Chapter 35: War Part 26 - Circulation
"Heal yourself, Lucian, and then we go again," Vorn said, his voice calm and cold. He stood at the edge of a shallow crater, peering down at Lucy, who lay sprawled on his back, surrounded by cracks in the obsidian.
Vorn's silhouette blocked the sun for a moment, casting a brief shadow over Lucy's face. Then he stepped back and lowered himself onto the blood-soaked black glass, sitting cross-legged like a monk in meditation. Sunlight blazed back into Lucy's eyes, forcing him to squint as the elf rested his chin against one hand, utterly relaxed.
Distant shockwaves rippled across the battlefield as titanic clashes between generals erupted like thunder. The tremors swept through the air, ruffling Vorn's neatly combed-back white hair—but he didn't flinch. He looked completely untouched, serene even.
The sight made Lucy's blood boil.
He hadn't landed a single meaningful blow. The old elf had danced around his attacks like they were child's play. Worse than the humiliation was the mercy—the deliberate decision to let Lucy live. He didn't understand why, which made it all the more infuriating.
Lucy gritted his teeth as he slowly lifted a trembling hand to his chest. Green light shimmered under his armor as he began to heal. Pain tore through him like a jagged blade. Bones snapped into place with a grinding crunch, and muscle fibers writhed as they pulled themselves back together, thread by thread.
'What a monster, he's even worse than I thought. I couldn't even track his movements, and I'm certain he hasn't used his ability yet. He's sparing me for what?
A bitter chuckle rose in his throat, but it came out as a tight grimace.
'Still, that's the only upside. He's unwilling to kill me. Maybe just maybe I'll survive this.'
His body was nearly healed, but it didn't feel right.
'"Healed" should be in quotation marks,' he thought. 'This isn't like when Alia does it. First off, this hurts ten times worse, and second, my bones don't feel solid—more like wet clay held together with spit.'