Her friend turned around, arms crossed and eyebrow raised, the unsaid question obvious. What was it this time?
"First tell me what happened during the checkup. The one right after the exam. Everything went okay?"
Caro tilted her head. "Yeah?"
"You sure? I heard two people say otherwise."
Caro hummed in consideration, reclaiming her seat next to Val. "Oh!" She snapped her fingers in the air.
"Oh?" Val echoed.
A wry smile bloomed on Caro's face and she whispered, "You know how they recorded my ASC as a hundred, right? The guy I met thought there was a mistake since it was 'too much for someone with three typics as immediate relatives." She rolled her eyes and added air quotes. "He brought this new tester, even better than the Identifier we used when we were ten and guess what? I don't have a hundred aether strands.
"The tech they used back then had a cap at a hundred since, really, no one ever breaches the nineties," Caro smirked, straightening her white collar. "My ASC is 171."
Val's lips curled upwards in a smile. "Saints, Caro. That's—that's amazing!"
"I know!" Caro squealed, doing a little jiggy where she sat.
Val laughed, punching her arm. "Make sure you remember me when you become an Archon, okay?"
"Could say the same to you, Miss Silver." Caro winked. "Alright, enough talk about me. Your turn."
Val cleared her throat and scanned the area. "I never told you what disease my mom suffers from exactly, right?"
"I've been pestering you since before we were friends and you never said anything. So no, you haven't."
"It's not exactly the info I can hand out," Val said, eyes on the Blue Cave's opening. "She has what most would call an Aetherial Vessel abnormality."
She could visibly see Caro's heart sink, her almond-brown eyes widening and a hand covering her mouth. "Which of the five? Leaky Syndrome? Split Syndrome?"
"Aether Incontinence Syndrome."
"Wait wait wait," Caro muttered. "I heard that one's one of the better ones to have. I don't really know what any of them do because of the—"
"Laws of Secrecy. Yeah, I know. It is one of the easier ones and if you keep on top of it, your lifestyle largely remains unhindered."
Caro's eyebrows pinched together, obviously understanding the underlying fact. How unhindering could it be if her mom was lying unconscious in the hospital?
"Let me explain."
"Go on."
"Aether Incontinence Syndrome represses the Aetherial Vessel's natural ability to block out excess aether once full. When left unchecked, it takes the better of its victim, completely shutting down their body with the overflow of energy alone. But Aether Incontinence Syndrome is relatively slow to act. Cast a couple of spells per day and you'd have nothing to worry about. "
"So what happened on the day Anderson was born?" Caro asked. She knew the day when Val's mother's condition deteriorated, like everyone else right down to her parent's old guild, Horizon's Silence.
"The birth was long, complicated and completely fumbled. The doctors prioritized the baby and by the time they woke up my mom, it was too late."
Val rubbed at her face. "The only choice was to put her in a room where they could siphon the permeating aether out, and a room like that was only available in Wyn. The trip from our hometown to Wyn didn't help either, making her situation unsalvageable. She's been in a vegetative state ever since."
"Oh my…" Caro trailed off as her long arms stretched across, smothering Val in a deep hug. "If I find those doctors, I'll give them hell and more, just you wait." Caro pulled back from the embrace. "What changed from now and then, though? Why participate in the trials of all things?"
"Found evidence of a cure."
"A cure?" Caro was the one doing the echoing this time. "I thought… I thought there wasn't any."
"You have to trust me on this," Val said. "You think I would chase anything less than a solid lead?"
"I think you'd chase down the faintest of clues if it could lead to the possibility of your mom waking up." She gave her a sad smile. "That being said, you're one of the sharpest people I know. If you think this is it, it's probably it."
Val's lip quivered. "It has to be."
"It will be," Caro assured, planting a hand on Val's shoulder. "Why couldn't I have known about this like, years ago? Could've helped you out or at least been there for support."
"Aether Incontinence Syndrome unintentionally makes her… let's say people would think she's more valuable because of her condition."
"Hold on, she's a healer. She's literally begged to be everywhere by everyone," Caro said.
"It's a whole other round of explanations I don't think I'm ready to give." Val glanced around. "Not here at least."
