Sen's eyes fluttered open, and the harsh light of the room immediately assaulted his senses. His head throbbed, the dull pain making it hard to focus. For a moment, he thought it was all just a nightmare—a cruel
trick his mind had played on him. But as the haze cleared, he saw the familiar, comforting figure of his grandfather seated beside him, a hand resting gently on his shoulder.
"Sen, you're awake," his grandfather said, his voice warm yet carrying an undercurrent of concern.
The old man's face, marked by years of experience, softened as he looked at his grandson. His silver hair and steady eyes had always been a source of comfort for Sen, but now, they only deepened the sense of loss and confusion within him.
Sen tried to sit up but winced, his body aching from the trauma. His right hand still in fading pain sending him back to the incident. The very thought of it caused a sickening twist in his stomach. How could he still
be alive? Why? The events replayed in his mind like a nightmare that wouldn't fade, and the shame weighed on him like an iron chain as he remembered the last person he saw.
" Miss Chin."
"Grandpa," Sen croaked, his voice barely audible. "Miss Chin… Everyone… They're gone." His words came out shaky, laden with grief.
His throat tightened, and tears started to spill. He looked at his grandfather snuffling
trying to wipe the tears but they didn't stop.
His grandfather's expression remained composed, but he could see the pain in Sen's eyes. The old man reached out and grasped Sen's hand, his grip firm, yet comforting.
"You did what you could, Sen," his grandfather said quietly.
"But there's something you need to understand. In this world, somethings are beyond one's power and this is one of those."
Sen's tears increased filling the room with unrestricted cries. His grandfather gently pulled his head onto his chest , trying to comfort him. The undercurrent pain in his eyes slightly showed as he held his grandson tighter. He understood his pain considering he was the one who found him and he remembered viscerally the state Sen's body was in.
His body was covered in dirt sticking to his body thanks to the dried blood. His rib area was red and sore his clothes already tarnished. His face was pale and expressionless. It bore no sign of waking. Then there was his right hand. Even though he was amidst the center of miasma event it breamed with arcane. Arcs of energy coiled up his fingers twitching like unstable
threads of raw arcane too wild to contain.
Sen was in evident pain groaning even when subconscious.
It had been a week since the miasma event. Sen had been unconscious the entire time his body showing no signs of waking up. The specialist healer attending to him was quite
astounded by amidst people who were mostly being diagnosed with arcane drain
there was one who had too much of it and was now fighting for his life because
of it. But he put the thought aside and tried his best to curb the of Sen going
a hollow.
Arcane related ailments phenomena had been known to be uncertainty to the kingdom's researchers. One of the many was hollowfication. This was were the beings whose body was overwhelmed by their arcane and we're consumed by it. This would lead to the being in question to transmute to a creature named a hollow possessing whatever power they had in their previous form scaled twofold. But this came at the price of one's life leaving the being a hollow of their former self.
Six days passed after the event and Sen's condition had worsen. The specialist healer attending to him had tried different forms of
treatment against Sen going hollow but didn't seem to work. His body seemed to
reject the attempts of the healer and got worse when it was administered. On
the seventh day the specialist healer summoned Sen's grandfather.
" Sorry , but all I try seems to make it worse. " he said in a discouraged tone.
"I'm greatly disappointed in myself to even admit this but … " he paused let out a sigh.
" it seems his body has already accepted to part from this world. We did all we could." the healer said before leaving his head
facing down.
Sen's grandfather's thoughts are pulled back to the present as he held his grandson closer. A slow smile cropped up on his face as he said.
" I'm glad you're back Sen."
The medic hall stood as a sturdy stone building on the edge of town, its walls etched with runes that faintly glowed with soft blue light—an ever-present reminder of the arcane within. Chants and incantations
whispered softly, mixing with the occasional sharp cry of pain or relieved sigh as healing took hold. Each room had a sign at the top with the arcane related
ailment that it was responsible for.
At the door of Sen's room stood two men . One of them had an eye patch with two silver stars emblem on it. The other was a lean figure with his hair held back by two gold stars. Their gazes was meet with Sen and his grandfather hugging. A warm smile formed on their faces as they proceeded to
let themselves in.
Along the walls, softly flickering lanterns illuminated the runes around ,used for healing and suppression, pulsed gently as if alive. The sounds of the bustling in the corridors grew null as they walked into the
room Sen was in. The runes on the walls acted like sound proofing blocking
sounds from outside from getting in and sounds from getting out.
The two men stood before Sen and his grandfather the one in the eye patch standing behind the gold stared one.
" Hi there Sen? My name is Trojn , the guild master of the Octa guild, it's a pleasure to meet you. "
" This here is Lothor , he's the second vice guild master." Trojn said ushering to the eye patch guy. Lothor slightly nodded to Sen.
Trojn crossed the room, his boots clicking sharply against the stone floor. He stopped in front of Sen's bed, his soft gaze unwavering. He then took a seat besides him. Sen's grandfather had stood up and was standing beside the bed observing Sen.
" I understand that you just woke up, but I wanted to know if there is something you remember from the incident. "
Sen answered in silence.
"If you ever want to talk about what happened don't hesitate and come to me. Ok."
" I know you must have gone through hell so I don't want to keep long to the subject … so once your better I hope you can come and find me so we can talk." Trojn added.
" What happened to the village?" Sen asked his voice shaky from holding back tears.
The room grew silent. Trojn looked at Sen. His eyes had sunk tears welled up as he clenched his fist holding back his anger and sadness. At the side his grandfather stood with indifference as he observed Sen.
" The village was destroyed. "
" No one but you survived. " Trojn said his voice reseeding.
" Am I a curse?" Sen asked a few a few seconds his head facing down. Tears made his vision blurry as he stared at the sheets that covered his legs.
" Why — Why is always me?" he said with deep seated regret emerging in his voice.
" Even back then everyone died and I survived, … why ?" He said still restricting the cries.
" You're not the problem Sen. " Trojn said his voice firm and reassuring.
" Not even we know why this happened to the village, but all we can do is live on."
"Am not saying to forget about who we lost, rather live on and carry their memories with us. That will give you strength to push on and find out why this happened."
The air the room shifted. Sen's held back cries stopped replaced by a sudden envelope of silence. It felt suffocating, the weight of the air pressing down on him like a thousand unseen hands asTrojn's words echoed in his mind.
" I understand." He said in cold tone his gaze unable to meet the eyes of the people in the room. His hands clenched into fists by his
sides, his nails digging into his palms.
" I'll find her and… make her pay.!" he muttered under his breath, his voice harsh and unwavering. The air around him grow cold and damp. His eyes raged as the image of the Lady that he meet came rushing back into his mind. Her smile , eyes all were engraved deep into Sen's mind now there forever till they met again.
Sen was oblivious of his current situation. He hadn't noticed the menacing atmosphere that hang around him. His arcane energy flared into life taking the form of a monstrosity that the people in the room had come to know deeply. This was especially odd for Sen's grandfather who had never seen this feeling come from Sen.
Trojn , Iliad and Lothor all felt it. The seeping bloodlust that oozed from Sen arcane.