The arena lay in brutal ruin. Anon, Ion, and Xander sat together while a team of 20 healers diligently worked on repairing Ion's internal injuries.
Suddenly, the head healer stood up and fixed a sorrowful gaze on Xander. He was a human with blonde hair and green eyes, someone Anon recognized as the best healer in the human kingdom after the great mother.
"What? What's going on? Why are you looking at me like that?" Xander demanded, his expression turning angry.
"Sir, we need to talk," the chief healer replied.
Xander and the human healer moved to a secluded area and began conversing. Anon used his heightened senses to eavesdrop on their conversation.
"Sir, your father..."
"What? What happened to him? Why do you look so distraught?" Xander asked with a grave expression.
"His heart has been struck by negative mana, and not just any negative mana, but the darkest kind. His heart is beating in reverse," the chief healer explained.