Chapter 14: Dawn

Chapter 14:
Dawn

 

FLUM MADE HER WAY out of the nave and down a hallway.

Though she was relieved to have finally killed Dein, she found that she had to prop herself against the wall. Just dragging her feet along the ground was a Herculean effort.

Behind her, the eyeballs continued their pursuit. Even with the battle over, she still wasn’t completely out of danger yet.

She finally arrived at a door at the far end of the hall. On the other side, she found a large reception area where Milkit and Ink sat together side by side.

“Milkit! In…k?”

Her excited shout was cut short when she noticed a massive figure, around 180 centimeters tall, standing next to them. The person wore a dress with a wide-brimmed hat and had red shoulder-length hair. They had broad shoulders and impressively muscular arms and legs. Something about them struck Flum as...off, somehow.

“Flum, is that you??”

“Master!”

“Aaah, looks like you took that guy out without much trouble. You know, with how he was boasting about killing you, I’m surprised to see you here so soon.”

The voice was deep and husky. Who was this figure standing before her?

“I take it you’re Flum Apricot, then. I’m Mother, the one who bestows such warm and caring love on our Spiral Children —the ideal mother.”

“Step away from them!” Flum drew her sword and pointed it at Mother. So this was the person Ink had been talking about.

“And why should a mother have to step back from their own child? Wasn’t it you who called my little Ink such awful names? I doubt Ink here even wants to go back, isn’t that right?”

“Well, I…”

Ink’s face skewed in a complicated expression as Mother stroked her cheek. She looked glad yet not exactly happy. Her expression told the whole story of what was going on in her head.

Milkit, on the other hand, was scooting away from Mother bit by bit, hoping her movements went unnoticed.

Mother didn’t seem to take issue with this. Maybe what Nekt said earlier was true: they had no interest in Milkit.

Once she got far enough away, Milkit sprinted for Flum, throwing herself into her Master’s arms.

Though she understood it wasn’t the best time or place, Flum couldn’t stop herself from scooping Milkit up into a deep embrace.

“Milkit!”

“Master, I’m so glad you came! I thought I’d never see you again.”

“I wanted to see you, too, Milkit. I’m so, so glad that you’re okay.”

She could feel Milkit’s warmth, smell her delicate scent.

Certain this wasn’t just a figment of their imagination now, they finally let their happiness at being reunited take over.

“Have you been hurt?”

“No, not really. I was just left alone here.”

“I see. You just disappeared all of a sudden, I didn’t even know what to do…”

Even if Milkit survived, there was still the possibility that she suffered heinous injuries. But here she was, completely unharmed. Flum’s greatest concern was behind her. All that remained was to settle the issue of Mother.

“My, you two sure are such good friends. If only I could have passed along some of that warmth and affection to Ink.”

Flum stepped away from Milkit for the moment and faced Mother. Her face instantly grew serious.

“You’re the one they call Mother? I assume that means you must know about the power Ink possesses. Correct?”

Mother responded simply. “So you’re just going to ignore me? Well, fine then. Anyway, yes, I do. I was the one who replaced her heart, after all.”

Flum figured “Mother” had to be the leader of the church’s research team; here was confirmation.

Mother continued unprompted.

“That was her second birth. They were born of their original mother’s womb, and then I performed the ritual to make them my children. I am, in every sense, the mother to Ink and the others.”

Flum didn’t get the sense that these were the rantings of a zealot, exactly. Like Dein, Mother wanted an empathetic audience.

“But I’d rather just be a normal human,” Ink said.

“A human? But why? I mean, sure, you’re one of the defective first generation, but you’re still better in many ways than a lot of other children. You can create children and become a mother. Just look.”

Mother pointed to the open door, where the sea of eyes gathered. Something kept them from entering the room—Ink’s presence?

“Your adorable little babies are watching us, Ink.”

“Babies…”

“That which you lost and long for most.” Mother placed a muscular hand over Ink’s eyelids.

“Origin has answered your desires and used his powers to create them from your own body. All your little babies possess the power of Origin and follow your will, Ink, in order to protect us.”

“No, this isn’t what I want!”

“There’s no need to be ashamed; it’s quite honorable of you. You’re a great mother, Ink. I’m just thrilled that my own beloved child could become a mother herself. It’s beautiful, really.” Mother pulled Ink into a strong embrace.

This somehow made Origin’s power even more terrifying than it already was. Flum doubted love had anything to do with this.

“Listen, Mother, I know this is the first time we’ve met and all, but…”

“Yeeeees?”

“I really don’t think you’re fit to be a mother.”

A look of annoyance came to Mother’s face. Who was Flum to speak like she knew more about these kinds of things?

“And what makes you say that? You don’t know anything at all, and yet you speak with such conviction.”

“You’re not paying attention to the children. All you’re doing is pushing your own wants and desires on them and doing whatever’s most convenient for you. That’s not love at all!”

