CHAPTER 124: A BURDEN SHARED

Eirin gulped, a knot of fear tightening in her stomach. The weight of responsibility was immense, terrifying. What if she failed? What if her mysterious ability, this budding power Leva spoke of was not enough?

"But what if I can’t cleanse it after all, Leva?" Eirin asked, her voice small, laced with doubt. "Then you’ll end up suffering again, perhaps even worse. I can’t bear that." The thought of causing more pain to this magnificent creature, this creature who had fulfilled her childhood dream for her, was unbearable.

"I am the one asking you for such a big favor, child. Why do you worry more about me than you worry about yourself?" Leva’s voice resonated with genuine concern. "You are such a nice child. You should be nicer to yourself. You carry too much of the world’s burdens already." The bird’s wisdom seemed to pierce through Eirin’s self-doubt, touching a nerve.

The gentle tone, the empathy in Leva’s voice, seeped into Eirin, soothing her from deep within her heart, calming the frantic beat of anxiety. She knew her tendency to shoulder burdens, to take responsibility, often at her own expense.

"I feel guilty, child," Leva confessed, her voice barely a whisper. "What if I was tricking you? What if I am nothing but corrupted? Why do you believe me so blindly, child? You barely know me." The questions were raw, born of her deepest insecurities.

Eirin, seeking connection, seeking reassurance, reached out and gently caressed Leva’s smooth, incredibly soft feathers, running her hand down the lavender plumes. The physical contact was grounding, real.

"Then, would you like to answer as to how the miasma reached this high in the sky?"

Leva sighed. "Even we were confused. Someone did it, someone visited our nest and released miasma all over it." Hearing that made Eirin knew that she has to do this.

"Maybe I’m helping you because I’m just too weak when it comes to pretty people, and pretty things." The absurd, almost flippant comment, a deflection masked the genuine terror and awe she felt.

Leva laughed once again, a sound like the rush of wind through a canyon, a deep rumble that vibrated through Eirin’s core. "Do you truly accept such a request from a creature like me, child? You, a sixteen-year-old girl, offering to help an ancient being you have just met? Are you not afraid that I might be deceiving you? That this is all a trap?" The question, laced with a mix of genuine amusement hung in the air.

Eirin continued caressing Leva’s smooth, lavender feathers, her hand moving in a slow, reassuring pattern. The warmth of the bird’s body was a great comfort against the biting wind. "If that would help you, Leva, then yes. I would do it." Her voice, though soft, held a quiet, unshakable conviction that surprised even herself.

"It is baffling," Leva mused, her voice taking on a more serious tone, a deep, thoughtful resonance. "It is truly baffling how you care about me, about my kin, when you have just met me. This world is cruel, child. It is a place of deception and betrayal. You must not believe everything you are told. You must not be so quick to trust." The advice, coming from a creature of such power and age, was a stark warning, a testament to the harsh realities of their world.

Eirin chuckled, a light, airy sound that was in sharp contrast to the great depth of Leva’s words. She looked up at the immense, beautiful vast sky. "Are you asking me to help you, or are you asking me not to help you?" She patted the bird’s feather, a gentle, comforting gesture.

"From what you’ve told me, suffering with an eternal nightmare is such a cruel, agonizing thing to go through. It’s an endless torment. I don’t want anything, or anyone, to have to endure something like that, whether they’re my friend, an enemy, or a majestic bird I’ve just met." Eirin’s words were simple, yet they carried the immense weight of her inherent empathy, a core part of her character that she had only recently begun to truly understand.

"Such a kind-hearted child," Leva’s voice was filled with softness, a deep, maternal affection that wrapped around Eirin like a warm blanket, shielding her from the harsh wind and the cold reality of the world.

Eirin couldn’t stop herself from smiling, a warm, genuine curve of her lips. ’Hearing words like that really warms my heart,’ she thought, feeling a flush of genuine happiness, a simple, pure joy that transcended the terrifying circumstances she found herself in. Her gaze went back to the swirling, menacing ball of dark miasma surrounding the top of the mountain peak, a constant reminder of the perilous task that lay ahead.

But now, it no longer felt like a terrifying unconquerable wall. It felt like a challenge, a destination.

A new thought, a fresh fear, suddenly surfaced in her mind, a pressing concern that had been momentarily forgotten in the whirlwind of her conversation with Leva. "Once I help your kin, and assuming that I can, would you please help me go back to the academy? I have a friend there. She must be so worried. I can’t leave her for long."

Leva agreed, her immense form giving a subtle, reassuring nod. Of course, she would help her savior get back to where she should be. It was the least she could do for the being who was offering to risk so much for her kin.

