Chapter 113: Hardships of a possible bad decision (Only in the shadows)
I was sore and dizzy, I had received the notice that the clone body and the real body exchanged places for the start of the campaign, so the fall and drag across the stone floor were met by my only current 'me'.
Although I would have loved to squirm and groan in pain, I made an effort to get up and go to whoever was hurt the most. Quickly, I could notice even in my confused state how my body was smaller than before as if I had shrunk or rather rejuvenated, but I put that aside.
I managed to get to the magical equine sprawled on the ground and placed my hands on her body covered in dirt to start the treatment, but when I tried I realized.
"What?!" I exclaimed in dismay.
My blood magic... was almost completely gone... not the current amount in my reserves, but the maximum limit. I felt completely empty, I couldn't remember feeling so little power since I was a child.
*Cough... Cough... Cough...*
Only noticing how the unicorn was spitting blood did I come back to reality and, ignoring the fact that my power was nothing compared to before, I tried to heal her anyway without knowing if things would go well. I had developed my [Bloody Heal] when my reserves were much higher.
Before, when I was at my normal level, my healing was like an energy that covered her entire body, but now... now it was just a few intertwined threads that moved inside her, unable to treat anything more than a place in particularly... and very slowly.
I was getting desperate, seeing my weakness and how I couldn't treat all the necessary wounds. I felt agonizing impotence seeing her die and not being able to do anything.
I opened my inventory looking for something that could help and found that it was also limited. The size was greatly reduced and almost all the elements inside it were locked, unable to access them.
Most of my abilities have been weakened or curtailed altogether, my Wizard magic is also just a hint of what it was. Only a few things were saved, like [Wrath] and alignment.
I clung to the last bit of power I had left, praying that it would be enough to get us out of this situation, otherwise… this was all a waste of time.
The unicorn was no longer responding, it was only the fact that I could feel her condition that let me know that she was still alive. The noises from outside didn't reassure me either and knowing that I was getting ready to try something risky, I decided to seal the cave where we were.
Some of the wands I had in my inventory survived, luckily, and even though I had very little magical power, I figured it would do. I took out some furniture that belonged to 'the room of all the requirements' and that was in the process of being sold, but the transaction was not completed until the moment of starting this campaign.
I tried to levitate them to the entrance of the cave to close it and it was very difficult. I had to yell the spell for it to have any power, and things still moved slowly. I repeated this process with every item in my inventory that I could find that was useful, exhausting myself.
When I closed about 70% of the entrance, I noticed how my healing was failing and I freaked out. Without further consideration, I did what I had to do, slash my arms, letting the blood drain.
My blood magic works by using a pool of blood other than my body's own blood, but like in previous cases, I can absorb blood from outside to replenish those pools. Now it is my own blood that moves the gears of my magic.
It was working, my healing drained my power but it was replenished by my own blood. Although it wasn't healing as it should, at least I had that weak balance back that kept the unicorn alive, but it didn't come without consequences.
I started to feel weak and it was the pain from the cuts that woke me up. Maybe it is not necessary to have hurt me to accomplish this but it was my first time trying and I didn't know how to suppress my own power to prevent it from resisting the absorption.
I felt tired, weak and dizzy, but I was happy that it worked and I wasn't alone. I didn't know it would make me so weak, although I remember the warning before I came here. If the unicorn were to die, I would be alone in this forest with no knowledge of the situation.
...
Hours passed, and there was not the slightest trace of life in the unicorn, but I felt that she had not died yet. My wounds formed scabs that prevented the blood from flowing any further.
My magic power was somewhat restored and I tried to seal what was left of the cave to avoid incidents, but it wasn't as easy as the first time and progress was minimal.
The night was approaching, and the darkness covered us. I started to be a little scared at this moment, I didn't know how long we would continue like this, I was alone, away from everyone, and without being able to turn to anyone.
...
It will have been almost a day, I was hungry and sleepy but I knew perfectly well that the moment I separated from the unicorn, she would die. I had to hurt myself again at one point to keep things going, but to a lesser extent.
My natural recovery is good, but what I can bear can't be much, either. If I fail, however small, I can send everything to hell. I must find the perfect balance point.
This pain is difficult to bear, and the wounds accumulate, I don't know if I'll get an infection... if it happens I don't really know what to do, the things in my inventory are not necessarily enough to solve it.
...
Maybe two and a half days... living is hell and I don't know if it was a good idea to save the unicorn that time in the forest. I haven't eaten anything in this time and the hunger meter is at 23%, not unlike the sleep meter.
My eyes constantly close, just biting my tongue can wake me up for a slight moment but it has been repeated so many times that I no longer have to hurt my arms to recover my blood magic.
It hurts much...
...
Kill me, I'm serious, if anyone listens to me, let them do it...
I don't know how much time has passed, the only thing I can use to measure the time is the little light that enters through the entrance of the cave, now almost completely covered.
Hunger tears at my stomach and sleep is a dagger in my brain and ants in my body. The meters are at 0% with my power at a minimum of 10% and it won't go down anymore, but the sensations don't go away and I've already cried a little without being able to contain myself.
The unicorn remained motionless but alive thanks to me, I think that is the only motivation I currently have. I haven't moved much, and the fur that constantly touched my hands now felt like knives tearing at the skin on my palms.
