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The sterile scent of herbs and disinfectant lingered in the air as Tess sat on a cushioned bench, her cane resting across her lap. The two young healers beside her spoke in hushed voices, organizing vials and adjusting notes.
Roderic stood near the window, carefully sealing a box of supplies.
"You're overusing cleansing circles again," Tess said without looking up. "You'll burn through all my potions."
Roderic gave a sheepish smile. "I'd rather deal with you than angry patients."
"Hmph. You'll have both at this rate."
He opened his mouth to respond—but a muffled shout cut through the infirmary wall:
"You're awake? I thought you'd actually died."
All four paused.
"That was Elder Vek." one of the assistants murmured, glancing toward the other room.
Roderic's expression shifted. "Excuse me for a moment."
He made his way toward the connecting door—where Kael and Vek were being treated—but paused at the threshold.
"Don't strain yourself, especially after a purification like that." Tess said casually.
He nodded, hand on the handle. "Don't worry. Kael's stable, though I still can't believe he's alive. With a fractured vessel like that—he shouldn't even be able to stand."
Silence.
Tess slowly turned her head. "...Fractured?"
Roderic blinked. A beat passed. Then he realized.
"Oh no."
The two healers had gone rigid. Tess stood.
"Say that again." she said, voice sharp.
"I—I didn't say anything!" Roderic stammered, raising both hands.
"You said fractured. The mana vessel. That boy?" Tess leaned forward like a hawk catching scent.
Roderic backed toward the door, gesturing wildly to the two healers.
"Hold her back."
"Wait, wha—" one of them started, but Tess was already stepping forward.
"Roderic." she called, her eyes gleaming with alchemical hunger.
"Do your best!" he yelped, swinging the door open and escaping neatly.
---
The door burst open with a bang, slamming against the wall. Kael looked up slowly.
Tess strode in like a storm given shape, cane in one hand, the other waving off the healers.
"Out of the way. I need to inspect him."
Kael's voice was dry, almost amused. "A mere broken vessel doesn't warrant inspection."
Her eyes narrowed, already halfway across the room.
"Broken vessel?" she echoed. "You speak as if that explains anything. Mana and will are one—without a vessel, there's no control, no self. The mind shatters and the body collapses."
Kael's lips curved faintly.
"Will. What a suitable word." he said solemnly. "I already told you once: the soul is far more than you understand."
She froze. That phrase echoed through her mind—a callback to their previous encounter in the conference room. The same words. The same calm certainty.
A stranger telling her, the Greatest Alchemist of the Central Continent, that she lacked understanding.
It clawed at her.
"If you hold your body in such low regard," she said coldly, "then you won't mind if I take a look?"
Kael said nothing. His silence wasn't consent—but it wasn't denial either.
Tess stepped closer and extended her arm, eyes like blades. Her fingers hovered just above his chest. With a practiced flick, she released a thin strand of attributeless mana—a diagnostic stream used in high-level alchemical procedures.
It flowed through him.
Then snapped.
Her eyes widened. The mana thread broke like wire drawn tight across steel.
"No... There's no mana." Her voice was a hushed breath. "But… what is this?"
She stretched her senses deeper, pressing into what should have been a void.
Her mana was forcefully expelled, driven back from Kael's core by something rigid, immovable.
She staggered.
A second later, her eyes sharpened. Her voice dropped—low, reverent, disbelieving.
"This… you are no undead." she said with a shaken expression.
"You've turned your body into an artifact."
The air held still.
In that instant, Tess wasn't addressing Kael. She was speaking to herself.
"What?" Roderic murmured, stunned by her words.
He had attempted to examine Kael's body earlier, to better comprehend and treat him—but failed to reach any conclusion.
"Turning the body into an artifact? So that's what it was..." he said softly, glancing at Tess with recognition.
Tess was his teacher. Though her expertise lay in alchemy, her knowledge spanned far more. Her title wasn't for show.
Kael parted his lips, his smile disappearing into a mysterious seriousness.
"Nothing but an unfinished experiment."
