Chapter 7 S2

-Breathe in deeply," said the chief physician, placing a stethoscope on the angel's chest, "then breathe out slowly. Repeat the exercise at least five times.

Niris obeyed. A few seconds passed in silence as the doctor listened to her breathing. Finally, he stepped aside and removed the instrument from his ears. 

-Well, everything's fine, you're not showing any signs of ill health, and your organs are in perfect condition," he continued. 

Niris nodded silently. He knew the doctor was right, he could feel for himself that he wasn't ill, but ever since he'd woken up after his father had put him to sleep with a soothing wave, he hadn't felt at ease. It was as if his own body had become alien to him. He had complained about this to the head doctor who had meticulously examined him, but the result was what he had just heard. His

concerned expression worried the doctor, who gave him a recommendation in the hope of guiding him. 

-The fact that you have been the object of a deadly seal is perhaps what has affected you," he said cautiously. I'm not familiar with the effects of such a powerful seal on your body. Natural energy isn't supposed to have any effect on your physical constitution, but given that the death seal binds your body to an energetic attachment, I can't be sure of anything. 

-I understand, thank you for your help," said the prince, who got dressed to leave. 

He had ended up in front of the lab and was looking at the door a little stupidly. "Now what?" he thought. Did he really want to know what lay ahead? Did he really want to hear that he was going to spend a lifetime fighting a demon that was eating him up from the inside? And then there were these strange dreams that seemed to be happening as if they were real. His mind began to go blank and he frowned. His breathing became ragged. The anxiety that had been oppressing him since he got home, and which he had been trying to ignore as best he could, suddenly came flooding back. 

His vision blurred and his hand gripped the door as he struggled to stand. He closed his eyes and concentrated. In his mind, he imagined Seiran's face as he remembered it. He imagined him smiling and speaking tenderly to him. Remembering the person he loved calmed him instantly. The memory of her reminded him of how tender she felt when he spoke to her, and the caress of her hand on his hair made him remember her natural warmth. 

Gradually, his breathing returned to normal. His mind stabilised and he opened his eyes again. The world had stopped moving around him. Determined, he ignored the pang of pain that tugged at his heart and pushed open the door. If he ever wanted to see the demon again, he had to be alive, no matter what. 

He entered and was about to announce himself when he stopped dead in his tracks at the horrifying sight before him. The angel was cutting her forearm with a knife. 

-WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" he shouted, rushing at her. 

Surprised, the master looked up and reflexively dropped his knife. The prince was holding her arm and watching her with a mixture of terror and concern. The master of blades' forearm was veined with black lines that drew a network of macabre veins across his skin. 

-what... why...

Niris couldn't finish his sentence because he was so confused. He watched in bewilderment as blood trickled from the open wound, interrupting the black pattern on the master's white skin. 

-Aaah, don't look like that," she scolded him when she saw the look on his face. I was just testing to see if my hypothesis worked, but apparently not. 

The angel looked up at the master of blades with completely lost eyes. 

-A test? 

With a quick wave of her hand, the angel grabbed a bandage and wrapped it around his wound. She secured it with a piece of bandage tape, then wiped away the blood that had trickled down to her wrist. 

-It's the result of the death seal, part of my body has deteriorated due to the lack of natural energy," she explained as she moved towards a stool nearby.

Niris followed her and stood in front of her, too shocked to do anything but stare at her stupidly. 

-What do you mean deteriorated? he asked. 

-Do you remember how I came back to life? 

Niris thought for a moment. 

-You mean how your body and mind were reassociated after being put to forced rest for years? he corrected her. 

The angel laughed. The prince was quick-witted, there was no denying it. 

-Well, that's precisely my hypothesis," she continued. I wanted to get rid of the curse by severing my arm, but that would have had no effect if my arm was still 'alive'. 

The prince frowned. He wasn't sure he was following her...

-What happened exactly was that the lack of natural energy available to my body led to a deterioration of the energy channels in my forearm, which was in direct contact with Niyari's energy. That's what you see in black on my skin, those are my damaged energy channels. 

Niris watched more closely, fascinated despite the tragedy the master of blades was telling him about. 

-The problem is that the deterioration of the energy channels is not a simple deterioration as we might understand it in the physiological sense of the term. It works more like a curse. That's why it's called the slow curse. Once you've damaged the channels in your body, no matter how small, it spreads to all your vessels gradually. 

-How did this happen? Were you short on natural energy? 

-Well, I think I underestimated the amount of it I would need to control Niyari, recognised Lou. 