Caro stifled a yawn and stretched. "Alright, I won't push." She tapped Val's shoulder. "Want me to stay?"
Val shook her head silently. "We can't forget that it's the Tripartite Trial. You need your rest."
"You need yours too," she said. "From all of it."
Val sighed. "Little steps, right?"
She gave her a hug and headed in, footfalls softening as she meandered deeper into the caves. Left alone in her own presence, Val was on the verge of closing her eyes before something glowing caught her gaze—and it wasn't the shining cracks of the cave. It looked like teardrops of translucent, pink water. It was shimmering stars on the stone ground, twinkling in the dark.
It dimmed.
'Crap.' Val got onto her feet to watch the last of it fade away… only for it to reappear in a different spot. As she neared the glowing tear drops' new location, the same thing happened. It was as if it was leading her somewhere.
Her eyes slid back to their cave entrance. If she tried to warn them of her leaving, the trail might be gone by the time she came back. Val hated surprises for this very reason. No chance to think about what to do. For once, she followed her gut and went along with the disappearing teardrops.
She marked the path she took with her sword as best as she could, rounding stone pillar after pillar. As the trek neared ten minutes, her confidence dwindled. Val held tight to her hilt.
She knew she arrived when she spotted a near oasis-like pond, the liquid the same colour as the teardrops sprinkled throughout the stone forest. It was situated beside an opening within a large stone hill. Another cave. She squinted, catching sight of a supply bag inside of it. Who knew if there were extra rations, medical supplies, or even points?
'That's stupid thinking,' Val's voice of reason blared in her mind. Yet, it didn't matter. It felt as if she needed to check this bag, that she had to.
Y̵̙͒̽̽͐̂̎͗̏͆ỡ̸̖͕̺̲̖̝͐̿͋̽ü̴͉̞̻̫̳̽̅̾̋̎͂̚̕ͅ ̸̧̢̢͚͙͂̄͋̉̎͠m̷̤̼̃̓͜͝ͅu̵̡͚̩̥̜̤̝̣̖̳͑̐͑s̵̯̼̣̩͛̊̎̄̇̅͝ţ̶͈͙̟̈́̃̎
'I shouldn't…'
Val thought faintly, fighting against something but not sure what exactly.
Y̵͚͊̽̒̅̍̑̋̒͜͝ơ̴̭͍̯͕͉͖̲̗͍̇̾͗u̶̯̮̝̰̿̿͑͐̇̾̈́̾̕ ̵̛̗͙͐͐s̶͉̰̳̗̅̍̚ḩ̸̧̱͚̪̪̼͇̻́̇̆̅̊͑̾́ö̶̧͙̭̟̞̯͇͙̬̬̚ù̵̱̗̤͍͍͒͆̒͋̈́͝l̸̋͆̓́́ͅḍ̶̗̙͈͕͈̈́͂͒̀͊̊
A crazed look twinkled in Val's eyes. Tripping over imaginary stones, Val stumbled into the dark cave.
Well, she tried to, at least.
Something slithered out of the depths of the cave and a weight pressed on her shoulders, an anvil of visceral fear. A snake the size of an age-old tree hissed, its golden eyes glimmering at this new meal.
"A two-starred Lushgreen?" Val muttered, her shock yielding lucidity. Right as she thought she was food, a bird's cry echoed throughout the stone forest, raising goosebumps. A gust of mighty air whirled as the bird flapped its wings. She raised her arms, wincing as a thousand little knives cut into her. Engaged in a fight with no regard for her, the aether creatures tumbled into the glowing pond. A wave of rose-coloured water rose at the action, froth materializing near the edge.
That was when Val realized it.
She was no more than an ant to these beasts—a mere speck. They could care less if she died or lived during their scuffle. She needed to find a place to hide and she needed it quickly. Her gaze slid towards the cave, where the bag of supplies laid. 'Two birds, one spell.'
Val sprinted across the stone area, taking a large circle around the pond and sliding to a stop when she reached the pack. Mere moments before she could lift it and run deeper into the cave, a loud boom rocked her world. She fell forward, a rain of pebbles pelting her. Her arms formed a huddle around her head as she turned to see what exactly was going on.
Eyes widening, her breath hitched.
The ceiling collapsed, locking her in and the rest of the world out.