Chapter 30: Mana Core
The nurses, already frantic, had wasted no time. Their shouts for the Chief Doctor had quickly escalated to calls for the family. Moments later, the heavy doors at the end of the passage burst open, and the Sapphire family rushed in, their faces etched with horror.
Lady Sapphire, her elegant coiffure disheveled, gasped, her hands quickly flying to her mouth. "Evelina! My daughter! What is happening?!" Her voice was a choked sob as she rushed to Evelina’s side, falling to her knees, her hands hovering helplessly over her convulsing child.
Lord Sapphire, his face a grim of shock, followed closely behind, his usual composure utterly shattered. His eyes, usually so cold and calculating, were wide with a raw, paternal terror. "Alaric! What is this?! What has happening to my daughter?!"
Luminous, his eyes wide with fear, clung to Lady Sapphire’s skirts, whimpering softly. The cheerful, boy was gone, replaced by a terrified child.
Chief Doctor Alaric, his face still pale, quickly explained, his voice urgent. "My Lord, My Lady! She appears to have consumed a Knight’s Elixir! A highly concentrated one, by the looks of it! Her mana core is in severe distress, struggling to process the intense mana signature! It’s... it’s overwhelming her system!"
"Knights Elixir?!" Lord Sapphire asked, his voice filled with a new, chilling fury. His gaze snapped to the empty vial still clutched in Evelina’s hand, then to me, a flash of suspicion in his eyes. But his immediate concern for Evelina quickly overshadowed it. "Do something, Alaric! Anything! Save her!"
The medical staff moved with frantic efficiency, but their faces betrayed their desperation. Evelina’s screams continued, a relentless symphony of agony that tore at the heart. Lady Sapphire sobbed uncontrollably, stroking Evelina’s hair, whispering desperate reassurances that went unheard. Lord Sapphire stood over them, his hands clenched into fists, his face a mask of impotent rage and profound worry. Even Luminous, usually so oblivious, was weeping silently.
I stood there, a silent observer. was it my fault. All of it. I had seen the warning. I had known the danger. What if I had acted quicker? What if I had been more insistent? What if I had used ’Pause & Observe’ and snatched the elixir from her hand, regardless of the risk to my own identity? Maybe she wouldn’t be in this agonizing state. Maybe her mana core wouldn’t be on the verge of collapsing. Maybe she wouldn’t be screaming like this. The thought gnawed at me, a relentless tormentor. My choices, my inaction, had led to this.
The guilt was a heavy, suffocating air, pressing down on me. I tired, but I couldn’t bear to watch her suffer, couldn’t bear to face the raw grief of the Sapphire family, knowing I was partly to blame. I turned, my legs feeling heavy, and stumbled out of the medical passage, seeking refuge from the agonizing scene.
I found myself in one of the manor’s gardens, the night air cool and crisp against my skin. I walked aimlessly, my mind a whirlwind of self-recrimination and desperate hope. Can she survive? Can she recover from this?
I eventually found myself near a small, secluded fountain, its gentle gurgle the only sound in the vast quiet of the garden. A lone figure was standing there, a guard, his back to me, gazing out at the moonlit trees. He was one of the older guards, his hair streaked with gray, his posture relaxed.