HYDE'S POINT OF VIEW.
I am stirred up from sleep as light floods relentlessly at my face.
-My left shoulder throbs painfully-
I yawn while sitting up from a comfy bed.
I am still incredibly hazy and I rub my eyes with both my hands.
-WITH BOTH MY HANDS?-
I open my eyes and stretch out my arms;
-My dismembered arm has been replaced with another-
In it's place, is a new limb crafted from what resembles dark, gnarled tree bark, however what's even more surprising is that this tree bark seems to have been interwoven with miniscule silver filaments, the 'knuckles' of my new hand are studded green gems and an internal luminesce glows from within the arm, I also sense a subtle tremor within that resonates with my entire body, connecting this new limb to my other organs.
I intuitively wriggle my fingers and the fluidity as well as alianity of this feel fascinates me.
I rotate my wrist completely 360, and a gasp escapes from my mouth as I admire the manner with which the technological segments align with the wood, automatically appearing to bloom from it.
I only notice a full length mirror beside the bed and I jerk up to check out how this arm fits with the rest of my body.
-I am impressed by the overall appearance-
"You're liking what you see?"
A voice jolts me out of my blissful isolation and I turn sharply to see Lord Fenice, with his arms folded, leaning against the wall.
-I am incredibly embarrassed as he probably saw by self-assessment-
"I'm glad you like it"; he walks up to me, and grabs me by the arm to himself.
He admires the arm for a while;
"I put a lot of work into this" he knocks on the arm gently.
-The sounds are like that of any old door that is knocked upon-
My head is down and I am fidgety, nonetheless;
"Thank you for not killing me sir...I mean Lord Fenice.." I mutter quietly.
I feel Lord Fenice's gaze fixed on me;
-Perhaps my appreciation did not sound heartfelt enough?-
"No Hyde...you should thank that madness inside you..."
I flinch;
-Memories of what I earlier displayed to Lord Fenice rush back in-
And the burden of shame weighs even heavier on me.
He pats my back;
"I have big expectations of you Hyde...so you've got to meet every single one of them..."
I steal a glance at him and instantly regret it;
Eventhough his eyes are entirely human unlike Faria and Mic's...;
-Right now, his eyes are about a hundred times more horrifying than theirs-
-SILENCE-
He draws back and sizes me up;
"But first, we have to fatten you up!" he cheerfully declares as he drags me off somewhere.
HYDE'S POV END.
CAMADA'S POINT OF VIEW.
My entire body feels incredibly stiff and numb, as I sit up not yet fully awake.
-Am I dead? Or did I survive by some miracle?-
I look around;
-I am back at my old room in the Reverred Applicant Quarters-
I turn to see Taki hunched over on her bed meticulously sewing.
"Taki?..." My voice is hoarse.
She looks to me in unbelief and her face lights up;
"Oh, Camada, you're finally awake!"
She rushes to me in an embrace.
I wince as she holds me by my shoulder that has been securely wrapped up.
"Ooh, I'm sorry..." she releases the arm and hugs me ever so gently.
"You can't imagine how glad I am that we all in our team made it...even Sesugh" she chimes joyfully.
"I was almost afraid you wouldn't make it for the Immersion... you've been asleep for an entire week!" She exclaims.
I sigh in relief.
-We all made it-
"When is the... what did you call it? Immersion... don't tell me it's another hellish Screening..."
She chuckles in response;
"Don't worry, it's just a tradition to help us manifest our abilities..." she pauses as she inspects her fingernails.
"We'll be dipped into Blue stream water for a few minutes and then the Top brass Reverred and Mages will make it possible for our abilities to manifest!" She is very excited.
-But didn't we already manifest in that realm?-
I watch Taki who dedicatedly carries on her sewing.
-She seems to be sewing a full shirt with her bare hands and a strip of material-
"Who's that for?" I ask silently.
Her face turns crimson.
-Is it for Rave then?-
"What about Rave?, Did he survive?"
