Chapter 25: Healing, Awake or Asleep

The door was opened by a housemaid.

"The young lady says you may enter. Please, come in."

Shou and Alfie hesitated for a moment before stepping inside.

"Aura?"

When they called out,

"…Alfie, Shou."

A faint voice came from the bed, hidden behind curtains. It was Aura.

"Stop coming. I don’t want to hear anyone’s cheerful voices."

Alfie’s face fell. He lowered his head, looking sorrowful.

"No."

Shou refused.

"Go home!"

"No!"

"Just leave me alone!"

"No! I won’t! I can’t!"

"…Why?"

"Because you’re my friend. Because I like you. Because I just can’t leave you alone."

"You’re an idiot. I can’t even go out and play anymore."

Aura’s voice trembled with tears.

If this had been Japan, classmates would have signed a farewell card, a small group might have visited once, and over time, they would have drifted apart. But here, in this world, where family was scarce, every person they met was precious.

Even if he never said it out loud, Falco was someone she loved, too.

This time, she wanted to cherish everyone, instead of losing them to the flow of life.

Especially her friends.

Alfie took a step forward.

"I don’t care if we can’t go out and play. I just want to be with you. You don’t even have to talk. Just… don’t shut me out."

His voice was full of pain.

"But I know… No one will show me a mirror, but I can tell when I touch my face. My hair is gone. My face is rough and scarred."

Aura’s voice caught.

"I’m not who I used to be anymore."

"That doesn’t matter!"

"Alfie…"

"I like you, Aura. Whether you’re cheerful, angry, or silent. I still like you. I just want to be by your side."

"Even like this?"

Aura's trembling hands pulled back the curtain.

There she was—her once-beautiful face marred by acid burns, her hair almost entirely gone.

A frail, exhausted girl.

And yet—

Her green eyes were still the same.

Even through the tears, even as she trembled, those eyes were filled with strength.

Shou stepped forward and hugged her.

She held onto Aura’s thin frame tightly.

"No matter what you look like, you’re still you, Aura."

Then, Alfie wrapped his arms around both of them.

"See? You’re still the same Aura I’ve always known. The one who’s always been so brave."

Aura cried—

And yet, she had to say something.

"I’m not yours."

"Tch, you noticed?"

The three of them laughed quietly together.

After a while, Aura spoke again.

"You know… I can still remember my friends' faces. I can remember yours, Shou. And yours, Alfie. But no matter how hard I try… I can’t remember my own."

"I regret going to that place every single day. I think about my friends, about our time gathering herbs together. But my own face… I can’t picture it. I should remember, at least in my heart. But it’s slipping away, and that makes me so sad."

Shou took Aura’s left hand. Alfie took her right.

"I remember. I thought about your face so many times while picking out your gift."

"Me too."

Aura looked at them and quietly asked,

"Tell me. What did I look like to you?"

Shou and Alfie joined hands, forming a small circle of three.

Taking turns, they spoke.

"Your soft golden hair shimmered in the sunlight, falling in waves down your back."

"Your forehead was smooth, a little wide, with gently arched brows. And look at this hairpin—your green eyes were just like this stone, clear and bright."

"Your golden eyelashes were long and delicate, like lace filtering the light through your green eyes."

"You had two tiny beauty marks under your left eye."

"They made you look mature. And your cheeks were rosy and soft… with another little beauty mark on the right."

Aura laughed.

"That’s too many beauty marks! But… I think I remember now. Yeah… that was me in the mirror."

"Aura, can I try flowing magic through you?"

"You’re both still training as healers, right? Alright. Please do."

Shou and Alfie focused their magic together, exchanging glances.

In the past two months, they had grown completely in sync with each other's magical flow.

Yes.

The memory of Aura’s form was faint, her soul’s shape uncertain, its outline blurred.

But—

It was not lost.

"Aura, try to remember your reflection in the mirror."

"O-Okay."

"Alfie, her soul’s memory is unstable, but it’s not gone. It might come back. Let’s remember, too. Let’s remember Aura."

"Got it."

Aura smiling.

Aura being stubborn.

Aura laughing.

Every detail.

Hold onto it.

And let it reach her soul.

"It’s warm… Shou… Alfie… Shou? Alfie?"

Suddenly—

Both of them collapsed.

"Wait—no! They’re not conscious! What happened?!"

Panic surged through Aura.

"Somebody! Somebody!"

The housemaid had left the room.

"Somebody!"

No one could hear her.

She had to tell someone—she had to call for help.

Aura tried to get out of bed but fell to the floor.

Her body had weakened from lying down too long.

She needed to get to the door.

She crawled toward it.

But then—

She froze.

If she opened the door, they would see her face.

Her hand trembled as she reached for the handle.

She clenched her fist.

"SOMEBODY!"

"Aura?"

"Mother! Shou and Alfie collapsed! Call the Master Healer!"

"Somebody! Call the Master Healer! Hurry!"

"Aura! Show me them!"

"They’re on my bed! They were using their magic on me, and then they passed out!"

"Oh dear—"

The Master Healer arrived.

"I was just on my way here."

"Shou and Alfie!"

The Master Healer checked them—and sighed in relief.

"Hmph. It’s just magic exhaustion, Aura."

"Thank goodness…"

Aura whispered—before collapsing onto the floor.

The Master Healer reached out to catch her—then his eyes widened in shock.

"Yona, look!"

"Aura—your hair!"

Aura was too tired to move.

Something tickled her face.

Long.

Annoying.

Hair?

She reached up—

And felt her own hair.

"Aura, wake up. Let me see your face."

"Mother?"

Aura finally looked at her mother.

She looked so tired.

"I’m sorry…"

"She’s healed."

"What?"

"It’s all back, Aura."

She touched her smooth skin.

Her head full of hair.

"Shou and Alfie… it was them…"

"You’re back, Aura."

"Yes…"

Shou and Alfie still slept, unaware of the miracle they had performed.

The Master Healer stroked his chin, thoughtful.

"Hmph. Just as Falco said."

"What do you mean, Master Healer?"

Yona, eyes wet with tears, looked up.

"Shou makes little snoring noises when she sleeps."

She didn't.

If Shou had been awake, she would have protested furiously.

Instead, she slept peacefully, her breath light and steady.

"Oh, how adorable."

"That’s Shou for you."

"Even in her sleep, she heals others."

The Master Healer smiled gently.

Goddess of Creation… thank you for sending us Shou.

And whether that prayer was right or wrong—

Only the Goddess knew.