The Dimensional Knight

Chapter 27 – The Price to Be Paid

Chapter 27 – The Price to Be Paid

I opened my eyes. Thank heavens, I was still breathing. I honestly thought I was going to kick the bucket after all that madness. I had pushed every last drop of psychic energy from my brain, and as for my ceremonial daggers, I have no idea where they ended up. They were probably lost in the midst of the chaos. The last thing I remembered was my own rage and my stupidity. Seeing that bear wounded like that... made me fall into complete desperation.

Well, I tried to move in bed, but something was very wrong. I couldn't see properly. Everything was completely blurry. And it wasn't just a little bit. The fog in my vision was so dense that I could only distinguish shadowy shapes and outlines moving around the room.

I realized I was lying down. I tried to slide my body out from under the sheets little by little, but my legs simply didn't react. They felt like two pieces of dead wood.

The biological damage was far worse than I had imagined. I should have known that using pyrokinesis and cryokinesis simultaneously in a frail six-year-old body would bring severe consequences. But... now it was too late. There was nothing to be done. I was stuck in this bed until I could regenerate. And judging by the extent of the damage, it was going to take time. At least six months of bed rest.

My nerves had been fried by the overload, several muscle fibers were torn, and some internal organs had taken a heavy beating. My brain had suffered some damage, but amazingly, it remained sound. Had the castle apothecaries used some strong potion or mystical healing media on me while I was passed out?, I wondered.

I started moving my arms, trying to test the limits of my blurry vision, when the door opened. Thys entered the room, and as soon as she laid eyes on me, she began to sob uncontrollably:

— Young master!... You've finally awakened!

— Thys? Is that you standing at the door? — I asked, straining my eyes.

— Thys... young master, don't joke about such a thing! Are you alright? Can't you see me?

— I'm sorry, Thys. I can only see a few dark outlines. My vision is terrible.

— Do you need help getting out of bed, young master? I can...

— I can't. I can't move my legs at all.

Upon hearing that, the poor girl began to cry even louder, covering her face:

— I... I'm going to fetch Lady Sylvia immediately! — and she ran down the hallway.

Shortly after, hurried footsteps echoed, and Katriny entered the room, her voice trembling:

— Young master! I heard you woke up! Are you alright?

— I think so... as much as possible.

— Then tell me what you're feeling!

— Well... for starters, I can't see you — I replied with complete honesty. — I know you're in the room because of your voice, but... you're nothing more than a blurry shadow.

— Stop making such bad jokes, young master! — she said, striding closer.

The panda leaned over the bed, staring into my dull, unfocused eyes. She swallowed hard, frightened:

— How is this possible?... Did you go blind?

— No, I didn't. I'll be able to heal over time. But unfortunately, the psychic collapse caused greater damage than I expected.

— Would you like me to help you out of bed? You need to breathe some fresh air in the courtyard...

— No, Katriny...

— Why? You need to move around!

— Because I can't. My legs won't respond to any command.

Tears began to well up in the panda's black eyes, and she clutched my hand tightly:

— Forgive me, young master... Please forgive me! It was all my fault for failing to protect you as I should have! You subjected yourself to all this suffering just to defend me at the tower... I failed you!

— Don't be an idiot, you treacherous bear! — I grumbled, forcing a casual smile to break the heavy mood. — If it weren't for you, I would have done the same for my father or my mother. This has nothing to do with blame. So make sure to pamper me and treat me extremely well from now on, because I'm going to need your help with everything!

Katriny let out a laugh through her tears, wiping her snout on her sleeves:

— Alright... Forgive me, young master. Don't worry about a thing; I'll make sure to help you improve every step of the way. You'll see!

I heard the sound of her heavy footsteps leaving the room right after.

***

Soon after, my parents rushed into the chamber. My mother, Lady Sylvia, collapsed beside my pillow, crying and sobbing with relief:

— My son! You're alright... You're alive! That's all that matters to my heart... But why... why did you risk yourself so much with the infantry on that wall? Why?

— Mother, forgive me... I know I was very careless — I replied using my gentlest child tone. — But I'm fine, really.

— Fine?! Thys has already told me everything, Kaelen! — she countered, short of breath from crying so much. — You've lost your sight and can barely move your legs! How can that be considered fine? Where is the good in that for you?

— Mother, I'm still here, aren't I? This will heal. This body of mine is very resilient, you'll see. I just need some time of complete rest. Soon I'll be ready for another round.

She turned around in desperation:

— Arl, please! Order them to bring a cleric, a healing mage, or any apothecary in the kingdom to treat our son!

My father remained silent for long seconds.

— Arl! Say something, please! — my mother begged.

