Capítulo 16: Betrayer
With that, Lin and Jean were finally honest with one another. It wasn't the first time Jean had fallen for someone else, but it was the first time that his love had been returned. A few people had tried to use him before, thinking that he had money because he was smart, but that was manipulation, not love. They all left when they found out otherwise. All of them did. On Earth, all love was lost.
Over the next three days, the two lovers grew closer and closer. They didn't have to force their feelings because they were genuinely in love. There was no period of them warming up to each other to go through before their love could develop because that had already happened when Jean was becoming a part of the family.
However, Jean hadn't made any progress with the notes. He had new speculations about what it meant but no progress. Sensing his frustration, Potestas took the golden opportunity and suggested through a chat, 'If you really want to understand this and finally make some progress on your status screen, we could always check the battlefield we arrived in. Some of the spirits may have dissipated by now, but there should at least be some remaining.'
'But aren't you forgetting something? We don't know where it is. M carried us here, and although we could probably ask him when he comes back, we'd have no way to explain why we want to go there. In his mind, that'd be the last place we'd want to go.'
'Although you may not know where it is, I do. Even though you sleep, I don't. While you rest, I'm still active, so I can tell you what direction we came from.'
'What direction did we come from, then?'
'If the front door is 0 degrees, then we came from approximately 330-340 degrees. From this, we can find the ravine we slept in and the battle field from there because we know that we arrived at the ravine while we were travelling perpendicular to its flow.'
'...That's not a bad plan. But are you sure you know where it is?'
'Of course I know where it is. Do I have a reason to lie to you?'
'I suppose not. But how do we explain it to Lin and Yun? And how long will it take to get there?'
'It'll take a few hours, based on how long it took M to get here. You can probably just tell them that you're going for a walk. Tell Lin that, at least. You don't have to tell Yun. M might have asked her to stop you from leaving if he's still scared that you might run.'
Jean considered for a moment before asking again, 'Are you sure you know how to find it?'
'Of course. It's a massive field, after all. Even if we're off by a little, we'll still be able to find it.'
Jean finally relented before changing into clothes more appropriate for walking. After, he slipped to the front door to find the boots that had been lent to him. There, he found Lin, and when she saw him getting ready to leave, she asked with a smile, "Hey, where do you think you're going?"
"Ah, I'm just going for a walk," he said, trying to obfuscate his true intentions.
"That sounds fun. I'll come with you, just give me a second to get ready, too."
She left to change out of her light dress before Jean stopped her, "Wait, hold on; I think I'm probably going to go alone this time."
A little hurt, she responded, "Oh... Are you sure? I really want to come."
"Yeah. I kinda want to be alone right now, sorry."
After a brief silence, while he was still kneeling, and idea appeared in her mind. Lin approached his low figure and got down right next to him before putting her arms around his shoulders and hugging him.
In a slightly awkward stance, he shifted so his knees weren't in the way between them and asked, "What are you doing?"
She stayed silent as her heart beat hard in anticipation. After a few moments, she released him and leveled their faces at one another. Her silver eyes reflected his green ones as their souls stared at each other for a brief moment before she leaned in, and... ever so slowly... she gave him her first kiss.
Surprised and breathless, he returned it with the passion of a man experiencing his first true love. It wasn't his first kiss, but this was different from all those women before.
He was attracted to more than her body, her smile, her laugh, or even her mind or personality. He loved that she loved him. A small tear rolled down his face as the emotions from this realization overwhelmed him. What would he ever do if he lost her?
They dragged it out for several scant minutes before she released him and asked with a bright, nearly incandescent, but mischievous smile, "Are you sure I can't come?"
"Uh—" he chuckled a little. "So that's what you were after?"
"Of course. I don't want you to be alone. No, I want to be with you. I don't want to leave you or you to leave me. Never." She hugged him tighter. Jean hesitated, but his heart understood. He would never leave her. Not if he had a choice. Even though his knees were numb from holding his awkward stance, he wouldn't move so that she wouldn't feel like he was uncomfortable.
His speech hesitated slightly before he gave up and came clean, "I—haa—I can't... I can't let you come. I'm sorry, but I'm not just going for a walk like I said. I can't let you come because I want to make sure you're safe. Do you know where your dad found me?"
"He said you were a soldier for Vespucc but didn't say much else."
"I was in a battle some distance from here. That's my earliest memory. Before that, I don't know much. But in my earliest memory, I was on the verge of death. I could hardly walk because the bones in my feet shattered and pierced the skin when I put pressure on it. But there's something there, back at the battlefield, that I need."
She looked at him silently, trying to digest what he was telling her before he continued, "But I don't know how far it is or what might be there. I can protect myself, but I don't know if I can protect you, too. It should only take a few hours, but if M gets back before I do, tell him where I went. He should be able to find me."
"Alright, fine," she said, with an entirely sober demeanor.
"I should be back before the day is over, ok? It won't take long. Sorry for not telling you honestly before."
She paused a moment to consider whether she should forgive him or not. "It's fine, but when you come back, you're doing something for me whether you like it or not, ok?"
"Alright, I can do that." They both smiled a little again.
She let go of him to let him finish putting on his boots before he opened the front door—and he left M's house and family behind. But Lin followed him outside and told him, "Turn around." As soon as he did, she began climbing his sturdy frame to surmount the almost foot of difference between them and kissed him again before falling.
Laughing at her antics, he bent down to pick her up and kissed her softly one last time and dragged it out for a minute. And this time, when they disengaged, he told her for the first time, "I love you. I don't know what I'd do without you."
With a smile that split her face, she prophesied, "I love you, too. You're the only one I'll ever love."
"You took the words out my mouth. At my deathbed, even if I married the goddess of love herself, you'd be the only one on my mind."
"So, you're a liar and a plagiarist."
"Of course. Your father's a magnificent poet. Shame he chose to pursue magic." He laughed.
With that, they released each other, and he left the household behind him. After a few hours of following Potestas' directions, they found the creek he fell into last time. It was calm and cool, burbling softly over smooth rocks.
Jean thought, 'So, this is where I was last time. I was so out of it, wasn't I, Potestas? I didn't even understand where I was, did I?' Potestas didn't respond. 'Potestas?' Jean's knees buckled as he fell to the ground. A wave of power flowed into his mind, but his body couldn't support it.
But Jean couldn't reap the benefits as Potestas commandeered the sudden wave of power for himself. His body was paralyzed and limp as it fell into the five-foot (152 cm) tall ravine. His legs were submerged, while his upper body rested on the cool dirt.
His muscles rapidly atrophied as he became a skeleton of a man. Jean roared in his mind with increasing panic and confusion, 'Potestas! What's happening to me?! Help me! Do something before I die! What's happening?! Help!' His body wouldn't respond to his commands as he had no choice but to feel the betrayal with his full body as he slowly faded out and a new hell appeared.
Status de energia semanal
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Poder 
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Poder