Ophiscus's words reverberated in William's mind: 'Men are brave, William. And I want you to be a man.'
He kept thinking about his father's words and pondered if there was any deeper meaning than meets the eye: 'I think there is something more to that. Should I ask father?'
Just as William was about to ask his father to elaborate on this more, a green magic circle lit up in the corner of the infirmary.
The magic circle shone with brilliance as a world-toppling beauty materialized on top of it. Gaia came in a hurry when she heard Ophiscus's words.
'Anything that is related to William is considered to be a top priority.' She affirmed in her mind as she looked at the father-son duo.
SIGH
She heaved a sigh of relief and then turned toward the two girls. Her brows creased when she looked at Seraphina's condition and immediately understood why Ophiscus had called her instead of a healer.
She walked over to her bed while giving Ophiscus a nod. She put her hand on Seraphina's forehead upon reaching her, checking her condition.
"What happened for her to use a huge amount of her life force?" she asked, turning toward the father-son duo.
William hung his head low while biting his lip when he heard Gaia's question. Ophiscus stayed silent as he wanted her son to answer this question.
He placed his hand on William's shoulder and shook it reassuringly. William looked at his father, sighed, and took a deep breath.
'I will strive to be a man, father.' He resolved inwardly. He then turned toward Gaia and answered, "She used her life force to save me."
Gaia frowned at his answer, 'What happened for William's life to be in danger?' She wanted to ask Ophiscus, but William interjected, saying, "Aunt Gaia, can you please help her and Achlys?"
William made big puppy eyes while a tear hung at its end, threatening to fall.
'Ack'
Gaia took a critical hit at his puppy face and nodded her head and turned toward Seraphina, 'The questions can wait!' she muttered inwardly.
She then lifted her other hand and closed her eyes; a thick ball of green energy began to accumulate in her hand. It swirled around itself, creating a thick ball of green energy.
William took a deep breath while he closed his eyes; a fresh scent of plants and herbs hit his nose as the energy gathered. He liked that smell, and a small, satisfied smile bloomed on his face.
Ophiscus, meanwhile, had a different reaction entirely. His eyes widened like saucers as he stared at the energy, 'Life energy!!' he exclaimed inwardly.
Life energy or life force is an extremely potent and rare energy, as it could make a dying man turn perfectly healthy. Of course, it has its limits, as it cannot resurrect the dead, and its results diminish the more they use it.
'But still, even if a sage is on his deathbed, I don't think that Lady Gaia would use it on them as it's her main source of power and energy.
Gaia had unlimited amounts of mana while only a limited amount of life energy. In fact, life energy determines how many living beings can live in a world.
'And she is using the purest form just because William asked her.' Ophiscus was beyond astonished. When he called Gaia, he thought she might use the purest form of mana to heal Seraphina, but he never thought that she would use the life force itself.
While Ophiscus was astonished at Gaia's actions, the woman had a silly smile on her face as she recalled William's puppy face and how he asked her cutely.
She shook her head quickly, coming back to her senses, and concentrated on Seraphina. She then placed her empty hand on Seraphina's navel and said, "Ophiscus, I want you to leave."
Ophiscus nodded his head in understanding and stood up to leave. William, too, moved to leave the infirmary, but Gaia interrupted him and said, "You can stay, William. I will need your help."
William was confused as he furrowed his brow. 'How can I be of help when Father isn't?' he thought.
"B-Bu-" As he was about to ask Gaia how he could be of help, he felt his father's hand on his shoulder. William turned toward his father, who had a stupid smile on his face while he whispered, "This is also a part of being a man, William. Do it well." He then patted his shoulder and left the infirmary.
"Eh?" William was utterly confused by his father's words, 'What do—'
"William, come here," Gaia instructed.
"Ah! Okay!" William exclaimed, even though he was still confused; he wanted Seraphina to get better.
He reached her bed, stood beside Gaia, and watched the life energy intently.
"Go to the other side and hold her hand," Gaia instructed.
William nodded his head and went to the other side. He then took her hand gently as if it were a fragile thing.
"I am going to send the life energy; I want you to slowly and gently rub her hand."
William nodded in understanding and began to rub her hand.
Gaia nodded and began to send tiny strands of life energy to her navel, where the life energy of a person is usually stored.
Seraphina's body began to change immediately as it trembled a little and slowly regained its healthy glow.
William smiled wildly as he watched Seraphina get better. His heartbeat quickened as his hands trembled a little while he recalled how she had apologized before creating a dome to protect him.
'I do not yet understand what it means to be a man, Seraphina. But I promise that I will never let that repeat itself and put you or Achlys in danger,' he swore inwardly while his amethyst eyes shone with resolve.
Gaia continued to send strands of life energy to Seraphina's navel, as sending all of that at once would be fatal for a being, as it would be too much.
"Listen well, William. The energy in my hands is called life energy; it is a potent and powerful energy that can help in healing others. But you should only send in strands of it to make the body get used to it rather than dumping all of it at once."
William was a little dumbfounded as to why Gaia was explaining all of this, but he still nodded his head and made sure to remember the newfound information.
After a while, it had been two hours since Seraphina's treatment had started. Achlys had woken up from her sleep as she only needed some rest.
"Are you sure you want to stay and not take some rest?" William asked with concern as he looked at Achlys, who was standing beside him.
Achlys, however, shook her head and replied, "I am fine. I only had a mana depletion and was physically exhausted. We vampires are the strangest when it comes to healing. Don't worry."
William nodded his head hesitantly; he still thought that Achlys should get some more rest, but didn't want to force her. However, he got a little flustered when Achlys held his hand.
His eyes widened a little in surprise, and he was a little confused as to what he should do. So, he did what he felt was right.
So, he left Seraphina's hand and placed it on Achlys's hand and squeezed it reassuringly and muttered, "Don't worry, nothing will happen to her."
"Mhmm," Achlys hummed while she nodded her head slightly. A small smile bloomed on her face as William reassured her.
She then turned to her to be sister-wife and prayed, 'Please... sister, get well soon.'
Another two hours had passed, and the ball of life energy had almost entered Seraphina's body. William and Achlys watched in nervousness and happiness as she was getting better.
As the last strand of life energy had entered Seraphina's body, Gaia shot open her eyes and immediately placed both her hands on her navel and pressed on it hard.
She guided the sent life energy and guided it throughout Seraphina's body. She circled the energy nine times before she settled the excess energy in her navel.
PHEW
Gaia sighed in relief as she took her hands off Seraphina and turned toward William and said, "She is fine and will wake up in a few minutes to an hour."
William's face turned ecstatic at the good news; he bowed toward Gaia and said, "Thank you, Aunt Gaia." He thanked her with full sincerity. He didn't know what he would have done if Seraphina had lost her life saving him.
Achlys, too, followed William's actions, bowed toward Gaia, and thanked her. She also had a small smile on her face as she knew that now, Seraphina was all right and would wake up in a few hours.
"Fufufu, this is nothing, little William. And you don't need to say thanks to me; we are not that distant for thanks and such," Gaia said dismissively.
"Alright, I will leave the trio alone until I come back to check on her after she wakes up." She informed and began to walk toward the door of the infirmary. She wanted to discuss a few things with Ophiscus about their plans for the invasion and such, and left the trio alone.
William watched as Gia left the room; he was still holding Achlys's hand when he heard a mumble.
"Mhm, where am I?"