on Meyara's face. Her sleeping face brought peace to the boy's heart, even though his chest ached at the traces of the pattern that was still decorated her cheek. He sighed before putting the cloth back into the basket on the bedside table.

"Are you trying to get back all the sleep you wasted when we were kids?" he asked the girl in front of him. "You've had enough, haven't you? What’s taking you so long?"

Adriel's body slumped in the chair he was sitting in. Anyone who saw him at this time would have thought he had put in an incredible amount of hard work until he had lost all of his energy, but no. He just did house cleaning, studying magic spells, looking for potions, and other mundane tasks as usual. What drained him the most was this, seeing the girl he loved so much lying unconscious with no sign of her waking up soon.

Many years have passed, four years to be exact. Not a second went by without bad thoughts invading his mind. What if Meyara would never open her eyes again? What if she stopped breathing when he wasn't there? Adriel wanted to think that there was something he could do, but this time he couldn't deny the fact that was on his mind all along.

He's useless.

All this time he kept Meyara by his side, arrogantly saying that he would find a way to heal her. Ben and Brenna believed him with all their heart. True to his words, he was indeed searching for something nonstop. He even went to the deepest part of the forest to find other magical healing verbs that perhaps no one in this world would ever find. Wishful thinking, he knew, but what else could he do? It was not like his magic ability could easily grow what he needed.

Time flew mercilessly. Adriel was running out of time and energy. The determination that had originally driven him so strongly had dimmed. Meyara's hair that had grown so long, and her fragile little body that still lay motionless were reminders of Adriel's cruel failure. With a heavy heart, he stroked her sunken cheek carefully.

"Maybe I should prepare for the worst, maybe this is all for the best," he muttered. "I'm sorry, Meyara. You deserve a better friend than me. I will make sure not to bother you in our next life, so that a better man can take my place.”

Adriel took a deep breath before continuing. “But … if you open your eyes now, I promise you one thing. I will never leave your side, no matter what. I will stay with you and do whatever you ask me to do. Now, you choose."

Out of nowhere he chuckled despite the tears streaming down his cheeks. He didn't bother wiping it off because he was too busy to keep himself from laughing. Apparently, he found what he said really funny.

“Why did I make such a choice? It's obvious which one you will choose, isn't it? For as long as we've known each other, you've always tried to get rid of me. How stupid am I."

He shook his head, disappointed in himself for the umpteenth time. The sun had set, he had to return to his own room, right beside Meyara's. Even though he knew that he would never be able to sleep, he had to give it a try. The next morning he was going to meet with Warren to discuss all about Meyara, he did not want to come with a sour face.

His stomach knotted at the thought of the plan he had discussed with the Chief before. Not much, they would just end Meyara's misery by stopping her only life support, Mirabilis. Mirabilis' immense energy held Meyara’s soul in the subconscious while giving her body time to heal itself. But it had never taken this long, something went wrong. Either Meyara had given up, or maybe the virus that attacked her was too strong. The pattern stuck to her skin was a clear sign.

When he just got up to turn off the lantern, he froze. His ears heard a sound, so soft that he almost missed it. He held his breath, afraid the sound of his breathing would prevent him from hearing any strange noises. Carefully, he turned his head, facing Meyara whose brows were pulled together. The girl started whimpering in pain, and Adriel wasted no time rushing to her side.

“Meyara? Can you hear me?" he asked softly, even though his heart was beating so fast it might jump out of his chest. His eyes widened when he saw the red streaks on Meyara's skin fade. "Oh my God! What should I do?"

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Adriel swiftly took the water that had been used to wipe Meyara's face, he didn't have much of a choice as he refused to leave the girl even for a moment. His lips muttered a spell, instantly turning the water that was originally clear into a bluish murky. He took a handful of the potion, boiled it into steam with his magic, and brought it up to Meyara's nose who subconsciously sucked it up as she started convulsing. Her pale skin allowed Adriel to see a little how the steam entered her core.

