Curing Vivian's Heart
I figured we'd naturally head to the underground workshop, but for some reason, Olivia stepped out of the classroom.
I followed quietly behind her, and we were heading toward the Prism main building.
"Aren't we going to the workshop in the basement?"
"Can't use that place anymore. It's completely sealed off."
"Because of the dean?"
"Yeah. Thanks to a certain cadet."
Olivia glared at me with blazing eyes before dragging me past the Prism main building and into the large structure next to it.
Each instructor had their own private office prepared there.
We entered the one with a nameplate reading Olivia Sangri.
"What? You already have a private office here?"
"Can't do anything real in a place like this. It's missing key elements."
"Is that so?"
It was definitely narrower than the secret underground workshop, but it seemed to have everything it needed.
Olivia eyed the new workshop with dissatisfaction—maybe she sensed some difference only she could feel—before opening a drawer and pulling something out.
She handed it to me, and it was a few sheets of paper.
"Explaining it verbally would be hard to grasp, so I organized it into documents. Take a look."
I flipped through the papers.
They were densely packed with content that was nearly impossible to decipher.
Even organized into documents, it was just as hard to understand.
If anything, seeing it on paper made it even more confusing.
"Could you maybe summarize it a bit more simply?"
"How much simpler than this? Hmm..."
Olivia fell into thought.
Explaining the complex simply is tough, after all.
I hadn't asked for anything easy, so I could wait patiently.
I fiddled with the workshop's experimental tools, checking them out, when Olivia finally finished pondering.
"Hmm... I see. To put it simply, Thousand Changes is a substance from the conceptual realm."
"Pardon? What does that..."
"You can clearly see it with your eyes and touch it with your hands right now, but its essence is different. This material seems to project the user's mental image."
She said something I'd never heard before.
Project the mental image?
"What I figured out was that Thousand Changes changes based on the image in my mind."
"Image in your mind? You could put it that way, simply speaking. That's the key point. It's not just changing the appearance—you can alter its very essence."
"Got it."
Olivia had reached the same conclusion as me.
To research something she couldn't even use to this extent... Olivia was impressive as always.
"Thanks, Olivia."
"This is nothing."
After that, Olivia started sharing her research results on Thousand Changes with me.
But my mind was elsewhere.
Focusing on Thousand Changes, I'd forgotten something.
Thousand Changes was also the medium for my abilities.
Which meant...
I imagined my right hand turning into Thousand Changes.
At that instant, the lower part of my right wrist completely vanished.
"Ah! Your hand!"
My right hand moved sluggishly, like it was submerged in water.
I swung my arm, and something caught on my invisible right hand.
I returned my hand to normal.
The hand that had gripped something held nothing.
A thought flashed through my mind.
"Didn't your hand just disappear?"
"How does this hand look to you?"
I imagined turning my hand into Thousand Changes again and asked Olivia.
"I don't see anything?"
"Focus. Think of it like mana."
"Hmm... Ah!"
Olivia concentrated on my hand and let out a small gasp.
She looked like a kid who'd spotted something fun.
"Your hand looks a bit transparent. What the hell is this?"
"This is my ability."
"I thought creating Thousand Changes was the ability?"
"That's a bonus. The real base is this."
"Fascinating..."
Olivia kept observing my hand in wonder.
She reached out to grab it, but her hand passed right through.
"Olivia, you said before that Vivian's heart has a mana generation organ attached, right?"
"That kid from before? Yeah. No idea what heteromorph race's heart it is, though."
"What if we just remove the mana generation organ attached to the heteromorph heart?"
"If it's severed from the source, it might be fine. But removing part of the heart itself sounds tricky, doesn't it?"
"No problem there. As long as we sever the connection to the source, right?"
"Exactly. That should solve the kid's issue."
It felt like we had a solution.
This could... save Vivian.
By the time I reached the dorm, I'd rechecked my abilities.
Blockade severs the mana linking the source and heart, then excise the mana generation organ.
Fill the resulting hole in the heart with Thousand Changes, heal it with Healing, and fix it in place with Fixation.
This was possible now that I knew I could send my right hand into the conceptual realm.
One lingering worry, though...
I added Penetration to my abilities. That should let me reach the heart without any risk of injury.
And if any damage occurred, Healing could fix it.
This should do it.
I took a deep breath and opened the dorm's front door.
Vivian was sitting in her usual chair, staring at the entrance.
"I'm back, Vivian."
"Yeah."
With that, Vivian reached out her arms to me.
I scooped her up familiarly.
At some point, picking up Vivian like this as she waited had become routine.
I set the cradled Vivian down on the bed.
"How was today?"
"No different."
I pressed my ear to Vivian's chest.
Her heart was still beating erratically.
If things went as planned, this would all end today.
