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Yeah! Here's the new chapter!
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"Penny's death? What do you mean by that?" I asked, a feeling of worry building within me, even though I knew she was alive and well.
"Sigh... I think for you to fully understand the situation it would be better if I told you the whole story" Nick said to me.
Taking a deep breath and searching his memory, Nick began to narrate his story.
"Well, I guess it all started when I turned 21" he started to say, "I was, like many other wizards at that time, someone gifted in magic, but I wasn't the best or the most powerful"
"However, that changed when I woke up and realized that things were different... In a good way even. I could feel the magic, I could understand the branches of magic better and the spells themselves became simpler to decipher and cast." Nick then took a moment to catch his breath, and in that time I was looking at and, trying to understand how this story would lead to the part where Penny almost died.
"At that time I was already dating Penny, and I even had intentions of asking her to marry me... We met at school, and since we were 12 we were friends, and at 16 we were already in love and dating" he continued , with a warm smile on her face, "She was always with me, even though she was so much better than me, both in magic and in any other subject... She was and still is amazing, but what really made me fall in love with her was the fact that she saw something in me that I didn't even see"
"And I'm pretty sure that something she saw in you wasn't that mustache of yours, right?" I asked playfully, and Nick chuckled.
"I don't think so" he said smiling slightly at me.
Nick then relaxed in his chair and continued to tell his story.
"But back to the point, after I woke up with this new 'perception' about the magic, my life changed. I was already a little talented, but after that day I became a kind of wizard that only appeared every 500 or 1000 years, and with my new talent and acquired skill, I started to get more involved in the creation of magic"
"I started creating spells, items, wards, and also improved some of these things that already existed" he said, and then looked at his hand, "I started to become famous, and people thought that was pure talent, but I knew better... Actually, I was just following the step by step that the magic itself showed me, with it guiding me in all my experiments, but it was so smooth and simple that even I didn't realize that the magic that was helping me"
"But with all this talent and everyone praising, adoring and idolizing me, I started to get cocky, thinking I was going to be the next Merlin, or even someone superior" and saying that, Nick sighed, rubbing his eyes wearily, "And with all these factors, my arrogance grew, and then I heard some people saying that if I really was as amazing and wonderful as others said, I would have ventured into the most difficult branch of magic, the Alchemy..."
"And so you decided you were going to become an Alchemist to prove to them that you really were the best" I said, not asking but affirming.
"Yes" Nick chuckled, "By this time Penny was already studying alchemy, and so I grudgingly asked her for help, as I thought it was beneath me to ask anyone for help, even if that someone was the woman I loved."
"But like I said, Penny saw something in me that no one else saw, and without even questioning she started teaching me, and even though I didn't understand until today, she didn't abandon me even when I acted like a self-centered idiot"
"As I had magic helping me, I easily mastered Alchemy, only I wanted more, I wanted to show that I was the best, and so I decided that I would create the most powerful, complex and indecipherable magic item that ever existed" Nick said, and I could tell he had a sad, guilty tone to his voice.
"Was that item the Philosopher's Stone?" I asked.
"Heh, you could say yes, but not at the same time" he said, and I looked at him confused.
Noticing my gaze, Nick sighed.
"I wanted to create a powerful and the most incredible item, and for that he needed to have the power to give everything everyone ever wanted... Money, life, and power" he said, "I knew how to create an item that could give infinite money basically, but the power and life were different... One went against all wizarding laws of preservation, and the other went against the laws of magic itself"
"But ignoring this I continued with my experiments, becoming a recluse, and I'm sure I would have died from working so hard if Penny hadn't been by my side taking care of me, but while she was taking care of me I didn't realize that I neglected her, and because of that I didn't realize she was sick until it was too late."
"Penny... Was she sick?" I asked in a whisper.
"Yes... And it wasn't a known disease ,and it can be said that what she had was something totally different from a disease, but that brought similar symptoms... what she had was a Blood Malediction" and as soon as Nick said it I could feel my blood run cold, and I turned to him in surprise.
"What?" I asked.
"Sigh... Many centuries before Penny was born, her family had been involved in a blood feud against 2 other families, and I don't know how, but the lords of the 3 families at that time unconsciously activated, or rather saying, created a ritual in one of their terrible bloody battles, where they had dozens of deaths, and this ritual ended up becoming a sacrificial Blood Malediction"
"And... And what happened?" I asked, swallowing hard.
"...What happened was that with the amount of deaths, and with the magic of everyone on the battlefield leaking out in a chaotic way, the Blood Malediction ritual was completed, and the curse reached the 3 families" Nick said after a few seconds of silence, "One of the families was totally destroyed and eliminated in that battle, but Penny's family and the other survived... but because of all the losses they ended up becoming small families with less than 10 members"
"They were once great wizarding families, but because of arrogance and greed they became a families in decline. Fortunately the curse didn't kill them all, and thanks to that Penny's family was able to hold out until my generation, however only Penny and her mother were left as the only survivors of their family at that time."
