CHAPTER 104: HIDDEN RESONANCE

"Yes."

Maeve blinks. "That’s it?"

Aldriana shrugs. "You ask. I answer."

"But... you don’t have an explanation for it?" Maeve looks genuinely puzzled.

Now it is Aldriana who looks confused. "What... explanation do you need?"

"Well..." Maeve pauses. She does not even know what she wants to ask. What explanation do I need?

Suddenly –

"ARGH!!"

Then –

Boom!

Something explodes inside the cave.

Everyone is startled, but Aldriana reacts the fastest. She instantly dashes toward the sound. When she arrives, she gasps loudly.

"Oh no."

Arthur arrives ten seconds behind her, Liam on his heels.

The three of them stand where the fused man is supposed to be. Instead of a mass of heartstones with one visible eye, there is only a pile of heartstones soaked with blood. The part that was still flesh has exploded.

"What happened?!" Maeve arrives behind them, breathless. She sees the mess and covers her mouth. "Oh my god."

Arthur feels his anger rise. And that anger ignites automatically and wraps him in flame, turning him into a human torch.

"Hey!" Liam jumps, startled. His water surges and splashes Arthur on instinct, as if putting out a fire.

If the situation were not tragic, Aldriana would have laughed. Arthur stands there drenched. His silver hair is stuck to his head, his shirt clings to him, and everything is dripping.

A moment later, steam rises. In seconds, Arthur is dry again.

He turns to Aldriana. "Do you have any idea what happened?"

"I do not. If I have to guess... the fusion was not perfect. I believe the remaining flesh kept turning to heartstone area by area. Since heartstones are not soft, they eventually crushed the remaining flesh and killed him."

Arthur clenches his fists so hard his knuckles go white.

Silence falls over all of them. No one knows what to say. They only feel awful.

A small sniffle breaks the silence.

Maeve.

She has always been the sensitive one, and for some reason, this particular tragedy twists something in her chest. A tiny sniffle becomes a stream of tears, and soon she is sobbing.

The three others are startled and look at her.

"Hey, are you okay?" Liam asks, concerned.

Aldriana does not speak. She simply pulls Maeve in and hugs her.

Maeve clings to her tightly.

Aldriana strokes her back gently, soothing her. At the same time, she quietly checks Maeve’s resonance. She has been suspicious ever since she watched her fire spell.

"Hey, what is going on? Why is she crying?" Julian’s sleepy voice drifts from behind.

Arthur and Liam turn to greet him. Aldriana lifts her head.

"What... what is that? Is that... oh my god! It’s him! That fused guy. What happened to him?!"

Julian rushes forward to examine the remains, but Aldriana’s barrier blocks him.

She flicks her wrist and the barrier disappears.

The moment it fades, the stench hits them first. The three men stagger backward. None of them expected it.

Arthur covers his nose instantly. Liam and Julian follow him.

"Oh god. What is that smell?" Julian gags.

"It smells like dead bodies," Liam manages.

Aldriana moves her wrist again. A breeze sweeps through the cave and carries the odor away.

Liam uncovers his nose and sniffs experimentally. Nothing. "Whoa. How did you do that? Wind spell? What is the word for wind?"

Julian frowns. He does not understand why Liam is excited.

Arthur places a hand on Liam’s shoulder, grounding him.

Liam snaps out of it. "Right. Not the time. Sorry. I do not know why I reacted like that."

Arthur turns back to the blood-soaked pile of heartstones and bits of human flesh. He stares at it for a long moment, then quietly turns and leaves.

Liam follows. Julian hurries after them because he can tell something is happening, and he does not understand what he has missed.

Aldriana watches the three men leave and makes a mental note to talk to them later about magic addiction and power abuse.

She guides Maeve gently away from the scene and sits her somewhere she cannot see the fused heartstones. When Maeve has calmed a little, Aldriana lets go of her shoulders and asks softly, "Are you okay?"

Maeve sniffles, then nods. "I actually am. I just... I do not know... I am always like this, you know."

"Like what?"

"Overly sensitive. I cry easily over small things. Especially when someone gets hurt. The worse the injury is, the worse my reaction becomes." Maeve wipes her cheeks, embarrassed.

"Maeve... have you ever checked your resonance?" Aldriana asks carefully. Maeve blinks, confused, but before she can respond, Aldriana has already lifted both palms toward her.

"Look," Aldriana continues, "we are practically strangers. But we are both mages... magi... in a world where mana is almost non-existent. I am sure you are wondering about my identity, the same way I am wondering how you can use magic at all."

She pauses, takes a slow breath. "But the fact remains that we are here. We are not trapped, but we know this dungeon is dangerous. I cannot, in good conscience, let other people enter and risk themselves trying to help us clear it."

"In fact, I will seal the dungeon from the inside so no one accidentally comes in. And honestly, I do not want us to keep dancing around each other."

Aldriana gestures to her outfit. "Look at me. I am covered from head to toe. Obviously I am hiding my identity. So I understand completely if you want to protect yours, or the existence of your magic community."

"And that is fine. Truly." Aldriana’s expression softens, but her tone becomes firm. "However, I cannot have you be the one dragging us behind. I am not insulting you. But you must notice by now that your fire magic is not strong. Not against these haelions."

Maeve is quiet through the whole thing, then nods.

"Good. We understand each other. And I’m sure you know why I asked about your resonance."

Maeve nods again. "Yes. You want to know if my resonance can be more helpful."

"Exactly. And just to be clear, I don’t want to replace your teacher and I’m not trying to become one. Like I said, we’re strangers."

"I understand. And no... my resonance hasn’t been checked yet. My teacher wanted me to learn the basics first."

Aldriana inhales, holds back several comments she really wants to make.

"...Right. Well. I checked yours earlier when we were hugging. First, I’m sorry for doing that without permission. Second... do you want to know?"

Maeve’s eyes go wide. "You checked my resonance? You can do that? And that fast?"

"Well... yeah. It’s a simple... thing to... do."

Aldriana trails off and mentally kicks herself.

I keep forgetting this world doesn’t know magic like I do.