Chapter 7:
It has been over a month since I woke up, or at least it feels like a month. Time really does flow weirdly in here; it might be a year. Asrotth never gave me a definite time for me to begin my healing, so all I do is wait and hope he remembers I exist. Within this time, all I have done is sit and lie down. I can't even read the books on the shelves since they are all written in "Elysaric," a language far beyond any human's comprehension. Asrotth said he made the language to prevent his knowledge from being stolen or harnessed by those who were not worthy of it. Although I might understand it a little, Xavier stood up and was making his way towards a shelf, when he missed a step and fell back down,he held his chest in a tight grip gasping for air . His soul was gradually fading out of existence; if he doesn't do something about it soon, he might not exist before Asrotth comes back.
As Xavier finally stabilized, he noticed that his hands were a bit transparent; he could see the white floor through them. He noticed not only his hands but also his feet; his whole body up to his chest was see-through. "I don't understand," Asrotth said, "this shouldn't happen until my body was gradually dying. I guess my body can't handle being without a soul for over a month." He wondered how his mom was doing, seeing her baby boy unconscious for weeks with no hope of waking up anytime soon. What about the twins, Elara, and Lyra? Lyra has always been physically weak, right from birth; her body has never been stable. The village healer said she was lucky to have survived past her eighth birthday. Sometimes it feels like she is getting weaker with every passing year, but she's a strong girl, pushing herself to fill in for mom.
And who knows what dad might be feeling? "Hahaha." Xavier laughs just thinking about what his old man might be going through, not being able to provide for his family, and now his son is on his death bed. I bet he is beating himself up for not being able to protect his family now. A tear drops down from the side of his left eye, gradually rolls down his left cheek, and drops on the floor. Xavier finds himself holding his knees with the aid of his hands and folding them with his nails digging into his palms, making them lose their color, turning pale in a fetal position. All because of me.
At that moment, Asrotth, using spatial magic, appeared close to Xavier, who was still curled up on the floor, basically invisible at this point. Asrotth isn't a being who can feel emotions, especially ones common among mortals like happiness, rage, sadness, or despair. But he could read their expressions to understand what they felt, such as how humans clenched their jaws when angry or how their face seemed to light up when happy. So he could somewhat understand what Xavier was going through. Asrotth slowly walked up to the grieving boy, whose life force was almost depleted. He stood in front of him and held up his left arm directly facing Xavier's lower abdomen and sent a small amount of ziy into his fading body directly into his already damaged core.
Xavier gradually started gaining back his colors and figure but still had his face in between his laps; he hadn't noticed it or wasn't interested in what was happening to his already fading body. After almost a day, Asrotth stopped sending ziy into Xavier and cleared his throat to gesture to the child to lift his face and acknowledge his presence. Xavier, who had fallen asleep in that uncomfortable position, awaiting his fate, gradually woke up after rubbing both his eyes with his hands. He lifted his head towards the object that cast a silhouette onto him and was met with Asrotth's expressionless face. It took him some seconds to recall who it was and react by standing on his feet. That's when he noticed, as he looked at his feet, "Huh, my feet are back to normal." His body was also full of energy.
Asrotth, not interested in seeing the little human wonder over his healed soul, went straight to what he needed to say, "Xavier, I think it's time we - no, it's time you started healing yourself." Xavier, with an expression showing both surprise and confusion, asked, "Healing myself? How is that possible?" "Your core is damaged," seeing Xavier's facial expression, he knew he didn't understand what he meant, and decided to explain further, "A core is like a vase or glass cup; it holds one's life force (ziy) and determines how long one lives or dies and how powerful or weak someone is. A being without a core is like a seedling without roots; it cannot simply exist. And the more powerful one's core is
Asrotth continued, "The more powerful one's core is, the more potential they have. Take it like a cup that can grow to any length or depth without affecting the owner's physical body. The more ziy your core holds, the more potential the person has."
Xavier, having understood a bit of what Asrotth had said, still had a question. "Ok, I get it, but how exactly can a core grow? Is it determined by the person's strength or by the person's soul to harness and absorb ziy?" Asrotth was surprised. He had never seen someone who asked such a question. It was a question that even the most unprofessional beings in the galaxy knew the answer to. Asrotth knew humans were dumb and were bound to get wiped away by the ever-flowing rivers of time, but this, this was just a new low. Do they not teach their younglings anything? "Aham... With a slight cough to mask his disappointment, Asrotth made a curt response to Xavier's question, "The latter."
Xavier, after feeling the rising tension in the space, thought to himself, "Was the question inappropriate in some way?" After some seconds of silence between both child and god, Asrotth decided to continue with his explanation. "Basically, without a core to hold ziy and harness it, one is basically a walking corpse. And for some weird and unknown reason, it was to crack or possibly break; the person is as good as dead, just like... YOU."
Asrotth's last statement sent shivers down Xavier's spine. His guess was right; there was no way out of this; he was basically a dead man. "Unless," Asrotth continued, breaking Xavier away from his hurdle of thoughts, "Unless the person has the ability to reconstruct their damaged core using zhin." Xavier, having his last hope shattered, was left with nothing but despair. His curiosity had led to his death. Knowing well that humans were never able to harness zhin, not even the four heroes, humanity's best warriors, could achieve such a feat, not to talk of a poor child from the seventh compartment.
But there is still a way out. Xavier looked at Asrotth with expectation, hoping the alternative option wasn't something beyond him. "Ziy can be reconstructed to have a similar energy flow as zhin."