The Prince of Fireflies, Part 8
A few days after completing the vaccine. The clinic.
"Master. You've been taking your supplements regularly, right?"
The air in the clinic was sweltering with heat as always. My daily routine had not yet undergone any drastic changes. No matter how brilliant an invention, it takes time for the world to recognize it. Even Quinine and Insulin, which had shaken the Empire, took a full year to become widely distributed to the public. Let alone a vaccine, which isn't a medicine that shows immediate, visible therapeutic effects, but a preventive measure that 'keeps people from getting sick.' It would take at least two years to prove its true value.
Until then, it'll just be a repetition of the same old routine.
However, I knew better than anyone that this peaceful daily life would not last forever. Even more so than my master, who had made such a massive fuss on the day the vaccine was completed.
A vaccine, of all things.
If one were to name the GOAT in medical history, it would always stand shoulder-to-shoulder with antibiotics as a miracle of human history. The moment the existence and value of this vaccine are properly known to the world, I will no longer be able to remain a small primary care physician tucked away in a corner of the Limbus Pit. Whether it's the Imperial Court, the Magic Towers, or the high nobility—it's obvious that someone will scramble to put a leash on me.
Even if the world changes, my life as a salaried worker will probably stay the same...
Still, until then, I will continue to treat as many people as possible in the Limbus Pit. I'll accumulate as many clinical cases as possible, hand over whatever I can, and maybe drop by to show my face occasionally if I can. Making that quiet resolve to myself, I focused on today's patient.
"Master. I'm already administering the Dimercaprol to you periodically. What I'm asking is if you've been taking the two supplements I gave you without skipping a single dose."
At my persistent interrogation, the Great Sage, Louis Edelhardt, furrowed his brow.
"Yes. I am taking those medicines properly."
"No. Why do you think I specifically asked if you were taking 'both' of them? You didn't skip the other one, did you?"
"Bah! Of course I took them! Why must you nag so much!" My master raised his voice. "How many times have you asked this? Checking every single week. I haven't gone senile yet!"
"It's important, so I will keep asking."
"My ears are so calloused from your nagging that mushrooms are about to grow out of them. Stop asking."
"I cannot."
Of course, I thought I might be overdoing it. But this was the one thing I could not compromise on.
"In the treatment of chronic lead poisoning, taking only Dimercaprol can lead to disaster."
Medicine and poison are separated by a paper-thin margin. If the usage or dosage is even slightly off, a person can die in an instant. This was especially true for Dimercaprol, the lead poisoning treatment.
"Master, you have had lead accumulating in your bones for a whopping thousand years. Your condition is not something that can be cured by taking medicine for just a month or two."
Dimercaprol. It was a treatment made from eggs and garlic that I had given to my master. Formulated with the abundant sulfur found in eggs and garlic, this medicine had a high affinity for lead. Thus, once Dimercaprol entered the body, it dragged the lead accumulated in the bones out into the bloodstream. Once the lead was extracted, the Dimercaprol bound to it and was excreted through urine. This was the mechanism by which Dimercaprol treated lead poisoning.
The problem was that this medicine didn't just carry the lead out through urine.
"Unlike other medicines, Dimercaprol is a drug that can cross into the brain."
Dimercaprol also had an affinity for the brain. Therefore, the substance that was supposed to be excreted through urine would sometimes carry the lead straight into the brain instead. As a result, a catastrophic situation could occur where all the lead stored in the bones flooded into the brain.
To prevent this, I had prescribed two additional remedies.
"That's why I keep telling you that if you don't take this sour medicine and the pills together, you could be in serious trouble."
Specifically, citric acid and bear bile. These two remedies helped direct the Dimercaprol straight to the liver and urine instead of the brain. Because of these two, Dimercaprol could function as a medicine rather than a poison.
"So you must take them. Even if you were to stop the Dimercaprol treatment entirely, you must still take these two."
"Ugh... Still, this is already the thirtieth time I've heard this story."
"And I will keep repeating it."
I gave a firm reply to my master, who was trying to negotiate. This was because this phase was the most dangerous. Just as people feel differently before and after using the restroom, patients are the same. They take their medicine diligently right after falling ill and immediately after starting treatment. However, the moment their condition improves slightly or they think they know better, they begin to take their medication half-heartedly. If their condition worsens again, the medicine might no longer work, leading to an irreversible state. That was why I pestered my master to this extent. Chronic lead poisoning could cause side effects that, if triggered, could never be undone.
"This is my medical conviction. Please respect it."
