Lee Gitae (3)
Lia’s day.
She woke early in the morning. It was still dark outside the window, but Lia could no longer sleep.
After washing and changing her clothes, she ate a simple slice of bread and headed for the imperial palace.
“Lady Lia, you’ve come again?”
The guard at the palace entrance greeted her with a familiar face.
By now, after coming every day for four months, even the guards recognized her.
“Yes. I’m here to check on the Tower Master’s condition.”
The guard nodded and stepped aside to let her pass.
As she walked down the corridor toward the treatment room, Lia’s heart beat faster.
Maybe he’d woken up today. Maybe today, he’d opened his eyes.
But when she opened the treatment room door, she was met, as always, with a quiet space.
Grace lay on the treatment bed, his eyes still closed.
“Tower Master……”
Lia approached carefully. Carlos, who had been on watch through the night, lifted his head from the chair.
“Lia. You’re here.”
“How is he?”
Carlos shook his head.
“No change. His pulse and breathing are both stable. He just seems like he’s…… sleeping.”
“……”
Lia switched places with Carlos and sat down.
“Go get some rest. It must have been rough staying up all night.”
“Yeah. Then I’ll leave it to you. Chief Alberte will be coming this afternoon.”
After Carlos left the treatment room, Lia took Grace’s hand.
It was cold.
“Tower Master, I’m here.”
There was no answer.
Lia carefully lifted Grace’s head and adjusted the pillow beneath it.
He’s been in the same position for four months…… how uncomfortable must that be?
She remembered Arkanus worrying about bedsores. Lia adjusted the angle of the pillow even more carefully.
Then she slowly lifted Grace’s right arm.
The hand that had once cast powerful spells now hung limp and motionless.
Lia bent and straightened his elbow repeatedly.
She did the same with his left arm, and then with his legs.
He’s lost a lot of muscle……
She went to the window and opened the curtain, letting the winter sunlight pour in.
Lia turned the treatment bed slightly so the light would reach Grace’s face.
Warm light settled over his pale features.
Next, Lia went to the small shelf beside the treatment room and brought back a cup of water and a clean cloth.
She dipped the cloth into the water and gently wiped Grace’s face.
Across his forehead, cheeks, and jawline, slowly and carefully.
“You’re sweating a little. Is that a good sign?”
Lia murmured to herself with a small smile.
It was fine even without an answer. She believed he would wake up someday.
After wiping his face, Lia sat back down and took his hand again.
It was still cold, but she wrapped it in both of hers and tried to warm it.
“Something good happened at the tower yesterday. One of the new disciples reached the first circle in just a week.”
Lia spoke slowly.
“Chief Alberte is doing a wonderful job as the temporary Tower Master. But…… it still has to be you. There’s no one else who can teach fusion magic the way you do.”
She tightened her grip and went on in an even voice.
“The empire is slowly recovering from the dimensional rifts. Memorials have been erected where the Blue Rose Magic Tower and Moonlight once stood.”
Lia looked at Grace’s pale face and continued speaking.
“Chief Roimdel comes by often. He says he’s researching the fusion magic theory you created, and that they’ve even begun formal fusion magic instruction at Vilheim Magic Tower.”
Silence fell for a moment.
“Chief Valter came by once more too. He said Crown Magic Tower has been fully restored…… and that he wanted to thank you in person.”
Lia’s voice began to tremble little by little.
“Everyone remembers you. They say you’re the hero who saved the empire…… the Mage of Fusion……”
She clasped Grace’s hand in both of hers and bowed her head.
“And yet that hero is…… lying here like this.”
Tears fell, one after another.
“Please…… please wake up, Tower Master. Come back to us.”
But Grace remained silent.
Lia wiped away her tears and opened the book again. It was a text on magic theory. Today, too, she would read aloud to him.
“…… The key to three-system fusion is determining the central attribute. The central attribute connects the other two attributes……”
Time passed slowly.
Toward noon, Sophia came with a lunchbox.
“Lia unnie, let’s eat.”
“Thank you, Sophia.”
The two of them ate quietly together in one corner of the treatment room.
“Tower Master…… he still hasn’t woken up today either.”
Sophia said sadly.
“He’ll wake up. He will.”
Lia forced brightness into her voice, but she wasn’t sure of it herself.
Four months.
It was far too long.
By afternoon, the treatment room door opened and Arkanus stepped inside.
“You’re here again today, Lia.”
The white-haired archmage spoke with a gentle expression.
“Arkanus-nim.”
Lia and Sophia quickly stood and greeted him.
“Sit. I’ve only come for the regular examination.”
Arkanus approached Grace and extended a hand. Silver mana flowed out and enveloped Grace’s body.
A moment later, he withdrew his hand and nodded.
“His condition remains stable. But…… there’s still no sign of the ruptured mana circuit recovering.”