-And is there anything we can do about it? asked Niris, concerned. 

-Unfortunately, nothing works," she explained. The deterioration releases a toxin that spreads throughout your energetic body and duplicates itself very easily, even once the source of the evil has been removed. 

The Prince cocked his head to one side. 

-Then why were you trying to sever your arm? It wouldn't have worked anyway.

The master of blades smiled mischievously. 

-It would have worked if my body was a resurrected body," she finally explained. 

She decided to continue when she met the angel's confused gaze. 

-A resuscitated body is no longer a living body; it functions completely differently, particularly when it comes to natural energy. It doesn't circulate in the same way, indeed it doesn't really circulate at all under normal circumstances. Severing my arm would have solved the problem, but as I was cryogenically frozen before I died and kept alive, I'm not dead at all. So my body functions like a normal living body. So there's no need for this procedure. 

The angel was still staring at her. He was fascinated by the master of blades' train of thought and his boundless knowledge. He had never wondered how a body that had died and been brought back to life reacted to natural energy. It had even less occurred to him to do the experiment... but that was a detail. 

-Anyway, we've got another problem on our hands with this curse," sighed the angel. One more thing to solve. 

-One more thing? Why, what's the basic thing we've got to solve? 

The master of blades looked at him for a moment, then stood up. Niris felt very small in front of this angel, taller than him, and with an overwhelming aura. There was no doubt about it, the last Master of Blades was a natural fighter from every point of view. 

-We need to undo this lethal leap and find a definitive way of locking Niyari inside you so that she ceases to be a threat to your life," she said, digging the nail of her index finger into his chest. 

Niris squinted to look at the master of blades' finger. 

-And for that, we have a long journey ahead of us," she concluded as she walked past him. 

Niris turned round, even more confused than before. 

-But I thought the death seal was the ultimate solution to stop Niyari and that there was nothing more effective? 

Lou stopped. She seemed to hesitate, then turned round. Straight away, she stared into his eyes. 

-There is another method, much more effective if it works, and much less painful for you," he said seriously. 

Niris said nothing. He could feel his heart racing. 

-Let's just say that nobody wants you to try it because it could have serious consequences if it fails, but I confess that I don't give a damn. You're your mother's son, there's no reason why you shouldn't succeed. Besides, I'm not like those grumpy old men on the Council, for me a life without risk has no taste. And I don't agree with their selfish vision of protecting the world. They want a world without any unknowns to ensure that the danger of all-out war disappears, but in reality, they're doing it just to keep themselves alive! I doubt they have any real concern for the mere mortals who inhabit the intergalaxy. 

Niris was speechless. He couldn't believe what he'd just heard. An angel openly and harshly criticising the Organisation! It was unheard of! He shook his head to regain his composure. 

-Wait, when you say there's a better way of controlling Niyari without using a seal, do you mean... that... I control her? 

He almost laughed at her hypothesis, so abject did it seem to him. But his blood ran cold when he heard the master of blades answer. 

-That's exactly what I mean," she replied without flinching for a moment. 

-But... it's... it's simply impossible!" he suddenly exclaimed, realising what she was saying. I'd have to be mentally strong enough, build up an incomparable amount of energy power, and then create my own energy seal to maintain it... And if I failed, she would take control of my body! That's too risky!

-Calm down!" Lou intervened dryly. I never said it would be easy in the first place, and I never said you'd do it alone! 

She let out a deep sigh before continuing. 

-I have a blade called 'End of Day' that has the power to control souls. It can extinguish their will until it renders them incapable of anything. If you're in possession of this blade, you'll be able to master Niyari in the blink of an eye with the right training. 

-And how do you know it will work?" retorted the prince, who was pacing back and forth, still in shock from his announcement. 

-Because that's what I used to do to control Niyari when I was her carrier," she replied calmly. 

The prince stopped dead in his tracks and looked at her dumbfounded for the umpteenth time. 

-Have you forgotten that I am your ancestor, young man? I was the carrier of Niyari in my time before she was turned into a gem. If you are the carrier of Niyari today, it's because you inherited my genes from your mother and your exceptional and very special natural energy, which allows you to master this demonic spirit. 

She now had his full attention. 

-If I can do it, then so can you, especially as she is now in fragmentary form, much easier to control than when she was in spirit form. 

Niris lowered his eyes. He was gradually absorbing what she was telling him, but he had so many questions that he didn't know where to start to ease his mind. 

-So with this blade... I could... really live without the death seal? she questioned, a flicker of hope in her voice. 

