I was exhausted.
The physical stress of standing still for hours and hours was overwhelming, but nowhere near the emotional turmoil I had experienced in the hours before the sunlight finally painted the sky.
Without hesitation whatsoever, I opened the potion vial and downed everything to the last drop. I was so done at this point that I didn't even react to the taste of the potion and just focused on the feeling of my blood boiling.
The pain was a welcomed relief, a distraction from all the illusions had talked about, the ideas they had filled my brain with and it brought me back to my reality.
My blood kept rushing, boiling, fighting and soon enough my pores started expelling black waste.
That was the waste that didn't belong to my blood, but seeing the quantity I was expelling was really starting to worry me.
Is there even enough blood left in my body?
My worries were baseless. What I was feeling was nothing of the likes someone suffering severe blood loss should feel.
I felt light, energetic and even somewhat happy.
[Ritual of blood purification completed.
Bloodline of the Error : 17.1% purity.
Please chose which rune to extract:
• Path of the Moon: absence
• Path of Wisdom: memory]
There was no need to think about this, not after I heard what Aurelia was talking about with Cael.
I picked the rune of [memory] and the next second, a volley of notifications exploded in my eyes.
[skill: mnemosine's fracture, is now passively active.
Perfect memory, mind capacity and information analysis are now extremely boosted.]
[skill: Disillusioned, of higher rank and same domain, is trying to absorb mnemonsine's fracture.]
[allow skill: Disillusioned, to absorb the skill Mnemosine's fracture? Y/N.]
I accepted, and immediately after, I felt my consciousness steadyingly expanding. The feeling was similar to when I improvised my presence in the Hall of Illusions, I felt everything more clearly, I could also see better. Even mana seemed more willing to obey me than it originally was and I immediately tried to manipulate it.
A moment later…
[skill: Ruler of Mana, passive, acquired.
Mana bends to your will and it does so with joy.
Mana regeneration: +100%
Mana capacity: +100%]
"It was so easy…?"
My blood… it really was the blood of rulers. There was no other explanation to how things were developing.
With my new blood and skills, I decided to just get back to my dorm. I needed sleep, badly.
___________________
"Yom! What's wrong with your brother?! He can dish it but he can't take it?"
"Oh shut up Aurelia! You were the one that confused hurting someone for real for a prank!"
Aurelia and I were fighting in Yom's room since early morning.
After what had happened yesterday, in the evening we tried to look for him, maybe invite him for dinner and try to smooth things over.
But he was nowhere to be found and his alleged brother just said: "I know where he is, that's enough, now scram.". As if we could just let it go.
Aurelia was donning an angry look, but I knew better, and so did Crow's brother.
"Aurelia, I know my brother is hot beyond reason, but you can't become a masochist just for a little bite." -Yom
"A LITTLE BITE? I BLED!" -Aurelia
Lucky bastard.
The blush on Aurelia's face did nothing to mask her real intentions and I was starting to get angrier and angrier.
"Enough!"
The two finally stopped bickering and turned towards me.
"He is furious with all of us. He probably heard all of us talking with our parents about that language he suddenly is fluent in. I just want to explain my situation to him. I don't know about the rest of you, but I couldn't give less of a fuck about my mother's wishes."
This situation was getting out of hand.
For every step forward I made towards him, he'd take ten back, build a wall and dig a canal around it.
This was not something I was used to, people had always respected my wishes, he was the first to openly not care.
"Just find someone else to pursue! Why would you even fall for my brother?!"
I wanted to shout back at him, to tell him why, but I was so angry I couldn't even find the words. My mind kept replaying the scene of Crow biting down Aurelia and licking his lips stained with blood. Or when he kissed Auriel with such intensity…
"I…"
I wanted to say a reason, any reason, but I just couldn't admit it.
I could not say that he made me feel good just standing beside me. That his eyes, always smiling, were like a shower of sunlight in my dark life.
I just wanted to stay by his side.
Knock knock knock.
The door was still closed, but I could feel him. His presence, his mana, his scent.
But there was something different, heavier.
What?
The door flung open as soon as Yom gave his permission and ther he was.
Disheveled, reddened eyes and tears stricken face.
My heart broke just looking at him.
"Lil bro, I finished my stash of whiskey, do you have some?"
"What's going on?! Why are you in this state?" -Yom
The brothers didn't even acknowledge mine or Aurelia's presence and started chatting like nothing was wrong.
"Well… I held the ritual to purify my bloodline… and some memories I had forcibly locked up resurfaced… I just need a sleep booster. Dreams are the last thing I need right now."
Yom didn't hesitate any longer and pushed a bottle of mana whiskey in his hands, a bottle that didn't remain closed long since as soon as it reached his hands it was brought up to his lips.
He chugged down almost half the bottle in a swing and once again I was reminded of how people addressed the path of Disorder: the drunkhard path.
But then Crow said something that brought me back to reality with a violence I didn't expect.
"Good, good. Imma borrow your bed Yom, can you tell dad that I will need to travel up north, I'll be away for probably a couple of months… good night."
His figure started swaying towards Yom's room, but I caught him before he could slip away.
"Why are you going there? It's dangerous."
He looked at me with unfocused eyes, remnants of his tears still there, but his resolve was clearly there.
"Oh, don't worry, I'll translate whatever mommy storm wants before leaving."
"I DON'T CARE ABOUT THAT! WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!"
He winced at my shout, I realised my tone was… wrong, but I had already acted up, might as well finish up.
"I NEVER CARED ABOUT THAT BITCH! SHE MADE MY LIFE HELL, THAT TRANSLATION IS FOR ME, BUT EVEN IF YOU DO NOT DO IT I DON'T CARE!"
"The fuck man, don't shout…"
"NO! I SHOUT! YOU DON'T EVEN TRY TO LISTEN, YOU DECIDE WHAT WE THINK AND NEVER ASK!"
Both Aurelia and Yom were looking at me like I was crazy. To openly admit I didn't care for the duchess was one thing, to call her a bitch was another. Even Crow was somewhat shocked, but that emotion was quickly masked away.
"Please… tell me where are you going… I…"
I just want to stand with you.
"Ahhhhh… it's not like I'm going tomorrow, there are still plenty of things I need to take care of."
I looked at him trying to express my unwillingness to let this subject go. If he was going north. I was going to go with him. With or without his permission.
"Fine. I was studying about ancient civilisation after all the old tongue shit that happened in the dungeon."
"But there's nothing up north…"
"Wrong, we know nothing about what's there, care to tell me why?"
I racked my brain to find a flaw in his thinking, but there clearly weren't any. We really didn't know anything about up north, not because we were sure that there wasn't anything, but because…
"The frequent dungeon breaks… they destroyed or hid everything ages ago…"
"Right, but the last dungeon break recorded from the sensors up north was confirmed around 300 years ago."
So he was looking for traces of the past… but even so, what did it have to do with him?
"I really need that bed."
I acted before I realised it, picked him up in a princess carry and even if he rebelled a little I forced the winds to keep him in place.
"I've had enough of your antics. You will sleep with me until you're ready to hear what really happened with my mother. And you will keep sleeping in my room even after."
I didn't want to be the forceful young master that I was raised as, but Crow was too slippery, he could disappear without notice at any moment and I've had enough of it.
His small pointy ears started to redden a little and he nodded leaning on my shoulder.
Was he taller than me by a lot? Yes.
Was this situation ridiculous? Absolutely.
Did I regret anything? Fuck no.