Triiffic-Soul: Can I Be In Control?-Chapter 194 – Other Trouble

Chapter 194 – Other Trouble

At the top of the clock tower in the centre of the city, behind the glass which completely shrouded their figure from the outside world but gave them a perfect view of the city.

[So, what do you think of my home?] Eva asked with cautious optimism.

[It’s round.] (Syrus)

[That was your best descriptor?] (Luna)

[It is accurate.] (Syrus)

[Holy why.] Luna let out a long sigh and answered. [It is a lovely place. Everything from the facility to the streets has clearly had a lot of effort put into maintaining them, to create joyful and liveable space.]

[Holy hell, what was that answer?] Syrus squawked with a laugh, [And you said mine was bad.]

[Because it was.] (Luna)

[Hey, it's a great place that happens to be round.] (Syrus)

[You didn’t even call it a great place when you first called it round. Technically speaking, this might be at least the third time you have called it round.] (Luna)

[Eh, probably have.] (Syrus)

The moment of peace was nice. Especially after being attacked moments ago. Perhaps switching into immediate cooldown mode was a little reckless, but Syrus was on guard like always, and sadly, they were a little used to wild things happening.

Looking for books about a plague rather than being attacked by what were suspected to be assassins. Eva felt that if they told their parents what happened as a tale when they were a child, Jen would recommend making it into a story.

Still, a moment to breathe was nice, and this was likely the best view in the city and not one Eva had experienced before. The clock tower had always been a location forbidden for entry. The only people allowed were those sent to maintain it. Eva remembered the stories from school about kids trying to sneak inside only to be caught by the guards, which only made some people try to break in even more, but there were always guards stationed out front.

Looking back on those events, it was clear to see why there was so much strangeness when it came to the tower. Originally, it made some sense why the tower was locked off, as why would people want kids or adults loitering around inside or possibly damaging the tower, but they were always more restrictive than they seemed to need to be.

Now she knew the balcony around the tower was where the royals made their speeches, and many city events began from.

[What a nice view.] (Luna)

[True that.] (Syrus)

[Do we have any other plans for the day?] (Eva)

[Do you want to keep looking for research journals?] (Luna)

[Maybe another day… a little exhausted from all that… stuff earlier] (Eva)

[Fair. Also, someone is coming.] (Syrus)

[Wait what!] (Eva)

[We should move.] (Luna)

[It’s only a kid.] (Syrus)

[Wait…] (Luna)

[How is a kid here…?] (Eva)

[That is an excellent question.] Syrus chuckled, and the worry about being caught shifted into something else. [He is a slow climber, but he should be up soon.]

With Syrus’s confirmation that there was no one else around, they waited for the child to arrive.

However, before he did, Luna made a suggestion to change their appearance.

Climbing up the ladder to reach the clock, the pale boy with faded brown hair huffed as he pulled himself up. Entering the land where no one would disturb him, his hazel eyes immediately widened as there was an intruder in his domain.

“How are you here!” The boy pointed at Anlesa, who was calmly sitting by the clock window holding a notebook that Syrus pulled out just for the theatrics. The woman, who looked older than how they normally appeared, had long, dark, blood-red hair that had been quickly tied into a ponytail that seemed to absorb light rather than shine with it like their normal crimson red.

She had a bang of white hair covering one eye, which was both a cold red. The final change was Luna putting a layer of moonlight on their cloak, which made it look white instead of black while still covering up what they were wearing.

It had been a big chance just for a child, but they had their reasons.

Anlesa turned her head. “What? Don’t like tourists?”

“No, you are never good news.” The child spat at them.

Syrus chuckled, “Wow, got some real power in that spit. Train more, and you might reach a metre.”

The kid’s mouth widened. Who was this bitch talking to him like this?

“Anyway, child, what are you doing up here?”

“I’m fifteen."

“...You sure?” Syrus felt compelled to ask.

He was so small. If someone told them he was an eight-year-old, they would’ve believed them in a heartbeat. Syrus had seen short people before, but this kid just looked like someone whose development had been halted.

“Yes. If you don’t believe me, just go die in a hole.”

[What do they teach children…] (Luna)

[Please don’t blame this on my schooling system; we would get whacked if anyone spoke like that to a teacher.] (Eva)

“Strong mouth, and don’t worry, I do believe you.” Syrus nodded and shifted her position so she was seated towards the boy. “Unless you don’t believe me.”

“...You…” The boy wanted to argue but swallowed.

[Still… How did he get here?] (Eva)

[A secret path like we just did.] (Syrus)

[But they are supposed to be secret paths.] (Eva)

They watched as the boy walked over with a wobble in his step, as if his body was lacking strength for a few steps. “Why are you here?” His tone demanded answers.

“Eh, found a way inside, so I thought to check out the view.” Syrus shrugged. “You have to agree this is probably the best spot in the city.”

“It is.” He replied bluntly. “So when are you going to leave?”

“Likely soon.” Syrus tilted her to the streets. “I have business to attend to.”

“Like all adults.”

“Pretty much, life can be pretty shit sometimes.”

[Hey Luna?] (Eva)

[I am already on it, Lilly.] (Luna)

The boy sat across from Syrus on the other end of the window. The earlier frustration was gone as he simply watched people live their daily lives. All while Luna used her quiet Moonlight to heal the boy, and he didn’t notice a thing until he winced in pain.

