— It was already nighttime, and with Kaelen asleep, a deep silence filled the room, leaving Oberon even more anxious about the experiment he was eager to perform. He stared at the Quist for a long moment —
As Grandpa always said, if you don't do it today, it'll be harder tomorrow.
— And as if compelled by an unseen hand, Oberon swallowed the Quist with some difficulty; you could see it sliding down his throat —
Okay, if I remember correctly, the next step Krax mentioned…
—Obi assumed a meditative posture. It wasn't that it was the best position, nor because Krax had recommended it; he simply thought that since the Quists were of Eastern origin, it would be better to adopt a posture more in that style.
Silently, he began to reflect on Krax's words, digesting the pearl he had eaten using his Malice—but inwardly. With that advice, he began to concentrate, aiming to surround the Quist with Malice to dissolve it. A chill ran through his body, starting at his fingertips and moving toward his abdomen; it was in that area that Oberon began to feel the heat rising. His expression revealed a clenched jaw that signaled his determination and narrowed eyes that showed his concentration; his breathing became ragged, and beads of cold sweat ran down his forehead. He was enduring a heat that burned his abdomen, processing that pain internally so it wouldn't affect the outcome of his experiment, while the temperature in his limbs dropped. He continued like this for half an hour until he finally stopped feeling the Quist in his abdomen, releasing his relief with a deep sigh as he lay down on the ground —
"Finally. That was exhausting. I didn't think digesting a cyst would be this grueling."
— Obi took another Quist from his bag, examining it as he lay there —
"I don't feel much difference. There's still time before we leave for Fantasis. I'll try to digest one or two Quists a day. I hope I get used to that heat."
— Oberon put the Quist back in his bag, getting up to head to the bed he shared with Kaelen. His gaze already showed his frustration at seeing that Kaelen had taken up all the space —
Sure, let the injured one sleep on the floor.
— And so the night ended, with Oberon sleeping on the wooden floor, using a blanket to warm his cold limbs.
Morning came again, but this time it was Kaelen who wanted to wake Oberon. Yet as he approached, he saw that Oberon was already awake, with dark circles under his eyes and a tired look on his face —
"I didn't know you were a morning person."
"I'm not."
— Obi replied, for whom simply getting up off the floor was an exhausting task. They went to wash up, then went downstairs, finding no one on the floor this time —
That's strange; they should have woken up by now.
"If you're looking for the blonde girl and the guy with the red streaks, they left a moment ago. They said you could have whatever you wanted and that they'd pay later."
— said the chambermaid, inviting Kaelen and Oberon to sit down for breakfast. Obi didn't think twice and simply sat down across from Kaelen —
"What are you going to have, Kaelen?"
"I want to try the croissants; they look delicious."
— The two fell silent, waiting for their orders, though the one who seemed most lost in thought was Oberon —
Where could they be? Why did they leave without even telling us? Well, it doesn't matter; I know we're part of Elena's plans. They'll be back sooner or later.
— Their orders arrived: hot chocolate for a pensive Oberon and two croissants for Kaelen. The latter wasted no time, digging into one the moment his plate touched the table —
"It's fluffy, a little disappointing. I imagined something sweeter."
— Kaelen said as he looked at Obi's cup —
"Too bad for you; I'm not giving you any of my hot chocolate."
— And so the morning continued, with breakfast in a perfectly normal atmosphere.
After finishing his meal, Oberon got up from the table and headed toward the exit —
"Where are you going?"
"Neither Krax nor Elena are here, so I'm going to take the day off. I'll find out a little about the tower; see you this afternoon."
— Caelum-Vena was as cheerful as ever. Obi went to the shops to see how people worked, and it wasn't much different from what he'd seen in his past life. Still, the absence of Elena—but especially of Krax—led him into a long period of deep reflection —
Elena and Krax are too busy to be wasting time walking around the city, especially Elena. Since we arrived, I've only seen her in the morning and in the afternoon, which makes it even stranger that she wasn't there for breakfast. something is going on in this city, something important and dangerous enough for Elena to go with Krax. The problem is that even if I wanted to know what it is, I have no idea where to start my search.
— Obi just kept walking the streets of Caelum-Vena, looking for the slightest clue about Krax and Elena. He went on like this for two hours, with the only result being that he ended up in a pretty run-down part of town —
"No matter where you are, there's always dirt to sweep under the rug,"
— he said as he surveyed the area. He entered an alley, venturing deeper into the foul-smelling area —
"Lucky for me I don't have a good sense of smell; Kaelen would have collapsed from the stench."
And with good reason—the place was disgusting, nauseating, with insects and rats scurrying all over the alley where he was walking, still, what surprised me most was the silence; there was no one else around but me. It wasn't exactly scary, but it's true to say it did worry me. It must surely be a lawless area with rival factions and all that stuff I've seen on my shows—how I'd love to be in front of my TV right now…
— Oberon stopped abruptly when he saw a figure running toward him frantically. His right hand was already behind his belt, ready to grab his axe, as he realized that the man running toward him was a guy who looked like he was on the verge of death —