ThatHumanMage
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140. The Withering
🕑 Added 2025-06-28 04:10:15 +0000 UTCAfter all, you won’t need to worry about refilling your mana quickly if you never run out!
Wyn sighed, kicking a small pebble down the street. It was good advice, and he appreciated Eryndor for showing him how to expand his reserves, but it didn’t really help him now. Spirit fire kept his body and mind fresh, but after even just a few hours of training, his aura reserves were low enough that the spirit knight had recommended he take a break to replenish them.
So he was walking through Liresil, eyeing the food stalls for something to eat, his mind wondering how much stronger Corrin was getting while he wasted time.
That’s not fair, Eia consoled him as he complained to her. You train more efficiently thanks to spirit fire anyways. And besides, you humans have to eat!
Obligingly, he purchased a few kebabs from one of the stalls and continued to wander.
The Sepal, Viresa, hadn’t shown up even into the afternoon. Eryndor had said it wasn’t entirely unusual, since her duties to the Ecclesia would end in the early evening, but he still seemed a little surprised she hadn’t dropped them to meet with him.
Wyn wasn’t sure what Eryndor’s role was here, but if a third class spirit knight like Tor had been sent to deal with the colossus, then sending a second class spirit knight must mean it was a bigger deal than that. But then again, Tor had been sent with soldiers, and then recruited from the local area as well, so maybe not?
To send a second class spirit knight though, must at least mean it was more important. Right?
Maybe I should just look for a hospital around here. That’ll take my mind off things.
Eia’s thought back was dry. Only you would consider something like that a relaxing break.
Wyn did smile a little at that. He could admit it might’ve been weird, but doing something he knew was helpful, some real good, just helped him feel better.
He turned down another side street, chewing slowly through his last kebab. He passed beneath a dangling canopy of tree branches, the soft-filtered sunlight playing tricks with the light on the cobblestone.
And then, as he swallowed the final bite, he saw a truly tragic sight, one that almost anyone could recognize.
There, to the side of the street, stood a young girl. She looked as though she was about ten years old, with brown hair styled into two braids that fell to her shoulders. As her head swiveled right, left, then right again, Wyn caught sight of her anxiety-filled eyes, and she looked only moments away from tears.
Wyn looked around—no adult present—this child was hopelessly lost. He guessed she’d gotten separated in the busy marketplace, and stumbled into the quieter side street after being overwhelmed.
Without a thought, he walked over and knelt down in front of her. The girl, who’d been looking down with her teary eyes, looked up, a flicker of hope as she no doubt thought she’d been found by the person she was looking for. When she realized he wasn’t that person, her face fell a bit more, but Wyn just smiled.
“Are you lost?” He asked. “Where are your mother and father? Aren’t they with you?”
The girl’s eyes welled up again, and she shook her head pitifully.
“I was—” she sniffled, “here with my big sister and—she told me to hold her hand—but I let go and then—I…”
Her sniffling grew too great for the rest to be intelligible, but Wyn had already gotten the gist.
Eia, a little help here?
His partner, who’d been drifting along nearby, swooped in from one of the rooftops, hovering in front of the little girl’s face. Eia could hide herself completely if she wanted to, and she could reveal her real form to people, like she had with Kei and Wyn. But she could also appear as the small orb of light, as she’d appeared to Wyn before his awakening. Thus, she did so now, hovering in circles around the little girl, a glimmering light reflected in the watery surface of her eyes. The sniffling girl wiped her eyes and stared as Eia flew loops in the air.
“This is my friend,” Wyn said softly. “She’ll help us find your big sister, okay? Can you tell me your name?”
“T-Tine.”
“T-Tine?” Wyn repeated, a faint smile on his lips. “That’s a strange name.”
“No! Just Tine! Is… is that spirit really your friend?”
“Yep!” Wyn gave Tine a pat on the head, and it seemed the trick with Eia had helped calm her anxiety. “Her name is Eia, and she’s a very helpful spirit. Do you think you can show us where you got lost?”
Wyn held out his hand, and with a little hesitation, she grabbed it. It was then that he noticed something strange. The girl was wearing longer sleeves, odd considering the heat, and as she grabbed his hand, the sleeve fell down her arm a bit. About halfway up her arm, just below her elbow, the skin was black, like some sort of necrosis, though it didn’t look dead. Maybe it was some strange tattoo?
He ignored it for the moment, and led her into the street, before letting her try and find her way back where she’d come.
