On the other side of Lake Morveth's shore.
"What is happening to her? Viv-" Zerath held Vivia's hand, rubbing it between his palms for warmth. "Clairette. Princess Clairette, please wake up. Can you hear me?"
He had already wrapped her soaked body on his overcoat and was doing everything he could to keep her warm. He and Arzan, along with Vivia, had settled at the edge of the forest, away from Lake Morveth's poisonous water. Silas, Judith and Finnian were nowhere to be found, but he could only hope for their well-being.
At this moment, what was sinking his heart into the abyss was Vivia. They had somehow managed to force the water out of her chest, but the poison was deteriorating her body at a fast pace.
"We have to do something…" Zerath tried to keep his voice steady.
Arzan had been frantically searching for anything that would help her but returned empty-handed.
"W-what should we do now? I'm still unable to use magic, my lord…!"
Vivia shuddered, her muscles seizing with spasms of pain. He pulled her closer against his chest, his feeble attempts trying to soothe her pain. The cold seeping from her hand felt like it was moving straight into his chest.
I cannot lose you Vivia…I won't lose you…I cannot lose my cool here. She's alright. She'll be alright.
He looked at Arzan. "We'll help Princess Clairette at any cost."
"But we don't know if this forest has any herbs that could help with the poison. I-I'm not well-versed with medicine. Apologies for my ignorance, my lord!" He pressed his forehead to the ground.
"You're a Syrevar, not a doctor. There's nothing to blame you for. But there must be something we could still do. Like…" he said slowly, "Princess Clairette had said that this water is poisonous. Every water source here is."
He nodded.
"The question is why didn't you or I fall sick from it? Only the Princess did."
Arzan's eyes widened. He hadn't registered that until now. Aside from swallowing water while drowning, his body otherwise felt completely fine.
"I think that's the key to helping her. Give me any ideas you think of, Arzan. Any theory that could explain this. This is the only way we can help her."
His heart bloomed with joy with Zerath's reliance on him, and at the same time, the pressure felt as massive as Mount Lavos.
My lord is counting on me…!
Yet he trembled with fear. His thoughts paralyzed him and not a single theory could take shape in his mind. He clutched his robe.
If that madman had been here, would he have known an answer?
It had been extremely vexing for Arzan. As a fellow wizard, Finnian had stroked his competitive spirit. Though bizarre and unhinged, Finnian was extremely knowledgeable. As much as Arzan was happy to learn from him, a part of him was acutely aware of how he severely lagged behind him as well. There was so much about the world and magic he still didn't know - but Finnian did.
An answer…Think, Arzan. Think!
He closed his eyes and forced his mind to be devoid of any thoughts. Then a voice came back to him in fragments.
'Everything is always in a state of balance.
We're alive because both energies within us make our heart beat.
We fall sick because either Yin or Yang in our bodies gets disrupted.
A Yin demon breaking the Yin runes will only repel the force.'
"The water!" Arzan gasped.
"What?" Zerath's eyes widened. "What about the water?"
"The Human Realm's water was poisoned centuries ago by the then Sovereign with the moon's power! That's why we didn't fall sick. The moon's power still flows within these waters and because the essence of Yin flows within us, the poison simply repelled us!"
Arzan nodded frantically, increasingly convinced. "That's why the princess fell sick because the poisonous water increased an excessive amount of Yin in her body - which she cannot bear as humans have the essence of Yang. The excess Yin is disturbing her balance from within!"
Zerath paused, then urgently asked, "So what can we do to stabilize the Yin within her?"
"The best method is for a demon to absorb it. Our bodies can consume Yin. So if my lord were to lightly stab the princess with your blade, the excess Yin would flow towards you through your sword. It'd leave her body and enter yours!"
—
Drak sat on the floor, his back leaning against the wall. His chin rested against his clasped hands with a gaze that was filled with doom.
What in the world is happening here? Why would these people want me to mate with a human?
He couldn't understand their intentions at all, but what he did understand was the other demons' reactions when they returned to their cells. None of them ever spoke of what they were made to do, but their eyes glinted with very distinct emotions.
Some demons smirked with an arrogant satisfaction as though they had won a battle. Some looked guilty where they couldn't even lift their gaze from the floor, while the rest looked like they would puke their guts out.
Now he understood why. It was all about this moment.
The arrogant ones didn't care about the woman's feelings. As long as their own satisfaction was met, the fact that she had been forced didn't register as a problem. The guilty demons certainly regretted their actions, but there was nothing they could do about it. The ones close to puking their guts out were disgusted to be forced to mate with a human - a race they hated with all their being.
The entire point of the potion was to encourage the demons falling into the second and third group. To push them past the wall where their own revulsion or conscience would have stopped them.
Drak exhaled silently. He looked at the woman, hugging her body tightly against her chest and knees with all her strength.
"Do you remember how you were brought here?"
She flinched, but didn't respond. Instead, she only threw him a perplexed look.
"I'm asking if you remember how you were brought here? Have you seen or noticed any way to escape from here?"
She looked blank. After what felt like an era had passed, her lips moved and she said something - which Drak assumed to be her response, but he understood none of it.
Oh no…
He had forgotten a very fundamental distinction between humans and demons - language.
Demons spoke Xul. Humans spoke Grakth. Except for the royal family and important diplomats, common people never took it upon themselves to learn the other race's language.
At that moment, Drak closed his eyes, a sting of deep regret enveloping him.
It had been a few years since Zerath had been encouraging young demons in schools and academies to learn Grakth and Vael. The decision to make common people learn humans' language was met with considerable pushback. Though Grakth and Vael had been technically included in the curriculum anyway, thanks to Zerath's enforcement, the Ministry of Knowledge and Education under Malphas's command hadn't taken the directive very seriously.
The result being that the institutions hadn't taken it seriously either - and so, demons and demonesses refused to learn the language as a subject. Drak had been one of them. And now he realized the dire predicament he was in.
If we can't speak each other's language, how are we supposed to talk to each other!?