Lord Arl took a step forward, and his military voice sounded heavy, yet laced with a touch of frustration:

— The only things that have any effect on him are rustic potions, and using them has already reached the safe limit. We have done everything humanly possible, Sylvia... Unfortunately, his body's vitality will have to regenerate on its own. Rest, my son. We will return to talk later.

I heard his firm footsteps guiding my mother out of the chamber.

Come to think of it... I was completely screwed. My modern mind from Téia knew I had crossed the line of no return regarding biological exertion. For thirty long days, my routine was reduced to staying stretched out on the mattress. I asked Katriny and Thys to read library scrolls to me, and sometimes I was carried in my father's arms to have meals at the table. Enduring my mother's daily crying as she saw me in that debilitated state broke my heart.

And to make matters worse, I couldn't use a single drop of psychic energy. Nothing worked. It was an absolute blank in my head. If the power scale went from zero to ten, I felt like my energy had hit minus thirty.

***

The Great Mockery Ritual

Until one afternoon, my father entered the room abruptly:

— Son, we need to leave the chamber.

— Yes — I replied, feeling for the sheets. — Where are we going? Taking a stroll through the courtyard to lighten the mood?

Lord Arl didn't answer. He simply picked me up gently in his arms and carried me. I really imagined we were heading to the castle gardens, but I noticed we were descending an endless flight of stone steps. The air grew damp and cold, as if we were heading toward a deep cellar or a stone dungeon.

Suddenly, my mother's echoing voice came from behind, shouting in outrage:

— Arl! Do you have no heart in your chest?! He is your own flesh and blood! How do you have the courage to commit such a monstrosity against him? The boy sacrificed everything to save our lives and Katriny's safety! Where is your compassion?

My father kept marching in the dark without uttering a single word.

Right after, Katriny's voice also echoed down the subterranean corridors:

— Master Arl, please! If there is anyone to blame for this disaster, let the punishment fall upon me! The young master is not to blame for anything! He is not the incarnation of a demon; the gift he carries comes directly from the heavens! I am absolutely certain of it! It is very likely that he will become the next holy Sage of this generation!

Upon hearing that, I knitted my brows in the blurry darkness. Sage?, I asked myself. Those white-bearded old men in light novels who pretend to know everything? Okay, I have a lot of knowledge of Téia in my head, but I don't use a single drop of mana, and secondly... isn't that title a bit tacky? For heaven's sake, what are you planning to do with me?

— Father, just one question... — I appealed, trying to keep things light. — Can you answer me?

Lord Arl continued in stolid silence.

— Father? Where are you taking me, after all?

Suddenly, I realized we had reached a vast chamber. I couldn't see, but I could clearly hear the muffled protests of my mother and Katriny, who seemed to be held back by guards at the entrance. In the core of the hall, a chorus of male voices began chanting a drawn-out incantation... An ancient prayer of invocation.

— Katriny? Mother? — I asked aloud, turning my head. — What is my father plotting down here?

My mother answered between sobs and immense anger:

— My son... the clerics of the Sacred Kingdom are claiming you are a demon incarnate! An abomination! They are going to perform an exorcism ritual on you!

I held back the urge to burst out laughing right then and there. Seriously?, I thought. Do I look like a little horned devil to you people? Father, are you really going to fall for this superstitious nonsense? I knew full well that the mana circuitry of those religious prayers didn't work on me because of my Absolute Rejection. I felt a mild apprehension of the unknown, sure, but possession it definitely was not.

My father settled me into a sturdy wooden chair in the center of the hall. I heard his voice order the clerics coldly:

— You may proceed with the scriptures.

I looked in the general direction of the monks' voices and decided to use my best manipulative humor to puncture their religious fanaticism:

— Ah, what a warm welcome, gentlemen!... May I ask which monastery you hailed from? Do you usually put on this kind of spectacle around here? After the ritual, would you care to stop by the kitchen for a nice cup of tea? You know... after driving out a demon, there's nothing like stretching your legs over a hot drink, don't you think?

I could feel the sting of indignation that struck the clergymen through their sudden silence.

Lord Arl cleared his throat, tense:

— Kaelen, stop pestering the monks! Let them carry out their holy work in peace!

— Ah... of course, the holy work of sending me to the afterlife! — I shot back with geeky sarcasm. — Wouldn't it be more practical and faster to put me straight on an iron spit over the forge? At least I'd be well roasted, and we'd save the breath of your prayers!

At that moment, the first sound of stifled laughter echoed in the back of the cellar. It was Katriny, who couldn't hold it in.

Taking advantage of the opening, I raised my voice toward my mother:

— Mother, don't waste your tears on worries! If I really am a little devil, I promise on my noble honor that I'll only pull Master Balin's feet during the night watch! And I leave this treacherous bear in your care to pay for my sins!