"What about the other family?" I asked curious.
"... All of that family died a century before Penny was born" Nick replied to me, "Of all the families involved in that blood feud, only Penny and her mother were left, and Penny's mother died before she turned 25 , and the reason for his death was the Blood Malediction"
And hearing this I looked down with a somber gaze, realizing that Penny must have suffered greatly from her mother's death.
"But back to the story, Penny started to get sick, and I could have noticed the symptoms if I wasn't so focused on my work, and Penny also hid her condition not wanting to disturb me, and because of that when I realized she was already in her last days" he began to say, looking down in shame, "I discovered after a while that the Blood Malediction that inflicted Penny used ambient magic as energy, and that thanks to my many experiments the curse advanced quickly"
"But not knowing Penny's condition I kept trying to create the perfect magic item, but at that moment I could feel the magic telling me that I shouldn't do that, but I ignored its warnings, thinking that the magic itself was just angry because I was about to overcome it by breaking the laws of life and death... But I was wrong" Nick said with a mocking smile, directed towards himself.
"And after ignoring and despising magic, it abandoned me, and because of that I stopped feeling it"
"I was so close to creating the perfect item, only to suddenly lose my 'gift'... I was devastated, even mad, but after a while I realized that even my magic was weakened, and realizing this I went into depression
"I didn't feel like eating anymore, I didn't feel like smiling anymore, and nothing and nobody could get a reaction out of me other than anger and hatred, even Penny" Nick then stopped and looked at me, to see if I was paying attention to the story , "But even with all the hate, the screams, the scornful looks I gave Penny, she still hadn't abandoned me. She kept taking care of me, looking at me with the same happy and loving look as always"
"Sigh... But one day, I found Penny's absence strange, thinking that she had abandoned me like the others, but even thinking this I still went looking for her, only to find her passed out on the kitchen floor, pale and cold, with a weak pulse"
"I was a despicable idiot who only thought about myself, but the moment I saw Penny in that state I panicked. I felt like a part of me was breaking, and I didn't feel it even when I lost my magic."
"I tried waking Penny up, I tried doing a simple diagnosis using some magic items we had, but nothing I tried to do worked, and I noticed that Penny's pulse was slowing down, and I knew she was going to die if I didn't do something" and at this point I felt a bad feeling forming in the pit of my stomach, and my fists were clenched so tight that my knuckles were turning white.
"I didn't know what to do, or if I could do anything... But I had to try, and in that moment something came to my mind... The perfect alchemy item" Nick continued, "Without thinking twice I went to my lab and put Penny on a couch there. I then started to work, but I still didn't have my magic, and I knew that the power part of the stone would have to be put aside, and I didn't care, as the only thing on my mind was saving Penny"
"I then started mixing ingredients, concentrating fully on creating the stone, but I knew I wasn't going to make it in time, and it was at that moment that I felt the soft touch of magic again" he said, with a slight smile on his face.
"The magic, against all my expectations, began to guide me just as it had the first time, and with its help I began to create the Philosopher's Stone"
"But wasn't the magic trying to stop you from creating it in the first place? Why it helped you?" I asked confused.
"It turns out that what the magic wanted to prevent was the creation of an item of great power, as it probably knew that this power would be used as a weapon at some point... And maybe it was my desperation and my will to save Penny , but the magic must have decided I was worthy again" Nick smiled, and I blinked for a moment.
"that... really feels like the magic I feel" I said.
"Yes" Nick said, "But well, with the help of magic, I managed in a few hours to create the Philosopher's Stone, and with it I created the first vial of the Elixir of Life, which I gave to Penny... And luckily it worked, and I could feel life coming back to Penny and her health improving."
"So does that mean without the Elixir of Life Penny's Blood Malediction can attack her again?" I asked, and Nick shook his head.
"Actually, I don't know how, but the Elixir of Life turned out to be stronger than expected, and it managed to completely destroy the Blood Malediction from her blood and magic" he replied to me, and hearing that my mouth opened in shock.
I didn't know how to react to this information, as it was shocking and surprising, especially for me, who was trying to find a way to destroy Blood Maledictions to save Astoria.
And unexpectedly, the solution to my problems was already in my hands, and I never knew.
"This is... This is amazing!" I said in awe, and Nick nodded.
And with all my surprise only one thing came to my mind.
'I'll be able to save Astoria' I thought happily.
End.
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(End AN: February was not a very good month for me, Lol.
Between having Covid and being busy taking care of my brother, I basically didn't have time to post the chapters, sorry.)