The floor felt cold against his bare feet, the knife's handle felt cold against his skin, and the tight white robe felt constricting. Looking at Wine, he calmly breathed out.
"Wine," he gently smiled and looked at her.
She quizzically looked at him… were they going to begin now? She wondered.
"There are two steps to becoming a Wuma, the first of which is the injection of Wuma blood that resonates with your own," Ethan said and then remained silent, his golden eyes deeply brightening as he focused on her face; he, too, was curious about what happens when a man transforms into a Wuma.
He hadn't seen one himself after all, not to mention he was not a Wuma, to begin with.
He was just a Man.
"…How do I do that?" Wine questioned, breaking his momentary daze. She was also excited, for a totally different reason as it may be; she was going to get supernatural abilities!
Ethan clicked his molars, thought, and said, somewhat irritated by having to break out of his pondering; still, he would never do an inadequate job while teaching.
He hadn't become the Teacher of Miracles by luck.
Chuckling at her eagerness, he said, "It's not so complicated; you just have to drink some of my blood."
Wine blinked in confusion, then looked at the knife in his hands, she didn't know why, but she didn't feel much disgusted about drinking blood.
Perhaps it was because she had witnessed something genuinely disgusting earlier.
Maybe it was because her teacher was laughing it off...
perhaps it was because she was overly thrilled,
or maybe she was just too committed already that her black and whites had started to blur.
Standing infront of Wine, looking down at her, the knife's cold tip touched her teacher's - her brother's - palm; he could feel a sharp tingle on it, "Open your mouth," he said mutely, his voice, mind, and everything focused on Wine; the changes about to occur.
And carried by the seriousness of the situation, Wine unknowingly opened her mouth.
Wine looked up at the knife and terrified, froze as it sunk into his palm "Tea—"
Drip, drip, hot splatters dripped onto her face, on her cheek, on her nose, onto her mouth. The knife cut deeper into his palm, and Wine's black eyes widened in horror as blood, deeply red, hot, and pulsating, fell into her mouth.
It dripped on her lips and then into her mouth.
She gulped.
Her pupils constricted into pins.
Boom!
Her heart thudded.
Blood leaked out of her mouth.
TBoom! Tboom! Her heart relentlessly beat against her chest.
Her ears rang.
Her head spun.
Her pupils abruptly expanded...
the wide, black pupils stared straight at Ethan's face; he grinned maniacally, his golden eyes reflected it, the black eyes transformed from the center.
It turned Golden.
As bright as the morning sun.
His grin widened, and his own heart beat with excitement.
Yes, this was it!
Wine started to settle down.
Thump, thump, thump-Thump, her heart started to calm down…
She breathed in and out heavily.
Her face was perspiring with sweat.
Ethan gently caressed her sweaty cheeks with his bloodstained hands and looked at her; like a treasure, and muttered, "Fascinating…" he could feel his own heart trembling.
So this was a Wuma.
A mighty Wuma!
Wine gulped down the blood that tried to come out of her mouth in instinct and looked at Ethan.
She felt weak and incapable of movement; her body felt heavy, and she could feel herself struggling to stay awake.
Ethan could feel her temperature through his bloody hands; it was hot. Far hotter than what an ordinary person should be.
But that was only natural.
He gently made her lie on the ground and rested her head on the cushion, pushing her bangs away from her face and looking into her tired golden eyes, he spoke caringly, "Little Wine, focus deeply on yourself and think; 'I want to see my World Bead' and only think of that, okay?"
Wine tiredly nodded and thought, 'I want to see my World bead….'
And as the image he showed him earlier flashed in her mind, her eyes turned blank, and then her eyelids abruptly closed tightly.
She felt calm and serene, her mind clear.
Stunned, she looked around; she was in a dark place.
She looked up; mere meters above her head, she could see a glass ceiling.
Amused, she then looked at the only source of light inside, A thread of light, and walked closer to it; it moved towards her too.
She gazed at it in wonder and stopped,
Floating in the darkness, the bright golden thread reached her and playfully went around her, she amazedly followed it with her gaze.
It stopped infront of her face and lingered for a second, Trzz… transforming into light, it vanished into her forehead.
She touched where it disappeared into in wonder; her mind jolted, she opened her eyes.
The world blasted its vibrant colors into her vision; it all felt clear, clear like never before.
She could see each and every detail so clearly, the blood on the floor, the book fallen beside her, the mirror-like knife thrown at a side.
The silent dust around the room.
She felt reborn.
She felt wonderful.
She felt like she had just woken up from a long slumber.
Seeing her reaction, Ethan smiled gently.
Wine calmed down, and smiling sweetly back at him, "Teacher, am I a Wuma now?" she asked.