Rion gasped loudly, and his eyes snapped open.
Still gasping, he sat up.
’Where is Dora?’ His left hand flew to his head, and he mumbled grimly, "Dora... Dora..."
Lara stared at him with a dark expression, her body trembling in fear of his condition.
All of a sudden, Rion twisted his head towards her and asked in a heavy, desperate voice, "Mother... How is Dora?"
She took a glance at Haden.
Haden nodded, and she answered, her voice trembling with various emotions. "S-She is fine."
She wanted to hold her son but Rion wasn’t in his right mind, and that was exactly why Haden had stopped her from going near him.
Rion’s expression softened, he brushed the purple spot around his chest and said, "I want to see her..."
He looked under the blanket, turned his head towards Lara and mumbled with a wry smile, "Can I have sothing to wear?"
"Of course." Lara shot towards the wooden shelves that had Rion’s clothes, picked up the clothes and handed them to him.
Rion wore the black tunic, moved to the edge of the bed, placed his feet onto the floor and put on the black pants.
After strapping the sandals, he stood up from the bed and walked towards the door.
Just as he reached the door, Lara called out, "Rion."
He stopped in his steps, turned his head towards her and looked at her with a confused expression.
Lara once again walked over to the wooden shelves, pulled out a cape of black and blue wolf fur and walked over to him.
He looked at the cape with a surprised expression, and she mumbled, "I made this for you."
He stared into his eyes and mumbled, "Thanks..."
She smiled, strapped the cape on his shoulders and said, "I know you are still not completely awake, but once you are, I will scold you for this."
He blinked in confusion, nodded in daze and walked out of the hut.
Lara stared at the empty doorway, hand still outstretched, as if she could pull him back.
She asked sombrely, "Why is he acting like this?"
Haden answered in a calm voice, "His subconscious mind is awake, but his conscious mind is still asleep."
Confusion spread across her face, and she mumbled, "Is sothing like that even possible...?"
"It’s not supposed to be," he comnted, his gaze worried.
Just as Rion stepped out of the hut, the tribe mbers fell into his vision and seeing them, a frustrated look appeared on his face, and he grumbled, "Headaches."
His aura coursed throughout his body, and using Rhaek’s stealth aura technique, he disappeared from everyone’s naked gaze.
He walked forward only to stop after a few steps.
"Where is she?" He questioned and facepald himself the next mont. "I forgot to ask mother."
Shaking his head, he spread his will outwards and activated his Zone, covering the whole of the Redwood Basin.
Information flooded into his head — he easily ignored everything that he deed useless, and within an instant, he found out that Dora was at Zaelyane’s hut.
He dashed towards Zaelyane’s hut, reached it the next mont and entered it without knocking.
Hearing the door creak, Zaelyane’s flat gaze shot towards Rion, and just by looking at him, she instantly understood his current state.
Dora fell into his vision, his lips blossod into a bright smile, and he walked over to her.
He sat beside her, grabbed her arm and mumbled in a voice heavy with obsession, "Dora..."
His eyes fixed on her sleeping face, and Zaelyane comnted, "She is beautiful, isn’t she?"
"She is." He nodded, turned his head towards her and asked evenly, "How is she?"
She shrugged. "I don’t know."
Confusion flickered across his face, and he mumbled, "You don’t know...?"
"I don’t." She repeated, looked at the sleeping Dora and stated, "I am proficient in herbs and dicine, but not so much in soul and mind, so even if I wish to, I cannot heal her."
Rion’s confusion increased even further, and he mumbled, "What are you talking about?"
"Ah..." a voice escaped as the understanding dawned on her. "I thought you knew..."
He narrowed his eyes and muttered, "Knew what?"
"Huh... you really don’t know," she mumbled.
Irritation tinged Rion’s face, and he spat in a chillingly low voice, "Are you done with your gas?"
She felt silent.
A few monts later, she pointed a finger at the purple upside-down teardrop under Dora’s lips and said, "She is cursed, and that mark is what keeps her alive."
"Cursed...?" He mumbled, his eyes sharpened, and he demanded, "Explain it clearly."
Zaelyane shook her head and began to explain, "According to the shaman, this girl had heard a prophecy that she wasn’t supposed to and from the mont she heard it, she was to live and die with it."
"Die?" Just as those words reached Rion’s ears, his hand shot towards her neck, but before he could grab her, she continued, "But."
He stopped and mumbled with hope blazing in his eyes, "But?"
Zaelyane heaved a relieved sigh and said, "That mark is not simple — it’s a complex sorcery built just to keep her alive."
Rion lowered his hand, his gaze shifted towards the purple teardrop, and she added, "However, that mark is not stable, and to keep itself stable, it’s draining her aura and life essence."
Rion’s eyes flashed with countless emotions, but in this state, he had absolute control over them.
Pushing away the gloomy thoughts, he asked, "How long can she live like this?"
"A few years at most."
He nodded, turned his head towards her and said, "You said that you are not proficient in soul and mind... does that an there are elves that are proficient in them?"
"There are." She nodded.
Rion placed his head on Dora’s stomach and asked, "Will she wake up?"
"She should wake up in a few days."
He closed his eyes and mumbled, "Then we will leave to et the elves once she wakes up."
"Are you sure?" She asked.
"Mhm. I am," he replied while wrapping his arms around her as if shielding her from her dark fate.
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