Chronos heard a soft whisper wishing him to "rest in peace" before completely losing consciousness. That was the last thing he heard before diving in a bottomless pit of darkness.

"Sure thing."

Was his reply, but....

"Ughh! It hurts... It hurts so much! What's with this pain?!"

The pain that seemed to be coming from his stomach got worse and worse as his consciousness slowly came back to him. Unable to understand what was happening, he tried opening his eyes.

"What's this.... My eyes are so heavy. I can't...."

But his eyes just closed on its own whenever he tried to open them. He was overcome with the feeling of sleepiness, and that feeling prevented him from fully opening his eyes. Still, he managed to see even just a tiny bit of his surroundings as he was forcing his eyes open.

"A girl?"

Was what he noticed. A girl with white hair and white eyes. He couldn't make out her appearance as he could barely see, but the girl looked like she was a few years younger than him. He opened his mouth in an attempt to try speaking, but...

"I can't speak?!"

He tried to speak and move, but to no avail. He could only breath and move his eyes a bit. That was about the only function his body was capable of.

"I see... Looks like I got paralyzed. I guess this is still better than being dead?"

He wasn't so sure if being paralyzed was truly better than being dead, especially with the immense pain coming from his stomach, but he felt relieved thinking that it is still possible for him to resume his journey someday. Still, who was that girl? Was she his savior? Did she take care of him while he was unconscious?

"She looks younger than me, but isn't she kind of...."

He noticed it. The discrepancy between the girl's appearance and her manners.

"Isn't she kind of matured?"

From the way she eats to the way she takes care of him, her actions and manner are far different from her young appearance. The way she looks at him, with eyes that have no hint of pity nor worry. The way she carefully touches his wounds, and even the way she walks with her hands behind her back.

"Is she actually an old lady? No, no. That's not possible."

Chronos reached a point where he thought the girl was actually really old, but he quickly dismissed the idea thinking that it was too ridiculous. Instead, he decided to take a more neutral stance. Something as simple as "The girl is young, but she is more matured than her age suggests."

"Sigh... when will I be able to resume my journey?"

His concern was on point. Who knew when his paralyzed body will go back to normal? No doctors, healers, and priests could tell when someone will wake up from paralysis. "Only time will tell." was their favorite phrase when it came to paralyzed patients.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"I'm really sleepy. I guess I'll give up for now."

Finally, he gave up to his sleepiness. He was glad that someone was taking care of him, but there was no way he would be able to thank her properly. What he needed to do was allow his body to recover, and the best way to do so would be to sleep. He fought against it for a bit out of curiosity towards his surroundings, but he knew deep inside that sleepiness was a sign that his body was asking him to rest.

Just then, he felt something warm on his forehead.

"A.... towel?"

And he fell asleep just like that.

***~~~*** ***~~~***

A couple of days later, or perhaps a week later.....

"Ahh..."

Chronos regained his consciousness once more after sleeping it away. Unlike the last time, he was able to open his eyes properly. It also seemed like he could already somewhat move.

"Good morning."

A soft voice greeted the Chronos who was still lying on the bed.

"G-good morning..."

Chronos hesitantly greeted back as he pushed his upper body up. A towel that was on his forehead dropped as he got up while the owner of the voice warned him.

"It is best for you not to move too much as you still haven't fully recovered, but congratulations on getting out of your paralyzed state."

Just as the voice finished speaking, Chronos realized something.

"The girl?!"

He thought. He slowly moved his neck towards the direction of the voice, and there. His eyes widened and glowed in surprise while his mouth opened agape.

What he saw was a girl of short stature. She was only chest-level of Chronos, but she wasn't in any way a person to underestimate. Chronos wasn't sure about her age, but one thing was certain. The girl was way more than one might think. Not only was her manner of speech but her expressions are composed and calm as well.

But what surprised Chronos the most was the fact that the girl was Pure White. Eyes, hair, skin, and even her clothes were white. Well, she was wearing somewhat ordinary looking clothes, but it made Chronos remember something.

"Guardian of Light..."

The girl heard his accidental whisper but it seemed like she didn't catch what he was saying.

"hmm? Sorry, I didn't hear you."

"Ahh... no, sorry for murmuring. I just remembered something."

"..."

"Where am I? Is this your house?"

The girl made a "hmmm...." sound as she was holding her chin before finally speaking.

"You could say that this is my house. Rather, this whole land could be considered my home."

Chronos was unable to comprehend the girl's words. Still, he was grateful to have been allowed here and didn't try asking more.

"Are you hungry or thirsty? Does your stomach hurt?"

"Ahh no. Surprisingly, I am fine...."

"I see."

After a couple of words from one another, the whole place became filled with silence. Chronos could only hear the calming sounds of nature: the chirping of the birds, the sound of the leaves being caressed by the wind, the sound of a river flowing among other sounds. Chronos decided to close his eyes and turn his face up a little to get a feel of the white noise. The girl briefly looked at the smiling Chronos with contentment before continuing her work.

Moments later, Chronos decided to finally give up to his curiosity. They say that adventurers are a ball of curiosity and Chronos wasn't an exception to this.

"I've been thinking about this, but what are you doing?"

He asked the girl who was sitting on the wooden ground with her legs crossed ever since he woke up.

"Making potions."

She answered in as few words as possible. Well, to be completely honest, it was obvious. She was brewing and bottling liquids, but Chronos had never seen a potion that looked as clear and as colorless as water.

"So those are potions?"

He asked. The girl nodded before speaking,

"This one is to cure terminal illnesses, that one is for wounds and then this one was what I used on that towel on your forehead. It is to undo curses and purify corruption. And then lastly, a potion meant to speed up blood production."

She calmly talked about her potions one by one with her forefinger pointing at the bottles. For some reason Chronos couldn't help but think of her as a child no matter how adult-like her manners were. There was something about her that made him think of her as such.

"I wonder what that is..."

He whispered. Just then he remembered someone wishing him to rest in peace.

"Say, was it you who wished me to 'rest in peace'?"

The girl answered with a simple yes as she continued making potions. Chronos on the other hand,

"Then why am I still alive? Why are you taking care of me?"

An imaginary question mark appeared on the girl’s head with a "hmm?" on a questioning tone. Then she remembered.

"Ahh! I totally forgot that humans usually use that phrase to wish the dead eternal peace."

She said, but Chronos got completely baffled by her words.

"Aren't you also human?"

And the girl's answer turned his world upside down for a moment.

"I am one of the six guardians of El-Sagra and one of the four guardians of light. Riel Eteria. Nice to meet you, Chronos."