Conrad could only silently stare at the white ceiling of his room. His brain and heart still couldn't process what had just happened.
Is that a dream? Is that real? Conrad had no way of really knowing.
In his heart, his deepest wish was that what he had just experienced was just a dream. Yes, about Eliril suddenly saying that they had to separate, Conrad hoped that it didn't really happen.
However, he knows what kind of creature Eliril is. She is a powerful Elf. Sending something real into his dreams is not something difficult for her.
So Conrad was more certain that what he had experienced earlier was something real. Eliril pulled him from where he was currently lying to the place where they had spent a long time together.
The look in Conrad's eyes changed. The eyes that were previously filled with sadness turned to anger.
All of this happened because the Elves infiltrated the secret facility to eliminate his Magic power. They threatened the only bond he has with Eliril. Making Eliril finally decide to end it all.
The anger Conrad had towards the Elves was already enormous at first when he heard how they treated Eliril and her mother. Now, as if that wasn't enough, they came back to suppress Eliril with everything they had.
"Hey, you up?"
Thomas's voice came from next to him with a tone of shock. Yet Conrad ignored him. He continued to stare at the ceiling with the same gaze.
Thomas immediately jumped up from the couch he was sitting on and approached him. His tired eyes are wide open at Conrad's awakening. It was something he had been looking forward to.
"Can you hear me?" Thomas asked. Seeing that Conrad did not answer him, Thomas shouted again.
"I hear you!" replied Conrad.
Only then was Thomas able to heave a sigh of relief. He slumped on the bed beside Conrad.
"Huff... I thought you weren't coming back, man..." Thomas said. Sighs of relief continued to emerge from him.
Conrad did not answer Thomas's words. He was silent and still staring at the ceiling. But then he realized that he couldn't just stay silent.
So Conrad immediately moved his body to sit up. However, he fell back accompanied by a groan full of pain.
"Argggh..."
Thomas looked at him with concern. "What do you feel?"
Conrad of course could not answer because his whole body felt immeasurable pain. He felt hundreds of needles piercing his skin simultaneously when he tried to get up.
Thomas looked at Conrad like he was looking at the experimental subject which showed a new reaction he didn't expect.
In this case, the reaction looked like he was in pain so Thomas knew enough not to say anything just yet.
Thomas let Conrad writhe in pain for about a minute. Feeling that the pain has been going on for too long, Thomas intends to press the button to call the doctor.
However, before he had the chance to do so, Conrad already showed a reaction when the pain he felt suddenly disappeared. His stiff body relaxed and he breathed a sigh of relief.
"You alright?" Thomas asked.
"Yeah..." Conrad answered. There was still a grin of pain on his face.
Thomas watched Conrad for a few moments, then said. "Should I call the doctor?"
"No. I'm fine," Conrad replied.
Thomas looked doubtful. He swallowed the question he had been waiting for so long to ask back into his throat.
"How long have I slept?" Conrad asked.
"Two days."
"What happened during that time?"
Thomas sighed. "Well, a lot was going on. There was quite a bit of a mess going on. It naturally perplexed General Lennard and the President.
Journalists surrounded the military headquarters demanding answers. But their number immediately decreased drastically as soon as the President said he would hold a press conference."
Conrad turned to Thomas. "What excuse would they use for that?"
He knew that the President would never tell the truth. There must be some kind of lie that he prepared to cover it all. And the lie was well planned.
"You know, it turns out that there was an incident that occurred when the soldiers held military operations training on the ship. The incident was so big that it shocked the whole country. We didn't know because we were at the facility," Thomas explained.
"What incident?" Conrad frowned.
"The soldiers who were in charge of being pirates who were supposed to be on standby on the ship went crazy and they killed each other."
That answer made Conrad even more astonished. "How did it happen?"
"Based on what General Lennard said, it was all caused by Magic."
"What?!" Conrad looked taken aback.
"Yes. General Lennard said that the soldiers were acting strange as if they were affected by something and going mad.
Surprisingly, they can still hold their weapons and use them to kill the soldiers who boarded the ship."
Conrad was just silent because he was thinking about it all. Then, after remembering something he asked.
"Did it coincide with the time I had a bad feeling that time?"
Thomas blinked rapidly, than said. "I'm not sure about that."
That thought just crossed Thomas' mind. He still hadn't confirmed that to General Lennard.
"But it's very possible," said Thomas. Then he decided to postpone the question for now and ask a more important question.
"How are you? Do you feel something different with your Magic?" Thomas asked.
"Oh. About that." Conrad sighed sadly. "I've lost my Magic power."
Hearing the news made Thomas lethargic. His head fell and a desperate sigh escaped his mouth.
"Shit," Thomas swore under his breath. "What happened?"
"As you might have guessed. This happened because of those Elves."
Conrad still felt sadness in his heart. But now that feeling only leaves a feeling of emptiness.
He still couldn't believe that he really had to part with Eliril. That feeling of shock made Conrad feel like a hole had been made in his heart.
"So... you really can't use Magic anymore?" Thomas asked again to make sure because in his heart he still couldn't accept it.
"I guess... no."
Thomas blinked a few times. "You guess? Does that mean there are other possibilities?"
Thomas heard a sigh from Conrad. A sigh that sounded desperate and sad. But Thomas didn't understand about it.
"Hey, what you mean you 'guess'?" Thomas asked again.
"Don't ask me anything now," Conrad said. "Can you leave me alone for now?"
Thomas actually still wanted to confirm a few things. However, hearing Conrad's tone, he decided to do what he wanted.
"You want something else?" Thomas asked while standing up from his chair.
"Just don't let anyone come here. I don't want anyone to see me," Conrad replied.
"Alright."
Thomas left the room. After that, he walked away while taking back his cell phone. Now that Conrad had awake and he had gotten the answer he was waiting for, Thomas felt a little relieved.
But the answer he got could also mean bad news. With Conrad having lost his Magic abilities, the experiment could no longer continue.
Thomas glanced at the screen of his cell phone where General Lennard's name was on it.
But he hesitated, should he contact the General even though Conrad said he didn't want to be disturbed?
Then, as if he had a clear answer to his own question, Thomas shook his head.
"No. It's best not to bother him now."
Thomas comes out of the hospital and decides to go to the location of the secret facility.
He wanted to go back and check the part everyone had missed. Maybe he could find something if he checked himself.
~~~
Aerchon was standing on top of the wall protecting the Elf castle. His silver hair was blown by the wind. Meanwhile, his pair of blue eyes stared at the horizon in front of him in contemplation.
'Magic awakening, huh...'
Thoughts of that filled Aerchon's mind for the past few days. Aurdis and Saeldir had told him everything. And of course, that wasn't something Aerchon could accept easily.
Everything that happened seemed to lead to a big event. He had never imagined that the relationship between the two worlds would turn out like this.
Aerchon also already knew that Aurdis and Saeldir had just carried out an attack on that place in that world to stop them from developing the Elf's Magic they stole.
Apart from that, Aerchon also received astonishing news. Apart from the awakening of Magic, Aurdis, and Saeldir also said that something they called The Great Calamity would come to this world.
It's all so hard to believe. However, the one who said all that was Erend, a human who has the power of a Dragon.
Aerchon had learned from everything that happened what Erend could do, and what he possibly knew. Erend can come at the right time when a dire situation befalls them.
Including the moment when Laston's betrayal was revealed.
~~~
Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m