Consequences
Inside the medic tent, Kiran wasn't present anymore.
It was considered necessary because of his migraine wasn't just as important as the wounds the Askarian soldiers had received during the whole battle. That, and the fact Raigh had requested for him to be moved to his carriage so they could discuss in peace stuff again, not to mention Kiran wanted an answer to what Tiki meant about him obtaining a soul.
One of those who remained inside that tent was the king of Renais. His wounds were healed correctly, but it took a while before he woke up.
As he was becoming aware of everything around him, a voice by his side made him backed off a little due to the sudden surprise.
"Lord Ephraim!" she had a precious smile.
"Amelia..." the king sighed as he relaxed. "I presume you had more luck in the battle than the one I had."
"I-It's all thanks to you. You taught me everything I know." she proudly pointed to her spear with her finger. The day she arrived at Askr she had problems holding it and the armor was just too heavy for her, right now, she was at least able to hold her own decently against two enemies.
Ephraim wouldn't admit to the girl that it felt very strange she admired him so much... considering just how awkward it had been meeting her back in his world.
Granted, this Amelia seemed to come from a point of the time when she hadn't joined the Grado army yet so she never heard all those infamous rumors about him... but that memory usually came back to bother anyway.
"You are welcome." he extended his arm to pat her on the shoulder.
"Just..." she crossed her fingers in that classical pose the girls always did when they desired something or their heart was warming. "Be more careful, teacher."
Ephraim scratched his head's back part. "Yes, I'm sorry for worrying you." he coughed. "If Duessel had been here, he probably would have grounded me after a severe speech."
"Duessel?... as in, the general Duessel?" Amelia's eyes displayed a clear surprise.
"The only and same one. He trained me and, thanks to him, I was able to transfer that knowledge of combat and strategy to you." remembering his days as a simple recruit soldier in strength level always put a smile on the spearman.
"B-Before I was brought here... I had heard about his exploits against bandits... it made me desire to be trained by him. I knew it was probably a silly dream but... dreaming is easy." the girl confessed, rubbing her left hand's back part.
"The man deserves all the praises he receives," Ephraim nodded slowly. "And well, technically he already trained you through me."
"Wow... just... wow... I suppose it makes sense! it explains very well your great skills, my lord!"
"A student can only reach its maximum potential with the help of the best teacher," the king guessed out loud. "Let's make sure the same case is repeated with you."
"I'll put all my effort to accomplish it!" she exclaimed excitedly.
It was the second time The Order Of Heroes had to prepare a funeral for soldiers that weren't only from their side or the Emblian ones... two more heroes had been included into the list of casualties of this time travel war through the ages.
Not needing to focus his mind on getting sure another person didn't claim his life, the prince of Askr had more time to reflect on the possibly dangerous alterations all this event would cause to the future of this timeline. He gulped and rubbed his forehead as he tried to remember everything while sitting on a rock.
The power trio of Lycia had lost two members... and if something went wrong during the purification process that it would be necessary to release the third member from the curse that clouded her mind, she might as well join her friends in the "afterlife"
This was going to be be a mortal blow to the morale of the continent since they and their friends were going to be considered legendary heroes just like the ones that fought the dragons in the past.
The prince realized that, while it was true there were infinite timelines, the story fo this world seemed to be going in the same direction to become into another world of Binding...
The local versions of Lilina, Dayan, Sue, Klein Clarine, Hugh, Nilme, Lugh, Raigh and finally, the most important one, Roy, had been ret-goned from the existence... they would never exist here... and that was only taking in consideration the confirmed cases of a hero of the future being the offspring of a hero of the present.
He tried to calm himself down... his comprehension of the time thanks to his powers had made him learn that there were timelines where the heroes the story had recorded would never existed in the first place... and yet these timelines could have new unknown heroes who could raise to step in the fight to save the world. Their absence wouldn't immediately mean Zephiel would accomplish his goal... but the doubt was going to consume his mind forever...
The other worlds that had released still had many of their heroes... and perhaps the ones that were being forced to fight in the frontal lines on the Emblian side of the Zenith part of the war could eventually return...
But this world had lost them...
And it was his fault...
It didn't matter just how much his mother, sister, and Anna insisted that it wasn't the case... he had opened the portals...
