"A sword?" Stefan asked again.
Michael felt like his eyes were burning. He was on the verge of anger and sadness at the same time. The thought of Evelyn being lost and possibly broken terrified him. He needed to feel her again, he needed to feel her voice, that's been the only reason why he was here.
Stefan crouched down, pulling a sword under the bed. "We thought it was some scrap but it looked too clean for that. It's yours, right?"
Michael saw his hands were trembling as Stefan handed the sword over. She looked fine, apart from the streaks of ash, nothing seemed to be wrong with her. Michael placed his hand on the handle of the ego sword. He almost cried at the feeling of the bond.
He heard her again, the faint sniffles in his mind. She was scared to talk to him.
"Well, if it makes you happy," Stefan said. "The lich is dead. We've already processed the reward so you didn't have to wait. I think it's fair that you get a third of the sum, right?"
Michael didn't care about money or how Stefan chuckled. He felt like he was breathing easier just by holding Evelyn.
"To be fair, we covered your injury pay so you could stay here until you get right. I'm just curious how you managed to get that far with the lich. It even took us almost half an hour to take that beast down after you knocked out."
Michael stared at his sword.
"It takes a heavy party and a competent priest to at least stand a chance against a lich before they become dangerous. You slayed through its army before we even came then you survived, what looked to be, a fireball head-on. How does that work?"
He didn't want to answer him.
Stefan noticed his silence. "When they took you in the ward, even the nurse said your mana control wasn't even amateur level. You haven't even unlocked your mana at all. So a fireball, without any mana protection, would have exploded you into little bits and pieces."
He was still staring at his sword.
"Alright, kid," Stefan sighed, giving up his questions. "You're obviously still shaken up. I'll give you a minute to relax, okay? Sorry for prying into your secrets."
Michael watched him close the curtains behind him. Then he was alone in his own private section of the ward. There was a flash of light. The handle of the sword turned into the hands he knew to remember.
Evelyn hugged him. "I'm sorry…"
He heard her voice break.
"I'm sorry, Michael, please…"
Michael gently placed his hands on her back. She was crying on his shoulder, sobbing and sniffling away. He couldn't find the feelings to return to her. He was more disappointed in himself for having her cry. If he was stronger, none of this would have happened. But because he was careless and had almost gotten himself killed. None of this could have been blamed on Evelyn. She played her part as a sword, it was Michael that couldn't meet her expectations.
"What are you thinking," she held his hand. "Tell me."
He looked into her teary eyes. It only made him mad at himself more.
"Are you mad, Michael?"
"I'm sorry, Evelyn," he said with a low voice. "Please, could you stop crying?"
She rubbed her eyes with his shirt.
"It's not your fault, it never was. I'm the reason I was hurt."
"No," she slumped over to him. "I made you go on this quest. I just—wanted for you to use me. You've shown me so much fun, I thought I could at least help you with something of my own."
Michael studied her hand. "You told me that you hated being used for power."
Evelyn sniffled. "I thought you would enjoy the feeling of being strong."
"I do, but not like this. I won't get strong unless I train. Right now, I'm nowhere near that."
"I'm sorry—"
"No, stop," Michael pulled her away. "Stop saying sorry to me, Evelyn, none of this is your fault. I'll get stronger, I promise I will, and I'll be strong enough to protect the both of us. I won't let anything like this happen again."
She turned to the sounds of walking. Michael grabbed her hand and quickly transformed her back into a sword.
Stefan pulled away the curtain, peeking inside. "All good, kid? Can I talk to you about something?"
Michael nodded.
"Still holding onto that sword? You love it that much, huh?"
He was right. He loved Evelyn more than anything. Michael never knew the real meaning of love but if it meant protecting her then he's already gone past that value.
Evelyn wasn't just a sword to him anymore. She's become a person that he wanted to care for, to hear, and to feel. She's a treasure nobody else would have except Michael, and he wouldn't dare to ever lose her. But for any of his words to have meaning, he had to become stronger for her sake. He hated the sound of her crying and couldn't even bear the sight. Michael would make sure he wouldn't have to see her like that again.
Michael, the voice said, he's talking to you.
Michael snapped out of his thoughts, realizing how close Stefan's face was.
"You sure you're okay, kid?" Stefan frowned. "Do you need me to call someone?"
"No—I'm fine," Michael blinked away. "You wanted to talk to me?"
"That's right. I want to say how stubborn you are. You think what you want to think, you say what you want to say, and you do what you want to do."
Michael felt his head was being hammered.
"But I like stubborn people," Stefan said. "Stubborn people don't care about the rules. They would do anything in their mind if it meant achieving their insane goal. And that makes them dangerous."
"Are you still talking about me?"
"You got heart, kid, I admire that. So how about this, let's control that and turn it into a weapon. Join my party, kid, because I won't take no for an answer."
Michael stared at him. "What?"
"Stubborn, yes," he emphasized. "Join my party, because I'll knock you out if you make me ask again."
Michael thought he didn't have a choice. "Okay?"
"Great!" Stephan immediately clapped. "You won't regret this."
Wrong, the voice said, you're definitely going to regret this. You should have just picked the second choice.
Michael groaned. "My head already hurts enough."
"What?" Stefan turned. "What'd you say?"
"Uhh…" Michael watched as Evelyn appeared beside Stefan and punched him over and over with her ghost hands.
She yelled at him, called him names for threatening Michael and forcing him against his will. Michael even tried communicating with her in his mind that they probably needed to learn the ways as an adventurer but he imagined it would make things more complicated.
Michael had been traveling alone with Evelyn and careful that nobody would find out she was secretly a magical sword. It was easy enough to keep her hidden but now he has to maintain a constant watch in a party.
"Hey, I don't mean to ask," Stefan leaned back. "Where was that other girl you were with, back at the Adventuring guild? The bratty one that was beside you."
Michael wanted to say she was trying to strangle him right now. It was already weird enough watching her ghost move through living people.
"Kid, did you become deaf or something?"
"Sorry," Michael blinked harder. "She's…my friend from home. I wanted to take the quest so I could have the money to share with her."
"Does she know about this?" he gestured around Michael. "Does she know you almost died for a handful of coins?"
"Umm…no?"
"Then let's keep it that way, right? The more reason for you to join my party. I promise we can help you grow stronger so your little girlfriend wouldn't have to be worried. Doesn't sound too bad, huh?"
Michael nodded, watching Evelyn disappear through the air. She probably agreed on one thing that Stefan said.
"I'll be waiting," Stefan waved as he walked away. "Come and find me when you're okay again. I'll introduce you to everyone else."
Michael waved him goodbye back.
Are you going to tell them, the voice said, about me?
He thought about the idea of revealing an ego sword to a party of strangers. Michael didn't trust any adventurers to tell them about Evelyn. Knowing how noisy they possibly were, she wouldn't even be safe from anything. The moment they knew Michael had a magical sword that could give him powers, they would chase him down until the sword was theirs. He didn't like the sound of that reality.
You're going to keep me to yourself, the voice said, that's fine. Makes me sound more special.
She was special, Michael thought, and he only wanted her to have him.
Evelyn appeared in front of him. She hugged him with her ghost arms.
Michael also wished she could have done this for real. He honestly enjoyed her embrace whenever she was crying.
Evelyn laughed, flashing back into her physical body. "You're so stupid."
"How loud are my thoughts?"
"Loud enough." She hugged him again, dragging them back to the bed. Her warmth was something to get used to. Even if his ribs were aching when she wrapped her arms around his body, he thought it was a fair trade.