"Sigh. I've taken in a stubborn youngest disciple in my old age..." My master grumbled but gathered the medicines. "Fine, fine. So, you're saying I must absolutely never skip these two, correct?"
"Yes. You must absolutely never take only the smelly medicine."
"I understand. It feels as if my mother, who passed away a thousand years ago, has returned to life."
My master chuckled softly as he packed the medicine. Only after confirming that the medicines were safely tucked into his pocket did I speak again.
"And aside from the medicine, regarding your lifestyle habits..."
"When handling lead, it can seep through the skin, so I must wear gloves, put on a mask, and avoid inhaling lead fumes as much as possible."
"And?"
"If my hands shake, my speech becomes slurred, or my body loses strength, I must summon a healer first or have you come."
"You know it well."
I smiled brightly. It was rewarding to have nagged him every time we met. Since one cannot spit on a smiling face, my master simply chuckled helplessly and shook his head.
My master slowly rose from his seat. I quickly checked his hands for tremors. His hands are steady when he grasps things now. His grip on his staff was natural. It was proof that his lead poisoning had significantly improved.
"I shall take my leave for today. So please, do not appear in my dreams to nag me."
"I will try my best."
My master opened the clinic door and stepped out. I stared at the door he had departed through for a moment before beginning to organize the charts on the table.
The highest spire of Sanctum Hill. Returning to his laboratory, Louis placed the medicine bottles on his desk.
"Let's see..."
— "You must absolutely take the other two as well."
Recalling his disciple's nagging, he picked up one of the bottles. He dissolved the sour powder from the bottle in water, drank it, and swallowed the bitter bear bile pills without leaving a single one.
He gave the empty bottles a quick rinse. This was to reuse the glass bottles. Of course, considering Julian's wealth, there was no need to be so frugal. However, the Great Sage, who was always strapped for research funds, had developed a habit of saving even a single glass bottle like this.
Clack.
The washed glass bottle was set on the desk. Next to it, the experimental mask and gloves Julian had made for him were neatly laid out.
Louis stared at the items his disciple had prepared for him for a moment, then left the workshop with a satisfied smile. One by one, the faint lights of the magical tools faded, and a deep darkness settled over the workshop.
Leaving the laboratory, he headed to his bedroom located right next door.
"Yawn."
Letting out a light yawn, the Great Sage lay down on his bed. Removing his eyepatch and closing his remaining eye, his consciousness gradually sank into the darkness.
"It has been a while."
When the Great Sage Louis opened his eyes again, he realized he was drifting inside a dream. By nature, dreams are like mirages, destined to scatter into the depths of the subconscious once one returns to reality. However, after hearing that prophets who trace the trajectories of the stars glimpse the future within these scattering fragments of dreams, the Great Sage had begun to study dreams. As a result, he had discovered how to capture the moment when the soul touches the world's causality while human reason slumbers. Simply put, he had learned how to glimpse the future or parallel worlds through dreams.
And for the first time in decades, that opportunity had come to Louis.
"Qudo oculus vadent, moria tenet."
⟨ Dream Recall ⟩
No sooner had the incantation ended than the hazy ocean of his subconscious began to churn. Soon, the dreamy, blurry landscape took on a vivid form.
"Mmh."
Louis nodded in satisfaction. Naturally, this kind of dream did not come just because he wished for it. Therefore, the Great Sage had researched not how to have prophetic dreams, but how to remember them. This magic was the fruit of that research.
Before long, the scenery began to shift. To catch a glimpse of the future, Louis naturally surrendered himself to the flow guided by the dream.
His vision grew clearer, revealing a familiar yet foreign landscape. The luxurious reception room of the Imperial Palace unfolded before his eyes. Louis was sitting on a sofa in that reception room. Standing opposite him was a young man.
"Great Sage. It is time for your treatment."
A calm and polite voice. Louis's single eye turned toward the face of the young man standing opposite him.
Oh.
Louis could not help but marvel inwardly. The young man was Julian. Not the youthful fifteen-year-old boy of reality, but a fully grown Julian in his mid-twenties. His hair was neatly swept back, and he wore a flawless, high-grade alchemist's uniform. Above all, his handsome and mature features had a strange way of drawing one's gaze.
So that is what he will look like when he grows up. Tsk, tsk. He will break the hearts of many noble ladies in the Empire. Perhaps he might even frequent the Imperial Princess's bedchamber.
Though he felt a bit apologetic as a master, he once again felt relieved that Julian had no talent for hypnosis.
The Julian in the dream was exceedingly polite and devoted. He was no different from the Julian of reality. Julian approached Louis, took his pulse, and presented a splendid silver tray with a gentle touch.
