Chapter 30: The Curious Case of Cosmo Le Strange

Strange. There was no any sensation of well… being alive. I felt around myself yet i felt none of my arms move. In fact I didn't even feel anything for that matter. Just a constant void of nothingness.

It felt like a ship floating at sea, with I its only passenger. The gentle swaying on the seas strengthen the temptation of slumber, sleep that I myself do not know how long will last.

My mind was torn, undecided between figuring out how to get out of here and the other, being that of wanting to rest my tired body.

Even the simple thought of opening my eyes was cumbersome to me, 'But I must… get… out of … here… They're waiting… for…' the thought was unfinished, soon my faltering mind wasn't able to resist, as the sweet embrace of slumber took me.

…

"How is he?" Samuel questioned, yet his appearance was the opposite of caring. He leaned his body against the wall, his stare indifferent and directed at the badly wounded Cosmo.

The situation was resolved, with both parties going away to their own paths. But it was only due to a certain person's support that he was able to pull it off. Samuel thought back to the almost war starting conflict, and chuckled as he thought about the absurdity of it all.

'Fighting for a kid who can barely hold his liquor, how funny.' The thought was hilarious to him but in reality, the current situation was no longer amusing.

"Not good." Amanda replied, her starry eyes scanning every inch of Cosmos body, horror stricken as she realized just how much he endured. She even questioned how he was still alive despite it.

She dispelled {Eyes of the Stars} and looked away from the dying Cosmo. She knew that Cosmo may be breathing, yet he was by no means able to be considered alive. He was only deemed 'Alive' because Samuel insisted. His insistence was so damning that she thought he would tear the building down if she didn't agree.

She secretly signed under her breath, but Samuel still heard it, but even then he kept his usual deadpan expression. His gaze never left Cosmo the moment they were here, but he had looked away in order to follow what's next.

"He's still alive. Can't you just heal him? I mean your one of the Great Three for fucks sake." he said, accidentally letting out a tinge of frustration from his cold voice.

"Don't curse at me boy, and what did I do to deserve being part of that little group? I never asked for it."

She replied, trying to keep her calmness yet it was crumbling on itself. The room turned silent, none of them speaking a word and only looking at the boy whose tattered clothing he still had. Blood is still staining his robes.

His pale complexion didn't make it any better, with the sound of his breathing becoming more faint as time passed.

"What did he do?" she asked, not knowing how he got injured to this level. She has lived long, longer than anyone thought, saw things nobody should see, and experiences things that would curse a man into damnation.

Yet the strangeness of this case. She has seen [Arch Warlocks] cast spells that would do untold pain to a person's psyche, without them ever having suffered injuries.A [Mind Mage] able to make a man go insane without anyone realizing they went insane.

She has seen all things that will and ever be strange. Yet with the case of Cosmo le Strange, there was perhaps nothing more weird, mysterious and off putting than his current condition.

"He fought a [Shadow Crawler] and he somehow injured it. I was late to the scene when I arrived and only saw the results. And even when i asked William about it, he just said that Cosmo…"

Samuel stopped, thinking and trying to make out the best way to describe it, and Amanda waited, her eyes showing growing interest.

He thought about it for a little, then described it the best way he could.

"He wasn't him."

"He wasn't him?"

"Yes, I don't know a better way to describe it. He wasn't him. He let out an aura of… how do i say this, like a gaping abyss that devoured everything in its path. Yet the abyss wasn't there."

Amanda had a slight surprise to her face, processing the information at lightning speed and cross referencing it with other cases. Yet no matter how she thought about it, it didn't make sense. Cosmo didn't make sense.

She turned back to Cosmo and observed his condition, his complexion deathly pale, lying on a bed so comfy, Cosmo would have loved it if he was awake. But he wasn't, and that thought lowered her mood.

"Let's put him in more comfortable clothes first."

She clapped her palms, Cosmo's attire was suddenly being healed like an open wound. Its tears no longer became tears and connected like bridges, the blood stains cleaned off like it never existed. And his clothes seemingly looked and felt better than any of his other clothes.

She weakly smiled as she realized that this was the only thing she could do for now, fixing his clothes, that was the only thing she could do. The thought of it made her remember her beginnings, a feeling she has long forgotten with the world not even knowing it existed.

She sighed as despite all the knowledge and power she gained, there was seemingly nothing she could do except fix his clothes.

"What's wrong with him anyway? I mean if it was any other injury, you can fix it just by even looking at it. So why not do the same for him?" his unchanging facade, finally cracking with a hint of worry.

"Samy, I'm a Prophet, not a healer, this isnt my area of expertise. But yes I can generally heal anything as long as they are injured and not dead. But there's a problem."

Samuel heard her call her Samy, a nickname he had long forgotten of since the early days. But he ignored it as there were more pressing issues.

