I had experienced death before. Having said that, my last death was rather sudden. I didn’t expect to die when I jumped into the water. That all changed when I pulled the kid out of the water. I discovered that I couldn’t swim against the violent current. The water that was supposed to be gentle felt insurmountable, so paddling felt akin to smacking a collapsing wall.
The water that crashed onto my head caused my head to spin. I realised I could die when I completely ran out of energy to swim against the current. However, I didn’t have much time to be scared, because I soon found myself gulping mouthfuls of water that went straight to my mouth and brain. I desperately struggled for dear life, but the light overhead was so far away. I experienced the same sensations a second time. I think water and I don’t get along. I drowned in a river last time, and I drowned in an ocean this time. Actually, I might’ve been dead by the time I dropped into the ocean.
I didn’t know what exactly happened to my body. According to what Mommy Vyvyan said, my mana should’ve ripped apart my organs. I used magic with the awareness that I’d die. I knew the consequences of using magic, but I had to save Mommy Elizabeth. I used magic a total of two times today. The first time I used it was to capture the wyrm so that Ying could kill it. The other time was to catch Mom with a vine so that the tide wouldn’t sweep her away.
It was enough. I presumed I could probably only use magic twice in this lifetime. The first time I used it was to cover Nier’s escape, and the second time was to save my mother. It was worth it in both scenarios. I saved countless people with my life and gave lots of people bliss. Although I really didn’t want to part with my wives and children, I’d rather not have to attend Mommy Elizabeth’s funeral, as she was my beloved mom. I had no regrets or qualms about ending my life for her, because she gave me my life, and she loved me.
“Come back to me… Come back to me… Come back to me!! Son… Son… come back to me! Come back to me!!”
I thought it’d end with me drowning. I thought I heard the voice of an angel. I thought I saw the light of heaven, and even prepared to return to the elven forest… even though I didn’t feel it was likely… However, when I listened in carefully, it was Mommy Elizabeth’s crying.
I had never heard Mommy Elizabeth cry so tragically. I felt an anxious warm sensation on my hand. Next to Mommy Elizabeth were Mommy Vyvyan’s and Nier, who were bawling their eyes out. I felt a warm sensation on my back. Perhaps Mommy Elizabeth was holding me tightly in her embrace right now.
I slowly opened my eyes. The bright sun overhead almost blinded me. I squinted and weakly turned my head. The crying around me suddenly died down. I sensed that all the attention was on me. My conscious had returned, but my body didn’t feel that it was mine. It felt as though it’d take me all the strength I could muster to lift my hand. As a matter of fact, all my strength still wouldn’t suffice to lift my hand.
My gaze shifted to Elizabeth; panic flitted across her pale face. Her long black hair was glued to her face. She held me tightly in her arms. The traces of her tears on her face were prominent on her face. My face felt wet, which was, presumably, Mommy Elizabeth’s tears…
I softly called, “Mom…”
It was the first time my throat felt so dry. Merely calling “mom” was enough for me to feel as though my lungs were going to be torn apart.
“Son… My son… My son… you’re all right… you’re all right… Please… please don’t let anything happen to you… My son… My son…” cried Elizabeth.
With that, Mommy Elizabeth’s tears’ floodgates burst again, releasing her tears. She tightly hugged me as though she was worried I’d vanish if she let go. She hugged me so tightly that I felt I would virtually snap. However, I didn’t feel that much pain. To the contrary, the familiar warmth almost brought tears to my eyes, except that my tears seemed to no longer have the strength to cry. They were so dry that I couldn’t shed a single tear.
“Your Majesty!”
“Troy!”
Lucia and Nier rushed over from my sides and tightly held my hands. I struggled to turn my head and look at their pale faces. I meekly smiled, and then softly said, “Lucia, Nier, I’m so glad… you two… are all right…”
I began to violently cough as if I was going to cough up my lungs. I tasted blood in my mouth. Mommy Elizabeth wiped the corner of my mouth. I saw the blood on the tip of her fingers. I had no idea what happened to me other than that I had survived; unfortunately, the pain radiating throughout my entire body caused me to squirm. It hurt just to lie there, let alone speak.
I had to rest for a long time last time after utilising magic. It was as if I was sick. However, I felt more severe symptoms this time. It wasn’t a cold; it felt as though I contracted a terminal disease. It felt that all I would be left with was an ignoble existence after going through countless treatments and moments of despair. As a matter of fact, I didn’t know if living an ignoble existence was too much to ask for.
I needed to hear from Mommy Vyvyan. She came up to my side and knelt down next to me. Her blue eyes were filled with heartache and despair. She seemed to want to smile, but her smile looked bitterer than if she was smiling. She grabbed hold of my hand and stroked my head. In a soft voice, she said, “Son, I told you… I told you… that you can’t use mana… You can’t use mana again. Look at you now, Son. Why didn’t you listen to Mommy…? You used magic… Your entire body has almost been ripped apart… H-… How is Mommy going to save you…?”
“Mommy Vyvyan…” I practically couldn’t make a sound.
Mommy Vyvyan wiped her tears, and then stood up. Mommy Elizabeth despairingly raised her head. She looked at Vyvyan with a pleading look. In a shaky voice, she pleaded, “Vyvyan… Vyvyan… I believe in you. I believe in you. You have never let me down. I beg you; save my son. I’ll do anything, but please save my son. It doesn’t matter what method we have to resort to, how much it costs or what we have to do. Just please… save my son…”
Vyvyan aggressively turned her head and thundered, “You shut up!!”
Vyvyan’s blood-red and blue eyes didn’t stop twitching. She then grabbed Elizabeth’s: “Whose fault do you think this is?! Who do you think caused my son to be in this state?! You could say that he’s already dead, with the only question left being ‘when’! His entire body has been ripped apart! He’s no longer capable of producing mana. You know that an elf who can’t produce mana is no different to someone incapable of producing blood! My son will die! Once his mana runs dry, he’ll have to die!! Am I supposed to put him back inside my belly and give birth to him again?!”
“If it’s needed, if that will save my son, I don’t mind… I don’t care what it takes… I don’t care what method you use, just please… please save him!”
Vyvyan gripped her hair. She appeared as though she was in utter despair as she raged, “He’s my son! He’s my son! I won’t let anybody get close to him again! I’m taking him back to our Galadriel Tribe’s land! I’m taking him away. I won’t let any of you get close to him again! Ever! I’m taking my son! I’m taking him!! I’ll kill whoever stops me! I’ll destroy this world! This world doesn’t need to exist if my son is gone! The day my son dies will be the day that I bury this world with him!!!”
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