As night continued to pass, the victorious Morpho managed to stay awake.
With much help from Cyril, she even managed to memorize a single magic circle.
As a result, Morpho was now on the floor in the middle of the room.
Cyril turned around in his chair, guiding her spell as best he could.
"Move the mana carefully. The more precise your pattern is, the more likely the spell is to succeed." He commented, observing a childlike drawing gradually form in front of the butterfly.
Using her insect antennae, Morpho finished building the circle, and a vague light appeared at the center of it. It flickered for a few moments before disappearing.
Morpho fluttered her wings in place and flew upwards, celebrating.
"You managed to do it on your 3rd try. Not bad." Cyril nodded, outstretching his hand.
Making a wobbly path, Morpho landed on his finger.
"You are tired right now from a lack of mana, have some rest." He walked towards the terrarium and gently dropped her on top of a plant.
Morpho climbed up a little higher and took a comfortable position on a leaf.
Though she didn't go to sleep just yet, her compound eyes kept staring at the awake Cyril.
He only lightly smiled and sat back down in his chair.
She is capable of magic as expected... however, her mana reserves are way too low. It will be hard for her to cast spells effectively.
He sighed and began turning the chair around to face the desk.
In the process his gaze went over the bed, and he froze.
There sat Rhamn, wagging her feet. On her face, a gentle smile.
Cyril exhaled after a second, putting a palm over his face. "There you are."
"Of course I am here." Rhamn replied with her smile widening, "I will not be disappearing any time soon. You need me."
Morpho stiffly fluttered her wings, too weak to fly. But she did twitch her antennae a few times, to which Rhamn waved her hand.
"Sorry for scaring you." She whispered.
I was just being cautious. Who knows what consuming Ambrosia did to my already unusual body?
Cyril leaned into the chair, his gaze lingering on Rhamn.
"Haha, if you say so." She casually got from the bed and walked all the way to Cyril.
"But I also mean that in a more literal way." Rhamn sat on the table in front of him, crossing her tights-wearing legs.
Cyril remained seated, following her actions with his eyes, a frown soon forming on his face.
That I need you? I can keep my first-place position even without your help.
With the same smile on her face, Rhamn leaned closer and silently poked Cyril in the chest.
At this moment, two distinct sounds in quick succession rang rhythmically in his ears, gradually getting louder.
Two familiar booms, the first soft, the second sharp. Cyril heard this sound every day, particularly during combat training, where the other students made it the loudest.
A heartbeat?
"Your heartbeat." Rhamn said, her smile becoming softer, "In the most physical sense possible, I am your heart."
She moved the finger still poking his chest, making circles. "So you need me, how can you live without one?"
Cyril stiffly lowered his head, staring at her slender finger with widened eyes.
How is this possible? At this moment he vividly felt a peculiar sensation of someone caressing his chest.
Shakily he moved his hand and tried to grasp hers, though it passed right through, as it was supposed to.
"This is my new trick, or ability, I should say. My current form is simply how you see me, it's not really there." Rhamn now put her whole palm against his chest.
"I am not actually touching you. I am just simulating your body's response to being touched."
What does that even mean? Cyril crossed his arms with a frown, his hands phasing through her palm.
Rhamn observed him with a smug. "It means I can morph your body in whatever way we wish."
The frown on his face grew stronger.
"Don't be so pessimistic. I am your heart, why should I harm you? Have some trust in me."
She raised her body and sat up straight, crossing her arms. "I think it's a very useful ability. It only needs a little bit of mana."
"While I can't change your body too drastically yet, we can adapt to any situation at a moment's notice. I can even heal your wounds in the middle of the battle through it. I can even do something like this-"
She dramatically snapped her fingers.
Cyril quickly lowered his head to observe his body, but it appeared unchanged.
Then, suddenly, the heaviness of staying up this late completely disappeared, as he felt a small dip in his mana.
"I removed fatigue toxins and mended your muscles. Using only mana, I changed your body to its peak state." Rhamn explained with a smug.