“That’s not up to you or me to decide. Isn’t that right, Ink? You can tell that I love you, can’t you darling?” Mother pulled Ink even closer until their cheeks were touching, beginning to breathe heavily through the nose.

Ink looked like she was quite used to this type of interaction and didn’t seem to be particularly bothered, though she didn’t look pleased with it either.

She spoke up hesitantly, her voice faint. “Well, I…”

“You like it how things are, don’t you? You want to stay with Mother forever, don’t you?”

“Ink!!”

“I don’t think you’re in any place to talk, not after all the cruel things you said to this poor child.”

“I admit that I went too far with what I said to her. But that’s something completely different from you trying to force her to meet your needs! Ink has wants, needs, and dreams of her own!”

Her feelings toward Ink were complex, but Flum cared deeply for the girl.

Siding with Mother would be the easy choice. But in that case, all that awaited her was life as one of the Children—a creature.

“I… I want to be a human. I don’t want to turn into something that hurts people!”

This was probably the first time Ink had ever stood up to Mother. Normal children go through rebellious phases; they are, after all, humans with their own wills and desires, and won’t always do as they’re told. Both parents and children usually work past such phases. But…

The smile disappeared from Mother’s face upon hearing Ink’s words.

“I see.” They stood and drew up to Ink.

“In that case, you’re useless to me.” Mother kicked Ink in the face.

“Yeaaaugh?!”

“Hey!”

“Ink??”

This sudden change in demeanor took Flum and Milkit completely by surprise.

“A disobedient child is little better than trash. You could be thrown out, for all I care. What a good-for-nothing ingrate you are, taking for granted all that love I gave you in spite of how useless you were.”

Flum ran to Ink’s side and pulled her close.

“Are you okay?”

“Flum…” Though her voice was faint, she mustered a weak smile, putting Flum at ease.

Flum turned back to glare at the figure walking away from her. Her anger was readily apparent in her voice. “What the hell do you think you’re doing, Mother?!”

Mother turned, looking more annoyed than anything else.

“My, my, aren’t you a scary one. I guess I really am the only one who can take care of these children.”

Four other children appeared instantly behind Mother.

“That’s…!”

She instantly recognized Luke, Fwiss, and Nekt. The fourth one, a white-haired girl, must have been Mute, the one who made the gestalts of the church knight’s and Dein’s men..

“Oh, what happened to you, Nekt?”

“That…that bastard hurt me when I was trying to stop him! I’m gonna kill him for real next time!”

He had a nasty gash running down the side of his face. Judging by the explosions Flum heard during their earlier battle, he must have proved a formidable opponent. Luke and Fwiss, on the other hand, only suffered minor wounds from their own battles with Eterna and Ottilie.

With arms spread out, Mother smiled broadly. “Ah, that’s right. Allow me to introduce my adorable little children, Flum. These are the Spiral…”

Flum cut in before they could finish. “Your Spiral Children, I know. Luke, Fwiss, Nekt, and Mute right? Ink told me about them.”

Mother was clearly annoyed at this. “What a useless piece of garbage you are, you ingrate.”

Ink trembled in Flum’s arms. Flum shot a glare Mother’s way. Mother didn’t seem to take notice.

I’m in a pretty bad spot right now…

She was now faced with four creatures able to stand toe to toe against legendary heroes and a lieutenant general.

This doesn’t look good.

The power differential alone was overwhelming. What’s worse, Flum was the only one on her side in fighting shape. If Mother decided to fight, the three of them could easily be wiped out.

Fortunately, Mother didn’t seem interested.

“You don’t need to look so concerned. According to my Children, Origin has yet to reach consensus about what to do with you.”

“Origin…reach consensus?”

Mother offered up a knowing smile in response to Flum’s unspoken concerns. “Oh, you’ll find out soon enough. Basically, a decision still needs to be made on whether we’re best off using you or killing you. We can’t kill you yet.”

Fwiss tugged on Mother’s sleeve. “C’mon, Mother, let’s goooo.”

“Fwiss is right, there’s no reason for us to waste any more of our time on Ink and these other jerks. We should jus’ decide now.”

“Now, now, you know I intend to provide all my children with a fair chance, Luke.”

Luke tsk’d in annoyance at Mother’s gentle scolding.

“Mother, I’ve gotta pee.”

“Oh, well then, we’d best do something about that in a hurry, Mute. Nekt, could you be a dear?”

“Of course, Mother.”

Nekt stuck his hands out into the air, palms up. A moment later, Flum saw energy begin to swirl in the air.

“Ah, right, one last thing I need to take care of.” Mother turned to Flum before Nekt finished casting his Connection spell.

“To be completely honest, those eyes are a real hassle. If you could just use Reversal on her core and take care of her for me, that’d be great.”

“What’s wrong with you?!”

“I’m just being logical, is all. In fact, I’d say you’re the one losing your cool here. Ah well, I didn’t actually think you’d help me anyway. Not like it’s even that simple. It just seems like a waste to let a blind, weak, useless girl live.”

