Helios lay perfectly still on the bed, his body unmarred in appearance thanks to Circe's spell. To anyone who didn't know better, he looked merely asleep — his chest rising and falling, his features calm, not a single sign of the violent battle that had brought him here. But Skuld, Kurai, and even Circe understood the truth. The spell was a trick, a temporary lie painted over his body, masking the damage beneath. When it unraveled, every hidden wound would come crashing back in full.
Skuld sat beside him, her shoulders slumped, her hands clasped tightly in her lap to stop them from trembling. Her own magic reserves were nearly gone; she had been pouring energy into him for nearly an hour, fighting against the dark power that was still clinging to his body. The only reason she hadn't collapsed on the floor was sheer willpower.
She finally broke the silence. Her voice was faint, but it carried conviction. "We can't wait any longer. I'll rest for an hour—just enough to restore a little strength. Then, Kurai, you'll open a corridor, and we'll go look for Aqua. She's the only one who can help me heal him completely."
Kurai, who stood near the door with her arms crossed, exhaled through her nose, unimpressed. "You'll pass out halfway if you keep pushing yourself. And dragging your unconscious body through worlds will be… inconvenient for me."
"Inconvenient?" Skuld snapped, some of her fire sparking through her fatigue. "This isn't about convenience. If we don't move, if we wait here too long, he might—" She choked on the rest, her throat tight, unwilling to say the word.
Kurai's gaze slid toward the bed, then back to Skuld. "Whether he lives or dies depends on his will now. Not yours. Not mine. Stop panicking."
The words struck like ice. Skuld flinched, but she didn't look away. "You don't get it. He promised me no more lies, and I promised I'd do everything I could to protect him. I won't just sit here and watch him slip away."
The tension in the room was broken by a new voice, dripping with mock sweetness.
"My, my. Such devotion."
Both women turned. Circe lounged on a nearby chair, one leg crossed over the other, her chin resting lazily on her hand. She had been quiet for most of the argument, observing like a cat waiting for the right moment to pounce. Now, her aqua eyes gleamed with mischief.
"You know," she continued, "my magic already kept him from falling apart once. If I hadn't woven that glamour, he'd look like the shredded mess he really is. Maybe I should tag along on this little rescue mission. I could be useful."
Kurai's head tilted, her silver eyes narrowing. "No."
Circe blinked dramatically, as if personally offended. "No? That's all you've got? No consideration, no gratitude, no second thought?"
"You're a freeloader," Kurai replied coldly. "Not useful to me. Not someone I trust to do what I need. And your spell doesn't heal—it pauses and covers. It makes him appear fine, but when it fades, he'll be worse than before. Don't overestimate yourself."
Circe's lips curled into a smirk. "Perhaps. But Helga trusts me. She listens to me. If you try leaving without me, she might refuse to follow your orders. And I doubt you want to see her loyalty compromised."
Kurai's expression didn't change, but the air in the room grew heavy. She took a slow step forward, the shadows seeming to bend with her. "We're leaving to fetch a healer. Obviously, we'll return. Helga will stay here. If you think you can use her as leverage, you're more foolish than I thought. Her will does not matter to me."
Circe laughed softly, though her fingers twitched against the armrest of her chair. "So icy. You really don't know how to talk to people, do you? Not everything has to be a threat, darling."
Kurai's eyes gleamed like polished steel. "If you want to survive in this house, make yourself useful. If you don't… then try as you might, you'll go nowhere. Or worse yet—somewhere you'll never escape. I've wanted to get rid of you since earlier."
The smirk faltered for the briefest moment. Circe looked away, her tongue clicking softly against her teeth, but she said nothing more.
Skuld rose unsteadily, placing one last hand over Helios's. Her voice was hoarse but resolute. "Enough. I need to gather more magic before his condition resurfaces. We'll leave soon. With Aqua's help, we can heal him fully."
Kurai turned to her, gaze cold and unreadable. "If you want to do it, do it. I don't care. But if you collapse, don't expect me to carry you."
"You will," Skuld said quietly. "Because you know I'm right. If I take the Lanes Between, it'll take days. He doesn't have days. With your corridors, we can reach worlds in an instant to search for Aqua. That's the only chance he has."
For several seconds, silence pressed down on the room. Kurai's jaw tightened as if she wanted to argue. Instead, she exhaled sharply and lifted her hand. Darkness pooled into her palm, forming a swirling oval of black.
"Fine," she muttered. "But if you slow me down, I'll leave you in the void."
Skuld ignored the threat, her gaze locked on Helios's sleeping face. She whispered, almost to herself: "Hold on a little longer. We'll be back."
The dark corridor widened, shadows spilling across the floor like liquid. Without another word, Kurai stepped through, her figure swallowed by the void.
Skuld followed after a final glance at Helios.
Behind them, Helios lay "peacefully" asleep under Circe's spell, his body tricked into believing it was whole. Circe leaned back in her chair, watching the portal close with a slow, thoughtful smile.
"Other worlds, huh," she murmured to the empty room. "Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine… well, I did dream of it. Maybe I can find my suitor in those worlds. If not, I can still raise Helga into my perfect suitor."
Then the corridor snapped shut, and the house fell silent again.