Chapter 5 Part 2

Christopher wakes up a few hours later in the infirmary. His vision is a little blurred as he opens his eyes. "*groan* What happened?"

"I think it's best that Heddwyn tells him." Relov says. The King and the twins are with them also.

Heddwyn sits on a chair next to his cub's infirmary bed, grabs his hand, and takes a little pause before talking. "After saving Ibun Silverfinger's life, you had a heart attack and blacked out."

Christopher sits up slightly, a little stunned by this statement. "A heart attack? How serious was it?" He looked around the room for someone to answer but no one had the gall to say.

King Shavik steps forward and takes a deep breath. "It was quite bad. However, thanks to our healers, you'll only need to be in here for a few days instead of 2 months to recover. Without magic, you could be dead. Don't worry about the tournament. We are postponing the next A bracket matches until you are feeling better."

Christopher props himself up a little more. "Thank you sir. What of the dwarf, will she be ok?"

"Thanks to your efforts, she barely has any recovery to do. She can leave in a few days, same as you." Heddwyn says.

Christopher exhales quickly. "Oh thank the Mother."

"You must be exhausted after all of that, try to get some rest, alright?" Heather says.

"Your Majesty, I have a thank you gift if you would kindly accept it. For assisting me." Christopher says, reaching into his pocket dimension.

"Careful cub, your mana was consumed by your heart attack." Heddwyn says.

Christopher gives his father an annoyed stare before pulling out three ultimate potions. One healing. One mana. One stamina. "I already knew that. I borrowed from my emergency supply to reach in." He reaches out, passing the potions to The King.

"These are very expensive potions to give as a gift, are you certain?" His Majesty asks. Christopher replies with a nod. "I will be sure to return the gesture when the time comes."

"I would like to sleep, if that's ok with my gallery." Christopher jokes.

King Skavik laughs and gestures for everyone to leave. "You're an exceedingly amusing individual aren't you?"

"I'm glad someone thinks so." Christopher gives a coy smirk.

The group exit the infirmary, letting Christopher regain his strength.

(Narrator) I really wasn't expecting Christopher to have a heart attack. It came as a shock to many. I guess our little prodigy isn't as invincible as I once thought. I mean, he isn't perfect, he has made plenty of mistakes. However his strategy seems essentially flawless. When something doesn't go wrong that is. Have I been ranting? Yes. Have I been going off on tangents? Also yes but I don't care, I got my point across.

The 8th and final match in the bracket was between Sulun an Orc and Beluf Alpha a Wolfman. This match played out while Christopher was unconscious and the winner was Beluf Alpha. Wolfmen are usually quite physically ripped as fuck. He probably made the Orc shit himself by flexing or something. I dunno, I didn't watch the match.

The second bracket will play out tomorrow. Haider and Heddwyn are on this side so I guess there are a few matches to watch.

Just as Christopher was falling asleep, His Majesty reenters. "I'm sorry to bother you, but I thought you should know. Llamiryl was disqualified for attempting to kill her opponent. If it wasn't for you, Ibun wouldn't be alive."

"Does that mean the Dwarf made it to the next round?" Christopher asks with a slightly droopy smile. His Majesty nods before taking his leave once again.

The morning after, Christopher wakes up and looks around to see Heather and Haider talking on a few chairs not far from him.

Christopher sits up in the bed and yawns before asking what the time was.

"It's about noon." Heather answers, getting up and sits closer to him.

"Has the second bracket started up yet?" Christopher asks.

"No, not yet. The first match is in about three hours." Heather replies, smiling widely.

A little weirded out by Heather's smile, Christopher asks several questions. "Haider's in the first match right? You gotta tell me how it goes. Oh and how is Ibun? Is she ok? Where exactly are we? I know it's an infirmary but it looks fancy."

"One question at a time lad." Ibun says, waking up in a bed on the opposite side of the room.

"Well come right here when Haider's match is done. Ibun is ok, as you can see and we are in the King's infirmary. Since the Dragon Festival is always in this city, it makes sense." Heather says.

Willow nudges against Christopher's right arm, making him jump out of his skin. "Fucking hell. How long has he been there?"

"He's been sleeping next to you since early this morning." Heather says, chucklung lightly.

