Andromeda remained on the couch for a while. She was worried that if she tried to get up and walk around, she might break the necklace somehow.
She was working through some things at the moment. The “Being trapped in an alternate universe with no idea of where she was or how she got here.” thing had already passed at this point. Probably not super healthy to put that on the back burner like she had, but she somehow managed to find even MORE trouble. The thing that was really bothering her at the moment was what was sitting on her neck. On the surface, it was a scuffed necklace. But under the surface it was much more.
It looked very innocent, a small silver chain with a matching silver pendant at the end. In the center of the pendant was a red gem. The surface was old and worn, with little scratches and scuffs all along it. As she looked closer, she could even see that the chain wasn’t really silver, but some kind of reddish bronze color with a kind of silver paint that was chipping off. The gem itself wasn’t even that impressive, there were imperfections and scratches all throughout the once pristine gem. It was the kind of thing that if she found it laying on the street, she’d think twice about picking it up.
But then there was the fact that she would die without it. As she understood it, her body was making something called “mana”. This was killing her, causing her to start breaking down at every level and cause her to suffer like she had never before.
She had flashes of what happened to her before. Every fiber of her being was burning, her mind was fragmented in agony, she could barely even remember what happened before she got the necklace. It seemed that whatever happened to her had messed with her memory. She remembered what happened immediately before the necklace was put on, but things a bit before that were fuzzy.
Then she was told that if the necklace comes off or breaks, then all of that or worse will almost certainly happen again. The pain she felt was so incredibly awful that thinking about it made her want to cry.
She could feel her heart beating in her chest, but the necklace laid right on top of it, so every beat felt like it was from the necklace. Every breath that she took lifted the necklace, and every exhale let it back down. There was something terrifying about it that she felt deep down in the depths of her soul.
At the same time though, she felt this twisted sense of relief from it, the fact that she was so fragile made her feel just happy to be alive. Every moment she wasn’t dead was like a small victory in itself. The odd mix of abject terror and whimsical relief was… probably also unhealthy. But any positives were welcome right now.
After a few minutes of twiddling her thumbs and trying not to internalize the crippling mental burden she now had to deal with, Andromeda was relieved to see Rhys return. With him was a small paper bag. He sat the bag down on the table and walked back over to his desk to put his things down.
“What’s this?” She asked.
“These are some things I want you to take with you.” Rhys said. Andromeda opened the bag and inside were two smaller bundles of wadded paper. She unwrapped the first one and there was a ring inside.
“More jewelry?” Andromeda said. No matter how ratty the necklace was, it still had a massive red gem in the center, now he was giving her what looked like a golden ring?
“More or less, precious metals can hold the most potent enchantments. I was thinking about it and thought that we should really have a backup in case something went wrong.” He said, then he explained.
“What do you mean, is the necklace not good enough?” She asked.
“It’s not like that, I called in a favor with a friend of mine down the street and had him make another catalystic void. This one is weaker, but a ring is a lot less likely to get ruined than a necklace. I still don’t recommend taking the necklace off for very long, but with the ring you could probably stand an hour or so without it. After that, you’ll start having symptoms again.” Rhys said.
The ring was one, but there was a second bundle. She opened it and it was… another ring. This was starting to become suspect. Though this one was much more intricate and detailed. She looked close and could almost make out words on its surface.
“What about this? Another void thing?” Andromeda asked.
“No, this is something else I wanted you to have.” Rhys said. Then he pulled a small, flat piece of blue tinted glass out of his bag and showed it to her.
“I had this ring soul-matched with my reflex glass.” He said. He took her blank stare as an indication that she had no clue what he was talking about.
“This little glass pane has been enchanted in such a way that I can see the condition of my patients. With that ring on, all I have to do is align in with your mana signature and it will tell me exactly how you’re doing. I can even see your heartbeat and general emotional state.” He said.
“All of that?” Andromeda asked. She wasn’t unfamiliar with the concept of small glass things displaying information, but she didn’t expect this world to have something similar.
“Indeed, it was hideously expensive when I bought it years ago, and to this day I’m still not sure whether it was worth what I paid for.” He said.
On the topic of money, she realized that he had specifically gone out and got these two things for her. It even sounded like he had them made specifically for her.
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“How much were these? How much do I owe you?” She said, Andromeda knew all too well that doctors occasionally went out of their way to milk you for all you were worth, and she had no reason to expect anything was different here.
“You don’t owe me anything, but think of these as an investment rather than a gift. Like I said, I want to perform some tests. Both to try to figure out what is happening to you, so I may be able to help, and because it will make a very enlightening research project. Once you’re settled in with Argo and his family, just remember to come back here occasionally, so we can do the tests. It doesn’t need to be every day, but try to come down when you have nothing better to do.” He said.
