I was exhausted by the end of the training.
Well, half exhausted half not, but it still doesn't stop my panting from the amount of physical training Verei was put through. From Pushups, sit-ups, squats, lunges, swings, and laps, Verei won't be moving for a while.
It felt unfair when I think about how Veda's only job was reading and quizzes while Verei did everything the old man could think of to move his body, even if we were the same person.
"Alright, I think it's time for a break, let's have lunch."
Relief left my mouths as I got Verei off the dirt. I could smell the stew he had been preparing for a while now, clouding my thoughts on how good it will taste when this time came.
But as Veda was heading over to grab plates, Old Man Uldrei went stiff.
"Is something wrong?" I ask.
Verei is far enough away from the house that the answer came before the old man spoke, a red light coming from over the tree line, a light that definitely wasn't the sun. "What is that?"
Uldrei drops his stick, the one that always supported him was let go as he suddenly rushes to the front door in a tumble without falling. This was the fastest I have ever seen him move as I let Veda follow after him while Verei kept an eye on the light.
When she catches up, I see him pulling something out of the floorboards. A Sword with a matching red Scabbard with a shape and design I hadn't seen before. "Hurry and take this to your other half!"
The other half, Verei, sees the red light getting brighter, signifying its closing distance on this location. Then the sound of dirt and stone being broken through could be heard, I shout to the old man. "Get out of here/there now!"
Uldrei looks to the back of the house that began to shake before crumbling in the face of the light. He grips the handle, drawing the sword with all his remaining might to meet the light with the goal of redirecting it away from our home. But as his overhead swing clashes with the light, the ground beneath our feet begins to crumble while Uldrei gets thrown backward into Veda.
The building splits apart, an earthquake-like event hitting down the middle as the floor splits below the two of us and we fall down below.
My other half, Verei, sees the building split apart from outside but is unable to do anything as the ground shifts vertically, towering above him. My balance collapses as I tumble backward, away from the danger, but also away from Uldrei and my other half.
--------
Darkness, dark enough that it's impossible for me to see anything. But one of the first spells drilled in my head by the old man was a spell for such a situation.
[[Brighten the sky.]]
Pouring in a fraction of my magic, a bright Orb appears and I see we're in a buried part of our old house. The rubble of the home we spent those few days making wonderful memories in was what kept us from being completely buried. But I then spot the old man whose lower half was also buried. "Uldrei...?! Wake up Old man! Please!"
When I try to move the pile of stones, I'm reminded quickly I'm too weak for this job. I'm trying to calm down and think of something that could help me get this off him only for Uldrei to respond to my cries. "Ugh..." Uldrei groaning gave me relief. He was alive so he could be saved.
"Hang on, I will get us out of this!"
This body's strengths, the spells she can cast, should have something for this situation. But my reassurance is pushed aside with what I thought was his surrender. "No... I am old and my legs are broken. Even if we make it out, I doubt I will be able to last."
"Don't say that! There is still much I can do for you. A lot to learn from you too." I tried my hardest to remember a good spell for this situation but I messed up by remembering page numbers instead of spell incantations.
"Everything I could teach you is in that book. As for your other self, there isn't much I can do that life can't teach you. You're already beyond anything a simple sparring match can improve."
I moved my hand and gave a relieved sigh when I found the book still strapped to the holster made and given to me by Uldrei. My hands won't stop shaking as I fumble with the strap, and even worse while trying to flip through the pages to find that Liquid earth spell I learned this morning.
"T-there are plenty of earth spells to get you out of there and healing spells to cure a wound like that! If I can find the right one I can..."
He practically breathes out his words as he gasps for air. "You are still young. Even if you find the right spell, you can't be certain you'll be able to cast it, that is what hurts many mages' pride, their inability to cast a spell their body can never learn. You are great with attack spells but Healing and Utility aren't your stre..."
I interrupt his pessimistic words as I find the spell. "Just shut up about that! [[Stone bend and twist as mud]]!"
The rubble on his legs slid right off him, allowing me to pull him out. His legs were twisted and broken, horrendous to look at, made worse by the bloody mess. Too bad he isn't 20 pounds lighter or I would be able to carry him easily.
