Dranus (02) 050. Cough!
*Cough!* With a short cough, a small pill popped out. Kalen swiftly snatched the pill hurtling through the air. When he fed it back to her, he was far more careful. He made sure she swallowed it slowly and naturally with water. It was a pill crafted by Eustio Tide—to ease the searing pain in Kalen's heart—but since the symptoms were so similar, he'd given her the same one. Kalen, who'd been taking them for years now, knew the routine better than anyone.
He somehow managed to get Sinat to swallow it. Her deeply furrowed brow relaxed a bit, offering a glimmer of hope. But it was just a fleeting sign. She still hadn't woken from her slumber.
Sleep and erosion. Those were the names they'd given to Sinat's current state. Sleep for the unnatural condition that wasn't true sleep—she seemed awake yet wasn't. And erosion for the bizarre black patterns devouring her existence like some ravenous beast.
This was all while they hoped the pill from Eustio would bring temporary relief. While Blamia, now recovered, rummaged through ancient tomes. Kalen hadn't left Sinat's side for a moment.
The first time she took the pill and her condition briefly improved, she'd whispered Kalen's name in a faint murmur. That single word had turned into a quagmire, binding everything about him to her side. And truthfully, it wasn't far off. In Kalen's own mind, before meeting Eliana and Selasier, his life had been filled with things tied to Sinat.
Now, he stared at the erosion creeping slowly past her right arm. All he knew for certain was its strong connection to Sinat's spirit—that former monster. Nothing else. But it was clear that if this erosion consumed her entire body, something terrible would happen.
As the erosion advanced, Sinat's condition deteriorated rapidly. That was why Blamia had started scouring the tomes. They'd found clues about the Spirit Lords in those same books, so maybe there'd be hints about Sinat's state too.
Kalen had tried everything he could think of. His greatest hope had been drawing out her mental image. There'd even been a dizzying moment back then.
Drawing out a mental image could be seen as a form of magic, but that wasn't quite accurate. There was no such thing as a spell to manifest a mental image. It was simply calling it forth by fluidly manipulating mana, hence the label of "magic."
After all, no one used magic without mana, and even 1st Hierarchy magic stayed within that framework. But Kalen wielded magic without mana.
So it was hardly convenient—he couldn't just learn so-called "non-magic magic" like anyone else. In the end, with Blamia's help, he manifested his mental image.
But nothing happened as hoped. Kalen racked his brain until his head throbbed, and the conclusion he reached pointed straight to Sinat's spirit.
This was undoubtedly the danger it had foreshadowed. When he'd demanded details, it had carved a strange pattern on his back. That pattern resembled the one in Sinat's mental image, and his hunch was that a mental image had resolved a similar crisis before.
So he'd pinned his greatest hopes on it. Yet no noticeable change occurred.
And so time passed until now. The erosion's progress, and Eustio's estimate—Sinat had at most four days left. There was no more time to delay.
Kalen gripped the hand of the groaning Sinat tightly once more, then stood. He'd done his utmost best. Now it was time for the one method he hadn't tried—the only one left.
You've probably heard that when life hangs by a thread, or you're cornered without a shred of hope, people unleash power beyond their normal limits.
Kalen suddenly recalled those words.
"Close your eyes and recite the words I taught you."
As Sinat's condition worsened, his mind had pushed itself mercilessly. And the conclusion it finally reached was this: Learn Contract Attribute magic and probe the Spirit Realm.
Of course, there might be no connection at all. Spirit contracts couldn't overlap, and Sinat's spirit was exceptionally unusual. Even if Kalen mastered Contract Attribute magic and touched the Spirit Realm, it might lead nowhere.
But as he'd said—there were no other options. He'd exhausted every idea he could muster. This wasn't the time for hesitation.
Kalen closed his eyes quietly and began reciting the words Blamia had taught him in his mind.
Magic, or more precisely its attributes, were inherently hard to master in multiples. To be exact, it was closer to impossible. There was a reason for "aptitude attributes."
Mages were rare enough, making multi-attribute mages a joke. Mastering different attributes was like drawing entirely separate, complex blueprints simultaneously.
That's why those who walked the path of magic judged their aptitude and delved into just one. Even then, reaching high hierarchies was incredibly tough.
In that light, Kalen's conclusion raised questions. It was an obvious method anyone might think of seeing Sinat's state. Yet no one attempted it.
His decision rested solely on his unique constitution.