Andromeda was taken aback by the implication. She wasn’t used to a stranger going that far out of their way for her. Even considering that, he had ulterior motives. Going as far as to spend money just to make that happen was humbling.
“I’ll do my best.” She said.
“That’s all I ask.” Rhys said. As he walked back to his desk, he stopped and turned back around. Sat across from Andromeda and sat down, his face was grim.
“I need to ask you a question.” He said. In a moment, it was like she was talking to a different person. Until now, she barely even noticed his white hair and red eyes, now they were burning a hole through her.
“Sure?” Andromeda said, unsure how else to respond.
“You are a grown woman, not a child I can parent around and order. I can’t make you do anything you don’t want, nor do I have the desire to force you. But I need to ask. How confident are you in yourself? I need to know that you can handle yourself in a dangerous situation.” He asked.
The question caught her off guard. She was concerned with moment to moment things at the moment. Trying to figure out where she was, what was wrong with her, things like that. But she hadn’t given any thought beyond that.
“I don’t know.” She said without thinking.
Rhys looked at her for what felt like eternity. Sometimes there was a flicker in his eyes that seemed inhuman. Then he blinked and he was back to normal.
“This is a world where you need to protect yourself. No one will do it for you, and those who say they will take more than they give. It isn’t worth putting yourself through that.” He said.
She heard this, and thought about it for a moment, but it didn’t sit well with her. Nothing about it felt right. It felt wrong.
“The world isn’t that dark.” She said.
“I know it isn’t what you want to hear, but sometimes it is.” He said.
That was wrong. She knew better. She KNEW better. She didn’t accept it. She felt a lump in her chest even considering it. It burnt to even let the thought cross her mind. There was a pain pressure in the back of her head, even imagining it.
“No, you’re wrong.” She said. Rhys raised an eyebrow. She sounded subtly different.
“I know the world isn’t fair. Some people are awful, and maybe people are just awful in general. But the world isn’t that dark.” Andromeda said. She grabbed the necklace on her neck and lifted it.
“I should be dead. I should be laying on the ground somewhere, dying in agony. But here I am, I’m wearing my heart on my chest, and I’m alive. All because you and Argo ‘put yourselves through it’.” She said.
“That’s… Well…” Rhys stammered, not sure what to do with that information.
Andromeda’s train of thought was on a rail it had never been on before. A feeling was welling up in her chest and her words soothed it. She flashed back to something she couldn’t remember, a burning in her chest that made her want to fall over. But her body didn’t let her. She couldn’t control herself.
“Every step I take is a goal I’ve reached, every heartbeat I feel is a treasure I’ll cherish, every moment I’m alive is a miracle I’ll never forget. All of that is because of both of you two.” She said.
“Yes, but-” Rhys said.
Andromeda interrupted.
“You asked me if I’m confident in myself. The answer is no, I’m not. But that doesn’t mean I won’t throw myself into the fire to keep someone from being burnt.” She said.
Andromeda stood up and looked Rhys straight in the eyes. She moved before she thought, and spoke before thinking. Rhys couldn’t even muster a word against her. There was a fire in her eyes that oppressed even the slightest descent. Whoever it was that was sitting on his couch a moment ago was gone, that was the difference.
“I’m living on borrowed time. No one in this world has more of a reason than me to give right now. If I have to lift mountains, I’ll throw them. If I have to drown to save someone else, I’ll do it with no air in my lungs. If the world wants to be dark, I’ll set myself alight just so they can see their way through! As long as I am here, I won’t ignore anyone!” She said.
She paused, breathing heavy because she worked herself up. She stood there in silence as Rhys waited. Then she sat down, embarrassed. It felt like something had released her from its hold.
“Sorry about that.” She said, the spark of fire in her chest got the better of her rational emotions.
“Don’t worry about it.” Rhys said. Andromeda looked at him confused. Whatever trace of inhumanity that was in him a moment ago was gone.
“Don’t get me wrong, I still think you need to take care of yourself. But hearing you talk like that makes me think you’ll be okay. No one would say what you said if they didn’t mean it. I still think you should be careful.” He said. That only made her feel more embarrassed.
The fire in Andromeda’s chest had died down. But it wasn’t gone. She didn’t know where that came from or why she was so riled up, but in her heart, hearing that it wasn’t worth helping others over herself wasn’t right.
“Alright Little Miss Knight in Shining Armor, we need to get going soon if you want to get to Argo’s place before long. It's quite the trip on foot.” Rhys said. She was already red in the face after her outburst, and hearing the name "Knight in Shining Armor" made her want to crawl in a hole and die.
Then they heard an explosion.