"Your complexion looks good today as well. Now, it is time for your medicine."
"Yes. You must be busy, yet you trouble yourself to come to the Imperial Palace every time. You have worked hard, Doctor."
The Louis in the dream laughed heartily as he accepted the medicine handed to him by the young man. It seemed that in this world, they did not share the tight bond of master and disciple. Even so, Julian was sincere toward his patient.
Then...
But something was off. His instinct, honed over a thousand years, was sounding an alarm. The young man before him was undoubtedly Julian. His appearance, voice, and tone—everything was identical to his beloved disciple. Yet, the Great Sage felt no warmth or resonance from the young man before him.
However, the Great Sage suppressed the rising sense of incongruity for now and decided to let himself drift with the flow of the dream. He intended to watch until the very end to see where the causality of this bizarre parallel world would lead.
"Haha, no matter how many times I drink this foul-smelling stuff, I can never get used to it."
"Is it not said that good medicine is always bitter to the taste?"
"Indeed. You are absolutely right, Doctor."
The Louis in the dream laughed heartily and downed the brown liquid medicine—the Dimercaprol—resting on the silver tray in a single gulp. And not long after the medicine slid down his esophagus...
"Ugh..."
The limbs of the Louis in the dream began to lose their strength. It was a strange sensation. While the observing Louis's mind was perfectly clear, his dream self was clearly in an abnormal state. It was at that very moment.
"..."
The demeanor of the young man, who had been so warm and devoted just moments ago, shifted entirely. The affable doctor was gone, replaced by something devoid of human emotion, looking down at the Great Sage.
The young man slowly placed his hand on the head of the Great Sage, who was shaking his head in a daze. A low, ominous black mana flowed from his fingertips. The mana began to engrave a bizarre spell formula directly into the Great Sage's brain. Watching this from a step back, the 'real Louis's' single eye widened in sheer horror.
Is he using necromancy to manipulate the mind of the living...?!
Lead was a catalyst commonly used to control naturally occurring undead. Due to its symbolic property of trapping souls, it allowed the caster to bind their spirits. And the Julian in the dream was using this very property on the Great Sage.
How is such a thing even possible?
Naturally, the Great Sage's mental barriers were sturdier than anything in the world. No matter how outstanding a black mage might be, casting hypnosis or mind control directly on the Great Sage's brain was nigh impossible. Yet, the Julian in the dream was accomplishing it with ease. Louis quickly deduced the principle behind it.
...It is the lead.
The Julian in the dream was exploiting the very years the Great Sage had lived. The lead that had accumulated in his body over a thousand years. He had steeped the Great Sage's brain in that lead and was now casting black magic upon it. This was the consequence of the worst-case scenario that the real Julian had warned him about—what happened when one took only the primary drug, Dimercaprol, and skipped the supplements.
So this is why Julian insisted I take the supplements together.
Louis once again marveled at the boundless knowledge possessed by both the real Julian and the one in his dream.
The Louis in the dream muttered through his fading consciousness, "Doctor..."
"Yes, Great Sage. Speak."
The dream's Great Sage, his brain steeped in lead, murmured like a senile old man in delirium, "How long... has it been since we met?"
A question akin to a weary lament. To Louis's question, the young Julian replied without stopping the black magic flowing from his hand. His voice was utterly calm and devoid of emotion, showing not a shred of agitation.
"It has been about ten years."
Ten years. The span of time it took for a thirteen-year-old child in reality to become a young man in his mid-twenties. This young man had steadily encroached upon the Great Sage's brain over that long period, applying the knowledge he already possessed.
So his talent for black magic was indeed of this caliber.
However, one question remained. In this world, Julian and Louis did not seem to have a master-disciple relationship. Yet, the black magic displayed by the young man before him was no less sophisticated than that of the real Julian—perhaps even more so. If so, where on earth had this dream's Julian learned such exquisite black magic?
As if mocking Louis's question, the young Julian whispered softly, "Thanks to you, it has been a very fruitful time, Great Sage."
Louis's single eye widened in shock. Could it be... This Julian in the dream had been steadily plundering the Great Sage's knowledge over the span of ten long years. Utilizing the connection forged by lead, he had done so naturally and covertly.
My goodness... No, perhaps for this child, it is only natural.
He had witnessed the miracles that occurred when talent was directed toward the right path. If so, he had to assume that the opposite was also entirely possible. Faced with his disciple's chillingly overwhelming talent, Louis felt a cold shiver of awe rather than disgust.