Who would say that after doing so many things, just one week of hunger and don't sleep in a dark cave without being able to move, would be enough to break me. I can't help but let out a dry laugh at the thought, longing more for the water I lack.
...
I persisted and it was the [Will Essence] that set me on my target, otherwise, I would have given up by now. The suffering was a lot and I knew that even if I let my only current partner die, it wouldn't stop, so I kept going through this hell.
I think I was already working on autopilot, my arms were so numb that any pain was common and other sensations were ignored by my brain.
I may have hallucinated a couple of times, but my body didn't have the slightest strength to move. Sometimes I prayed that someone would help us, that it was a dream or that I would die and have the opportunity to start over like before.
...
Fuzzy Wuzzy was some butter. If Peter Piper sells seashells, the woodchuck could chuck wood...
...
(Empty)
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(Empty)
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(Empty)
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I had forgotten what it was like to speak in my thoughts, I had stopped doing it because I was spending energy that I didn't have and it gave me a headache... more than the one that already tormented me.
It was a simple, almost illusory movement of the unicorn's hooves that returned me to the world of sentient beings for a brief moment. I would have smiled if I could have, my mouth was so parched that it would surely start bleeding with the slightest movement.
It was at that moment that I remembered why I was here, in this condition... and who I was. My body was broken, as was my mind, but it was still functioning in this last action thanks to my skills and magic.
...
Time passes and I've seen movement again from time to time, it could be an illusion, but at this point, I don't care. I turned off my brain again, hoping that the next time my consciousness returns things will be better.
...
I heard moans! I heard moans! I heard moans!
They were nothing more than the guttural noises of an unconscious being, but it was enough to make me forget a little about the horrible situation in which I found myself. I don't know where I got the water from but tears ran from my eyes.
"I... I... I... a... a... am... n... n... ot... a... lo... lo... ne..."
...
Days, weeks, months, years... who knows, I don't...
My patient's body had a more noticeable movement of breathing than that former inert state. Unlike before, when her life or death could not be discerned from a simple glance, now we are facing a being that comes out of the gates of Hades.
I have not given up and although my power has failed a few times without me being able to send it, I had made it work again in every desperate situation. I finally know that all is not lost.
...
My healing power may have been just a red thread running through the unicorn's body, keeping her alive and, to a small extent, healing, but it has paid off. The time elapsed since we arrived is unknown to me, but at this point, I can notice how the signs of life in her are more frequent.
She's not awake yet, but every once in a while I heard her cough... I think it was coughing or choking. Also, some contractions in her body made my day.
Knowing that I would possibly have someone to talk to before long, I tried to practice, since I hadn't done so in a long time. It wasn't pleasant to feel like knives passed through my throat with each syllable I tried to pronounce, but within this misery, there wasn't much to say.
...
Just as I thought, the unicorn showed signs of waking up before opening her eyes for a few seconds. I tried to talk to her, but it was so difficult that I couldn't accomplish it in time before she fell unconscious again.
...
Only the next day did she have her next semi-conscious time-lapse and, learning from my mistake, this time I didn't try to talk and just petted her.
She got up once a day or so, not for more than a minute at a time, but always getting better. She tried to speak or say things but just like me, her body was very weak and dehydrated, the only thing keeping her alive was my power.
It was something horrible to see how she suffered as I did, this situation, reminded me. At times, I thought about putting an end to her misery, but there was something I feared more, loneliness. Having the only way to go from here, when she woke up on one of those occasions, I was able to tell her.
"... C... cl... c... cal... lm..."
...
She was able to stay awake for a while and although she didn't say anything at first, she did hear me speak to her. I had been so long in silence and solitude that I couldn't help but comment on every little thing that came to mind, even if it tore my dehydrated throat.
My voice was too husky to be recognizable, which was why she didn't know who I was at first, but just like me with her, she took me as the last life-saving straw. We were just two people dying in the darkness of a cave, but each passing moment brought us closer to the light.
...
I had started to tell her about the situation we were in after hearing her say some broken words, which gave me an indication that she was truly awake, unlike the other times when I didn't know if she was fully aware. Between the two of us, I was the one who spoke and she responded with monosyllables at most.
I clearly saw how difficult it was for her to bear it, but at her pleas for her to finish, I just turned a blind eye to her, ignoring her. I think she may have realized that I would not release her from this torment, and after a while, she stopped asking for her own end. I'm selfish... I know.
In the beginning it was not easy, my words had to be mainly of comfort and encouragement. She was very scared and she was very fragile mentally, although she is not much better now. I tried to be as comforting as I could, in part because of the guilt for putting us through this situation.
...
My power was growing at a turtle rate, but at least it was growing. The red thread became larger and longer, or transformed into smaller and shorter ones. No matter how it was, it was a good thing for both of them.
The talks between us were our only physical and psychological relief. We could talk about how dark the dark is without any problem, or whatever we could think of, just to not fall into madness. These talks lasted until she fell asleep, and I... I didn't have that luxury yet.
We accompany and harmonize with each other. Maybe we didn't know as much personal information, but we could understand each other's emotions and ways of thinking more. I will not say that it was fun, since the situation did not allow it, but it was the most pleasant thing we could do. Even being of opposite alignments, the differences did not exist in this place.
Maybe even we got a little crazy and laughed like mental patients... Ha, ha, ha...