"An experiment?" she yelled with a complex smile.
She lifted her hand once more, slower this time, as if approaching something sacred. Her hand trembled ever so slightly, suspended above his chest, not from fear—but restraint.
"Do you even realize what you've done? Such methods have been banned for decades due to the risks involved!" Her voice filled the entire room.
Contrary to her words, her tone was full of curiosity. Her hand was itching for another look.
Roderic shifted uncomfortably at her side and tried to intervene.
"Tess, he just woke up. You're pressing too—"
Before he could finish his words the door opened for the third time.
This time, the sound was quiet. Controlled.
But the weight that entered with it was unmistakable.
Liora Dawnblade stood at the threshold, arms crossed beneath her cloak of wolf fur, eyes gleaming beneath the weight of her authority.
"I came to check on Vek's condition." she said. Her voice was calm, but lined with flint. "What's with all the noise? Do you not understand where you are?"
Tess turned instantly. "Matriarch, I—"
Liora raised a hand, not unkindly. "You've seen what you needed to, haven't you?"
Tess hesitated. Then lowered her gaze, bowing slightly.
"...Yes, Matriarch." Her voice was distant, as though her mind hadn't left Kael's body. She turned to leave but couldn't help herself. As she passed Roderic, she murmured under her breath.
"Replacing the vessel with artifact runes..."
She disappeared into the hall, still muttering. A habit that she carried since she was younger.
Roderic exhaled heavily, one hand running through his honey-brown hair. He hadn't even realized he'd been holding his breath.
Only once Tess's footsteps faded did Liora move further inside.
Her gaze lingered briefly on Kael. Not on his injuries—but on him. Like someone observing a blade whose edge was yet to be revealed.
Vek, sitting upright with his battle-worn chest, crisscrossed with old scars and fresh bruises, inclined his head.
"Matriarch." he said, gruff but respectful.
Liora met his gaze and returned the nod, but said nothing at first. Her eyes lingered on him—just long enough to register the state he was in—before shifting toward Roderic.
"How many times has it been now?" she asked, her tone clipped. "You know what the teacher is like."
Roderic winced faintly. He did know. Both of them did. Tess hadn't changed in decades—curious, brilliant and relentless in equal measure.
"I'm ashamed." Roderic responded with a defeated look while bowing.
Then, with a quiet sigh, she turned back to Vek.
"How are you feeling?" her face showed a hint of worry.
Vek's tone turned serious when addressing her.
"There is no need for concern matriarch. This little injury is nothing."
He meant it. This level of injury could be considered a blessing.
Though he appeared only slightly older than her, the years had etched themselves not into his face, but into his flesh—each scar a chapter in a life spent on the front lines. Vek was past sixty, though his body still carried the weight of steel.
He had helped raise her, when she was still young. He was not just a warrior in her service—but an uncle. And in moments like this, that bond spoke louder than any title.
"I'll have the guards rotate shifts outside your chamber. You're not to lift a finger until Roderic clears you."
Vek grunted, a half-hearted protest dying behind a tired smirk. "As you command."
She nodded once, more to herself than anyone else.
Before the silence could settle, the bed creaked.
Kael swung his legs over the side after lifting the sheets covering him, slow and deliberate, then rose to his feet.
Roderic blinked. "You shouldn't be moving yet."
Kael glanced at him with his now clear, white eyes.
"Resting will make no difference."
His voice was calm. No arrogance. No pride.
"Even so-" Roderic started, only to be cut off.
"It's fine." Liora said.
And that was the end of it.
Kael's robe shifted with the motion, but he didn't wince. He didn't falter. His steps were steady—too steady. As though his body were in perfect condition.
As Kael moved toward the exit, he caught sight of Lyssara standing just outside the door.
Their eyes met for a brief moment. But Kael didn't acknowledge her. He simply shifted his gaze forward and continued walking, his arms clasped behind his back.
Lyssara watched him go, her gaze unwavering, as he moved past her.
"Unfinished..." she muttered with a colder than usual look in her eyes.
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