There was no getting through to anyone this selfish and unreasonable.

Flum’s teeth creaked as she clenched her jaw. “And you have the gall to call yourself a mother?!”

“She’s a stranger to me now. Besides, Ink kicked me to the curb, remember? There’s no reason for you to be mad. But whatever, I’d best be going. See you later, Flum.”

Nekt closed his hands into fists, summoning forth his power.

“I’m not letting you get away that easily!!”

Flum drew her Souleater and let out a Prana Shaker, but they were gone before it had a chance to make contact.

With no targets left to take out her anger on, she felt…empty. Flum balled her hands up in frustration.

Ink turned to Flum, a look of concern etched on her face, as Milkit stood by and watched over the two. “Sorry, Flum…”

“What’re you apologizing for, Ink? I’m the one who should be sorry for all the awful things I said to you.”

“But it’s true, you’re not wrong. I do turn into some kind of creature at night and spit out those awful things… Just being alive causes so much trouble to all of you.”

“That’s…!”

She couldn’t bring herself to say that it wasn’t true. As long as Ink lived in this form, more and more lives would be lost. Flum and her friends could never stop running. It’d be hard to ever get a restful night’s sleep with Ink around.

She might be able to deal with a few sleepless nights, but to do so for the rest of her life felt like a death sentence.

“It’s fine.”

“What do you mean? What’s fine?”

“I’m just glad that I got to experience you saving me one last time and be able to talk with you and Milkit here at my side. I’m… I’m happy. You all said such kind things to me, and that’s all I can ask for. So let’s just end this here, okay?”

“Don’t just give up like that!!”

“I’m not giving up! I’m making a choice. I’d rather die a human than live as a monster.”

“That’s not what I came here for.”

“Then what do you plan on doing? As long as I’m alive, I’m going to keep hurting people. You, Milkit, Eterna…even Sara! If the only way I can live is by making others suffer, then I’d rather just die right here and now.”

Flum wanted to shout at Ink and tell her that she was wrong, that she would do something about it. Yet she also knew just how powerless she was. She was just starting to get a handle on the fact that there were things out there that she could do nothing about.

There were some times when just giving up was the right option.

Ink kneeled and spread out her hands. She was smiling.

“All right, please do it.” She spoke in such a sweet tone.

Flum’s lips quivered. She choked back her sobs, but the tears stubbornly began to flow.

Was there really nothing she could do? Was the only option left to destroy Ink’s core?

If she did, Ink would die.

There had to be another way, but even then, could Flum pull it off?

All she had at her disposal were the Souleater, her freezing enchantment, Reversal, and her prana. No matter which way she tried to fit the pieces together, she couldn’t come up with a way to save Ink.

“Besides, I’d be happiest if it was you who killed me, Flum. I mean, y’know, it feels more like I can die as a human that way.” Her voice was startlingly cheerful. It was clearly more to make her own peace with it than for Flum’s benefit.

Flum really didn’t want to kill her, but doing nothing would also be grossly irresponsible. She escaped the clutches of death at Dein’s hands just to make it to Ink. She fought this hard because she wanted to make the decision over whether Ink would live or die.

And she’d already chosen.

It was what Ink wanted, too.

In that case, there wasn’t anything left to do…but…kill her.

Flum’s shoulders heaved, and she sobbed openly as she walked slowly toward Ink. Ink blurred in her vision through all the tears, looking almost like a ghost. Her smile managed to shine through. Somehow seeing that forced smile hurt all the more. Flum’s cheek twitched as big, fat tears poured down them.

She still had a job to do.

Each step became harder and harder, as if she had to force her legs to obey her will. Every time her foot touched the floor, she felt another lead weight pile on her.

“Haah…”

She tensed her muscles, let out a breath, and took one step. The Souleater clattered and clanked as it dragged across the floor. A cold sweat covered her body, leaving her shirt damp and clammy.

She let out another choked sob as she arrived in front of Ink.

Flum clasped her hands tightly around the hilt and lifted the sword until the tip wavered over Ink’s heart. Ink tensed up at the touch of the cold metal against her skin.

“That’s right. Please make it quick, okay? I really don’t like pain…” She was still trying to sound strong.

Flum understood, though she didn’t want to think about it. No one really wanted to die. At the end of the day, everyone just wanted to be happy if they could. Ink had to be thinking the same thing. She was just a ten-year-old girl, after all. Flum wanted to deny that Ink’s desire to live on was untenable.

She didn’t want to admit it, but there was no other choice available to her.

“M-master!” Milkit ran to Ink’s side and clutched the younger girl tightly.