It's certainly useful. Cyril's frown eased a level. So you can also end my life in an instant then?
Rhamn tilted her head, staring at him with a blank face. "Like any heart can."
Then, under his complaining eyes, she hopped off the table, landing on the floor without any sound.
"Go to sleep, Morpho. Unfortunately, I can't help you how I helped Cyril yet." Rhamn waved at the terrarium with a doting smile.
The butterfly stiffly fluttered her wings in return, then, as if a worker clocking out after a grueling day, immediately drifted off into sleep.
Cyril observed their actions, the frown on his face disappearing completely.
Letting out a slow breath, he relaxed into the chair completely, his head turning to face the wooden ceiling.
What a day...
...
In the beginning I had many theories about you.
Cyril mused with his whole body relaxed.
I thought you might be a soul attached to me, or maybe even a split personality. But I didn't expect this.
He sighed, turning to look at Rhamn standing nearby.
"I also didn't know at the time I was replacing the heart in your chest cavity." Rhamn said with a smile.
So, who are you? Is my heart another living organism? Are you a parasite of some kind? Am I even a human?
Rhamn sat on the bed, shot him a glance, and shrugged, "I don't know."
"I am in the same boat as you. But if I had to guess..." She tilted her head and thought for a few seconds before replying. "I am not 'another organism.'"
"I am a part of you, but you are not a part of me, or are we the same? No, that can't be right..."
Rhamn gave a sheepish smile.
"It's a bit confusing~"
I see... And what about my visit to the healer? If my heart is so special, then why was nothing discovered?
Rhamn's smile became more pronounced as her nose was raised higher. "As if their weak magic can reveal us."
"Your heart- I don't look any different from a normal human heart. No matter how hard they look, if I don't allow it, they won't see anything unusual."
So, you've fooled them even before you had the knowledge of who you really were. Cyril smiled slightly.
Rhamn's smile turned into a sneer as she looked somewhere in the distance. "'Fooled' is the wrong word. It implies a conscious attempt to deceive from me."
Her eyes narrowed in contempt. "But it's impossible. Deceit is a luxury I won't show their feeble, inferior minds. They are simply incapable of seeing us for who we really are."
Cyril observed her movements with a blank face.
Why are you always so theatrical...? He sighed and stood up from the chair.
Rhamn's expression froze, soon turning into another sheepish smile.
"It's just how I am. We definitely have the qualifications for that." She patted herself on the chest.
If you say so.
Cyril raised his arm, staring at its apparent normality, a whim gradually forming in his mind.
Can you do a demonstration of this shape-shifting? Move the flesh on my arm, do something with it.
Rhamn only nodded in response, and soon, without any warning or a special action, a change happened.
Cyril felt a drain on his mana, then the skin on his forearm opened up in the middle, revealing the muscles beneath.
They soon started wriggling and moving about, appearing as a cluster of red snakes tightly coiled together.
Despite what was happening, Cyril felt not even a hint of pain.
Alright, you can stop.
In a moment the muscles danced back to their supposed place, with skin soon growing to close the window shut, returning back to normal.
Cyril flexed his arm and stretched.
It doesn't feel any different… No, it's almost easier to move.
Rhamn didn't say anything in response, only the smile on her face widened.
Cyril shook his head and walked towards the window.
Through the gaps in the curtains, a hint of light could be seen, gradually intensifying.
I stayed awake the whole night...
Cyril rubbed his temple.
It is what it is. This weekend we'll be visiting the Tower. I'll use that opportunity to go home and ask father about this. He should know something.
The principal, or whoever sent me that letter, do they know about this too?
...Doesn't matter for now. I will not let this interfere with my studies. The lessons are going to begin soon, I should prepare.
Rhamn energetically nodded and gave a thumbs-up in response, "That's the spirit! I agree, let's just take it slow."
He pulled a few books and started studying quietly, apprehensive of disturbing Morpho's sleep.
Sorry, Morpho. Have a good sleep.