As if reading Louis's thoughts, the Julian in the dream whispered, "Even a thousand years of wisdom is utterly powerless when trapped in a decaying vessel. The very years you spent accumulating wisdom have ultimately become your leash."
"..."
"I will make good use of your body, Great Sage. The vessel of an 8th Tier Mage who has lived for a thousand years... What better vessel could there be?"
Finally, just as the black mana was about to completely swallow the last remnants of the Great Sage's ego...
"..."
The gaze of Louis, who had been quietly observing the situation as a spectator, turned ice-cold. The madness and talent displayed by his disciple in this parallel world were certainly intriguing. However, that was no reason to allow the mind of the Archmage who had reigned for a thousand years to be desecrated. Above all, he could not tolerate the insolent intent behind this 'dream.' The dream ended here.
"—!"
A single, brief incantation. In that instant, cracks began to spiderweb across the scenery of the reception room, which had held its shape so firmly.
"Foolish mirage."
Louis's voice echoed throughout the collapsing dream world.
"The possibility you have shown me is indeed marvelous and terrifying. But did you truly think you could beguile me with such a petty variable?"
In the past, during his young and arrogant days, Louis had craved wisdom and the future. Obsessed with grasping the world's causality, he had clung to shallow glimpses of the future, and the price had been his right eye. In exchange for losing his sight, he had gained insight.
"One cannot speak of the ocean's end merely by observing a single surging wave."
"..."
"Arrogant entity. The end of the world will never remain confined to the shallow page you have read."
Crash!
With a sound like a massive glass window shattering, the space-time of the false parallel world began to break into a thousand pieces. Just before his consciousness floated back to reality, the Great Sage spoke to the man who was staring at him calmly.
"You are but a creation of a dream, so you likely cannot hear me, but I shall tell you anyway."
"..."
"No matter what, you are nothing more than the prince of fireflies."
And, recalling a certain boy, the Great Sage added, "You will never become a star."
Crash!
With those final words, the Great Sage's dream shattered completely.
"Phew..."
Louis slowly sat up, letting out a dry chuckle. The face of that fascinating yet terrifying monster remained vivid in his mind. Louis turned his head to look at his desk. Resting there were the three empty medicine bottles Julian had prepared for him, along with the crude yet carefully crafted mask and leather gloves.
— "You must absolutely never take only the smelly medicine."
— "If your hands shake, your speech becomes slurred, or your body loses strength, you must summon a healer immediately or come to me."
Beneath the crude magic lamps of the Limbus Pit. He recalled his disciple's youthful face, wearing an awkward smile. Recalling that face, the Great Sage brushed away his thoughts of the monster in his dream. He resolved never again to harbor the arrogant belief that one could measure the ocean by a single river.
The following week, at the clinic.
"Master. You skipped your supplements three times this week."
At Julian's quiet voice as he flipped through the chart, the Great Sage of the Empire, sitting opposite him, cleared his throat and subtly averted his gaze. At his disciple's gentle interrogation, the Archmage's face turned noticeably red.
"Well... I have been terribly busy lately..."
"Ah, so you forgot."
The moment those words left his mouth, Julian felt a surge of heat rising up the back of his neck. He set his pen down and smiled brightly.
"Here I am, staying up for nights on end amidst piles of smelly, rotten eggs and garlic just to extract your medicine and process bear bile, all to cure your hand tremors. I suppose my efforts must seem rather trivial to you, Master."
"Mmh, no, that is not what I meant..."
"Well, it doesn't matter to me whether you take them or not," he added indifferently, picking up the chart again. "If you don't take your medicine and fail to purge the lead, leaving your hands shaking for the rest of your life, you're the one who suffers, not me. It's not my body, after all. If you really don't want to take them, you can just spend the rest of your life trembling as you hold your staff."
"Ahem! I am sorry. I will not forget and will take them consistently. So please, forgive me."
The Great Sage of the Empire bowed his head, showing the crown of his skull to his disciple. It was a scene that would make other mages foam at the mouth, screaming of treason against the Father of Magic. Yet, Julian accepted his master's apology without a shred of guilt.
"Very well. I will write you a new prescription, so you must take your supplements accordingly."
"Ugh... I am clearly the master here..."
"Did you say something?"
"No, nothing."
Julian once again rescheduled his master's overdue medication routine.
A fantasy world where magical airships fly and great mages exist. Yet, no matter how much the world changed, one truth remained absolute. In front of a doctor, even a Great Sage who had lived for a thousand years was nothing more than an ordinary patient who had to endure nagging.