Faded Shadows

Chapter 13

"How is this place my mind?" I asked in disbelief. "That's bullshit."

"I would not lie to you, Mr. Howell." replied the nurse.

"That's not my name." I replied with a frown. I had long since dropped my old name. It was nothing but the past weighing me down.

"I believe it is." said the nurse. "You may have abandoned it as a child but you are still Zhane Howell."

"I abandoned that side of myself a long time ago."

"If that were the case, I would not be here and neither would you." replied the nurse. "Changing your name doesn't change who you are."

I put my head in my hands, I was having a hard time believing where I was. There was no way I could actually be in my mind, that was complete and udder nonsense.

"I feel as if you doubt me." said the nurse. "Please follow me, I'll erase your doubt." The nurse turned and began to walk down the hallway, leaving me at the end of the hall. I quickly moved to catch up to her but as soon as I did, she had reached her destination. She pushed the door open and ushered me inside with her hand. I stepped around her and entered what appeared to be a very well lit room filled with large file cabinets and a metal table with several chairs.

"What is this room?" I asked as I looked at the filing cabinets.

"This room is where I stored most of your memories." replied the nurse. "While Umbra was present here, he made many attempts to break into this room. He was only successful the first time and after that, I locked it away from him. I've taken measures to keep his essence out of this room. The last thing you need is to have your memories tainted."

I blinked several times before looking at one of the filing cabinets. I walked over to it and pulled on the handle. Inside were large blank files filled with a large number of papers. I reached in, grabbed one of the files and opened it. The first paper detailed my first exposure to death and murder; A night that changed my life. I closed the file and placed it back into the cabinet before closing it slowly. I turned around and looked the nurse in the eyes.

"I believe you now." I said. "Now how do I get out of here?"

"You're body has taken so serious damage." said the nurse. "You need time to heal. After you've healed enough, you will wake yourself up and you will leave here."

"Is that the only way?" I asked.

"Yes." replied the nurse.

I let out a sigh and pulled one of the chairs out from the table. I sat down and pulled myself up to the table. All of this was kinda hard to take in.

"Please remember, Mr. Howell." said the nurse as she sat down across from me. "I'm here to help and answer any questions you might have."

I looked at the nurse for several moments before opening my mouth.

"You told me that Umbra's essence still leaks out of that room, about Soul Magic and how it relates to why I saw Poison Spectre that night." I started. "Am I losing it?"

"In a broad term, yes." replied the nurse. "Your use of Soul Magic has eroded part of your very being and Umbra's essence is helping this happen. Soon, your entire soul will erode and nothing will remain."

I stayed silent for a moment.

"How much time do I have left?" I asked.

"A year at the most." replied the nurse. "With Umbra no longer present, the process has been slowed but not by much."

I rested my head on my hands. Being told you had only a certain amount of time left to live has pretty hard hitting. I mean, everyone dies but there's still so much left to do. I still had so many sins to atone for in this world; more in the last. I'm so powerless to do what I need to do before it all ends.

"There's no need to feel that way." said the nurse. "I know what you're thinking and I believe I can help."

The nurse stood up and walked to one of the filing cabinets. She opened it and pulled out two files before closing the cabinet. She walked back over to the table and sat back down. She put both files on the table and push one towards me. I grabbed the folder in front of me and opened it. The first page was something about magic.

"What is this?" I asked.

"If you can recall." began the Nurse. "A human that contains no magic becomes a magic sponge. I believe you can use this to attain the power you need."

"How would I do that?" I asked.

"Before and after Umbra resided in you, you were devoid of all magic. Any magic you came in contact with, you absorbed. However, the only magic that you can absorb would be active magic."

"What's the difference?"

"While Umbra resided here, I learned several things about magic. There are two types of magic, active and passive. Passive magic is like the magic in the collar around your neck; it's waiting to be activated by a magical spark. Once activated, your collar turns the passive magic into active magic. This active magic will come in the form of an electric shock and this is the kind of magic you can absorb."

"What else?" I asked. "How do I access this magic I've absorbed?"

"You must absorb a large amount of the same active magic to use it. Once you do that, you can use it until it depletes from your body. As of now, there is only one large source of active magic that you have absorbed in which you can use. That would be the healing magic of the High Priestess. I do believe that she is assisting in the healing of your wounds from that last battle."

The Nurse opened up the other file and pulled out the first and only paper. She placed the paper on the table and slid it over to me. On the sheet was a list of names.

Princess Celestia

Princess Luna

Yamato

Agliss

Umbra

Melody

High Priestess

Azure Phoenix

"That is a list of the different things you have absorbed magic from. The arrows by the High Priestess indicate that you've absorbed enough magic to use it to your advantage."

"That's good and all but how am I supposed to use healing magic to help me finish the things I need to do?"

The Nurse was about to speak before a loud chime cut her off.

"I believe our time is almost up." she said. "So allow me to give you some advice before you leave. Think about the collar on your neck, it becomes active magic once used and you can absorb active magic."

I was about to question her but the moment that I had blinked, the scenery had changed from the room I was in to me looking up at several people in which I had the displeasure of knowing. I knew I was awake.