As he raised his head to see the event... he saw Lilina along with her mother watching the corpse of the local Hector being placed inside his improvised tomb.
His actions had caused that she had to suffer losing her father once again... and this time she was present to see it.
How many people had and were going to suffer thanks to his mistakes? to his stupidity?
What would have happened had his father was still alive?... without being able to remember him completely but using what his mother had told him as a base... the prince wouldn't be surprised at all if the man hadn't wanted to look at his son at the face.
He hadn't wanted to think about all these implications since the previous battle... but he just couldn't do it anymore. His mind ensured he would never forget the disaster he had caused.
As he was about to let his head rest on his hands to feel miserable again, he felt some gentle arms embracing him with much love.
He didn't need to have her inside his sight to know who she was.
If it wasn't a fact that smiling was considered a very heavy insult during a funeral, he would have given her a smile to ensure he was okay. This time, the best thing he could do was to hug her back tightly.
"It's okay, bro." Sharena softly said.
As if his subconscious having thought all previous stuff hadn't been enough to make him pay the price of the mistake, he remembered another factor why his knowledge of timelines was hard to tolerate... because of the infinite nature of the time, his dear and precious sister was, inevitably, suffering in a parallel universe.
Timelines... where he hadn't been able to protect her...
He had to put much focus on throwing those thoughts away.
Even if Roy had still considered a good idea to try to comfort Lilina, it wouldn't have been a good moment to do it...
The young lion gulped very slowly as he tried to do not let some tears roll through his cheeks.
He shook his head as he tried to convince himself that he shouldn't be crying. This Eliwood wasn't the same one that raised him... yet... having to deal with this situation again...
He wished he was wearing his old clothes and not these copies in honor of his father... it only made it worse.
He looked away, not wanting to see this.
Veronica was a monster... that's what he thought.
As bad as the general mood between The Order Of Heroes was, once they had confirmed there weren't more war prisoners inside the Caelin castle, Robin, who was in charge by the moment, ordered to retreat from the world.
It was damn depressing not to be able to do something more for the people of the recently released world, but the Order just couldn't stop and help everybody. Their services would be required to save another one soon or later.
During this period of time, Nino felt... very awkward.
She was using the cycle as usual, but her mind wasn't focusing on the landscape.
She sighed as she looked at where Kiran, in theory, was resting.
It was a fact she wasn't sure if she desired to have a talk with Kiran regarding his real feelings for her... but even if she decided she should clear this doubt already, Raigh and Alfonse had claimed Kiran wouldn't leave his carriage since, apparently, he wasn't in a good condition to speak to someone else.
As anybody could expect, her heart felt cold at times as she was worried for him...
Just... what happened?... when he woke up, he seemed to be fine... had he got sick?
Her mind created a scene of the kind man coughing, perhaps throwing up and with his face red-colored... or perhaps he was paler than the white snow?
Even worse, if what Kiran claimed was true... the diseases of this planet would have it easy at dealing with his body defenses...
She shook her head.
She was imagining a lot without any real idea of what was happening...
Besides, he had promised... he had promised he wouldn't leave her alone... that he would survive... no matter what...
To say she wasn't exactly good at hiding something was happening to her would be an underestimation. She only was lucky that Lugh had been helping Arthur to take care of the mental health of many of the prisoners, otherwise, he surely would have wanted to know why she behaved so oddly.
She couldn't even go with Florina to ask her for advice. It wasn't a good moment.
Was she in love?
How being in love actually felt?
Was she just misunderstanding?
She wanted an answer...
"Hey, tarado (retarded), wake up!" Raigh commented as he hit slowly the head of his "stepfather".
Kiran/Mark growled as he attempted to comprehend why he had gone to the realm of the dreams so quickly after interchanging a few words with Raigh.
"I'm getting tired of... resting... weird... anyway. Just... how much time has passed since the last time we spoke."
"Days, it seems the nurses kinda gave you too much of that substance." The prince of Askr commented. While it was true the prince usually had a stoic face when he wasn't around his family, his face seemed more depressed than usual... almost matching Kiran's usual face. If his sister and commander had noticed he was slowly starting to behave more like his friend, now it would be clear to be seen by anyone. His arms were even crossed. "We're about to return to the Zenith continent, we can't needlessly keep the grandmaster and his army guarding the portal more time."
