You're still alive, right, buddy? Don't leave me..."
Kaelen's voice trembled, broken and barely above a whisper, yet desperate enough to echo louder than any scream. His body hunched over Jered's mangled frame, both of his hands glowing with weak healing light. They shook violently, not just from fatigue, but from something deeper.
The once-proud and energetic boy was now a trembling mess of blood, soot, and tears.
Nobody could say for sure if the tears flowing down his dirt-smeared face were for Jered, or for himself. Maybe even Kaelen didn't know.
His hands blistered, swollen, and scorched pressed gently against Jered's chest. The fire sword he had wielded earlier wasn't his, and it had made sure he remembered that with every passing second. It was a skill made out of another person's mana and without its owner controlling it, had rejected Kaelen thus burning him as it had burned the monsters. Yet he hadn't let go. Not until Jered was safe.
That's what mattered.
Nothing else.
"C'mon, come on... Just a bit more, stay with me!" Kaelen choked out. The healing light flickered. His mana was draining. His consciousness was fading. But he didn't stop.
His entire world was focused on the shallow, rattling breaths escaping Jered's lips.
---
Minutes passed, how many, he wasn't sure. They felt like hours.
Then
"Huff… huff… Kaelen, run."
Jered's whisper was hoarse. Strained. Each word drawn from what little life he had left.
Kaelen blinked. "Huh?" He leaned in closer.
"Run, Kaelen. We… can't win." Jered's eyes fluttered open, barely slits of life behind the swelling and blood. "It's still… alive"
Kaelen gave a bitter, breathy laugh and shook his head. "Don't worry. I've already killed the ape. You saw it, right? Teachers will be here soon. Just hang on, okay?"
"No. You don't understand.run! Please just run already… RUN!" Jered's voice cracked. His tears finally fell, and this time, Kaelen could feel the raw panic in them.
But Kaelen only smiled sadly. "You're delusional. You've lost too much blood, you're hallucinating. Relax. You're safe. We made it."
But just as he spoke those words, the back of his neck prickled.
The air shifted. Subtly. Unnaturally.
Like something had peeled through reality.
Then he felt the killing intent.
It fell upon him like the weight of an avalanche.
He couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. His heart nearly stopped.
And then
Swoosh.
"Watch out, Kae...!!"
Jered's scream cut through the silence.
But it was too late.
Kaelen turned, but all he saw was a blur, and then
CRACK.
The sound was horrible. Like a tree trunk shattering under a fall.
Pain exploded through his back.
Blood sprayed everywhere, some of it drenching Jered's pale face. He gasped, eyes wide, but unable to rise.
Kaelen's body was thrown like a ragdoll, skidding through the grass, motionless.
And then everything turned dark.
---
Somewhere else…
It was cold.
An unnatural cold. The kind that seeped not just into skin and muscle, but into the soul.
Kaelen blinked, but nothing greeted him. No light. No ground. No sky. Just endless darkness.
"Where… where am I?" he asked, voice breaking. "Why is it so dark? Dad… where are you? Please… come get me. I'm scared…"
His legs buckled. He collapsed to the invisible floor, sobbing like a lost child.
"Please… don't leave me here..."
---
"Huff...Huff... !!"
Kaelen woke up, drenched in sweat, gasping like a drowning man. His heart thundered. For a moment, he thought he was still dead until he realized…
He was in a room of pure white. Blank walls. Sheets. Curtains. The sterile scent of healing salves and rich mana density.
And yet…
He couldn't move.
Not a finger.
"Am I dead...?" he whispered. But then a stabbing pain shot through his back. "No no… I'm alive. Definitely alive."
He squinted, trying to recall, What happened?
The memories flooded back like a dam breaking.
The monsters.
The fire.
Jered.
"AAGGHHH...!!" Kaelen cried out, in pain as his memories resurged.
"Jered! Jered, where are you?! Are you okay?! Please say something!"
---
"Shut the fuck up, you little punk. Can't you see a patient is sleeping here?"
Kaelen blinked.
That voice.
Rude and unpleasant yet very familiar.
His eyes darted across the room and there, three meters away, lay Jered on another cot, wrapped in bandages like a broken scarecrow. His body was missing parts. Left arm, both legs and some fingers.
Yet his eyes were open.
And his mouth was, as usual, busy cursing.
"Thank the gods… you're still alive, Jered!" Kaelen broke into a relieved smile, not caring how bad he looked or sounded.
"Oh, so I should've died instead? You bastard." Jered shot back with a glare.
Moments ago, he'd been having the best dream, he was back home, sprawled on a silken mattress, with Elfalene-sensei feeding him honeyed fruits and caressing his hair.
Then this damn idiot had to scream and wake him up.
"Where are we?" Kaelen asked, trying to sit up only to find himself completely paralyzed. "Wait… I can't move! Jered, I… what's happening?! Jered!.
"Jered this, Jered that.' Gods, shut up!" Jered growled. "You're like a broken golem core."
But he sighed and remembered to answer the question, "We're in the academy's infirmary, dumbass. And yes have you ever seen a spineless person move" then he continued "your spine was snapped in two like a brittle twig."
"Are you calling me spineless now?!" Kaelen barked. "If I could move, I'd come over there and break your jaw!"
"Oh-ho? Are you challenging me, Kaelen Maglor?" Jered grinned wickedly, fire flashing in his eyes. "Just you wait till I recover. I'm gonna finish what the monsters started."
"Try it. I dare you."
Despite their injuries. Despite the fact that they were on death's doorstep just a few days ago they were arguing like they always did.
Brothers, not by blood, but by bond.
---
The truth was they were both beyond saving.
Kaelen's spine had been completely crushed by the bird-like monster's final attack; he was now paralyzed from the waist down.
Jered had fared no better. His left arm was torn off, both of his legs were shredded, and two fingers on his right hand had been crushed into paste. The teachers had found them in pools of blood, broken and barely breathing.
No one believed they'd survive.
And yet
Here they were.
Cursing. Arguing. Laughing. And still alive.
"Hey," Kaelen suddenly asked, voice softer. "What happened? After I… you know. Got hit?"
Jered turned his head away.
Silence.
Kaelen frowned. "Jered?"
"…You almost died," Jered finally muttered. "You were on the ground. Broken. Not breathing. That thing it was about to finish you off. I couldn't move, but I screamed. I thought I lost you."
He swallowed hard. "I don't know what saved us. Maybe dumb luck. Or the gods had mercy. Or maybe Elfalene-sensei really did arrive. All I remember after that was blacking out."
Kaelen looked at the ceiling. "...Thanks. For protecting me."
Jered snorted. "Don't get all mushy. I'd do it again. Not for you, but for the XP."
They both laughed.
It hurt. But it felt good as they were still alive.
---
And outside that infirmary, behind a thick mana-sealed door, stood Vasra, arms crossed, his stern face stone-cold with fury.
He had found them almost too late.
And now… someone would pay.
Because what attacked them after the monsters almost killing them, was not part of the test.
It was something else.
Something worse.
Something intentional.