He's still breathing heavily. "I know you'll make it out. Give this to your other self, it's known as the Counter Blade, something I'm sure your other self will be able to use better than I ever did."
The blade he used in an attempt to counter the red light is still in his right hand, the Scabbard sticking out of the dirt only a little ways away.
I stare at the blade he's trying to give out to me, hesitating to take it as though he'd vanish the moment I did, but with the sound of pressured wood coming from the corner walls above our heads, this situation calls for me to move not think. I take the sword and return it to its Scabbard, flinging it over my shoulder. I try to not waste time as I rush to pull Uldrei to a corner of the cavern not blocked by this half of the building.
I hear the creaking pressure of the earth above our heads growing louder, knowing the building won't last much longer as I flip as many pages as I can to get to the one for a drilling spell. I even have my other shut his eyes and ears from the world so I can concentrate entirely on skimming through to another spell.
But as doubt clouds my mind, I try reassuring myself, "I am still not leaving you here..." But he can only cough right now.
I finally find a spell, one to work through the dirt, rock, and stone that surrounds us but it is unnerving that the requirement to keep casting it is focus. I still can't spend time to get his healing spell without the threat of being crushed.
I feel his pulse before picking him up, life still within his veins, then proceed to concentrate on my mana with his arm over my shoulder. "Hold on!"
[[Grind the dirt in my path, turn the stone to sand]]
As I place my hand against the wall, a path is being pushed forward as dirt and stone alike turn to sand and gravel, enough space created for me to pull Uldrei through.
His coughing seems to have subsided for a moment as I hear his raspy voice. "I am but dead weight at this point. There's nothing more I can do for you."
The creaking pieces of wood that once held our life in its hands collapse behind us, crushing the light orb but I'm thankful it was able to hold on as long as it did. But hearing Uldrei be negative again makes my emotions well up inside me. "Just shut up and live! You are the only person I know in this world and if you disappear...! I don't know what to do by myself."
I continue pushing forward through the darkness with the spell actively pushing to make a path forward. Uldrei continues hanging on my shoulder but I can faintly hear his breathing behind me.
If I could only cast two spells at once...
--------
From the sun's positioning, it has been over an hour since the incident that turned our home inside out had happened. It makes me feel useless that Verei can't cast any spells to help.
I wasn't even unsure which direction Veda was going so I couldn't go to meet them to help, but as I finally began to see light from her view my heart felt revitalized as I have her make the final push out. "Uldrei, we made it!"
He doesn't say anything and worry chokes at my throat while I pull him out, into the light.
Trying to check his pulse I feel a bit of life left but a fleeting one. I can still heal him if I flip through the book but the problem was that Healing spells were a type I was to learn later tonight. All I can do is keep flipping, looking for the single word, 'Heal'.
"S-stay with me old man! I will find the healing spell! I... I will keep you alive!"
My voice cracked at the last breath as I flipped 5 pages a second looking for that one word in big letters, that one symbol that will save his life.
I finally find it and without wasting a second, I shout the incantation.
[[Use the body's power to recover! Fix the bone, repair the muscle, better than ever before!]]
By the spell's power, his mangled leg steadily bends back into place, the muscles gently regenerating and all the blood that remained clinging to his body went back inside.
I stop holding my breath, relaxing as I finally cast the spell that would save his life.
That is what I thought for that is what I hoped. "Uldrei, I did it! I cast High Heal!"
As I put my hand on his chest, I didn't feel him react at all. The realization wasn't immediate, the disbelief strong, but seconds passed, my hand slowly following along to try and find it, to find a pulse. "O...old man...?"
As disbelief slowly faded and reality set in, my vision began to blur. Making no sudden movements, I stared at his closed eyes. Before long, I couldn't see anything as the stinging tears cloud my sight.
Both bodies stop seeing anything, unable to move for fear I would miss him opening his eyes once more, for fear that I truly am left alone.
As my female form gripped at his shirt, my face buried in my grief, my male form couldn't do that. He could only curl up in his grief while Veda's tears flowed out onto the old man's shirt.
Alone and separated, the day that changed my life in its entirety was only half over.