"That was fast... eh... what is she doing here?" Kiran/Mark's reaction to the voice of Naga being present was a mix between the usual disrespect displayed by Kiran... and wonder thanks to Mark.
Raigh approached with a needle to extract blood. "It happens that lady Tiki here is not very happy regarding your current condition."
For a moment, Kiran's side took over. "Is she even happy at some moment anyway?"
"... I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that and I'm gonna go straight to the point." she placed her fingers on his forehead. "Where did you get that soul?"
"... Define your concept of a soul." Kiran/Mark sighed, at least he didn't feel his head was about to explode.
"It's the essence that it's inside every living being," she responded. She could certainly feel the presence of the substance through the body. "Where did you get it?"
"She means, quintessence?" Kiran/Mark shook his head as he tried to assimilate the concept.
"He got it from a corpse," Raigh explained, the sample of blood he extracted turned to do not have the pure red coloration Kiran usually had... it was partially silver.
"... Why I'm not surprised?..." Tiki shook her head in disproval and looked at him with contempt. "You were so desperate to get a soul that you stole it?!"
Kiran/Mark narrowed. "Do you actually believe I would do such a thing?!" Kiran's part of the mind quickly "kicked" its counterpart for saying such a senseless sentence, of course she believed it! "You know what, I don't care what you have to say to me."
"It was a corpse we discovered in an advanced state of decomposition." Raigh clarified.
"Someone must return to look for it though... if these memories are true, he was carrying two powerful tomes of legendary level..."
"So, if I understood correctly, you absorbed the soul of a dead person?" Alfonse asked for confirmation.
Tiki and the others nodded. "I hope for your own sake that what your friend says is right."
"You don't have to believe if you don't want to." Raigh stared at her. "It does not really matter."
Tiki stared at the boy, but she sighed, preferring not to start a fight with these two.
"So... urgh... any idea how can I repair my mind?" Kiran/Mark asked.
"The only one I suppose could know about this stuff is my mother, but don't expect me to guide you to Mount Prism." Tiki sighed.
"You don't need to, Lucina or Robin can tell me where it is."
"So, you're going to the world of Awakening?" Alfonse asked, a clear vocal tone that denoted he was worried could be heard.
"Yeah, since these two idiots got merged I feel my mind is at war against itself."
"These two?" Tiki raised her eyebrow. "Why are you talking about yourself as if you were another person."
"Honestly, I still don't know if I'm Kiran with Mark's memories or Mark and Kiran fused into a single one... which could mean I'm none of them... although what Raigh told me suggests it's the former option."
"That's actually an interesting question." Raigh wrote down in a notebook. "Could we argue that Kiran is already dead? by the way, how did you say it was the second one called?"
"Mark." Kiran/Mark said.
"Thanks."
Dead?... to say the idea concerned Alfonse a lot was to underestimate it...
Although the idea that perhaps Kiran had disappeared already made Kiran/Mark remember something.
"Eh... who else got saved by Breidablik's teleportation power besides Ephraim?"
"Lady Tiki here is one."
"Her?..." Kiran/Mark gulped...
Should he consider that the original Tiki was already dead?
He shook his head in pain.
"Anyway, something important we need to clarify," Raigh crossed his arms. "If you're going to visit that place... whatever its name was, and it's in the world of Awakening. Who's gonna be in charge while you're out."
"Robin has already taken care of the battle before, she can do it again... regarding the Breidablik... that is under your security. I assume you even have it already, right?" Kiran sighed.
Raigh pulled the relic out from his cloak. "Safe and secured."
"Do you remember everything I told you about it?"
"That is probably a magitek artifact? yeah."
"Good."
"I guess I don't have anything else to do here." the voice of Naga commented. "Farewell." she knocked on the wall to tell the one driving the carriage to stop, and then she left.
"So... if you're leaving for a while..." Alfonse coughed. "Just take care, okay?"
It wasn't that hard to figure out the prince was worried about losing another friend in the same world again.
"I'm not going alone, I need Lucina to tell me where the hell that place is and probably Corrin to reach it fast enough to be acceptable. Besides, I need to plan the travel, otherwise, it probably would end up in a not good situation."
Kiran/Mark rubbed his eyes.
