10 Ch. 10 - One Eyed

*Mumbling in the background*

Where am I?

*The mumbling continues*

This isn't the afterlife, right? If it is, it's pretty underwhelming.

*The mumbling stops*

Slowly, my hearing recovers.

"What were you three thinking!" (???)

"We didn't know professor, we're sorry." (???)

"Don't apologize to me. Apologize to Azrail. Because of your actions, he almost died." (???)

*Silence*

"Do you know when Azrail will wake up professor?" (???)

"The doctor said that Azrail should regain consciousness soon. Being almost eaten by a gigantic snake and having his left eye cut open shocked Azrail into a coma." (???)

"We didn't mean for this to happen." (???)

"I know child. I know." (???)

*Silence*

----

*Grunt*

"Professor, I think Azrail is waking up!" (???)

"Let me go get the doctor" (???)

My eyelids slowly opened, and a ceiling of white welcomed me. My field of view was a lot less than what I was used to. My vision was still very much blurred. I looked to my side to see the figure of a person facing my direction. Slowly, my vision cleared, and the figure revealed itself to be Valde.

"Where am I?"

"We're in the infirmary." (Valde)

"What happened?"

"You almost died." (Valde)

"I know that. I mean, what was that white flash in the end? That's the last thing I remember before passing out."

"Oh that. That was my magic." (Valde)

"Magic? We haven't yet had any magic classes, have we?"

"No, we haven't, but I started learning magic as a toddler. That's why I can already cast magic." (Valde)

"Why were you learning magic when being so young? Actually. Scratch that; I know why."

"Yep. It's common among the aristocracy of the wizarding world to have their children train in magic from a young age. Although the magic council has forbidden teaching magic to children, in actuality, it only applies to non-nobles. It's one of the methods the aristocracy uses to make sure that they are ahead of non-nobles in every generation." (Valde)

Just as Valde finished, the door to the room we were in was pushed open. Through the door came Mrs. Kimberly and an elderly man following behind her.

"How do you feel Azrail?" (Mrs. Kimberly)

"I feel... fine."

"Does any part of your body feel weird?" (Mrs. Kimberly)

"Except for my left eye, no."

From the corner of my eye, I could see that Valde mood took a turn for the worse immediately after I mentioned my left eye.

Mrs. Kimberly struggled to formulate the best way for her to inform me about the status of my left eye. After a quiet moment, the elderly man behind Mrs. Kimberly was the first to speak.

"Student Azrail, I am sorry to inform you that you are permanently blind in your left eye. Your left eye is beyond recoverable." (???)

"Doctor Adam! How can you say that? He's but a child. Do you have no heart?" (Mrs. Kimberly)

The elderly man, who Mrs. Kimberly revealed to be Doctor Adam, responded, "No amount of sugar-coating is going to change the reality of the situation Mrs. Kimberly. The fact is the boy is now half blind. Nothing will change that. It is up to the boy to choose how to react." (Doctor Adam)

I sat still, still in the process of registering what was going on. Am I half-blind now? Isn't there some magic out there that can heal my eye? I voiced my question out of desperation.

"Isn't there some magic that can heal my eyes doctor?

"Yes, there exists magic that can heal people's eyes, but not your eye. Do you know anything about the creature that almost made you into its supper?" (Doctor Adam)

"No."

"That creature is called a Sacrant. Sacrants are gigantic snakes that may possess any element depending on their environment. But that is not what makes the Sacrant species infamous. One quirk shared by all Sacrant's is anti-magic. As the name suggests, anti-magic nullifies all forms of magic. The anti-magic covers the Sacrants' fangs. When the sacrant's fang slit your eyes, residue of anti-magic was left behind. Because of that residue anti-magic, no magic would work on your left eye." (Doctor Adam)

I went through the five stages of grief quickly. At first, I was in denial, then anger, then bargaining, then depression, and lastly, acceptance. I had experienced much hardship growing up and learned to accept things that were out of my control. Losing vision in my left eye was no different.

The doctor was taken away when he saw me mentally recover so quickly.

"That's the spirit kid. Although you lost your left eye, you still have your right eye. Don't forget that. I'm confident that you'll adapt quickly kid." (Doctor Adam)

After saying so, the doctor left the room.

Valde was still looking sad because of what had happened to my left eye.

"It isn't your fault Valde, nor was it Ronald's. It is what it is. None of us would have expected this to happen. Don't blame yourself."

Valde nodded.

"By the way, where's Ronald? How come I haven't heard from him yet?"

"Ronald. Ronald is scared to see you." (Valde)