"Then what problem could it be that even you can't fix."

She looked him straight in the eyes and said,

"The problem is that there is no problem."

"huh?"

"Just as I said, I cannot fix a problem if there is no problem."

She turned and approached Cosmo, inspecting his body once again.

"Cosmo, he- he has no problems. By any standards of what is called alive and healthy, his current condition is that. He is alive and healthy, with no glaring injuries or problems whatsoever. "

She closed her eyes and stopped her inspection, knowing that it was futile.

"He isn't injured, nor broken nor even mentally and spiritually broken. He is supposed to be alive and well."

"Then why isn't he awake!" Samuel shouted in anger, control of his temperament gone as his rage was boiling inside of him. Dark lightning snaked around the room as if it was alive, threatening to destroy everything into smithereen.

Amanda didn't react, only looking at him without doing anything. Samuel heaved up and down, feeling something that he should never have felt. This was only supposed to be a mission for him, something fun that he would do. So why now?

His aura snapped closed and went back to his usual temperament. Samuel looked on with an empty gaze, acting like nothing happened.

Amanda seemed to have noticed it and did the same, both turning back to Cosmo's body. Their gazes filled with various emotions, emotions that have long been forgotten by both of them. Yet there was an emotion similar to both of them that they are feeling.

Confusion.

"Samuel… You know what do after-"

"No, no I don't."

Samuel replied, his voice no longer playful and was filled with chilliness. He believed that there was always a way, there was always a solution to every problem. He had to believe it, he thought, because if he didnt, then why was he still here?

"Curious condition isn't it?"

All of a sudden both people froze, for a second they didn't move, and in the next Samuels body thundered with black lightning, his Chokuto drawn one hand, the other a dagger decorated in dark linings.

Amanda did nothing, only turning to the one who made his presence known. There were certain perks to being a prophet, like being able to see the fates of individuals she comes across, and it also includes herself. She foresaw this already, thus she wasn't surprised that there was another person here.

But the moment she saw who it was, her eyes were filled with unimaginable horror, she visibly shook yet she hid it, making sure that it wasn't seen. It was too late, as the man who showed up already saw it.

"No need to be afraid of little ones, I won't bite."

Samuel lunged without replying, his weapons crackled with dark lightning, its movement so fast that its speed was unseen by the naked eyed. The uninvited man didn't seem fazed by it, not even moving from his spot, nor even trying to defend.

Why? Samuel thought but it didn't matter, in a split second that his assault started, he was already in front of him and was about to separate his neck from his body. His expectation of at least making contact didnt happen, his attack passed through the man like a plate being thrown to a ghost.

Confusion washed over him yet his movement showed no signs of hesitation. His eyes flickered with lightning, yet when he tried seeing through the uninvited guest, he was even more confused. Because he saw nothing. The man wasn't supposed to even exist based on his eyes.

He stopped his assault, knowing that further attacks were useless. He observed from a distance, and when he glanced at Amanda, he saw that there was something odd with her. Like the way her eyes reflected when he saw the man, seeing him as if he was a monster from the depths of the stars. Night her eyes indicated that the man was even worse than those monstrous beings.

In all the years Samuel has lived, he has long forgotten the meaning of hesitation, for a moment of hesitation leads to death. Yet this, at this moment in time, he finally hesitated and stood frozen in his place. Because if Amanda, who he knew very well was in fear, then it wasn't going to fare any better for him.

"As I said, there is nothing to Fear. I'm not here to harm anyone, I'm only here to help."

He repeated. Yet Samuel was unconvinced, keeping his guard up and not unsheathing his weapons. He knew better than anyone how impossible it is to infiltrate this place, and for it to be unnoticed, close to impossible. He knew because he tried it once and it led do a path he never expected.

Wiping off the nostalgic memory, he gazed directly at the man without warning, occasionally giving glances to Amanda. Yet Amanda was still in shock, not moving from her spot and from his guesses, not even knowing what to do.

"Sigh alright then, Hard way it is."

Before Samuel and Amanda could react, the man snapped his fingers as they disappeared from their spots, their current locations unknown. Leaving a slumbering Cosmo, whose fate was yet to be seen.

…

He walked with a steady pace, neither too fast nor too slow. He gazed at the paintings hung on the side of the walls, paintings depicting the heroes of old, images of the people who founded the empire he served.

All of it leading and paving a path to a place of majestic homage, where every person, be it the peasants of the alleyways, to the dukes and duchesses of the empire, wish to be beside all his glory.

Soon he stood by the entrance, its door deigned in gold and decorated with spells and sigils he knew, and some he knew not for it was too old and ancient to recognize. Behind this door sat the being of unparalleled power, a Man respected by all and loved by all, yet even more feared by his enemies.

"Enter."