(Narrator) I find it incredibly creepy just how often Haider is just silently somewhere in the background.

"Is everything ok, Haider?" Christopher asks.

"Not really." Haider answers.

A long silence fills the air before Christopher gets irritated at Haider's short answer. "Cmere and fucking tell me why you pile of slag."

"Pffft. What?" Haider laughs.

"I dunno, I was trying to make you laugh. Now tell me what is wrong, or I'll have Heather tell me." Christopher says.

Haider takes a deep breath before taking a seat next to his sister. "I feel awful about yesterday. I couldn't help you at all."

"Of course you could have!" Christopher says, putting Willow on his lap, giving them pets across their soft yet solid leaves.

"What do you mean?" Haider asks, bewildered.

"Radiance gives off a helluva lot of heat, that's why it can't be held for very long." Christopher explains.

"So why didn't you drag me there with you?" Haider asks, whining a little.

"Because I wanted you to save your strength for your match." Christopher says.

"I thought you were more logical than that! You risked your health to 'save my strength'? Your a fucking idiot." Haider stands up and paces back and forth.

Christopher takes a little time to think about it. "I'm not all knowing. I had a split second to think. You're right, I should've had you there with me."

Haider occasionally looks back at his brother before pacing once again. "Apology accepted. But next time you need to make a split second decision, make sure it makes sense before rushing into things."

"I will. I promise." Christopher says. He looks down at Willow as it plays with one of its corns on his lap. "They might be the best Soulustriousised creature you've ever made. Don't tell Simon."

"Oh I'm gonna tell him. He won't really care, but I'm telling him." Heather says.

"Please don't, I really like cats, but dragons are so cool. Can Simon shoot acorns?" Christopher says.

"No, but Simon is quite a bit more versatile. He has night vision, can use his body to ensnare, attack, and defend. He also has an acute sense of smell, immensely useful for tracking. Willow is new so we are still finding and honing their abilities." Heather says. Willow flies off Christopher and lands on Heather's lap. "That's new."

"Do you think he could fly when they are at their normal size?" Christopher asks.

"There's only one way to find out. I'll go outside with him and we can see." Heather gets up with Willow on her shoulder and exits the room.

"Wait if forgot to ask if Willow has a gender." Christopher says.

"I think Heather said Willow was non-binary." Haider says, messing around with his snow magic, making little flurries of snow in his hands.

"How is the snow magic coming?" Christopher asks.

"I'm not entirely sure. It doesn't seem very useful." Haider says, his face neutral.

"I disagree. Let's say that someone uses fire to defend themselves, you could smother the fire and put it out." Christopher says.

"That doesn't make any sense with magic. Only natural fire works that way. Magic fire is fueled by mana." Haider says, outsmarting Christopher.

Christopher applies the analogy to build on his brother's statement. "That's true. But they would need to intensify their mana to keep it alive, consuming more mana. Eventually the fuel runs out."

"You always need to be the smarter one." Haider smiles slightly. "It's honestly discouraging. You're the smart one, Heather is the powerhouse. What am i? I don't have anything unique about me."

Hearing this, Christopher hypes him up. "You have plenty of things you do that makes you unique. For one, you're the flexible one in our group, me and Heather are limited in our strengths, while you're limited to your imagination. You also have impeccable fashion sense. Like who else would put so much detail into what they wear."

"Do you honestly think that?" Haider asks softly.

"Have I ever lied to you?" Christopher smiles as he sits up on the side of the bed, gesturing for a hug.

"Annoyingly no." Haider takes him up on his offer and the two embrace each other.

From across the room, Ibun lets out a belting laugh. "I didn't think that humans could be so loving."

"Most of us are, it's just the few of our race that stand out so much more that it gets overshadowed." Haider says.

"I see. I guess I should change my opinion of humans. Except for Llamiryl. What a crazy bitch." Ibun says.

"We know Llamiryl, that wasn't her, that was someone called Cleo. I suspect that the church is involved in this somehow. Maybe some sort of brainwashing?" Christopher speculates.

"Curious, so what is the 'Llamiryl' side of her like?" Ibun asks.

"I would say. Quiet and reserved. She does have multiple personality disorder, but Cleo isn't one of them. I don't think she knows about her." Christopher says.