“I know it’s not a slave’s place to express their opinion to their master, but I believe that Ink is not too different from you and me! She’s in her own dark place, feeling lost and alone, and given up on everything. Even her own hopes and dreams. Somewhere deep in her heart, she’s still crying out for help, I know it! Master, you took my hand and pulled me out of such depths too. I know it must be difficult, but please, do the same for Ink as well. I… I…”

“Milkit…”

“It’s no use, Milkit. If we stop now, then I’m just gonna be too scared to die later. Look, there’s really no other way, Flum, so please just get it over with and stab me.” Ink’s voice was still upbeat, though it began to waver the longer she spoke.

If she could open her eyes, they would undoubtedly be filled with tears.

“You…you’re just putting up a front, aren’t you?”

“…Am not.”

“Of course you are! I mean, it’d be strange if you weren’t! You’re going to die, ya know, and just a few days after you finally made it out into the real world! There’s still so much you don’t know—so much you must want to know out there! Don’t lie to me, Ink. Please, tell me what you’re really thinking!”

“What good would that do? Is there any reason to tell you how I really feel other than to make everyone in this room all the more miserable?”

But that wasn’t it at all. If Ink was being stubborn in her pretending to be strong, then so was Flum in her insistence on Ink telling her the truth.

“Even if there isn’t a good reason, I still want to know.”

Flum didn’t want Ink to die under false pretenses. At the very least, she wanted her to be herself in her last minutes of life. It was a cruel request, perhaps, but it came out of a nice place.

Ink struggled to get her reply out. “Don’t confuse wanting the truth with wanting to be kind.”

“But you understand, don’t you? Anyone… Everyone would want to live on in a warm, comfortable place. It’s only natural.”

Ink’s whole body began to tremble as the weakness she tried so hard to hide started to show. “I… I… of course I want to live!!”

Ink was still young, not quite mature enough to hide her true feelings ’til the bitter end. Now that her facade came crumbling down, there was no way she could build it back up. She started letting out all her hopes, dreams, every little selfish desire she ever had.

“I… I’m only ten years old! I’ve only lived ten whole years on this planet. How could it all just end so soon??”

“That’s right, you’re absolutely right.”

“Why do I have to die? Why do I become such an abominable creature? Why…why can’t I just live an ordinary life like everyone else?! I don’t want Origin’s power! All I ever wanted was to just be normal!”

“Ink…”

“B-but…none of that changes anything. I know that. That’s why I didn’t want to tell you. Dying is the only option left to me, so I figured I’d just keep quiet and accept my fate.”

“…Right.”

“You’re a jerk, Flum.”

“Sorry.”

“And you too, Milkit.”

“I’m sorry, Ink.”

They both knew she was right. All they could do was apologize.

Ink laughed in spite of herself at how quickly Milkit responded. It was an honest laugh, right from the heart.

“Thanks, you two. I feel a little better now.”

Getting all that off her chest at least lightened some of her emotional burden—a burden that Flum would now have to bear. But that was as it should be.

“But that’s all there is to say. I feel a bit better about things, but that doesn’t change the situation one little bit. So are you satisfied that you got to hear what I really think? Now you can just get on with it, please.”

Flum let her eyelids fall closed and took a deep breath. No matter how much she thought it over, there was no other choice. She just needed to work up the courage. All she had to do was run the blade through Ink’s body and destroy her core. Then it would all be over.

No matter how long she might live, or how many trials she would have to face and overcome, she knew she would have to carry the burden of taking Ink’s life for the rest of her days.

Flum swore to herself that she would never do something like this again. She would let it drive her in her future battles with the church. At some point, Ink’s death would be glorified as a tale that brought people to tears.

“You’re…not really going to do it, are you, Master?”

She had no choice. What other option was there?

Ink hadn’t been a human from the moment they first met. The Origin core pulsating where her heart should have been made her one of the inhuman Spiral Children capable of wielding extraordinary power.

Shy of going back in time, there was nothing that Flum could do to save her. The discussion was no longer one of saving her or not, but rather who would be at Ink’s side when she died.

Logically speaking, there was no reason for Flum to feel so guilty about this. It was just as Ink said: the faster she killed the young girl, the sooner she would be relieved from this living hell. She needed to move on.

“…Move…on.”

Once she killed Ink, she would move forward with her life.

…What was forward, anyway? What proof did she have that the direction she intended to move was even forward to begin with? Sure, killing this girl with the power of Origin and using that as inspiration to carry on her fight was probably the righteous path.

“Master…”

But was that really the “forward” Flum was hoping for? Wasn’t it possible she was mistaken, as Milkit pointed out? She had no idea what the world at large thought about these things. Nor did she care. At the very least, she knew that this was far removed from what she, Flum Apricot, felt was right.

It’d only been a few days since they first met. It wasn’t much different with Milkit, either. How short their time together was didn’t matter. Flum wanted to save Ink. That would be her “forward.”

Who cared what common sense or the logical point of view had to say? Progress was about moving in the direction that you felt was right to go.

“No… I can’t.”

It was stupid to think it would all be over just by killing someone you wanted to protect. Would Flum turn her back on Milkit if she fell into such dire straits?

