Despair

Both Marcus and Professor Maroon sprawled out on the floor. Maroon took heavy breaths, trying to heal himself as a colorless glow expanded outward, Marcus became coated in it too. 

But there were no signs of life coming from him, as his heartbeat had completely stopped and his body started to become cold.

Sensing this, Maroon's expression went aghast as he immediately tried to stand up, but his spine gave out as he collapsed face first into the floor. 

Cracks spread from the point of impact, as a small ditch appeared on the floor. But it was almost unnoticeable in comparison to the array that had basically burned itself into the floor.  

Maroon didn't mind the fact that he had ruined the house or the fact that such an expensive multi-use array had imploded on itself. 

All he cared about was healing Marcus and nothing more. He was the only one he cherished...he had lost everything...but he wasn't going to lose him! 

A dark brown glow spilled out in waves. It soon transitioned into bright bronze as it pulsated like a living organism. It also consumed almost half of Maroon's mana like a true glutton would.

Oxygen was forcefully pushed and pumped out, his heart started beating again as his arteries temporarily gained a bronze tinge. Marcus' brain was shocked awake as electrical currents resumed their duty.

Cough! Cough!

Marcus' lungs finally started to independently take in breaths, as his first instinct was to clutch his chest from the sheer pain that assaulted the area.

Maroon's eyes brightly lit up with undeniable waves of happiness. He didn't cancel the spell as Marcus looked over his body which was now coated in a thin layer of bronze light.

'W-What happened?' Marcus tried to turn his head around, but the pain from even the faintest twitch of his muscles nailed him to the floor.

He gritted his teeth and endured the pain as he tried to stand up. Professor Maroon too, tried his best to get on his legs as a crane materialized out of thin air as it supported his steps toward Marcus. 

He crouched down by Marcus as he pushed down his shoulder, not letting him get up as he was forced to lay on the floor again. 

The duo didn't exchange words as the pulsating bronze light gradually healed Marcus. Yet, he wasn't looking at his body, but the previously handsome blonde man who was doing his best to save his life.

Maroon's hair gradually lost its blinding luster, his eyes dimmed down as his face became wrinkled. He seemed to have aged for several decades in a span of a few seconds. A mage of his caliber who could easily live for centuries was now on the brink of death.

Marcus witnessed it all, he couldn't blink or even think, as if he was a mere spectator of someone's gradual death. He could see the approaching end of the person who impeccably played the role of the father figure, unlike his biological one.

His heart started to slowly lose its previous warmth as titanic glaciers caged what was previously an optimistic person.

All because of his arrogance...

All because of his overconfidence...

All because of him! 

Professor Maroon could feel the shift in Marcus' aura. He knew exactly what was going through his mind. 

"Don't blame yourself." a tired and aged voice echoed in Marcus' ears as his body started to shake intensively. 

Maroon could feel the overflowing emotions coming from this child. Regret, pain, blame, anger and pity. All of them meshed into a jumbled mess that threatened to tear a hole through Marcus' chest as his heart rate raced beyond what a newly born mage could endure. 

Maroon could only sigh. How could he blame an inexperienced teenager for something he couldn't have stopped? Moreover, he was the one who went along with the idea of feeding him the third Earth Elemental Seed.

The bronze glow eventually faded out as Maroon exhaled a relived breath. 

Marcus remained unmoving even after the fact that he managed to survive while having the triple mana reserves of an average newborn mage.  

Maroon looked at him with a complicated gaze. He didn't blame Marcus for what happened, his only wish was to defuse the situation and return to normal life.

Yet, it wasn't over in Marcus' mind.

"I will save you." Marcus slowly raised his head to stare directly into Maroon's eyes, but contrary to what one might expect, Maroon didn't break out crying or try to downplay the situation. Instead, a laugh burst out of his mouth as his aged voice filled the basement with some life.

"Oh Marcus, oh boy." Maroon rubbed his eyes as a smile beamed across his face. 

Marcus was a bit dumbfounded by this response. He had fully expected to see Maroon try to talk him away from such a ridiculous idea. Yet, this wasn't even remotely close to what he was prepared for.

Maroon just stared back at him with a gentle smile. 

'I wonder, can a single word instill a spirit of undying will and determination in him? Shaping him into the person that moves mountains at will?' an amused glint fashed in his eyes, but was too covert for Marcus to pick it up.

"Prove." a single, yet powerful word left Maroon's lips as Marcus' pupils shrunk into two pinholes.

"W-what?" he instinctively asked, completely forgetting any social skills he had gained over his life.

"Own up to your words, like a true man would." Maroon said with a loud and clear voice as Marcus snapped back into reality. 

A silence descended, Marcus started to comprehend the reality that had set in as he stared into Maroon's expectant eyes. 

His brain automatically went to scour the vast knowledge that he had accumulated during his study at the Sky Guardian Academy.

Herbiology, Anatomy, Life Force Studies, Mana Studies and many more that might even remotely help Proffessor Maroon properly revover.

'Nothing...' the deafening silence became like an all-consuming void as his brain was on the verge of shutting down.

"Haaa..." a disapproving sigh echoed in the room. Maroon just stood there as Marcus started to lose consciousness as his brain overheated and then his face started turning blue from the lack of oxygen.

His mind blacked out, but before his head could hit the ground, the floor gently rose up to soften his fall as the contrete tiles acted like puffy cushions. 

Maroon stared at the doozing off of Marcus as he closed his eyes, inspecting the changes within his body. 

Minutes later, he simply opened his eyes and stared into nothingness. Looking right into the eyes of a death reaper.

"Looks like my days are numbered."

-----

"Ugh..." Marcus woke up as his hand reached toward his head. A horrendous headache threatened to split his scull in two as his face grimaced from pain.

His mind had some trouble catching up to reality, as he initially thought that this was just him waking up after a whole day of hard training. Yet, reality couldn't be more grim, as his face and eyes lost all emotion, completely disregarding the headache.

He entered a state of complete psychic shock, as he tried to piece back what was essentially a crumbling sand castle that was his life.

Marcus sat there for an entire hour, motionless and thoughtless, as his life replayed in front of his eyes as if he was the one going to meet his end.

Yet, a sudden chirping of morning birds snapped him out of his mental prison as his eyes looked out the window, at the two birds that closely snuggled to their eggs on a twig nest.

He just blankly stared at the feathers that were being gently ruffled by a morning breeze, watching as the birds breathed in and out, exuding an aura of peace around their unborn offspring. 

An unknown feeling welled up inside his heart. He couldn't understand what was happening to him as tears started to stream down his face. 

A familiar face of a man in his prime resurfaced in his mind, yet his face stafted to visibly turn old as his eyes and smile lost the vibrancy of life. 

His heart started to ache in pain as he gritted his teeth. Furstration, helplessness, self-blame, grief and anger were the only things that he could feel. 

He was the direct cause of someone close to him losing their golden years. Even though he vowed to save them, he didn't know where to start, he was so lost and clueless, like a kid who got himself entangled in a bunch of ropes where he had to navigate his way out all by himself and that every error would plunge him deeper into the embrace of pitless despair. 

Marcus's heart started to thrum wildly as he was on the verge of fainting again. Yet, a sudden sound made everything return to calm.

"Knock!" 

"Knock!"

His head turned toward the door as a figure stood there with a smile.

"Hello again, rascal."