Discordant Note | TBATE

Chapter 46: Aftermath

"In part."

I closed my eyes. I felt tempted to let them stay closed. I would never have to open them again. I was so tired.

"Can you make this world better?" I asked, pulling on those melancholy thoughts from before. "So brothers and sisters will never lose each other again?"

"Is that what you wish?" the woman's voice feathered against my cheek. I pulled my eyelids open. It was so hard, like lifting the sky on my back.

The woman was closer now, standing right by my side. "I think so," I whispered. "People need a light to follow."

"If you accept my offer, your soul will not leave this plane," the woman said. She was so radiant, like a star in the night. "But it will join with another's. Wish enough–want enough–and mayhaps your dreams may come true."

What would Norgan say? He was the one who took risks, striking out where I felt safer in my comfort zone. His drive and strength were what pushed us both onward.

I felt my eyes glaze over as the world became unfocused. I felt myself slipping, slowly falling toward a light.

But not yet. I would see Norgan one day, but not today. He would be disappointed in me if I met him without having done all I could. "I accept."

—

I pulled my eyes open, the dream–the memory, one I had not recalled until now–fresh on the edges of my mind. Stark-white walls stared back at me, a familiar sterile scent greeting my nose.

I lay prone on a hospital bed, a common gown keeping out the chill. My body ached in a dozen places, and I bit back a curse as I instinctively tried to move my arms.

My mana channels ached something fierce, causing me to quickly surrender the idea. A thin I.V. was injected into my arm, no doubt feeding me nutrients remotely. Scanning around the room, I noticed my notebook standing on a nearby table, along with a few of my belongings. The signet ring of Named Blood Daen sat there proudly, the dagger sigil braving the open air.

I struggled to recall the events that led me here. I remembered my capture, being hauled up to be faced with Lawrent Joan. I remembered each blow I took before I was finally threatened with the syringe of blithe.

And then the explosion rocked the building. I had been thrown from where I knelt, along with that hovering quill. Watching it... watching it finally allowed me to understand. That rush of mana from upgrading my crest to an emblem had purified my core. The outpour from that purification had briefly overwhelmed the mana-suppressing shackles around my wrists.

And after that...

"You have rested long, Contractor," a voice said against my mind. I would've jumped in surprise if I could move. Those were not my own thoughts.

The voice was familiar, travelling over a link that had always been present. It was melodic and even. If I had never heard it before, I might have thought it imperious. But now the voice was tentative, waiting. I could feel a sliver of emotion there, but it was muted by hesitance and... fear? Anxiety?

Lady Dawn? I thought, trying to direct the question over our link. She had never used it before that last fight, where our Bond had deepened for the briefest of minutes.

The Unseen World darkened the colors in the room. The phoenix sat on a nearby chair, her hands held in her lap gracefully. She wore her orange sundress with purple lining, matching the one I'd seen in my recently unearthed memory.

"It has been some time since you were awake," she said, both aloud and over our telepathic bond. It was a strange sensation, processing words through two different senses. "Some were beginning to worry you would never wake."