I opened my eyes, and set up immediately when I came back to consciousness. "Where am I, and who are you?!" I demanded to the silver-haired person in front of me.
I fully inspected the room this time. It was clean, thankfully, and the only people in the room were this mysterious person treating me and I.
I did not trust him, even if the space around us was full of the necessary materials to treat me.
Bail, yare, yarrow, hopperflower… and more.
He pushed me back down. "The blood's going to flow more if you sit upright. If you sit upright, the blood is going to flow down due to gravity-"
"Who are you?"
The mysterious man stared at me, and calculating eyes met mine. "I'm Sana Chikao, an alchemist from Vine."
I looked at him more closely this time. White eyes and hair, with an accessory hanging from his hair (circles dangling down string, the last and biggest one holding a black stone). He had glasses, and a uniform that fit an alchemist.
"Hello." I didn't lay back down, though. "Let me treat myself. I'm one of the best people for medicine-"
Sana pushed me back down, and continued treating me. "You should lay back down, and do what I say. You're not in the condition to be doing otherwise, alright?" A smile appeared in front of me. "Besides, I would have to help you, and that would require me doing this."
The first thing I thought was that he was also caught in a contract with Draven. He was just obsessed with contracts. As I had been, so it was expected for me to think that.
But was it true? I intended to find out. "Why do you mean helping me?"
"As in I have to help you, because the contract with the Star god made me write. Help you with this search you're doing."
I smiled. I knew the Star god had an ulterior motive, but I couldn't help but feel grateful towards my savior.
Who, then again, betrayed me in-directly many times.
I watched him do work on my wound, which didn't hurt. That meant he put yarrow onto it, neutralizing the pain. The nerves there were temporarily shut down.
After a while, Sana didn't warn me of something that was to be expected. What was his motive of not notifying me to the fact that the disinfecting would be painful?
Or I was overthinking this. But the more I looked at him, the more he seemed to know what he was doing. A smile decorated his pretty face, and he glanced up. "What?"
I knit my eyebrows. I couldn't figure him out. Why wasn't he warning me? Did he not know, and was I overestimating him in his ability to treat me? I didn't not like the open questions in my head.
I must've been looking at him weirdly, as right after he stood up and sighed. "I just wanted to know if unexpected pain was something you could handle. Turns out you knew of the pain, am I correct?"
Surprise entered my head. An interesting human. I couldn't figure him out, and he had the same thought process as me.
I dipped my head as a yes, and he told me something else that peaked my interest. "Any preferences?"
Sana wasn't underestimating me, which was unexpected. A human whom I couldn't predict, nor could I manipulate as easily. How to find information about him, then? Knowledge was one of my biggest strengths. Was he also manipulative? Does he scheme? What were his abilities besides chemicals, or medicine?
This unbalance in knowledge to the answers to the questions unsettled me, but that was the fun. The future was something that would bring both sadness and happiness, but that was what always happens. It's you who decides what things cause those feelings, and how much.
I was in my head for so long that the only time I came to consciousness was when I noticed another body close to mine.
Sana's arms and legs were on either side of me, and silver eyes were blinking on the other side of the lenses. Some strands of hair were loose.``Hello? Do you not understand my question?"
I blinked back up to him, no reaction available. "I do understand. A quarter cup of yarrow, to minimize the negative effects yarrow causes."
A smile reached his face, but it seemed to me that he was also trying to figure me out. "Ok!" But he tried again, this time reaching a gloved hand to touch my cheek.
What was the motive behind this? A reaction, or a test of my emotions? Either way, he got neither. Only a smile appeared on my face, and I looked up at him. "Gloves are dirty, and full of bacteria. You should know that. Please get that away from my face."
A moment of silence passed, and Sana grinned. "I'll try again! But now you should probably get treated. We wasted too much time."
He finally gave me personal space again, and put on new gloves. Much appreciated.
Then Sana got to work. He took the hopperflower, and pressed it into the wound.
It was very direct; no soft pushing and then squeezing the whole hopperflower in. I was grateful, but the pain seared down my ribcage. He then added the amount of yarrow I suggested. The pain eased down a little, but it was still a lot.
