Faint warmth began spreading through his chest. It grew stronger, pulsating like a heartbeat. The warmth turned into a burning sensation, then a sharp pain, as if every cell in his body was being stitched back together. His senses returned in fragments—the smell of earth, the distant sound of wind, the cold touch of stone.
His eyes shot open, and he found himself lying in the same white room, but something was different. His heart pounded, and his breathing was steady yet heavy. He was alive—fully alive. He could feel it. He sat up slowly, flexing his fingers, marveling at the sensation of control returning.
A message pinged in the system, breaking his moment of awe.
Hades: "You're welcome. Enjoy your life, magicless as it may be."
Icarius exhaled shakily, realizing what he had just sacrificed. "No magic," he repeated in his mind, the weight of it settling in. It was a price he would have to live with. But at least he was alive.
Then the scene started to deform and become clearer for him, and in a flinch of an eye, he found himself opening his eyes and seeing the roof of a wooden house on him while lying on a surprisingly comfortable bed. The room's rustic atmosphere and warm lighting momentarily confused him—it had a faint resemblance to his home in Tyouga, but something was off. This wasn't his house.
Before he could gather his thoughts, a small creature jumped onto the bed—a little dragon-like being with sharp eyes and dark scales. Icarius immediately sat up, only to wince in pain as his muscles protested, still healing from whatever had happened earlier.
Through the open door, he spotted Astrid outside, calmly observing the surroundings. Icarius couldn't resist his curiosity and called out, "What's with this little dragon? Where did it come from?"
Before Astrid could respond, the creature leaped closer, puffing its chest out indignantly. "Master! I am not a filthy dragon! Can't you tell the difference?" It huffed, clearly offended.
Icarius squinted, trying to make sense of it. "Honestly, not much of a difference stands out to me," he thought, but then it clicked. He recalled the blood wyvern he'd seen in that strange spiritual dimension through the mirror. Could this creature be the same one?
Deciding to play along, Icarius smirked and said, "Oh yeah, of course, I can tell you both apart. You're obviously much better-looking, Mr. Blood Wyvern!"
The wyvern, now satisfied, gave a proud nod and flashed a huge smile. But just as quickly, its energy shifted, and its expression grew serious.
"Master," the wyvern began, "I have a few questions for you, and please answer them so I can assist you better from now on."
Icarius, still adjusting to the situation, cut in, "Hold up—before we get to that, where exactly are we? And where are the others?"
The blood wyvern's gaze softened slightly as it explained, "We found this house while making our way through the mountains. I sensed a peculiar energy here—a mix of warmth and danger. It drew me in, so we came with the others, hoping to find shelter. When we arrived, we encountered an elf. You should've seen him—a tall man, pale as snow, with icy blue hair. His appearance is unsettling because his whiteness is so stark, it almost makes him ghostly. Despite his cold looks, he agreed to let us stay while you recovered."
Icarius listened intently. "An elf with blue hair?" He tried to imagine it, but was more focused on how odd it was to encounter someone like that in such a remote area.
The wyvern continued, "He went out searching for ingredients for some kind of potion. While he was out, you woke up. If you're wondering about the Elf siblings, they're upstairs in a small room, resting."
Icarius's curiosity deepened. "The elf's pretty considerate," he thought, finding it odd that someone so mysterious would go out of his way to help. But exhaustion was creeping up on him, and all he wanted now was to sink back into the bed and rest.
He let out a tired sigh and lay back down, muttering, "I'm too tired for all this. Maybe I'll get some sleep and figure things out later."
But just as he was closing his eyes, the blood wyvern moved closer, its expression turning stern again. "Did you forget about my questions?" it pressed.