Unsure of what he should do, Mr Walton froze. It was unlike him to do so but he knew he should carry the child to a bed and heal him.
There was just a minor precaution he wasn't sure he should follow or not.
But Mr Walton figured it should be fine. He cautiously placed one of his arms on the back of Kai's neck and the other arm at the back of his knee.
Running to an empty room. He ran down the hallway and opened the door with haste, carefully placing Kai back down.
Mr Walton checked Kai's pulse and was relieved to still feel it beating. However, the temperature of the boy was too high. He wet a cloth and placed it on Kai's forehead.
Looking around, Mr Walton needed to find a first aid kit. All the healing potions Lithia had created had been used up. Checking inside the void ring, he couldn't find anything of use in this situation.
Remembering Claude, Mr Walton gave Kai one last check before leaving.
"Who was that?" Claude groaned, stepping out of the room while rubbing his eyes. He glanced at the direction where Mr Walton had just come from.
Mr Walton smiled and put one knee down as he fixed the messy hair of Claude's. The ends were tied together and sticking out. "It's been awhile since you slept, eh?"
Claude nodded and pushed Mr Walton's hand away from him. "So, who was that?"
"Kai. The kid from before." Mr Walton hesitantly said in pauses. He waited for a reaction.
Slowly, Claude expressed his disbelief. But he changed back to his normal expression. "Then, did he bring back..what grandma needs?" He whispered, tip toeing a little.
"He did." Mr Walton reassured, holding up the void ring.
Claude paused and sighed. "Then I guess Luar won." He murmured, sounding both disappointed and happy at the same time.
"Luar what? It made a bet?" Mr Walton asked, perplexed by the link's strange behaviour.
Claude nodded as his eyes focused on the floor. On one corner, he spotted a stain of blood. "I'll get the med kit. You can discuss the rest with Luar.."
Mr Walton nodded and watched as Claude picked up the pace. The boy took long strides as he attempted to remember where all the items were.
Slightly smiling, he was a little glad Claude took the initiative to help Kai. They seemed to have started off bad and ended it off terribly when Kai had left.
Mr Walton suspected Luar must've been involved. It seemed much more talkative when it came back from it's long trip.
He walked inside the room and wasn't surprised to see Luar moving.
"Pass the ring over. Get me a vial and the potion from shelf 47 and 98. With a stick." Luar instructed, not letting Mr Walton breathe. It eyed the ring and was glad to see the contents it needed safely stored inside.
Rushing back and forth many times with the wrong bottles and concoctions, Mr Walton could finally retire from the job. He would rather pummel metals and burn wood than whatever this was.
Luar wasn't helping either with the most unreactive responses and unelaborated instructions.
After it was well equipped, Luar ordered to be left alone.
Black energy glimmered around the cat. It slowly spilled out and swirled, mixing with the bottle of the most horrifying liquid anyone could see.
It was made out of the chopped and blended tongue and heart of the snake. Disgusting was not even a suitable word to describe the solution.
The black energy dyed the flesh like liquid, the darkest shade of black. It seemed a bit consumable now if the receiver hadn't seen the before liquid.
After an hour or so, Luar was finally satisfied with the antidote. It called Mr Walton in.
Mr Walton was in fact more nervous than the one doing the job. He paced outside the door, not ever realising hours had passed.
He couldn't imagine what would happen if failure were to occur. The efforts they have put in. And the chaos among civilians, nobles and royalty for losing one of their most treasured mages.
Luckily, Mr Walton could hear Luar calling him in. He helped with the rest of the work that Luar couldn't handle.
With his hands shaking, his breath unstable, he thought of the most positive outcome he could.
Mr Walton frowned and figured this wasn't like him. He used his fingers to slightly pull down Lithia's jaw. And in the gap he made, he tilted the potion bottle.
To his relief, it didn't come out in clumps like he had expected. Rather it was a thin liquid consistency, just like water.
Carefully, Mr Walton adjusted Lithia's head in order for her to swallow down the water. He repeated the process multiple times till the bottle was empty.
Luar watched closely in a corner, in it's panther form. However, looking drained out of its life. The smooth and sparkly black fur was now dull.
Waiting, nothing ever happened. Lithia continued to lie down in her sleep. Her fingers didn't twitch nor did she vaguely open her eyes immediately like people did in novels and fairy tales.
"It'd take at least 3 days for it to work. Since the poison has been in her body for so long." Luar said, wondering why Walton was standing there as if waiting for a miracle to magically appear.
Mr Walton stared at Luar and it stared back right at him. He had never been a fan of Lithia's link. Links were supposed to almost be like pets. Not a master themselves.
Luar was a whole different case along with another handful of links. A self proclaimed god it declared. For what it ruled over, it never specified.
But it was wise enough to carry knowledge no one knew. It was strong enough to hunt down a group of high ranked knights by itself in the full moon. And most importantly, be able to stand as Lithia's equal.
Mr Walton looked up and stared at the ceiling, remembering an unpleasant discovery.
When was Lithia going to wake from her slumber? The village needs her, no. The kingdom needed her in its most crucial time.
It has all gone downhill the moment she slept.