Of course not. If she did, she would never forgive herself. Just how long could she really go on living viewing herself as the worst of all evils? Such a decision would be her own form of retreat. It would be braver to choose to die.

Would that be the right thing to do, then? Is that what should be done?

Is that…even right?

“No, that’s not the right thing to do. I…” The sword dropped from Flum’s hand with a heavy thud.

“Master…!” A look of relief washed across Milkit’s face, though her expression hinted that she knew this would be Flum’s decision all along.

The Souleater faded into a burst of light the moment it hit the ground.

“C’mon, Flum, it’s fine.”

“No, it isn’t fine. You want to live, don’t you? Aren’t there things you still want to do?”

“Then what do we do? Don’t just fiddle around like this and spout pretty words if you don’t have any ideas!”

The two girl’s rising voices echoed throughout the room.

“How…how…wait!”

She needed some way to save Ink. If she could just destroy the core, get something to replace it, and transplant that into her body, then she would be all right. Destroying the core would be no problem—at least for Flum. The real problem was finding and transplanting a substitute.

“There’s just gotta be something out there somewhere. Something that could be used as a substitute for the core…”

But how convenient would it be to have something so near at hand that could function in its place?

“We need to look for something that can keep Ink alive instead of the core…”

“There’s nothing like that out there.”

“Umm, Master…do you think we could just use someone else’s heart and transplant that into her instead?”

Ink laughed.

“Milkit, that’s crazy talk. And who would do that for us? Do you think Flum could actually carry out that kind of operation??”

“I’m certain Eterna could.”

“Right, Eterna!!”

“C’mon, get serious! Even Eterna couldn’t do something like that. I know I’m a kid, but that doesn’t mean I’m stupid, okay?! There’s no way that’s possible.”

“You don’t know that for sure, not until we have a chance to ask her.”

“And even assuming it was, what about the heart? Where would we find a living, beating heart? Killing someone for theirs defeats the whole purpose.”

A living, beating heart belonging to someone who she didn’t care if they lived or died…

Flum knew exactly where to find one of those.

“I’m sure Dein’s heart is still beating right now.”

They could transplant that into Ink. Said aloud, the whole idea sounded almost comical. Even if all of these things were doable, then how would they keep Ink alive between destroying the core and completing the transplant?

They would need something other than a heart to keep her alive temporarily.

Did something like that even exist…?

Flum let out a light chuckle as a possible solution came to mind.

“C’mon and just kill me! Please, don’t drag out my suffering anymore!!”

Ink turned in desperation in Flum’s direction while the older girl watched the door, awaiting Eterna’s entrance. Just then, a powerful blast of air blew through the door, destroying all the eyes in its path. Gadhio, Eterna, and Ottilie walked calmly through the now cleared pathway.

“Flum, I see you made it!”

“Looks like we’re finally together again. Glad to see you’re still alive, kid.”

“Those little punks got away. They’re even more impressive than Werner!”

“You guys made it!”

A confident grin spread on Gadhio’s face. “I’d hardly be able to call myself a hero if that was all it took to beat me.”

“So that’s Ink, one of the Spiral Children?”

“I’m glad to see you’re okay, kid.”

“I sense that this isn’t quite the happy reunion it could be, though.”

The look of concern on Milkit’s face and the tears drenching Flum and Ink’s cheeks probably gave away that there was something wrong. Eterna approached Ink and knelt until she was at face level with Ink. She used her finger to wipe away her tears, though they were quickly replaced with new ones.

Even though she couldn’t see, Ink knew who was touching her cheek.

“Eternaaaa…” Ink sounded lonely and needy.

“What happened?”

“Th-those eyes that’ve been chasing you guys around…well…I made ’em. I’m some kind of living weapon.”

Ottilie seemed to be the only one taken by surprise at this revelation. “She’s the one behind those eyeballs?”

Apparently Eterna, after all the time she spent with Ink, had already considered this possibility.

“I’m sorry for lying to you, Eterna…”

“Aww, I know that you weren’t even aware yourself, Ink. Don’t worry about it.”

“But…I can’t control this power. No one can. I asked Flum to put an end to it all and just kill me, but…”

Eterna already knew how this story ended.

“She couldn’t kill you. I know Flum.”

“There must be some way we can save you.”

“There isn’t!!”

“Of course I want to help Ink any way I can. But first off, I’d like you to tell me why you think she can’t be helped. I know there’s something strange about her heart, but that’s about it.”

“Exactly, the problem is with her heart,” Gadhio chimed in.

“Shortly after she and the other Children were born, the church performed an operation to replace their hearts with these things called cores: crystals that contain the power of Origin.”

“Thank you, Gadhio. So if we destroy the core, Ink will die as well. I guess that neatly sums up why there’s no obvious way to help her.”

