Chapter 106 - Sisika's Mysterious Cabin
We entered the single-room cabin. There was an old stone stove in the corner, and a poorly finished single bed dominated the space.
"Unfortunately, this is the only memory this place managed to reconstruct," Sisika commented, walking around the small wooden space.
I don't understand anything anymore.
"Memory? What do you mean by that?" I asked, my confusion growing.
She went over to the stove and opened a worn wooden cabinet, grabbing a pot with calm movements.
"Let's just say this was the cabin where I grew up... but it's not real. It's just a recreation made by this place," she said while continuing to handle the pots, as if it were perfectly normal.
None of this made sense.
"Can you explain what's going on? I'm trying to cooperate with you," I said, trying to get clearer answers.
Sisika walked over to the door and looked out at the forest in front of us.
"Nathan, your way out is there," she pointed to a path flanked by trees. "You can leave whenever you want, but I'd like you to stay a little longer. Soon, I won't be here anymore... and I want to talk to you while I still have time."
I looked at the corridor of trees, their canopies closing in, hiding the end of the trail.
"In this place, we'll have food and we'll be safe. Time here moves differently, slower than usual. The days we've spent here amount to only a few hours in the outside world. I guarantee you, the monk hasn't even reached the village to seek help yet. Stay with me for a few more days, that's all I ask," she said before heading toward the river.
I watched as she disappeared between the trees, leaving me alone in front of the small cabin. I stood there, my gaze shifting between the trail and the spot where she had gone.
What do I do? She seemed to be telling the truth. Should I leave?
The mysterious redhead knew too much about me, more than I was comfortable admitting. There was something in her eyes, a depth that reminded me of fear...
The fear of death.
The same look I had seen before in someone dear to me, in another time.
I sighed, turning toward the cabin as I thought about my family.
I walked to the door, glancing at the small wooden space before murmuring to myself:
"Guys... I'm going to be a little late."
***
When she returned and saw me sitting, a wide smile spread across her face.
"I thought you'd left..." she murmured.
"So did I," I replied.
Sisika was carrying some fish and what looked like fruits and leaves she had gathered from the forest.
"I'll prepare the food. It'll take a little while, but don't worry," she said as she began organizing the ingredients.
"Just use your fire magic to fry the fish," I suggested, trying to lighten the mood.
She shook her head gently. "It's been a long time since I cooked... especially being back in this place. This is where I spent part of my life, and before I leave, I want someone to know a little about me."
There was something strange in the way she spoke, and I noticed she was forcing a smile.
"What do you mean 'before you leave?'" I asked.
"Don't worry about it," was the only response I got.
She continued preparing the food while I sat on the bed, watching her every movement, trying to understand more about her. The sense of mystery surrounding Sisika was palpable.
"Can you tell me what you are? How do you know so much about me?" I asked again.
"I'm your friend, Nathan. I've already told you how I know about you, it's through a loophole. Only I can access this loophole, and when I leave, I'll take the little I've learned with me," she replied, without taking her eyes off the pot.
I tried to get up to help, but she gestured for me to stay seated. With not much else to do, I closed my eyes, trying to feel my Mana Gem. It felt strange not sensing mana flowing through my body, something that had been present since I was eight years old. It was as if an essential part of me was missing.
The sensation was similar to when you have to manually control your breathing — strange and uncomfortable. I tried, in vain, to grasp the thin thread of mana that was still left, but it was so faint that it seemed impossible to recover. I spent a long time focusing my entire body, trying to perform the exercises taught by Professor Adrihna, but after exhausting myself mentally... I gave up.
"It won't work," her voice interrupted my thoughts. "The reason your mana isn't working is because of me, Nathan."
I opened my eyes and looked at Sisika, surprised. I didn't know how long I'd been in that state, but it felt like I had lost track of time.
She approached with a plate of food and a cup of water.
"You're still influencing my Mana Gem?" I asked.
"I accelerated the awakening of your special eyes. Your eyes are already awakened, and the color of your pupil has already changed," she said calmly, catching me off guard.
"Then why hasn't my mana replenished yet?" I insisted, trying to understand.
Sisika placed the plate beside me and handed me the cup. "Because I'm passing on new eyes to you," she said, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
"I don't understand... what do you mean by 'passing on new eyes'?"
"These eyes I'm passing to you are being cultivated. For that to happen, we need to stay close to each other for the process to occur. That's why I needed to bring you here."
She stood up, walking over to a cabinet.
"Why are you giving me new eyes?" I asked, confused and even more intrigued.
"It will all make sense when the time is right," was her only answer as she rummaged through the cabinet.
"There are clothes here you can wear. Don't worry, when I was younger, I only wore boys' clothes. You can bathe in the river, and if you'd like, I can wash your clothes," she said casually, as if we were in a normal situation.
I remained silent, trying to analyze this mysterious woman. But the more I tried to understand her, the more questions arose without clear answers.
"You said you wanted to talk to me. What do you want to know?" I asked, still intrigued.
"Eat a little first, we'll have plenty of time to talk. I still have a few days left," Sisika replied calmly, but at the end, she coughed and left the wooden cabin, leaving me alone in the small, quiet space.
I ate in silence, trying to make sense of what she meant. Her words were cryptic, and my mind wandered between various theories and guesses. Just as I finished eating, Sisika entered the cabin again, holding something in her hands.
She tossed a small object to me, and I caught it in the air.
When I looked closely, I realized it was a leaf. I found the object odd, expecting something more significant.
"It's a green leaf, a bit heavy, even though it's thin," I observed, noticing that the weight didn't match its appearance.
"This is a special leaf, taken from the tree of the place where I was born. It's not the real one, but it's an accurate representation. The learning process will be the same. It reacts to mana poured into it, and it's an excellent conductor," she explained.
As I held the leaf, I began to notice it becoming lighter, as if it was losing the weight that had previously seemed abnormal.
"The leaf stored my mana for a few seconds, that's why it was heavy," Sisika added.
The idea of a leaf reacting like this to mana vaguely reminded me of my Akonium stone.
"This leaf reacts only by becoming heavy or light," she continued, placing a cup of water on the small table near us and letting the leaf float in the water.
She looked at me seriously. "I need you to take advantage of this temporary deficiency in your mana channels and practice an exercise. I want you to pour mana into this leaf."
I shook my head, confused. "My Mana Gem is empty. I can't pour mana into anything."
She wagged her finger at me, like scolding a child, and pointed to my eyes. "You no longer have ordinary eyes. You now have Special Eyes on your face. They work similarly to a Mana Gem. If your mana ran out, you would go blind because they would stop functioning. That's why your eyes generate a small amount of mana all the time, just enough to maintain minimal functions, like the thread of mana keeping you alive. I want you to use the mana from your eyes to influence the leaf."
She pushed the small table with the cup and the leaf closer to me. "By the time our time together is up, I want you to have mastered the process of activating your mana with your special eyes, so that you're ready to receive these... other eyes."
Her words lingered in the air, and I knew there was no escaping it. If I wanted to understand what was happening and what Sisika truly wanted from me, I would have to accept the challenge.