Chapter 51: 42 - Solvent
"You kissed me..." Selene murmured, still lying against the cool floor tiles.
Her voice trembled with equal parts wonder and mischief.
"And what did you do to me, huh?"
She teased, lifting both corners of her mouth into a genuine, radiant smile.
"Please don’t tell me I was inside you, doing something perverted."
Her chuckle tinkled like broken glass—familiar. The same curve of her lips, the same spark in her eyes I’d seen in Helena’s stolen memories, now alive in Selene herself.
"Idiot," I snapped, though I couldn’t stop the tears that welled and streamed down my cheeks, tracking hot rivulets across my face.
"This is not right the time to joke around, you freak."
My voice cracked, betraying me. I buried my face in my hands and wept. These were not tears of defeat, but of triumph so profound it burned: joy, relief, gratitude, and the ache of every loss I’d endured to bring her back.
Is this what true love is? I thought, between ragged breaths.
To give everything even when you thought you had nothing left to give... to rebuild someone from clay and spirit, just to hear them laugh again?
If this was love—an alchemy more powerful than any spell—I wouldn’t mind breaking myself every single day for her. I would trade my mind, my memories, my very essence, for this moment if it meant her smile would never fade.
I lifted my head at last, blinking through the salt tracks on my cheeks, and forced a trembling smile. "Welcome back, Selene—my love."
I pressed my lips to hers once more, a soft promise rather than a grand romance.
No vows, no future guarantees—only the present, the stolen moment of warmth between two souls rescued from oblivion.
"Mhm," she breathed, her voice low and husky. "I have returned, Kairi—my dear."
I closed my eyes, savoring the sound of my name on her lips. Even as a magic user, I’d never experienced a spell so delicate, so terrifying in its uncertainty. Selene had once told me the odds of a perfect resurrection were less than one percent. Yet here she was, alive, flesh warmed by my touch.
She had faith in me, I reminded myself. And I, in turn, never doubted her.
A sudden grin curved Selene’s lips. "Anyway..." she trailed off, then blinked up at me.
"You really make me feel... wet."
I blinked.
No, please—stop that banter for now, you dummy.
You were nothing but a clay figure a few hours ago!
Her small laughter fluttered like a bird’s wings.
"Yes, it took you exactly two hours to rebuild me from head to toe. First the skull, then every ligament and organ—it sounded like a construction site in here."
I indulged her with a half-smile. Yes, I did exactly that.
And you must have heard that yourself, right?
Selene cocked her head, mock-offended.
"Hm, that indeed was incredible. But I never expected you to inhale my dust that badly. Are you really that obsessed with my... remains?"
I rolled my eyes, but my heart fluttered at her teasing tone.
Maybe Selene is Selene after all, I thought. Witty, irreverent, even now.
She scooted closer, resting her head in my lap.
"You know," she murmured, "this is definitely the best place to nap in the world."
I stroked her hair, marveling at its softness. You really said that out loud.
"Hey, wait—at least talk to me directly! I don’t want to sound like a f*cking yapper here."
I chuckled, shaking my head. Girl knows what yapping means, I thought, and her joke settled some of the storm inside me.
"Fine," I said, smoothing a strand of hair from her forehead.
"What do you want me to talk about?"
Selene sighed, content. "I want you to tell me... what happened to me before this."
Her request was simple, but it carried the weight of worlds. I settled back against the headboard, cradling her in my arms, and let the floodgates open.
I told her about the lab’s neon lights, the smell of clay and ash, the tremor in my hands when I shaped her bones. I spoke of the theory—true love’s kiss as necromantic catalyst—and how absurd it felt to lean on fairy tales in a room full of gravestones. I described the fear that she might remain nothing more than cold sculpture, the crushing despair that followed, and the moment her first breath shuddered into life.
Selene listened, wide-eyed, tracing patterns on my sleeve as if she still tested her own reality. She asked questions—soft, curious things about pain, consciousness, and the spark that flared when I pressed my palm to her clay heart.
When I finished, she pressed a gentle kiss to my knuckles. "Thank you," she whispered. "For not giving up."
