It was already evening with the sun about to set and winds blowing calmly giving off hints of the coldness that the night would being.
Coming out of the training hall and walking with a calm stride was Oscar. He moved with confidence not minding anything but the strange looks that he was given offset the expression he tried to maintain.
Of course the looks were justified, he was carrying Myra on his back as he sauntered off to her room.
"Don't you feel anything?" Oscar asked Myra in whisper.
"Feel what?" Myra retorted.
"Ugh, you know it's strange right? You are literally being carried on my back while your servants and knights are watching." Oscar explained.
"So what? Weren't you the one who blasted me off till I was almost down and out. Own up to your actions."
"..." Oscar paused and glanced at her with a side eye .
"What's with the look?"
"You are petty."
"I am? Oh, I am." Myra accepted it, seemingly unbothered by his statement.
"I held back a bit, and you are a mage. You should have recovered quickly from that attack."
"I know."
"Then why are you still on my back."
"A free ride I guess."
"I'm no carriage."
"Stop complaining and move, with the time you have wasted explaining yourself you would have reached my room. Now go." Myra ordered, even though she did not come out victorious she felt delighted for some reason.
She was the one being carried, yet Oscar was the one feeling shy on her behalf.
After dropping Myra off in her room, Oscar arrived at his and let his body fall to the bed, heaving a tired sigh as he layed down.
The next day was the day he had to return to the institute. Oscar contemplated on the choices he had made, the one he presently put in place and the ones he envisioned for the future, if it came.
He had told Myra the truth of his core, but omitted the dark details of his new found strength which may or may not have shortened his lifespan, this was not something he had confirmed yet.
Still, it was not something he would hide from the researchers at the institute. What their reactions would be like to this news? He didn't know, he had an idea though.
"Ha! Let's just wait for tomorrow to come before we tackle it." Oscar heaved another sigh as he mused aloud.
****
The morning came, the sun revealed itself early, the coldness of the night had vanished as the as the shone, painting the sky in azure blue once more.
Oscar, after eating breakfast boarded the carriage and left for the institute.
He arrived at the location in thirty minutes. Stepping out of the carriage he looked at the familiar building, aware that he had been absent for a while.
Taking a deep breath he walked in, following the due process he gained access to the building and headed straight for Mr. Jonathan's office.
He got in front of the office and knocked.
"Come in." A voice answered.
"Good morning, Mr. Jonathan." Oscar greeted the man who looked at him with an awkward expression.
"So nice of you to drop by, I heard you got lost in a forest."
"Well, that was true. The thing is--" Oscar replied.
"Spare me the details of your venture into the bushes, have a seat." Jonathan emotion was one of seriousness.
He rested his elbows on the desk and interlocked his fingers, staring at Oscar he spoke.
"I can assume you came back for the test and procedures to stimulate your core."
"Umm, about that... I destroyed it."
"Huh? Destroyed what?" Jonathan's brows furrowed in confusion.
"Destroyed may not be the right word to use for it but, I don't have a core anymore."
"What?!!" Jonathan's outburst was so loud that it resounded outside the office. He stood up from his seat.
His thoughts were in a disarray.
'This is not possible.'
'How is he still alive?'
He calmed down and took his seat, gazing intently at Oscar, he said one word.
"Explain."
Oscar went on to explain what happened, recounting the events and clarifying any misunderstandings Jonathan had.
"Everything you just said is unbelievable."
Almost facepalming he tapped his brows with his fingers. It took time to process this information even for someone as smart as him.
"I can't believe you displaced your core."
"It wasn't just displaced, I merged it..."
"With your heart, I know. Still that was a risky ordeal. The chances of you dying from that is about ninety-nine percent."
"I knew the risks involved."
"No you did not, you may have been declared a non mage but an actual non mage doesn't have a core, but a Mage's core, however small or defective it might be is a central part of their being."
"I thought the brain and the heart were the most vulnerable parts of a mage."
"Then you thought wrong, those parts are considered vulnerable for mortal and mages below syne three. Once you cross that threshold you will overcome that weakness."
"So that means..."
"Yes, if a syne three mage gets inflicted with a brain injury he or she could survive but if their core sustains any damage then they are done for."
Oscar felt at ease knowing he had survived such a risky situation.
"Get up, we need to go run some tests." Mr Jonathan said, standing up and leading Oscar out of his office.
This time they went to a higher floor, once Oscar got in he was astonished by the number of equipments he saw. The whole room screamed technology. There were some tools he was familiar with like the ones used to check someone's affinity and the one used to detect a person's mana core grade, but most of them he had never seen before.
Firstly, he went through the normal tests, which was something he was familiar with. After all he had done it before, on the day of his awakening where the results were unexpected. The bad memory gave him a feeling of anxiety but he suppressed it.
His affinity was checked which was obviously fire.
They went on to check his core, and the result was null.
The attendant that was operating the instruments was shocked. How could someone possess an affinity and no core.
They used a more advanced machine and it detected nothing, they tried the traditional way and the result remained the same.
"Is that all?" Oscar asked.
"No, we are just getting started." Jonathan replied.
They carried out a full body test on him. They checked his blood, heart rate and all other tests that were only done on non mages.
He also went through a strength test and an endurance test to ascertain what levels they could classify him.
The results they uncovered shocked them.
After concluding the tests Oscar stood before them, waiting for them to interpret his result.
Mr Jonathan stared at Oscar for a moment not knowing what to call his condition if it was even a condition.
"According to the results here you are healthy, not only healthy but strong. Your physique is stronger than a syne two mage. Your body's healing factor is also rapid but there is an anomaly in all these."
"..." Oscar was silent a sense of foreboding as he waited for Mr Jonathan to state what he feared to be true.
"Your heart is too powerful for your body, it's still a wonder how you are able to stand and move properly. Your heart is twice it's normal size and beats three times faster than a mage of your age bracket, which should be at most syne two."
"With the right medications you should survive, your heart could also adapt to your needs overtime. However, if this persists after three years, you heart would give out and...you know the rest."
Oscar lowered his head, he had an inkling of what was wrong with him, the method of attack he used against Clifford gave him a backlash that threatened his life. So he knew.
"I still see hope in your condition, since you pulled off something as unbelievable as core merging then you will be able to surpass this." Jonathan spoke drawing Oscar out of his thoughts.
Oscar nodded in affirmation.
"Let's go." Jonathan spoke.
They walked out of the lab and went back to the floor, they didn't head for his office this time but to Oscar's assigned place of learning.
"At this point we can only teach and support you, your knowledge and application of it is how you are going to solve your problem." Jonathan spoke frankly. A situation involving a merged mana core and a heart had never happened before and if it did, it was too risky to attend to without more knowledge on the condition.
"What about the tests?"
"We will still carry them out periodically,in fact. We need to observe your state regularly so you do not deviate towards a dangerous path."
"This is the lab you will be stationed" Jonathan spoke as they stopped at his assigned place of learning.
"Welcome back Oscar." Quentin exclaimed, drawing the attention of the others in the lab.
"I can see you are already familiar with them."
"Yes I am."
"That's good."
"These guys would be your colleagues. Apart from learning and honing your knowledge and skills in your chosen field, you all will assist each other. So don't hesitate to ask for help if you are stuck anywhere, do you understand?"
"Yes Mr. Jonathan." Oscar replied with a nod.
Oscar exhaled softly, a sense of expectation in his eyes. He looked at the laboratory and his new colleagues. This was going to be his life for the next couple of years.