He groaned but didn’t suspect anything.

“You certainly appear to be in a bad state.”

“What do you know?” The boy turned his head away.

“I'm not blind, because, child, wow, you look awful.”

“Are you a doctor, because I don’t want to hear the words of a quack?"

“Perhaps an unlicensed one. Mostly treat my own injuries.”

“Do…” The boy looked back. “Do you get injured a lot?”

“Depends on your definition. Some people would say that; others would greatly disagree.” Syrus pulled a tale from her past. “Just because one can survive a hit doesn’t mean the best solution isn’t to still just avoid it in the first place.”

Syrus pointed at the boy with her book. “But trust me on this. I have been hurt enough to say you don’t look good.”

The boy glared back, not believing her. He dared. “Prove it.”

“Sure.” Syrus tossed the book into her cloak, which Luna had to use her magic to grab so it didn’t fall on the floor.

Luna placed her hand on the boy’s shoulder, and he didn’t tense up and looked her directly in the eyes.

However, what he didn’t know was that Luna had already gotten an answer when she tried to apply healing magic to his body. And by the simple reaction of her Moonlight against his body, Luna knew the answer.

[His body has been damaged.] Luna said, concerned about what could have happened. [Syrus, Lilly, can you work together to get an image?]

[Sure.] Eva said, and Syrus's silence agreed.

“When you start feeling a push against your mana, can you think about accepting?” Eva said. They were going to try something more tricky using healing magic. Using Eva’s talents in mana manipulation and Syrus's deep understanding of the body, they were going to examine the boy’s body with their mana.

The boy frowned. “...If I am unhappy with the result, can I punch you in the face?”

Syrus replied, "Sure, I figured you were going to say I would owe you.”

“Can’t trust people to keep promises.”

“Yeah, I understand, kid.”

This process was slow since putting mana in any way inside another person’s body was difficult, but with all their learning, experiences, and touches into the forbidden side of magic and attributes, they had gotten much better. Doing this still required a willing participant.

After a few minutes of examining, Eva asked. [Do you think it could be…?]

[The plague? No.] Syrus quickly denied that. [It shows more signs of possible poison or long-term disease. I’ve seen people with naturally weak bodies that simple diseases have riddled them with holes.]

[But it could also be poison?!] While it was Eva’s mana moving through the boy’s body, she mostly relied on Syrus’s observation. She had come a long way when it came to using mana to study the human body, but Syrus still far surpassed her, especially when it came to other people.

“Well, boy.” Syrus said, “As my initial guess went, you are indeed really messed up. I’ve seen sick people with better bodies than you.”

“I’m sick…?” The boy’s eyes widened in shock, which caught the trio off guard.

Eva told the boy honestly. “Sick, possibly; it could be a poison as well. I am not an expert, but it is one of those two.”

Syrus added some fun context. “I know how to patch a body up, but not always what causes the body to need patching in the first place. Still, I'm pretty confident it is one of the other two options.” Syrus asked, “You want to punch me?”

“But they always said I was fine…” The boy began to tear up. “They always said there was nothing wrong with me…”

Which began to make Eva worry if they had done something wrong. Though Syrus was beginning to recognise exactly what emotions were flowing in the kid

Alba didn’t know if this lady was being truthful, but it was the first time anyone had said he was sick, that there was something wrong with him. Everyone always told him he was just a late bloomer or that he was okay and his body just developed this way.

“What’s your name, child?”

“Alba…”

“Mine’s Rose.” A new identity was born, known only to two.

“...Can you fix me?” The boy paused. “I want to be able to run… I want to use an Attribute." In his desperation, his hands reached for Rose’s cloak.

Luna grabbed his hand as her Moonlight engulfed the boy. Alba groaned in pain, which caused him to reactively pinch Rose’s hand. “I can’t solve your issue, but I can help.”

When it came to healing others, only Luna had the means to do so. The combination of the Moonlight healing magic and Syrus’s Blood recovery was truly miraculous, but on their own, Syrus’s personal Blood recovery was superior; however, it was limited to herself, and Luna’s Moonlight was less effective on extremely complex issues.

Sadly, Alba’s issues were certainly complex. She had spells for sicknesses and poisons, but Alba’s body had been long worn away. From what she understood from Eva’s and Syrus’s analysis, the body had been in this state for a long time, and the fact that the fifteen-year-old could pass for someone nearly five-to-eight years younger was a clear sign something was wrong.

Alba felt a warmth within his body that he had never experienced. His blood brought colour to his fingers for a moment, and his breathing quickened.

He opened his eyes when he noticed the feeling of magic stopped.

Luna raised her other hand to her lip. “Keep this meeting a secret and don’t let people know you are healing.”

The boy didn’t respond.

“I don’t know why you are so hurt, but for your safety, just keep this quiet. My healing won’t make you perfect, but you should be better than before, and feel free to slowly adapt. You might begin to feel hungrier as your body wants to build up muscles as it begins working again.”

Alba asked, “I am truly better…?”

“Only better,” Luna warned. “So don’t push yourself too hard; you are still not in a good state, even if it feels like that for you."

Luna didn’t continue her healing; Alba’s body was simply too weak to handle it.

Rosa said goodbye to the child and vanished from the clock tower soon afterwards. Alba had no chance at following. He felt tired after the healing and watching how fast she slid down the ladder without fear; he knew he could never catch up.