My chest swelled. I brushed tears—these tears of gratitude—onto her cheek.
"There was never a choice."
"Anyway, what about you. How was it?"
* * *
"Miss Kairi?" She tapped on my shoulder, as my mind went out of nowhere.
"Eh, what is it, nurse?"
"Is it okay if I leave you alone? You also should go back to sleep, it’s almost evening."
"Oh..." I looked into the surrounding, everything seemed orange.
No, the sky’s colour turns into orange-alike atmosphere.
"Yeah, it’s fine. Mind if you lead me back to my room?"
"Ck ck ck, Miss Kairi... it is my duty as a nurse to do so. You don’t have to ask for it."
She then led me back to my room, the one where I did my operation.
I blinked, trying to steady my head. The nurse’s uniform was crisply white against the dusk-orange glow bleeding through the windows lining the corridor.
"Yeah," I said, voice a little raw. "Lead the way."
She offered a quiet nod and guided me down the polished hallway, the tap-tap of her sensible shoes echoing off steel doors. I leaned against the wall when she paused at the end, where a single plaque read Room 12B — Surgical Recovery Suite. My own room, from earlier.
The door slid open with a muted hiss. Inside, the lights were low; only a cluster of monitoring screens cast pale green glows. The bed stood empty—too bare, somehow, without the clay form I’d worked on. My chest ached at the memory.
"Can I get you anything before I leave?" the nurse asked, voice gentle but professional. She held a small tray: a thermos of tea, a damp towel, an extra blanket folded neatly.
I shook my head. "No... thank you." My fingers brushed the edge of the tray, but I pulled back. Everything felt unreal, like a half-remembered dream.
She hesitated. "If you need me, just press the call button. You’ve been through a lot today."
I managed a tight smile. "I will." My throat felt thick, and as she slipped out, I realized I was trembling—not from blood loss or fatigue, but from something deeper. Relief. Fear. A strange hope.
The door whispered shut behind me. I sank onto the edge of the bed and curled inward, staring at the blank mattress. The orange sky filtered through the narrow window, as if the world itself had changed color to match my turmoil.
I closed my eyes, and for the first time all day, let myself feel it: the weight of bringing someone back, the impossibility of it, and the fragile thread of life blinking back into being.
I blinked against the gloom. The nurse’s soft footsteps had faded, the door whispered shut behind her, and I was alone again with the orange dusk bleeding through the windows. I sank onto the edge of the bed, heart still pounding from what I’d done—and what I’d nearly broken.
My head hit the pillow. Instantly, the world tipped.
I was falling. Not through space—but between worlds. The lab tiled floor dissolved beneath me, replaced by ink-black nothingness, studded with pinpricks of white light. None of it made sense. There were hissed whispers—helena’s voice, Selene’s laughter, my own chanting curling around me like smoke.
I tried to move. My limbs wouldn’t obey. My mouth opened, but only dust came out when I tried to scream.
A shape emerged in the void: a door, floating, ornate—carved with slumbering runes I recognized from childhood bedtime stories. The ones that promised gateways between life and death, between dream and waking.
I crawled toward it, fingers trailing in the void until I felt cold metal. I dragged myself up and pressed my palm to its surface. It swung open with a groan, revealing...
My own world, intact. The lab, the windows, the basin. The orange sky outside. Everything I’d left.
Behind me: a gaping black sea. One step back would doom me. Step forward—and I’d be home.
I tried to stand, but my legs were jelly. My breaths came in ragged pulls.
Then, a voice from behind:
"It’s too late."
Not Helena. Not Selene. Kairi’s voice—but warped, distant, cruel.
I can’t save her.I never could.I’m the monster.
Failure.
I failed.
She’s still gone.
I saw my own clay form, cracks widening like fractures in my soul. It was melting, slipping through my fingers, returning to ash. I reached—but my arm stretched impossibly long, then snapped like a rubber band.
Desperation bloomed in my throat.
Don’t leave me here.
Don’t let this be how it ends.
Come back.