"Vivian, does it hurt here?"
"It's fine."
I couldn't tell if it hurt but was fine, or if it didn't hurt at all.
It had to hurt. With her heart pounding like that, how could it not?
Yet Vivian's expression was serene.
She must have grown used to the pain.
"Lie down straight on the bed?"
"Yeah."
I sat atop the prone Vivian, who was gazing at the ceiling.
Focusing my mind, I could see mana creeping out from her heart.
I thrust my now-invisible right hand into Vivian's heart.
"Ugh!"
Vivian's body jerked.
I gripped her trembling shoulders and pushed my hand deeper.
Through my hand, I felt something connected to Vivian's heart.
It was wrapped around it like tree roots.
"Ack! Urgh..."
A single tear streamed from Vivian's eye.
It hurt enough for tears, yet her cry ended there.
Seeing Vivian in pain fueled my growing anxiety.
Was I too hasty?
What if it goes wrong?
Wasn't there another way?
"Dojun..."
Vivian's faint voice snapped me back.
I turned to see her frowning up at me.
Her teary eyes met mine.
The more I hesitated, the greater her suffering.
I steeled myself.
I swiped my hand, tearing away the root-like mass.
They tried returning to their places in the heart.
Following with my hand, it passed naturally through the heart, touching only a portion.
I traced the boundary of the tactile section, separating it before grasping it firmly.
A light tug, but it was tightly bound and wouldn't budge.
I wrapped Thousand Changes around Vivian's heart.
"Vivian, this'll hurt a bit."
"Ugh... It's fine..."
Even then, Vivian didn't stop me.
I yanked my hand out with all my strength.
"Aaaah!"
Vivian screamed and lost consciousness.
In my hand was a chunk of red flesh.
Immediately after, red gunk erupted like a fountain from around Vivian's heart.
I kicked open the door to Olivia's workshop.
The door rattled and swung open with a thud.
"Olivia!"
"Wha? What... why?"
"Take a look at her!"
I thrust the cradled Vivian toward her.
Olivia, who had been handling tools, took Vivian in a fluster.
Vivian was quiet, deep in slumber.
"No visible wounds, but she won't wake up. Did something go wrong?"
"Hold on. Let me check."
Olivia examined Vivian closely.
Visual inspection, then levitating her with magic for another look, and a hands-on check before speaking.
"She's fine. No issues at all."
"Huh? Then why won't she wake up?"
"She's just in a deep sleep. Hasn't been sleeping well until now, right?"
Thinking back, yeah.
She'd fall asleep if laid down, but wake up almost immediately.
So... she's okay now?
All tension drained from my body, and I slumped to the floor.
Olivia handed Vivian back to me.
I took her and pressed my ear to her chest.
Vivian's heart beat steadily now.
Thousand Changes must be inside there.
Focusing, I could see something shimmering around her heart.
I hugged Vivian close.
I could almost hear her heartbeat.
"Thanks, Olivia."
"Knock next time before barging in. You scared me."
"Yeah, sorry."
"But hey, that kid... that's not it, right?"
"Not what?"
"Ah, never mind."
No idea what she meant.
Normally I'd pry, but Vivian came first right now.
Olivia could wait.
"I'll head out then. Thanks for today."
"Yeah, see ya."
"Lecture tomorrow too?"
"Ha... Obviously. Probably until the semester ends."
"Got it. Good luck."
"You mocking me?"
"Nah. Just reaping what you sowed."
I left Olivia, who looked like she had more to say, and carried Vivian back to the dorm.
A lot happened today.
But it all worked out...
Things should be fine from now on. They had to be.
I fell asleep holding Vivian.
For the next week, Vivian didn't wake.
I couldn't bear leaving her side, so I got permission from the instructors and stayed by her.
I even took her back to Olivia once, worried something was wrong, but she just asked stuff like, "Me or her—which is more important?"
I left the shocked Olivia and returned—a minor incident, but nothing else happened.
Today, as usual, I sat on the bed's edge, gazing at Vivian.
Maybe it was my imagination, but her sleeping face looked peaceful.
I poked her soft cheek like always, but today brought a different reaction.
Vivian furrowed her smooth brow and turned her head.
I gently smoothed it out with my finger, and finally, her eyes opened.
"You're awake?"
As I spoke, Vivian wriggled, trying to sit up—then froze.
She placed a hand on her chest.
"Vivian? What's wrong?"
"Doesn't hurt..."
Vivian murmured softly.
So it had hurt all this time.
Yet she'd hidden it from me.
I felt a pang of self-reproach for not noticing sooner when Vivian grabbed my hand.
"Thank you, Dojun."
She pulled my hand to her chest, smiling brightly.
It was the most radiant expression I'd ever seen on her.