"By the way," Raigh sat as he spoke. "Talking about the possessed heroes and all that. Perhaps if I use those tubes we used during the autopsies I could extract the dark magic slowly enough to do not cause possible secondary effects to the heroes. It's a good advance, I just need more time."
"Well done." Kiran/Mark gave him a thumbs-up.
Miriel, once she had finished replicating the Newton telescope the times the grandmaster had requested, continued doing the science for no military purposes she and Kiran liked.
She, with the help of a very large ruler, was drawing the lines of a blueprint. The building in the pages Kiran had left for her was certainly a marvelous thing.
She had already attempted to discover the possible applications of the glass even since that time Robin destroyed the Valmesian fleet when Basilio and Flavia asked her if she could create a copper mirror able to set on fire ships in case a second invasion ever happened to Regna Ferox. After some experiments, she discarded the idea since it would need more than 200 mirrors to focus the light enough to even set a single ship on fire, not to mention the facts that it would be necessary that the enemy ships were not moving and it would only work during the day and not the night for obvious reasons. A failed idea indeed.
This other idea, with the purpose of helping agriculture, on the other hand, seemed more realistic.
A house designed specifically for plants, taking advantage of the closed environment and the crystal walls, that could retain the heath better. This, in theory, would allow harvesting even during the winter! If it was necessary to reduce the temperature, some curtains would suffice. The name couldn't be more perfect: A greenhouse.
There were some minor details Kiran admitted he wasn't aware of, but as long as it helped to tiny villages, it was more than enough.
She honestly didn't like when somebody interrupted her, so when a soldier entered she quickly spoke.
"Please, clarify the reason for your presence as fast as possible."
"I was sent to tell you the Order Of Heroes has returned."
Well, that was kinda fast.
"Comprehended, thanks for the information." Miriel then stopped her drawing as she started to put the instruments inside its boxes to be transported.
It was time to return to the capital of Askr.
Would you like some more chocolate?" Corrin gently asked to the third girl she had been taking care of. If she was honest, she loved having so many "daughters"
María nodded slowly, extending her hand to grab the present.
"It seems we are out of candies, I'll go get more. Be nice." she patted María, Fae, and Azurita as she left in direction to the kitchen.
"Hey, Mary! it's your turn!" Fae poked María on the shoulder with a smile.
"Ah, right." the girl placed her hand behind her marble and, with a single move, sent it to collide with the other marbles.
Even though she was so focused on caressing her little bunny, Azurita didn't need to be reminded of the game as she hit her marble without delay.
The princess of Macedon couldn't complain about the treatment she was receiving in Askr. It was, with total honesty, much better than being inside a cell... but... she just wondered when they would send her home as they promised...
Apparently, only that young man called Kiran could do it... but the only thing Corrin could tell her was to be patient, that he would return.
But she was running out of patience at this point.
Her brother needed her...
Sometime later, Azurita gave one of her first genuine smiles as she was being carried by someone that had promised something to her.
"Sorry for that," Kiran/Mark sighed, closing his eyes. He caressed the hair of the girl as usual. "So, where was I the last time?"
"The heroes were crossing the bridge." Azurita said.
"Ah, right. So, their quest continued as they crossed a forest filled with monsters."
Man, working on this one actually made me feel a headache.
But anyway, that's secondary.
So, as you may guess... the next arc regarding freeing a world won't have Kiran in it. I just realized that having him around does not really leave much space for Alfonse to do something on his own (heck, even Raigh is more proactive on his own) so I decided to take this concept. While it's true the next chapters are going to be about Kiran/Mark meeting Naga again, once that little arc is over, we'll say goodbye to Kiran/Mark for a while.
So, as someone mentioned perhaps it was time to move on from medical inventions to something different, I decided to include that scene about the greenhouses. They are magnificent buildings and honestly, Regna Ferox could use some of them. For Plegia there's another invention but, by the moment, no more info about it.
Some of you may have noticed the two chapters that only were messages I left have been deleted... well, reading the rules of this website, I noticed that wasn't allowed so that's why... besides, some of them gave information of concepts that I've already dropped: like allowing Fjorm to be Kiran's girlfriend so... I think it's better this way.
Time to answer the reviews.
Half-BeastDragonSoul:
It's okay, no need to be sorry about it. nwn
Ravioli boi:
Em, friend... the chapter where you wrote that review indicates he's a Mexican.