Taki tenses up as her expression falls;
"Rave is not yet dead...but he can't wake up and the medics can't understand what's happening"
-Well, he should wake up eventually-
I stand up from my bed and stretch a bit.
-I look out the window meditatively-
"Rave won't die so... don't worry too much" she gulps hard in response;
"Tomorrow is the day of Immersion...if he's not up before then...then he can't manifest so he can't become a Mage"
She's doing a good job at hiding the deep rooted concern in her voice.
"Don't fret Taki...Rave will come around, besides...who said he can't become a Mage if he doesn't manifest...I mean, he passed the test fair and square"
Taki smiles greatly assuaged;
"Yeah... he'll come around..."
CAMADA'S POV END.
THE HOODED ONE'S POINT OF VIEW.
To summarise the situation...
-Rave's soul has been grasped by some entity, I can't seem to reach it no matter how hard I try-
"Are you finished Mr Upper Mage?"
The old nurse interrupts my investigation;
-What a cheeky empty-shell; she refuses to allow me up to an hour doing my investigations on Rave's body, claiming that he needs to rest as a patient-
"Yes...thank you very much" I say in a cheerful voice that utterly betrays my actual feelings.
She nods at me and I walk out.
At the door of the Mage infirmary, I bump into Zael;
-The annoyance melts away-
"Zael!... it's been so long since you came to visit my quarters...who are you here to see?"
He clenches his jaw, his chin jutted out.
-Is he still sore about that food incidence?-
He draws in a long breath;
"My aunt is the Head nurse here and she sent me to fetch some medecine for her from the MAGEDOM"
I snicker;
"Aren't you a good boy?...-" "Zael!...oh you're back already you good boy..." she chimes joyfully as she comes towards us.
-Well if it isn't the old nurse who always chases me out so rudely-
Zael quickly steps up to his aunt;
"Aunt, I'm back with what you sent me for...and I'm not a boy anymore-" "-Nonsense! To me you'll always be my dear boy"
She interrupts his whisper energetically.
Fellow nurses and passer-bys snicker at the drama.
-How amusing-
"Oh, is that your friend? Come along young man..." Suddenly she bounds up to me and drags me with her back into the building.
-It's not so amusing now that I'm a part of it-
She leads us into a separate room from the patient's rooms
The interior is warm, cozy and homey.
"Zael NEVER brings friends over so I'm more than excited to see..." she buzzes on and on as she forces us to sit down on a couch while busying herself at a table.
Zael's face is so flushed right now;
I inch closer to him and whisper;
"Aren't you past 20 or something?"
He sighs;
"Indeed, but to my aunt... I'm a blessed baby"; he puts his head in his hands.
I chuckle to myself.
-Zael is really a loser isn't he?-
"Would you like a meal darlings?" She asks breaking into the brief silence.
Zael's face beams and he smirks mischievously while turning to me;
"The only reason I keep up with her is because her meals are absolutely DELICIOUS" he mouths.
I laugh.
The old woman energetically lays out a couple of beautiful dishes in a table placed before us in a matter of minutes.
Zael rubs his hands together gleefully;
"This is what a real meal is like" he mutters before digging in.
-So he was still sore-
I scoop up some soup that looks almost identical to what I attempted conjuring up for Zael into my mouth.
The savoury aroma alone puts me off guard but as soon as the spoon reaches my mouth.
A blend of spices and ingredients all so perfectly prepared burst into my mouth like magic.
I find my entire being relax and my taste buds longing for more.
-It's been a while since I've tasted something this wonderful: food that isn't conjured up-
Meanwhile Zael peers at me thoughtfully:
"I can't tell if you like it or not but...this is what you call real food" he mumbles.
I dip about six more spoons into my mouth at lightening rate, then I grab the bowl and slurp the soup up, never mind the heat.
Zael just watches me, then he chuckles;
"So you like it then" he mutters cheerfully.
-I myself am appalled by my actions-
Eventhough I refuse to touch any other meal apart from that bowl of soup, I leave that place with a fuller stomach than I've ever had before.
THE HOODED ONE'S POV END.