-Yes, that's exactly what I'm telling you," she replied with a confident smile. 

-So she controls souls? I've never heard of a sword like that...

-That's normal, this sword is very special, and not many people know about it," she explained. It's a blade given to me by the shadow spirit. He forged it for the sole purpose of helping me to coerce Niyari. I've spent my life exploring its potential so that I could master it in its entirety. Now I know enough to teach you how to use it yourself. 

The angel's lips stretched into a smile he couldn't contain. 

-Am I really going to be able to live without the death seal? Even if the Council is against it? 

-I promise I'll do everything I can to make sure you do," she affirmed. And you should know that the Intergalactic Council may be against the idea, but your father and all the members of the administration, as well as the imperial and regional parliaments of Egea, support it. A special motion was passed this very morning for the Emperor to make it his policy to do everything in his power to support you in this task and to convince the Council to let you do it. 

The Prince almost jumped for joy. Even though he knew it would be no mean feat, the idea of having a solid chance of escaping from this mortal seal that so repulsed him filled him with joy. Lou smiled to see him so pleased. It was an immense victory for her to be able to offer him such a way out that she herself had had to create for herself in her day. Now she could guide him to success. He wouldn't be alone like she had been years before. 

-Get ready, we've got a... she was about to turn and leave the room when the prince asked her a question that instantly stopped her in her tracks. 

-Why are you doing all this for me? You're going against the Council, and I doubt the other governments will agree with that. You're going to make a lot of enemies when you've just been reborn, so why make so many? I may be your descendant, but I'm still a stranger to you. 

Lou stopped. His question stirred up emotions that were still alive in her despite her years of sleep. There was this ball of pain stirring inside her, the one that had accumulated all the loneliness and suffering she had had to endure as a Niyari carrier. A ball of emotion that she had tried to bury deep inside herself to forget. But the words of this young angel brought it out in no time, just like that. 

-Because I don't want you to go through what I went through," she replied without turning round. All the suffering I've had to endure, all the loneliness, all the battles I've had to fight to get others to accept me and let me choose my path, to let me live... a normal life. Not a life in chains, broken...

She paused for a moment before continuing. 

-Niris, never forget that you have the same right to live and be happy as everyone else. Don't let those viperous tongues that call for you to be locked up and submitted to their control get to you. They are afraid of your power and of what you represent by standing up to destiny, but they don't have the right to make you carry the weight of their fears. They don't have the right to take away your humanity because your freedom scares them. You have as much right as anyone else to be a fully conscious being and to lead a life free of all submission because you are the bearer of Niyari. Above all, nothing will ever make up for the feeling of having a sword of Damocles hanging over your head, threatening to fall at any moment and end your life. They don't know what it's like, but there's no worse torture than living with the knowledge that you could die at any moment. 

She stopped again. Emotion had caught in her throat. She felt like she was talking to herself. No. She knew she was talking to him and not to anyone else. When she saved him twice from Niyari's clutches, and when she saw the determination in his eyes that could turn mountains to achieve what he wanted, she wanted to protect this angel. She wanted to help him achieve his happiness. She wanted him to succeed where she had failed: to choose his death as she had chosen her life, and to live free from the shackles imposed by others. 

-Thank you," came Niris' gentle voice from behind her. I know this is a new struggle for you as you aspire to eternal rest, but I don't know how to tell you how grateful I am that you're holding it with me. So thank you, from the bottom of my heart. 

Lou swallowed. That prince was a pain in the ass! He had a knack for brushing aside her composure with a wave of his hand and she hated that. 

-You'll thank me when you've managed to control that demoness," she retorted, ashamed at not being able to hide the emotion that had overtaken her. Now go and pack your things, we're leaving. 

-Where are we going?" asked Niris cheerfully. 

-I don't know," replied the master of blades. 

-Don't you? But... we're not going to look for your sword here... "End of the day'? 

-Yes, that's right," replied the angel calmly. 

-So...? 

-We're going to look for it, but the problem is I don't know where it is," she continued as naturally as possible. 

-What? End of the day? You don't know what? Niris kept on asking questions without taking the time to realise what she was telling him. 

-I don't know where it is. I've lost it, she repeated.

It took Niris a moment to integrate the information. He repeated the words in his mind to make sure he had heard them correctly. "I lost it. I lost it. I lost it." Suddenly their meaning hit him. She had lost "End of Day"? It was then that he couldn't hold back the scream that came out of his throat without warning, expressing all the distress and amazement he felt at the same time which he expressed as simply as possible in a simple sentence: 

-SAY WHAT?