“Right, so Milkit and I…” Flum half-expected to be laughed at due to the sheer impracticality of it all but decided to tell the rest of the group her plan anyway. “Well, we were thinking maybe we could use Dein’s heart as a transplant. He’s still in the chapel right now.”

“That’s a pretty crazy plan you two worked up.”

“Like I said, that’s impossible! So please, just hurry up and kill me!”

“That was Ink’s take on it…but I thought that maybe you might have some insight, Eterna.”

“It’s no use! Even Eterna can’t pull off something that crazy, and…”

Eterna cut her off there. “Yes, I can.”

The room went silent. For a moment, everyone thought Eterna might be joking. The idea of taking a heart from one body and putting it into another was unheard of.

Realizing that the rest of the group was still filled with doubt, Eterna went on to explain. “There are ancient procedures that were used to transplant hearts. I could do it if I wanted.”

With that explanation out of the way, it seemed much less likely to have just been a mistimed joke. So it was true. She could do it. But…would they do it?

“R-really? Y-you could save her life, Eterna?”

“Well, it’s not impossible.”

“Hear that, Ink? She can do it! There is a way for you to live a normal, human life!”

“…No way…”

Ink was the only one still in complete disbelief. She just couldn’t believe this was anything more than a cruel joke someone was trying to play on her.

Eterna turned her attention back to the young girl and spoke to her in the softest, sweetest voice she could. “I wouldn’t lie to you, Ink. You should know that.”

“So…you mean…you really can do it? You can save me?”

“Well, I’ll certainly do everything I can for you. But we’ll need the stars to align in order for this to be a success.”

It was a far cry from a sure thing, but Eterna was confident that she could pull it off if they could make all of the proper arrangements.

“Flum, I’m guessing that nasty sack of meat and bones out in the chapel is Dein?”

“Right! I was thinking we could use that.”

“Well, I know I saw it moving, but there are several problems with it. There’s the size difference for starters, then whether or not it’s the right blood type, to say nothing of if Ink’s body will reject it…but all we can do is hope and pray about that. Then there’s also the problem of what to do for the period in which the core is broken but the heart hasn’t been transplanted yet.”

“You know, I was thinking…just hear me out before you call it stupid…”

There just might have been a way to get it done, and Flum had one idea that might help.

“Gadhio, you said that prana is kinda like life energy, didn’t you?”

“You could think of it that way, sure.”

“In that case, then, would it be possible to keep someone alive using prana?”

Assuming that prana would be enough to sustain Ink for just a few hours, or even just a few minutes, then Eterna should be able to perform the operation.

Gadhio thought it over for a minute. “There are several techniques under the Cavalier Arts that allow you to surpass your human limits. I suppose I could probably do it.”

“So then…!”

“But whether my energy alone would be enough to sustain her is a serious concern, since there will be a great deal of energy lost with her body opened up like that. I don’t know if it would last through the whole operation.”

“Then I’ll join you.”

Ottilie stepped forward. “At its core, the Genocide Arts restrict the functions of your opponent’s body. In battle it binds an enemy’s limbs, but used properly, it can also be used to staunch blood loss or serve as an anesthetic. We actually do it a lot in the military.”

“So do you think if you and Gadhio worked together, you might be able to sustain Ink’s life?”

“I think so,” said Gadhio. “You don’t think Henriette would get mad at you for bringing the Cavalier Arts and Genocide Arts together?”

“Aww, my sister isn’t that petty.”

After his many years as an adventurer in the capital, Gadhio was well known among the upper brass of the army.

There were many similarities between the Cavalier and Genocide Arts. Henriette considered Gadhio something of a rival.

“But I have to admit, I’ve never heard of a heart transplant before. Was this some kind of technique from before recovery magic developed far enough to properly heal people?”

“You could think of it as a kind of ancient healing technique, though there are likely still a few people within the capital who could still perform it.”

“Is it allowed by the church? I know they tend to have a monopoly on almost all medical procedures.”

It was the church, after all, that forbade almost all mundane healing, including the medicinal herbs once commonly used among the people. It seemed likely that the church would be quick to stomp out things like heart transplant surgeries if they ever caught wind of it.

“Well, when you think about it, Ink’s heart was transplanted with a core. So that means it has to be possible to do the opposite.”

“Now that you mention it, it seems like the church still gladly uses what they bar everyone else from.”

“The church is crooked in all kinds of ways.”

“I guess that’s true, but…it just seems like so many lives could’ve been saved if these things were allowed.”

“The church doesn’t care about the lives of your average person.”

Of course the low-level nuns and priests worked fervently day after day to help their patients, but they were also quick to cut people off the moment it was clear they were no longer profitable.

Finally Milkit spoke up to Eterna, wearing a frown on her face.

“Umm… I’m not really sure if this is the best thing to ask, but…”

“What is it?”

“You seem to know an awful lot about these things, Eterna. Do you have some kind of connection with the church?”