It seemed that once Tine calmed down, she was better able to make sense of her surroundings, as she soon led them back the way she’d come.
“This is it!” she said excitedly as pointed to a nearby flower stand. “It was… I wanted to see the flowers…”
She trailed off, and for a second it seemed like she was going to start crying again, but Wyn squeezed her hand.
“It’s all right, we’re going to find your—”
“Pervert kick!”
Something slammed into his back, and Wyn found himself flying across the pavement, rolling a good ten feet and smashing through a wooden sign before finally coming to a stop, dazed and confused by the unexpected blow.
What the hell just hit me?
As he slowly pushed himself up, groaning, he turned to see his attacker, a young girl—about his own age—standing protectively in front of Tine. Her striking lilac hair was loosely tied back, and her sparkling blue eyes, like the surface of a crystalline lake, glared at Wyn from across the street, holding her hands in what might have been a fighting stance, if it wasn’t so terribly… terrible.
Just like Tine, she was wearing longer sleeves than most would have in the hot weather. But unlike Tine, he didn’t see black skin where the sleeves had sagged due to her holding her hands up. Instead, her arms seemed to be wrapped in bandages.
“Are you okay Tine?” She asked, not taking her eyes off of Wyn. “I told you to hold my hand! And you should know better than to go off with strangers!”
“Big sis!” Tine cried out, tugging at the girl’s arm. “Wait, he was just helping me! I got lost and he was helping me find you!”
At the frantic words, the girl stiffened, her sharp expression falling as she turned, mechanically, towards Tine’s pleading face.
“Oh. He was… helping you?”
Tine nodded, and the girl slowly turned back to Wyn, chuckling awkwardly.
“Ah… oops,” the girl said, rubbing the back of her neck. "I may have jumped to conclusions.”
Wyn brushed a few wooden splinters from his shoulders as he stood up. “You think?”
The girl had grown visibly red, and Wyn dramatically stretched his sore back for her to see.
“Let’s see. I don’t think I broke any ribs, but I’m not sure…”
As she stood there mortified, Tine tugged her arm. “Big sis, say sorry!”
“I’m so sorry!” the girl said quickly. “I thought—well I guess I didn’t think. But I was just so worried about Tine and then you were just some random guy walking with my little sister in the street and my feet just sort of… moved.”
“Yeah, right into my spine,” Wyn said dryly.
The girl winced. “Right, that. Are you okay?”
He raised an eyebrow, amused despite the slight ache he felt. “I just got kicked ten feet across the street.”
She let out a soft groan and covered her face with her hand. “I swear I’m not usually so violent.”
Wyn laughed. “I’d hope not. But I’ll forgive you just this once, since you were trying to protect your little sister.”
She peeked at him through her fingers, slightly mollified. “Still, I’m so sorry. Really, are you okay?”
“I’m fine,seriously. You really shouldn’t do that, but I’ve been hit harder before…”
He left out the fact that the only things to ever hit him so hard were Corrin, Tor, and the freaking leviathan. What the hell was that kick? He was pretty sure if a normal person had taken the same blow, they would’ve been seriously injured.
There was a beat of silence. Tine looked between the two of them, confused. The girl blushed. Then, she slapped her cheeks twice, and he stood a little straighter.
“So,” she finally said, clearing her throat. “I’m Sadirah. I guess I should thank you for helping my little sister.”
“Wyn,” he replied, holding out a hand, which she shook tenderly. “And there’s no thanks necessary, I couldn’t not help.”
Sadirah glanced down at her sister, brushing one of the girl's braids behind her ear. “Next time don’t wander off missy.”
“I wanted to see the flowers…” Tine muttered guiltily.
“They’re very pretty flowers,” Wyn said. “But next time just ask your sister to let you see them, yeah?”
“Okay…”
Sadirah’s gaze drifted back to him, lingering for a while longer, but then, she took Tine’s hand and turned to walk away.
“Thank you, truly. I’m sorry I kicked you.”
“Thank you nice mister!” Tine smiled and waved.
As he looked at their clasped hands, Wyn’s mind was drawn to their arms. He couldn’t see them now, either of them, but he had seen them. Perhaps it wasn’t his place, but…
“Excuse me,” he said.
They both turned, Sadirah raising an eyebrow.
“Forgive me for asking. But, I noticed her arm... Is it all right?”
Sadirah’s smile vanished. Her eyes dropped to Tine’s arms, where the black rot lay like a festering mold beneath her sleeves. She sighed. “It’s a disease called The Withering. It’s not contagious, so do not worry.”