I bit my lip and endured it.
From the very beginning of my life, I figured out that I had no sympathy. At all. Not to myself, not to someone who is dying, not to someone's children who are drowning.
It's life, deal with it. There are much more painful things in the world.
A lot of time passed, and slowly the pain subsided.
Sana removed the now drained hopperflower, it's beauty long gone. The beautiful, bright orange colors became sad and gray.
One person's gain for the expense of others.
"How did you endure it?"
I looked up at him, breathing hard. I had no energy to do something other than that. "It's life, so deal with it." That's all I said, but he seemed to have been satisfied with the answer. Only the calculating glint in his eyes suggested otherwise.
Sana nodded, and threw the hopperflower in the trash can.
We just stayed there like that, in silence. It was nice that he understood the beauty of silence, where even then communications would be found.
It was also that I had no more energy to get up. It was tiring. But there were lots of questions to be asked, floating in the air, so I picked one of them.
"Tell me the full story behind your contract with the Star god." It came out not as a question, but as a statement, but even if it was a question, the motive behind it was a statement of wanting to know something.
He pursed his lips and sat down on the left side of the bed. "Ok. Only if you tell me your list of contracts with Draven, first."
Touché. It was a very sensitive topic, as my past has to do with the first contract with the Star god. But then again, I don't have to tell the truth, do I?
"And tell the truth." A grin appeared on Sana's face when my expression got unstable.
I grimaced, my smile faltering, but then it came back. Tell the truth, tell the truth. It was hard. My background of lying to everybody and the truth lying within myself was a long one; telling someone now would be uncomfortable.
But I could try. Sana seems understanding, and even if I do not trust him, he seems to understand what's going on with my mind. "Ok." But not the whole truth. That was still too dangerous.
Sana interrupted me before I could say anything, and stood up. "I'll just say it first. This piece of information would be useless for you, so I need not worry. I just wanted to know your reaction…
"I need some important materials for chemistry. Only an King could get it, and Light didn't even know what it was. So my only other option was Draven, as the RT and all the other kings were too far away. So in exchange, I'll have to help you with your search."
"What important items?"
"I'm not telling you," came the blunt answer.
Ok. I shall respect him, then. I'm keeping my own secrets. Besides, it would do well as a leverage in case Sana asks about my past. "Well, in exchange for setting me free, the Star god needed me to protect Sanda."
He nodded. "Setting you free from what?"
Another contract with the Star god. But I wasn't going to say that. "I'm not telling you unless you tell me what important items."
A smile appeared on his face, and he stood up from the bed. "Then let's end the conversation here."
I agreed with him. Enough information was leaked, and even if Sana would be an interesting subject to investigate on, I had much more important matters to tend to.
"Do you know where any of the Night Wenduras are?"
Sana leaned on a counter and thought about it. "No. But Draven does. He once told me about how Wodwen was a big pain."
I nodded, soaking up the information. Time to go to the Star god for help, again. It was annoying to have to go to someone else for help, but accepting advice was a necessary thing to get what you want. "Are you going to keep on calling the Star god Draven?"
"Are you going to keep on calling Draven the Star god? Draven is his name."
"We're not that close," I muttered. I tried to move, and an aching feeling took over me. "What time is it?"
"It's noon. Draven found you passed out near the Earth tree last night, and handed you over to me."
"Alright." I used my arms to push me up, and I sighed. "This is tiring."
Sana backed away, and just watched me struggle. I guess he understood being constantly babied wasn't something I desired. I could interpret it two ways: he's heartless, or he just understands. Either way, there is nothing I can do about it.
I looked down, and my hanfu was still there. That means the swiftness it provides will still come in handy, as well as the invisible bag it provides.
Too bad it was ripped near my rib cage. I'll need someone to stitch it up for me, but otherwise, I'll still wear this hanfu.
I took some apple juice mixed with coconut milk, then added some hopperflower stems. That would give me enough energy.
I drank the liquid, and strength flowed into me. I sighed. "That was nice."
