"You lost your memory again." Emily says
Cassius tilts his head.
"When was the last time?"
Emily raises two fingers.
"Two months ago"
"That time, you forgot two days as well"
Cassius falls silent for a moment, then says
"Then… it's happening pretty quickly, isn't it?"
Emily nods.
This is no longer unfamiliar to her. From time to time, Cassius is like this. No warning. No clear signs. Sometimes the gap is half a year, sometimes only a few months. The memories that disappear are also different. Sometimes it is just one day. Sometimes it is the entire two days before.
Thomas once takes Cassius to see the village healer. The man says it might be a reaction of the brain, possibly because of old things in the forest. There is no clear treatment. If they want to, they have to go to a big city, where there are medicines made from magical plants. But they are not wealthy enough to do that.
"This is really troublesome" Emily says softly
"But at least" she continues "There has been nothing important these past few days"
Emily looks at him for a bit and then says,
"Do your best. We have also saved quite a lot of money"
She points behind Cassius.
"And today we also picked up a golden rose."
Cassius turns his head to look. Surprised
"Wow, it really is a golden rose!"
"We are really lucky"
Emily looks at him and thinks.
'He says the same sentence as earlier again'
'He is so simple'
She smiles very lightly, then turns and keeps walking.
–
To Emily, there is nothing unusual about Cassius's appearance. He is just standing there, slightly lowering his head, silent as usual.
But to Rimi, it is different.
She can clearly feel that a large amount of mana is spreading around Cassius. When she comes closer earlier, she realizes that Cassius's lowered eyes are not completely golden like usual. Mixed in is a very faint silver color, so subtle that if one does not pay attention, it cannot be noticed with the naked eye.
'Again?'
This scene makes her remember the time when she lives together with Celeste. The times when Cassius seems to lose control of himself, standing still and separating from his surroundings.
After observing many times, Rimi partly understands what is happening.
Every time Cassius loses consciousness, his body starts to release mana. This amount of mana gradually increases over time. When he is still at the Eclipse family castle, the level is very low, to the point that she does not notice it at all. But after many years, the amount of mana has reached a level that anyone who can use mana can feel.
And that mana is not the normal type of mana that mages usually use.
It is life mana.
Just like its name, this type of mana uses the life of the user itself to convert into power. In exchange, the user gains a type of mana with much higher reactivity than normal. It grants outstanding abilities, but if it is used too much, the health will gradually weaken, and it can even lead to death.
Cassius has used this type of mana many times.
Even though he does not actively do anything, it still releases from his body. Yet Cassius shows no sign of having any problem, at least on the surface.
This once makes Rimi confused for a long time. But after many observations, she understands the reason.
Because for some reason, instead of consuming the user's life, this life mana is using Cassius's memories.
The amount of memory lost depends on the amount of mana he releases, as well as the time he maintains this state.
Rimi feels overwhelmed when she realizes this. This ability explains many strange actions of Cassius in the past. Even so, she still does not know why he occasionally falls into this state of releasing life mana.
If considered carefully, this is an extremely powerful ability.
Because if the user only loses memory and does not lose their life, then they can recover and continue fighting.
'These two, mother and son, are truly monsters' Rimi thinks, and the image of Celeste appears in her mind.
She shivers slightly.
'No, Cassius is not yet a monster, compared to her'
'Is Cassius really the child of that monster'
'They do not look alike at all'
Because of this ability of Cassius, Rimi also understands why Celeste orders her to follow and monitor him.
There is once a time when Cassius loses consciousness when no one is around. Only when Rimi speaks does he break free from that state. If he keeps standing still like that, it is likely that before long he will forget everything.
And the amount of mana that Cassius releases is increasing more and more.
Rimi lets out a light breath.
'Maybe in the future, I will have to guide the kid on how to control it'
'Then why does Celeste not take care of Cassius herself?' A question that she has wondered about for a very long time appears again in her mind.
'She is sometimes still using some kind of skill to monitor Cassius'
Rimi remembers the times when she feels that someone is watching her. That feeling is very clear, but she never finds its source.
She shivers again, grateful that she is not an enemy of that monster.