Eirin took a deep, fortifying breath, her small body pressed against the bird’s immense warmth. She closed her eyes for a moment, gathering her courage, steeling her resolve. "Okay, Leva. Let’s do this." The words, spoken with a quiet conviction, were a promise, a contract sealed between a girl and a bird, forged in the heart of a turmoil.

Earlier...

Trixtan tilted his head after Shade’s revelation, his eyes widening in awe. "You do? That’s amazing! That would make this so much easier, though it took you a weak to reveal that to me," he said as he sat on the ground, his body heavy with a sudden, bone-deep exhaustion that only now, with the adrenaline of the chase wearing off, began to set in. He looked at the vast, empty nest and felt a sudden, powerful longing for rest.

"Could we just stay here for a little? Get some sleep? I mean, knowing that you can see her mana means that she’s alive right? That we’re not too late?"

Shade nodded, a brief, sharp movement. "Yes, she’s alive. She’s safe. For now." He didn’t elaborate, didn’t explain the sense of urgency that still gripped him. He knew they couldn’t afford to rest, not with the miasma drawing her closer. "You go to sleep, Trix. I’ll continue searching. I’ll go ahead. The trail is getting fainter." His words were a command, an unbreakable resolve.

Shade jumped off the nest, his body a streak of fire and wind, and flew away, a lonely, determined figure against the empty sky.

"Wha—wait! Shade! Wait for me!" Trixtan scrambled to his feet. He followed after his friend, his body protesting with every surge of lightning, the exhaustion a heavy, dragging weight on his limbs.

The day continued, the heat from the sun causing the two to sweat more than usual. It’s been a week of nonstop searching and the dark circles under Shade’s eyes were noticeable, bruised hollows, his face gaunt, his body trembling, but it didn’t matter to him.

That was until they saw, from a far, a sight that made both of them freeze. A massive, swirling sphere of miasma, black and malevolent, circling the very top of a towering, impossibly high mountain peak. It was the destination.

"Shit. That must be the one," Trixtan said, his voice a whisper of awe and fear. He immediately turned to Shade, his eyes wide with alarm, and grabbed onto his arm, his grip surprisingly strong, the fear of losing his friend overriding his exhaustion. "Okay, remember. You promised Link not to jump in recklessly. This is where we stop. This is where we wait for the others." He pulled out the flare, a small, glowing beacon of hope, and lit the signal flare immediately, sending a brilliant, red spark into the sky.

The flare reached the others on the ground. Calixta and Link had been diligently searching the valleys and lower peaks, saw it from the ground, not far from them. And Pierre, who had also been flying, using his wind to scout, noticed it as well. They all rushed in the direction of Trixtan and Shade, their faces set in grim determination, a new, fresh sense of urgency propelling them forward.

They all gathered on the other mountain, a safe distance from the swirling sphere of miasma.

"What do we do?" Trixtan asked, his hand still holding onto Shade’s arm, his grip a physical anchor, a promise not to let him do anything reckless.

Link held onto his chin, his mind already working, a strategic puzzle piece falling into place. "We have to find an entry point. We can’t just fly into that thing. It’s a death trap." He looked at Pierre. "Pierre, did you bring those masks we used back in the hidden village of Dalry?" Pierre, a silent and reassuring presence, brought out the leather masks, infused with special mana that could filter the miasma.

"I want you to use one while scouting the area from a distance. Go around the sphere, see if you can find any weak points, any ingress. Don’t get too close. Describe it to me."

Pierre immediately went to work, a silent, focused efficiency in his movements. He put on the mask and flew towards the miasma sphere, leaving the four of them behind. Link sighed as he looked at Trixtan’s hand, still clutching onto Shade, a protective, almost brotherly gesture. Link’s brows furrowed after seeing Shade’s exhaustion, the gaunt face and dark, bruised eyes. "Did you even sleep?" he asked.

Shade’s mind was all fuzzy, a chaotic whirlwind of fleeting images and disjointed thoughts. He felt as if he was floating in the air, not on solid ground. He was going in and out of his consciousness, a terrifying, liminal state, but he continued to stare at the sphere of miasma, his focus unwavering.

Seeing him like that, seeing his body sway precariously, Calixta, her usual sharp demeanor replaced by a deep concern, decided to use her healing ability on him. She placed her hand on his forehead, a soft, comforting touch, and began to channel her mana, a warm, light blue light that began to suffuse his body. However, as soon as she did, and as soon as Shade’s body started to relax, the exhaustion that he had fought so hard to contain, the week-long siege on his body and mind, finally broke.

The light from Calixta’s healing was the final push he needed to finally let go. He fell asleep, his body going limp, his head lolling to the side. His body started falling, a dead weight, and Trixtan immediately caught him, his arms wrapped around his friend, a silent, pained grunt escaping his lips as he held his friend close.