“I wasn’t worried for my own sake,” Wyn shook his head. “I have a blessing that can cure some ailments. If you’d like, I could try to use it on this ‘Withering’, see if it works?”
Both of their heads shot up at his words. Tine looked at him in wonder, then her eyes drifted to Eia, still visible floating somewhere in the air behind him.
Sadirah didn’t have some awed look in her eyes, but they widened a little all the same. Seemingly without thinking, she rubbed both her arms, feeling at the bandages that wrapped around both of them. Her mouth opened, then closed again, as she struggled to say something back.
Tine stepped forward though, her little hands balled into hopeful fists.
“Can… Can we try? I want to get better if I can.”
Wyn looked at Sadirah questioningly. She looked down, her eyes unreadable. Finally, after a long moment, she nodded.
“Please. Let’s try.”
They moved off to a quieter spot, in the shade beneath one of the larger trees lining the street. Wyn knelt across from Tine and took her hands in his. Eia floated beside him, softly pulsing with light.
“Don’t worry, it shouldn’t hurt one bit,” he smiled.
He breathed in slowly, and let his flames flow through his hands into hers.
The reaction was immediate. Tine gasped, letting out a groan of pain as the blackened parts of her skin suddenly blazed with the lavender flames of spirit fire.
Wyn yanked his hands back, severing the connection immediately as Tine recovered, breathing heavily.
“You said it wouldn’t hurt!” Sadirah shouted accusingly, sticking herself between the two of them once more.
Eia, what just happened? Wyn asked, his hands trembling.
I… I don’t know.
“I’m sorry I—I’m not sure what happened,” Wyn apologized. “It’s never caused anyone pain before!”
“Wait sis.” Tine’s voice came quietly from behind her sister. “Look at my arms.”
Sadirah turned, and Time pulled back her sleeves. The black rot had retreated a few inches, burned away, leaving only smooth, healthy skin in its place.
“No way…” Sadirah stared, reaching out hesitantly towards Tine’s arm.
“It doesn't hurt either,” Tine shook her head. “It only hurt while the flames were burning.”
A tear slipped down Sadirah’s cheek. She didn't notice until it dropped to the ground, then seemed surprised as she wiped her face dry. She turned to Wyn, her eyes wide.
“It really worked…”
“Yeah it—”
She seized his shoulders, breathless. “It really worked!”
“I’m glad that—”
“Do it again!” Her voice cracked. “Heal her! Please heal Tine!”
Her eyes were pleading as she desperately clutched at Wyn’s arms, her grip so strong that it almost hurt—he wasn’t sure he could pull away even if he wanted to.
But he just smiled, and placed his hand atop hers. Her breath caught, and her grip loosened. He looked at Tine, who had pulled her sleeves all the way up to stare at her arms, a huge smile on her face.
“Are you okay Tine? If you want to keep going, we can.”
“Yes!” The little girl agreed immediately. “It doesn’t hurt that bad!”
Wyn nodded, and as Sadirah finally let him go, he held out his hand again. Tine reached for it, but her fingers hesitated, pulling back just before contact. Of course, she was still a child, and pain was hard to willingly accept.
“Do you want your sister to hold your hand?” Wyn asked. “Would that help you be brave?”
“I think so…” she held out her other hand, and Sadirah took it gently.
Tine finally touched Wyn’s hand, squeezing her sister’s tightly, and Wyn began to let the spirit fire flow.
As the black once again ignited, Tine winced, breathing through her teeth. Her grip tightened around Wyn's fingers as the strain of purification hit him.
It wasn't crushing, but it was heavy enough that Wyn's vision grew a bit hazy at the edges, and he had to focus his breathing. But he kept going, and the flames licked higher up her arm, traveling to her shoulder, and then down to her chest.
With one final push, the strain dissipated, and the flames vanished from sight as the last of the black was purged. His breathing grew easier, and Tine's eyes grew clear as she finally felt the revitalization of spirit fire.
Wyn pulled away, falling back on his hands, panting as sweat beaded on his forehead.
Harder than a common illness, but not as bad as Lilian’s was at the outset, he decided. Is it because I’ve gotten stronger? Or because the disease isn’t as bad?
He wasn’t sure, but as Tine pulled her head out of her shirt, she turned to Sadirah, laughing. “It’s gone! It’s all gone!”