Even Ottilie, a lieutenant general of the royal army, didn’t know about this. Eterna gave a gentle snort. It only made sense that people would have their suspicions.

“No, I’ve nothing to do with the church. I learned about these things long, long ago, from somewhere else.”

“Aah, I see. Sorry for sounding like I doubted you, Eterna. I was simply curious.”

“No worries. I would’ve asked the same, really. I figured I’d have to mention it someday.”

There were still many things they didn’t know about Eterna, but the group knew they could trust her. No one else opted to ask any further questions on the subject. The successful transplant of Ink’s heart was the most important thing at the moment.

“Listen, Ink, since you’re going to be entrusting me with your life, I’m not going to sugarcoat anything. I intend to tell you everything exactly as it is, and as I’m sure you’ve gathered, there’s still a lot we don’t know. I can’t promise we’ll be successful, and there’s still a possibility you’ll die.”

None of this was intended to be a threat. It was simply the truth. Ink didn’t look afraid.

“Just a little while ago, I was pretty much condemned to death. I don’t think of this as a possibility to die but a possibility to live.”

Between Eterna, Gadhio, and Ottilie’s nearly limitless strength, and Flum and Milkit’s sheer refusal to give up, this gave Ink a first, and final, chance at a normal life.

“Do you think I’d really say anything other than yes?”

A bright smile sprung to Ink’s face. It was hard to believe she was moments away from a life-threatening procedure.

Eterna smiled and brushed a hand gently through Ink’s hair.

 

***

 

From there, it was a battle against time.

Eterna hurried back to the chapel and used her water magic to encapsulate Dein’s body and bring it back to the room.

Milkit brought her hand to her mouth at the sight of the grotesque mass of flesh, muscles, and organs.

It was still twitching. It really said a lot of Dein’s refusal to die.

Flum and Gadhio waited at Ink’s side, watching the nervous young girl as they waited for the time when they would need to perform their respective tasks.

“On your mark, Flum. Whenever you’re ready.”

“Got it!”

Flum held Dein’s dagger. It would cut just deep enough for her to make contact with the core and destroy it, while keeping the injury to Ink as small as possible.

She pressed the small silver blade against Ink’s chest.

“I know it hurts, but just hang in there.”

Anesthetic wasn’t an option. Though Ottilie’s Genocide Arts reduced the pain, Ink could still feel what was going on.

“…Hey, Flum.”

Ink called out to her just as she was about to plunge the knife in.

“Yes?”

“I just wanted to say sorry for being so difficult. I know you and Milkit were doing everything in your power to find a way to save my life.”

“No worries. After all, I was the one insisting there was a way to save you when I had no idea what I was talking about.”

“No, really, it’s all on me. If I live through this, and we go home together, I promise to pay it back to you.”

“Sounds good. I’m counting on it.” Flum closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and began to summon up all of her magic, picturing it as a sphere building up within her body. She let that energy flow down her arms, through the palms of her hands, down the hilt, and into the blade of the knife.

She was looking for the core and Origin’s power locked within it.

The Reversal magic would travel through the blade until it made contact with the crystal and destroyed it.

Once she had the image firmly in mind, she locked it in place. Now she just had to carry out the actions exactly as planned.

She pushed down on the hilt and felt the knife slide into Ink.

“Hnng…”

“Reversion!”

SNAP!

The magic ran down the blade and began to turn the core inside out, creating a negative energy loop. Unable to cope with the power running through it, the crystal snapped cleanly in two inside her body.

Ink felt like she just lost something incredibly important.

“The eyes…they’re drying up…”

The church was strewn with drifts of withered eyeballs.

“Haah!”

Ottilie lunged into a saber-thrust, releasing her sanguine energy into Ink’s body.

The Genocide Arts-infused blood began to slow her bodily functions and reduce the extent of her injury.

Ink’s face took on a distant, glazed-over look. She was still conscious but barely.

“Hnph!” Gadhio acted in near perfect unison with Ottilie. He placed his hands on Ink and began transferring his prana into her body to replenish her rapidly dwindling life energy.

Ink’s body started to go cold the moment the core was taken. Her body twitched and grew warm again as soon as the prana flowed into her.

“Aaah…ah…auauh…”

Her mouth hung slack as her limbs started to twitch. The prana would sustain her life for now, but it wouldn’t last long: the needs of her body were too great.

“Hang in there, Ink,” Flum whispered under her breath as she stepped back to let Gadhio and Ottilie do their work.

It was Eterna’s turn.

“All right, this is about to hurt. A lot. But I’ll do my best to keep it to a minimum.” With a wave of her hands, an array of water scalpels and other cutting implements appeared before her. A moment later, water tendrils appeared behind her and grabbed the blades.

The speed and precision at which she worked was absolutely stunning. Even from where Flum stood, she could hardly keep track of what was happening.

The tendrils were far more precise than any hand could ever be, and the water scalpels made quick work of opening Ink up.