— Oh, and one more thing, Father... — I turned my face toward Lord Arl's dark outline. — If I survive this exorcism and prove that I'm purely human... be very well prepared! Because I'm going to use my mind to create inventions and contraptions twice as crazy, just to give your war generals a headache!

This time, it was my mother who couldn't hold back and let out a loud laugh in the middle of the hall.

The monks' chants resumed, rising in pitch in an attempt to drown out my quips. I decided to stay quiet for a few minutes just to observe what the mana magic would do to my body. A bright, harsh light began to emanate from their scriptures, bathing the chair. And... absolutely nothing happened. I remained sitting there, sleepy and with weak legs.

I yawned and broke the sacred silence once more:

— Wow, Mother... what a lovely light they're producing! I wonder if we could make use of the spell to take a warm bath with it? Look at that, you gentlemen should charge extra coins for making the fairies work so hard to generate all this illumination... Is there a direct complaint department to the heavens? Because your exorcism service has terrible quality!

Lord Arl huffed out of pure nervousness, interrupting the ritual:

— Kaelen!... Can you shut your mouth for a single hourglass and let the clerics concentrate on the spell?

— Oh, my deepest apologies, Father... It's just that you caught me on a terrible mood day. Could we schedule the conclusion of the exorcism for a more convenient date? Do you have a booking ledger for next week?

By now, Katriny and my mother were laughing uncontrollably, their laughter echoing off the stone walls of the cellar. My father was visibly frustrated, his face red with embarrassment and irritation. The monks exchanged glances, completely bewildered, holding their trembling scrolls.

The lead cleric cleared his throat, closing his book in disappointment:

— If there were any demonic entity or abomination inhabiting this child vessel, it would have already manifested in agony under the divine scriptures, Baron Arl. We declare the ritual concluded. The boy is merely... peculiar.

— Oh, what a shame, Sir Monk! — I teased, gesturing with my hands. — Why not extend your stay, and we can all have a piece of cake in the kitchens? The cooks prepare some excellent sweets with sour apple fruits from the province... I guarantee you'll LOVE the taste!

My father, now bursting with anger, turned to my mother:

— Sylvia! Get this boy out of my sight right now, before he makes me completely lose my mind!

Katriny was faster than the guards. She ran over, scooped me up with total agility, and, together with my mother, carried me off in a dash back toward the castle stairs, heading straight up to the royal quarters.

***

Safely back in my room, the panda tucked me under the sheets and exclaimed through laughter:

— Young master, you are truly terrible! Your father was about to pull his hair out from sheer nerves in front of those religious men!

— Ah, Katriny... but they tried to exorcise me in a damp cellar, didn't they? — I replied, wiping a speck of dust from my face and smiling. — At least I managed to have a bit of fun at the expense of all that superstition.

Before she stepped away from the bedside to let me rest, my expression shifted, adopting a more serious tone:

— But now that the dust has settled... I have many crucial questions to ask you about what happened at the border during these thirty days I was out cold. And I feel like you and my father have been avoiding me on purpose.

— Forgive me, young master — Katriny said, lowering her head and adjusting my blankets. — It was Lord Arl's explicit orders. He didn't want anyone feeding your mind with matters of war prematurely.

My mother, sitting on the edge of the mattress, held my hand and let out a long sigh:

— Your father even forbade me from talking at length with you about the events, Kaelen. He dug his heels in, saying no one would speak of anything until the clerics performed the exorcism ritual and proved you were truly our son.

For heaven's sake... all this because of pure suspicion and medieval superstition, I thought to myself, feeling a mixture of irony and weariness. My modern mind from Téia found it completely absurd, but I needed to focus on the strategic chessboard.

— Alright, the monks' show is over — I responded, trying to focus my blurry vision toward Katriny. — Answer me once and for all, then... How did that battle at the north wall end? What was the outcome of the siege?

Katriny's black eyes shone with pride, and she broke into a wide smile:

— Young master, we won an absolute victory! Victory was total. Count Baxter retreated and fled through the swamp with only a small fragment of his surviving troops. And it doesn't stop there: we received scout reports just a short while ago stating that, right after leaving our borders, he fell like a rabid wolf upon the Province of Thalia!

I raised my eyebrows, fascinated by the twist:

— He attacked his own ally?

— Yes! — Katriny chuckled softly. — Solano's army crushed Baron Kenneth's defenses and plundered his lands. Thalia lost a vast number of troops and many precious resources, as the traitor baron didn't keep guard contingents stationed in the main city. They were caught completely by surprise by their enraged ally.

I let out a laugh of pure satisfaction, resting my head on the pillow with a lighter heart:

— In the end, the tables were turned. That served them remarkably well... Let the traitors tear each other apart.