It took a few minutes for the girl to calm down, her breathing gradually becoming normal. But Adriel couldn't even rest when he saw how Mirabilis was starting to wither. "No, no! This is not the time, please! She still has a chance!"

Mirabilis was much different from other flowers. It did not need support from water or dirt. Its roots stood alone wherever mages plant them. And just as it lived, it also died of itself. It wisely cut itself off from the patients it had been connected with, whether those patients recovered or had no hope of living again.

This knowledge added to the panic Adriel felt. He couldn't just let Mirabilis die because he didn't have the ability to regenerate it yet. Warren was also busy taking care of the village after the King changed many of the rules in Midehelm Kingdom since the plague hit a few years ago. Only he could help Meyara at this time.

Desperately Adriel tried to touch the Mirabilis stem, but the flower broke immediately, turned into dust scattered on the ground. Once again Adriel froze in shock.

Nevertheless, he could see Meyara moving slowly on the bed.

"W-where am I?" the girl asked after she groaned for a while.

Relief washed over Adriel's body. He couldn't believe his eyes and ears until Meyara had to repeat his question.

"Oh my God! You wake up!" The boy was jumping for joy but suddenly stopped when he saw Meyara about to get up. "Wait! Don't move too much! You haven’t moved for too long, your muscles need time to recover!”

Meyara realized how weak her body was even before hearing Adriel's warning, as her whole body felt so powerless. Even raising a hand was difficult for her.

She frowned. Despite the fog that still clouded her mind, she was not stupid. A glance at the room she was currently in made her immediately know what had happened. It was not a new experience for her as she had been bedridden several times. But she had never felt so weak before, and worst of all, she could feel that something huge was missing from her.

"What are you doing?" Adriel, who was just about to go get some water, was stunned when he saw Meyara closing her eyes tightly while raising her hand with difficulty. The girl ignored him and continued to cast a spell.

They were expecting waves of color to dance in the air by now, as a result of the random spell Meyara muttered. However, nothing happened even though she tried her best.

"Meyara, it's okay. You just need to rest a bit more—"

"I can't feel it!"

Adriel frowned in confusion. "What can't you feel?"

"I don't know! My magic energy?" she answered hesitantly. "It used to be there, deep inside of me. I can't explain it but I'm sure it's gone! What did you do?" Meyara started to raise her voice which was still hoarse. Her body was still lying weak, but Adriel could clearly see how frustrated the girl was.

"I did nothing but try to save your life!" replied Adriel. The exhaustion from struggling for the past four years made it hard for him to control his emotions. "You can't just open your eyes and accuse me of something I didn't do!"

"Don't try to fool me! You're always looking at me with envy. You wouldn't waste an opportunity to make me slip up!" Meyara started coughing, she rubbed her own chest to get rid of the pain. "Now tell me, how did you do it? How did you drain my magic energy and how can I get it back?"

Shocked, Adriel couldn't even come up with an explanation to defend himself. He just took a deep breath to quell his emotions. "Please stop, Meyara. You better watch your words.”

"But, I—argh!" Suddenly, Meyara clutched her head with both hands. Moaning in pain and crying uncontrollably. Adriel asked her to calm down and guided her to regulate the blood flow so it wouldn't attack the nerves in her head, but Meyara couldn't hear him clearly as her ears were ringing so loudly.

"You should have … just let me die," she said between sobs. "You don't understand. I have lost all my chances. I can't be the best mage in Midehelm Kingdom without my magic. I can't even be a mage! What's the point of living?"

"Don’t say that," Adriel pleaded in a whisper. He rubbed Meyara’s forehead briefly until she fell asleep. This time Adriel wasn't too worried because he knew she would wake up feeling calmer.

But what will he do next? If it's true that Meyara lost all of her abilities, she definitely won't be able to return to her full life.

“Once again everything returns to square one,” he sighed. “You always make me wonder what I can do for you, Meyara. What exactly have you done to me?”

***