“……”
“……”
The answer had been expected, but Lia and Sophia still could not respond to Arkanus’s words.
“Is there…… really no method at all?”
Lia asked in a trembling voice.
Arkanus let out a sigh and shook his head.
“Everything that could be done from the outside has already been done. From here on, it depends on Grace’s own will and his ability to recover.”
“But……”
Lia looked at Grace and clenched her fists.
“…… I’m sorry.”
Arkanus said, lowering his head.
“Arkanus-nim. Healing magic…… can’t healing magic do it?”
At Lia’s question, Arkanus’s gaze deepened.
“Healing magic……”
He was silent for a moment before speaking again.
“Healing magic is a magic that exists, and yet doesn’t exist. Ancient texts contain records saying it was once possible to cast, but……”
Arkanus trailed off.
“Why not?”
At his words, Sophia tilted her head.
“There are broadly two kinds of magic. Magic that moves outward, and magic that moves inward.”
Arkanus explained slowly.
“Offensive spells like fireballs, lightning, and ice spears move outward. They project mana and attack a target. Defensive magic is the same. It spreads mana outward to create a barrier. But healing magic is inward-facing magic. It acts directly on the target’s life force itself.”
Arkanus paused for a moment and looked at Grace.
“Life force exists in a domain different from mana. Mana can be controlled, but life force is…… something more fundamental, and more sacred.”
“So you mean it can’t be cast?”
Lia asked.
“Yes. To interfere directly with life force, you need something deeper than mere control of mana.”
“Something deeper?”
“Will, emotion, connection…… things like that. The ancient texts say this: ‘To heal life, one must become one with life.’”
Lia turned the words over in her mind.
Become one with life……
“But no one truly knows what that means. For hundreds of years, countless mages have studied it, but not a single one has succeeded.”
Arkanus said with a lonely smile.
“I studied it all my life as well, and failed. That’s why we rely on surgery instead of healing magic now.”
“Then…… is there really no way?”
Despair filled Lia’s voice.
“I’m sorry.”
Arkanus placed a hand on Lia’s shoulder.
“This is as far as I can go. The rest……”
He looked at Grace and continued,
“We can only wait for Grace himself to decide to come back.”
After Arkanus left the treatment room, Lia sat in a daze for a long while.
“Lia unnie……”
Sophia carefully took Lia’s hand.
“I’m fine.”
Lia said with a forced smile.
“Tower Master will come back. He definitely will.”
But tears were already streaming from her eyes.
The next day, Lia visited Roimdel at Vilheim Magic Tower.
“Chief Roimdel…… is there any way to obtain healing magic?”
Roimdel stared out the window and let out a deep sigh.
“Healing magic……”
He slowly turned his head and looked at Lia.
“I see Arkanus-nim has told you.”
“Yes…… he said it was the only hope.”
Lia’s voice trembled, but her eyes were unwavering.
Roimdel walked to the bookshelf and took out an old volume.
“These are texts on ancient magic. There’s a little recorded here.”
He opened the book and pointed to a specific page.
“Look here. It says, ‘The healing of life is not within the realm of mana, but within the realm of the soul. One who seeks to heal must achieve complete resonance with the one to be healed.’”
“Complete resonance……”
As Lia was pondering the words in the book,
“I have something to show you, so wait here a moment.”
Roimdel left the office and headed to the storage room of Vilheim Magic Tower.
Soon after, he searched through the storage and found a bead before returning to the office.
“Lia, take this.”
Lia carefully received the bead Roimdel offered her with both hands.
A transparent sphere tinged with a pale green light.
From within it, a gentle radiance pulsed as though life itself were beating inside.
“This is……”
“A bead for the fusion spell Magic Circuit Healing.”
Roimdel explained.
“It’s a simple second-circle healing magic that fuses water and light. It’s said to be able to restore damaged mana circuits, at least partially.”
“Really?”
Hope lit up Lia’s eyes.
“But…… no mage has ever been able to cast this fusion healing magic. No one has succeeded for hundreds of years. Not even Arkanus-nim, despite studying it all his life.”
At Roimdel’s words, Lia’s face went pale.
“Still, can’t we try? Rather than just waiting and doing nothing……”
She clutched the bead and said in a trembling voice.
“Lia.”
Roimdel placed a hand on her shoulder.
“I understand why you think that. But this healing magic is on an entirely different level from simply injecting mana. It must resonate completely with the life force of the one being healed. No one knows exactly what that means. If you try to force it, you may damage your own mana circuits as well.”
Lia was silent for a moment. Then she slowly lifted her head and looked Roimdel in the eye.
“I’ll try anyway.”
Her voice was firm.
“Tower Master risked his life for us. For the empire, for us…… now it’s our turn to do something for him.”