In short order they had Ink’s chest open, the core removed from all the surrounding arteries, her new heart connected to all the surrounding valves, her wounds sutured. Eterna somehow managed to perform the work of a whole surgical team all by herself.

“Nnnggggaaaaaaaa…” Ink groaned from the pain, a low thrum from the back of her throat.

Despite all their efforts, it was still an exquisitely painful procedure. Few people could endure such an exercise. The only thing that kept her going was the image of finally being able to live a normal life with Eterna, Flum, and Milkit.

After getting permission from Eterna, Flum and Milkit stepped forward and each took one of Ink’s hands into their own as they whispered reassurances to the young girl.

“Haaaah…” Eterna let out a heavy sigh and leaned back as a water tendril wiped the sweat from her forehead. The exhaustion was clear on her face. Even after spending all night running from the eyes, she was still able to stay completely focused on the delicate task at hand.

Over the days they spent together, Eterna grew quite fond of Ink. She, too, wanted the young girl to live a normal life.

Dein’s heart began to pump inside Ink’s chest, and Eterna finished sealing the incision.

The operation finished, Eterna wiped her brow with her wrist.

“Well, we did everything we could.” She slumped back into a sitting position on the floor.

Ink winced in pain and lost consciousness. The young girl was completely spent. Her chest rose and fell in a slow rhythm, and her new heart was pumping blood throughout her body.

“I think we…did it?”

“Yes, I’m sure we did. The eyes have all stopped moving, even though she’s still alive.”

“Well, I really hope that’s the case.”

Gadhio’s face was ashen as he turned to look out toward the hallway. “Now we just have to wait and see if it takes.”

Flum bowed sincerely to Eterna, Gadhio, and Ottilie. “Thank you, everyone.”

“No need to thank me. Being able to help Ink is thanks enough for me.”

“Same. I may have never met her before, but I want to spare any life I can. I’m just happy to have been of assistance.”

“I didn’t do that much, but I’m glad I was able to be a part of this.”

They looked absolutely exhausted, though they also seemed relieved. Everyone was smiling.

Milkit looked glum, however.

“I guess… I was the only one who couldn’t do anything…”

She had desperately wanted to save her young friend and that made her own powerlessness all the more difficult.

Eterna turned to Milkit and smiled. “If you weren’t here, Flum would never have worked up the strength to come this far. You were perhaps most important of all.”

This caught Milkit off guard.

Flum’s face flushed red at this sudden accusation. “Wait, what?? So you’re saying I don’t have any drive of my own??”

“That’s true, she does look quite a bit different from when she was back in the party.”

“You too, Gadhio?”

Flum looked dejected, eliciting a round of laughter from Eterna, Gadhio, and even Ottilie. Milkit burnt red in embarrassment.

Flum scowled and hugged herself as she withdrew from the crowd.

“Eek! Master??”

“It’s fine, it’s all totally fine. After all, if it weren’t for Milkit here I’d be toooootally useless anyway!”

The words got to her more than they should have. That was probably because they hit too close to home. If not for Milkit, she wouldn’t be standing there.

Milkit pulled Flum into a tender embrace and whispered lightly into her ear. “But, you know, I need you too, Master.”

Being apart, even by the shortest of distances, tore at Milkit’s sanity. Anxiety took root deep within her, and she felt short of breath. She hugged Flum tightly, wishing deep in her heart that the two would never be apart again.

Flum’s cheeks burnt bright red as she held Milkit close.

Eterna broke out into a Cheshire grin, and Ottilie looked at the two in envy. If only she and her sister could be so close.

Gadhio smiled warmly as he watched the two in silence, though this only added fuel to the fire of embarrassment.

“H-hey, it’s not like that!!”

Even she didn’t know what that meant, but she felt compelled to say something. The more she tried to explain, the larger Eterna’s grin grew.

They weren’t entirely wrong. Day by day, Milkit became all the more important to Flum. This became all the more apparent by the fear and pain of loss that gripped her heart when she lost Milkit, if only temporarily.

Though she ultimately got Milkit back safe and sound, she felt that the pain she briefly experienced brought the two even closer. The sense of ease and comfort that enveloped her holding Milkit in her arms again was proof enough of that.

Even as her face flushed pink, Flum reached down and placed her own hand over Milkit’s.

“Oooh…” Eterna caught sight of this movement and chuckled.

Fine, let them watch, then. Flum didn’t care.

The warmth of Flum’s hand instantly took Milkit by surprise, though a smile slowly crept to her cheeks as she closed her eyes and relished the warmth.

“I hope Ink wakes up soon.”

“Me too.”

The two looked down at the sleeping girl. Everyone in the room was convinced the operation was a success. The possibility that she wouldn’t awaken was the furthest thing from their minds.

Outside the church, the sun slowly began to breach the horizon and chase away the darkness, casting a bright orange glow across the city.

The long night was finally over, and the group was reunited for a brand-new day.