The mood in there was so intense, whatever the man in front of us was saying wasn't nonsense. But those words places a burden upon us both and was intriguing. The moment everything felt magical, it had become more vivid and Sita seemed to be in the same state as I was. Was I the only person who took in everything so easily? I wondered if anyone could have taken in the facts as they were, were they in my place. Nevertheless, I valued myself more than anything and it is human nature, isn't it?
"What about the consequences?"
Ahim did not seem flustered, "There are two choices."
"Propose your choices.", Sita's voice sounded more nervous and she was in a tough spot too.
"Time! You bet on your lifetime.
If you intentionally exploit the powers, you may end up losing half of your actual lifespan."
"Half of what????", Sita freaked out.
"He says half of our lifespan.", it was a real deal after all. "And another choice is?"
"If you act diligently, put your power in use only for the purpose the path leads to, you get to live as long as I do."
At first, it felt like he was offering us eternity, Sita was grinning ear to ear, but wait, "It isn't insured either, what if you die? Wouldn't it mean the end of us too?"
"Isn't he supposed to be immortal?", Sita questioned in distrust.
He contemplated a little before answering. I was praying he wouldn't tell me we die too. But his answer hugely impacted our decision. He said that he could die too and added that it had never happened before where a person on Mystic Throne had died while his powers were passed on to a mortal. Ahim was not forcing us to do this but I felt responsible, at the same time, if any unfortunate were to happen, I was not sure if I would gladly accept it without blaming him for it.
Sita and I asked him for time to think over it. It was not an easy pick for us too. Then a kid from the troop placed his hand on our backs, the touch had brought a keen pain in the part he had his hands on. It was a kind of trace of the Mystic Throne carved in our back, that would connect us to Ahim. Whenever we were ready, Sita would bring us here through her power. This was instructed to us and Ahim also warned us that we should never discuss this with any other people. If we did so, it could affect Ahim.
"I feel so bad about dragging you into my mess."
We were in the park and we realised that the time hadn't passed much. It was still the same evening, the only thing was Sita teleported from her home to the park. I looked at my phone, it was exactly ten minutes. But it felt like an hour, and this time, we had no pain.
"The real pain is having to decide in 48 hours."
Yes, we were insecure, we were still young and I did not want to abruptly end my life. But, wasn't it a dream for me to save lives and help others? What would I choose? Sita, right at that moment, was the one with powers among us. What would she choose?