Without any other words, Sadirah pulled the girl into a tight, smothering hug, mumbling words Wyn couldn’t make out as a few more tears slipped out.
Wyn watched as he caught his breath, satisfied. It really had helped him feel better, and why wouldn’t it?
After a few minutes of crying and hugging, Sadirah wiped her tears away, still holding onto Tine’s hand and turned to face Wyn. She took a deep breath, like she was gathering resolve.
“I have—I have other siblings with the same disease. Do you think you could—?” She suddenly seemed nervous to ask, her eyes darting between Wyn’s face and the ground.
He held up his hands. “I might need a break before I do. That takes it out of me. But I’d be happy to try.”
Tension drained from her shoulders as she let out a shuddering sigh of relief. “Thank you.”
“I um, couldn’t help but notice your arms as well,” Wyn said, gesturing to the bandages that wrapped tightly all the way down to her wrists.
“Ah,” Sadirah rubbed them nervously, a delicate smile on her face. “I’m not sick, this is something else. Really it's fine.”
“If you say so,” Wyn let the subject drop, but his eyes lingered on the bandages a moment longer until Sadirah pulled the sleeves all the way down, covering them completely.
“Alright, let's go right away.” Sadirah grabbed Tine’s hand and started to walk down the street.
“But, don’t we still need food for dinner?” Tine asked.
Sadirah halted in place. She turned to Wyn, chuckling awkwardly. “I suppose you have to keep eating no matter what huh? Are you in a hurry?”
Wyn glanced up at the branches above, and took a deep breath. He thought for a moment of the training at Eryndor’s estate, and the meeting with the Sepal. Well, his aura reserves were still relatively low, so there wasn’t any harm in relaxing a little longer. He could just make up for it later.
“Not particularly.” He smiled. “I think you might also owe that shopkeeper some money,” he gestured to the storefront with the wooden sign he’d broken. Thankfully it seemed the owner hadn’t noticed yet, so they could get ahead of the issue and offer to fix it before he got mad. “You were the one who kicked me into it after all.”
Sadirah winced as she looked at the sign and realized the damage her kick had caused. Her face fell as she checked her pouch. “I only brought enough money for the food we needed…”
Wyn took out his own coin pouch, taking a few copper from within. “You can just pay me back then.”
“I couldn’t ask you to do that!” Sadirah protested. “Just curing Tine already gives me a greater debt to you than I could ever repay!”
Wyn shook his head. “I didn’t do that for free, I got something out of it myself. Yes, I’m still learning about my powers, so in that way, you were just helping me practice.”
“But that’s—” Sadirah sputtered. “You can’t be serious…”
“Fine fine, treat me to some of that dinner you’re making and we’ll call it even.”
She started to say something, but stopped herself. She looked at Tine, then back up to Wyn, then over to the wooden sign. She was getting visibly flustered, and Wyn couldn’t help but smile faintly at her expression.
After so much struggle, she only had one resigned question. “Are you sure?”
He shrugged. “Why not? I’m sure I’ll be hungry after treating your siblings. How many do you have by the way?”
Sadirah smiled sheepishly. “Twenty-four.”
Wyn rubbed his ears. “Could you say that again for me?”
“Twenty-four.”
He blinked. “Oh.”
At that moment, Wyn thought he might have undercharged.
******
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[A/N:
This week/chapter was just kind of a nightmare. Had to pick up an extra shift at work, which messed up my normal writing schedule, and for reasons I can't get into, this chapter was very difficult to plot and write, and this is only about half of what I originally had planned.
Frankly, I wanted to write a lot more here, cause if I'm gonna be late, I might as well release a big chapter, but I think it's just cope at this point. This arc has proven very difficult, as it's just way more complex than anything else I've written before, which has really slowed me down, as certain things that I thought I'd write that just didn't work how I wanted them to once I actually got there, and I really have to think about how all the different characters will be interacting throughout the arc, which changes as I refine the themes and developments I want to explore.
Now, this might sound like it's building up to a delay announcement, but it's not. It's an explanation, and more importantly, it's an apology. For myself, for the story, and especially for you guys, who are kind enough to support me on Patreon, I really want to deliver a better experience. So thank you for your support, and I'm sorry that it's been so scuffed on my end. But I'm done with it, and I'm fixing it.
That's a promise. I'll see you on Sunday.
]
Comments
LOLZMAN
OH No Sadirah you got to live your now Wyn's first love interest
Caleb Jones
I had fun reading this chapter, I didn’t really mind it being short. Keep up the good work!