Silence was my response, before he dipped his head at me. "I underestimated you. I look forward to working with you." In other words, I would interpret it as I look forward towards figuring you out.
I also got up and bowed at him. "Likewise." I would also like to find out your true intentions.
We walked out of the room, and I took the chance to find out where I was.
The light blinded me for a second, but then the information got transferred to my head.
We were at the Pharmacy of Star, with gigantic chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Everything was decorated with gold and obsidian, as expected of a building from Star.
The owner, Grace, saw me. Her kid, Elise, waved at us with a big smile on her face.
"Elise sees Sana and mystery lady."
Grace nods. "Yes, indeed you do." She turned to us, and a strand of jet-black hair became isolated. Ice blue eyes bore into me."Hello. Are you well, Phoenix?'
I nodded, and smiled at her. "I am. Thank you for asking. But as I am in a hurry to find Wodwen, I will have to bid farewell early. Goodbye."
She also dipped her head towards me. "Farewell."
Sana and I left the castle-like building, and, now, to find Draven. He's definitely located in the Celestial Sphere, his layer in the skies.
Sana turned towards me. "I do know where the Celestial Sphere is."
"I know that we have to go to the Celestial Sphere to get Draven. I also know where the Celestial Sphere is." I narrowed my eyes on him. I would not make easy assumptions, but why was he naming something of the obvious?
He must've seen the look on my face, because he sighed and corrected himself. "I mean, I know how to get to the Celestial Sphere."
I nodded. "Then get us there."
No time to waste. If Taynama was still alive, then all the other Night Wenduras must be too. Quin could still be alive. What happened to them? Where was Aimi Sumire, the reason behind all of this? Was she the reason behind all of this, or was there another reason? What is the truth, the reason, the whole story behind the experiments? Too many questions to be answered, but I'll start off by finding the Night Wenduras. They'll lead me to Sumire, who might just tell me the truth.
If I could just find some Wenduras that'll help.
"I heard there was a portal leading to the Celestial Spear. I just don't know where it is." Sana walked towards the hills near Star, and I followed him.
I pursed my lips. "Well I don't, either." A moment of silence passed, and Sana abruptly stopped, and I almost tumbled into him.
"Sanda knows." He turned to look at me. "I know where she is."
I crossed my eyes and stared at him, waiting for him to continue. "And….?"
"And she's in between Star and Earth. She told me she would be in the Bleeding Faun." Sana turned towards me. "Maybe I shouldn't come with you…"
I sighed. "Why?" If he said he'll come with me, then extra help. If not, then he'll answer why. It's not as if I need his help.
Silence answered me, and I stared at him. "Either you come with me, or you answer why."
White eyes avoided my eyes, and he sighed. "I'll come with you."
Alright then. That was his answer, and I shall respect that. Curiosity didn't take over me, nor did sympathy. We're both keeping secrets, and even if his coming will somehow make him suffer, considering he has a reason not to come, it's reality.
Sympathy was just something lost to me.
Sana put hands on my shoulders and a ticklish feeling was ignited on my left shoulder. So this was his attempt to get another reaction out of me.
His head was there, hair flowing down. "Helping you would be such a pain for me."
As if him helping me wasn't a pain for me, as I was more accustomed to me, helping myself.
But extra strength and mind was always something that you would desire, and pride was something that can be swallowed. Accepting help is a necessary thing, as much as I dislike it.
His head came up, and after a short while, he gave me a very sly smile. "But I'll look forward to working with you. Much more fun things would happen, wouldn't you agree?"
I smiled back at him, nodding. "I certainly agree. It would be an uncontrollable future, but that's the fun in it, right?"
He nodded, and looked down at Star. The town was bustling. "We'll have to get to The Bleeding Faun quickly. Any ideas?"
"It's an obvious one, one where it's the only option."
Sana's mouth lifted, and we both jogged towards The Bleeding Faun.
"Working with you would be a bit hard, but that's the fun," he muttered to himself.
Then he'll just have to deal with it. It's an obvious answer.
So we continued on our way, towards The Bleeding Faun.