2nd HierarchyNature Attribute magic. 3rd HierarchyCombat Attribute magic. The spells he'd acquired dealing with Eliana and Selasier.
They should have clashed and shattered each other, but in Kalen, they coexisted without issue. Using 2nd Hierarchy Nature Attribute Frost Wind or 3rd Hierarchy Combat Attribute Icicle Spear felt perfectly natural.
In this extreme situation, there was good reason he'd thought of it as a "solution."
Following Blamia's teachings, stacking multiple attributes risked catastrophic mental damage. But Kalen was different. So he'd bet on that.
And now here he was. Not his aptitude attribute, so he'd crammed the theory as fast as possible. The moment he was ready to acquire Contract Attribute magic, he attempted it.
The last hope to save Sinat.
Blamia had tried to dissuade him at first. But after hearing Kalen's reasoning, he'd relented.
With all preparations complete, Kalen now just needed to maintain focus until his consciousness reached the Spirit Realm.
He suppressed his anxiety and tensed his closed eyes.
Was it the nerves? From tens of minutes to nearly two hours. No matter how hard he focused, he couldn't touch the Spirit Realm.
"Your head doesn't hurt or anything?"
Blamia's question brimmed with bewilderment. Kalen's state was far from failure.
Failing Contract Attribute magic brought a sharp sting as consciousness gradually returned—like hitting the Spirit Realm's wall and bouncing back. That's why broken focus and a dazed feeling signaled failure.
But Kalen's was clearly different. He maintained focus but couldn't reach it. A phenomenon full of mysteries, just like the man himself.
No matter how many tries, he stayed stuck.
Kalen clenched his fists, forcing his eyes shut tighter. And that's when it happened.
A dull throb—throb—from his back. The exact sensation when Sinat's spirit first marked him.
Sensing the anomaly, Kalen turned. And almost simultaneously,
"Grrk."
He spotted something that looked like a mass of inky darkness.
"...Karyong?"
A unique name mashing the first letter of his own name with the spirit's form. That's what Sinat had given her spirit.
But Sinat was now wandering the brink of death, lost in sleep. No situation to manifest her spirit.
In this incomprehensible turn, Kalen and Blamia stared blankly at the spirit.
How could it manifest without its contractor?
It was too coincidental. Kalen attempting Contract Attribute magic. The ambiguous non-failure. Sinat's spirit popping out.
The throb from his back just before. And finally, the contract pattern on Kalen's back—similar to Sinat's.
Putting it all together, Kalen had the wits and intuition. Before anything else could happen,
"Speak."
He seized the spirit in an instant.
"You know. That's why you warned me."
"Grrk."
His last hope, clinging like a lifeline. Whether coincidence or not, this sudden link. Kalen wasn't in the mood to let it slip.
The spirit wriggled in his grasp, then nodded once with a sigh-like rumble. It slipped free in some inexplicable motion.
"What are you—"
The spirit headed for Kalen's back.
Riiip—something tore, and Kalen felt a chill. His shirt ripped, letting in the air.
The spirit, whose manifestation method was unknown, pressed its head against Kalen's back. And with occasional tap, taps, it prodded the pattern as if speaking.
Unable to comprehend, Kalen furrowed his brow and started to turn.
That's when he sensed the oddity.
"...Master?"
Everything seemed frozen. Even Blamia stared motionlessly into space.
"Kalen."
At the same time, an unfamiliar echo from behind. He couldn't call it a voice because he'd heard this resonance once before.
"Save Sinat."
"Ugh!"
A small dragon stared clearly at him from where he'd turned. The pain curling in his head was familiar too.
"Can you do that?"
Each word—or mimicry of language—rang in his mind, churning his guts.
Kalen endured the agony and shot back.
"You... know where Sinat is?"
"The Betrayers' Tomb."
"What...?"
"Kalen."
He nearly retched but reined in his mind. The spirit gazed at him pityingly and continued.
"For Sinat... will you risk your life?"
"..."
It was all baffling. This sudden situation. The spirit's language-like gibberish.
Yet even so,
Kalen stayed calm.
"...Do you know how to save Sinat?"
"Yes."
That was the key. Kalen blinked a few times, steeling himself. Whatever it was, the spirit's words weren't to be taken lightly. His last hope hadn't abandoned him—he had to answer.
Kalen opened his eyes and met the spirit's gaze.
"Guide me. Now."