Chapter 40: Sealing.
Aiden stood with his parents, Jonathan and Sara. They were a safe distance from the black heart. His mother looked worried. His father looked serious. Aiden saw their strange expressions as he said to them,
"Mom, Dad, I think that heart is somehow connected to me. It didn't attack me when I helped you escape the illusion. And even when I saved you now, it didn't attack me. Instead, it completely stopped its attack."
He stopped for a second. He remembered his dream. He looked at the heart. "And the voice in my dream. It also came from this heart. When you were in the illusion, it called me again. It's calling me even now. Can't you hear it?"
Jonathan and Sara heard this. They looked at the quiet heart. Then they looked at their son. Jonathan said, "We don't hear any voice. Are you sure you can hear it?"
Aiden nodded. "Yes, Dad. I can still hear it calling me. And it's the same voice as my dream."
Jonathan heard this. His face became very serious. He looked at the heart, then at his wife. Then he said, "Let's talk about this later. We have to seal that artifact first."
Sara nodded. They got ready to seal the artifact.
At this moment, Aiden had an idea. He said, "Dad, if the heart doesn't attack me, how about I take the lead? I can act as your shield while you two support me. It will be easier that way."
Jonathan heard this. He shook his head. "No. We can't take any risks. We still don't know if it will attack you or not. Or how much it will tolerate you."
Aiden heard this. He wanted to argue. But when he saw his father's face, he knew it was no use. His father would not let him do it. So, Aiden decided to act instead of talk.
He had to test his idea.
He used **Blitz**. He vanished between his parents.
Jonathan saw this. He shouted, "Aiden! What are you doing? Come back right now!"
But as he said this, Aiden was already far away. He was closer to the heart. He walked toward it. He waited for the attack.
It did not come.
Not one mana vein attacked him as he walked. They did not even move. In fact, they lay flat. It was as if they were bowing. As if their king had arrived.
Aiden got closer. He stopped. Then he used **Blitz** again. He vanished and appeared back beside his parents.
Sara saw everything. She asked loudly, "Aiden! Why did you do that? What if it had attacked you? We would not have been able to save you!"
Aiden looked at her. He replied seriously, "But it didn't attack me."
Jonathan heard this. He looked at his son. Then he looked at the still mana veins. He said, "Don't do that ever again."
Aiden nodded. Then he said, "So, Dad, can I act as a shield now? It doesn't attack me, even if I am closer to it."
Jonathan thought for a second. He looked at Sara. She gave a small nod. Finally, he nodded. "Alright. But you stay between us and it. No more running off."
Aiden took the lead. He moved in front. His parents followed him. They walked toward the heart.
This time, the heart reacted. Many veins attacked from the sides. But the attacks aimed at Aiden were careful. They snapped near him but pulled back. The attacks on Jonathan and Sara were strong. They had to be careful with their own spells so they would not hit Aiden.
They reached the heart. It floated in the air. The whispering in Aiden's mind grew a little louder.
Jonathan spoke. "I will get the sealing chains from the side. You two go to the heart. Sara, get the sealing chest behind it with teleportation. Aiden, you use **Blitz** to defend us if we need help. Okay?"
Aiden and Sara nodded.
Then Jonathan vanished. He appeared beside some silver chains. He grabbed them. At the same time, Sara vanished. She appeared behind the heart. She grabbed a small silver chest. Then she vanished and appeared back behind Aiden. A moment later, Jonathan came back too, chains in hand.
"We have to get closer to use the chains," Jonathan said. "We need to move forward."
Aiden nodded. He stepped forward. His parents were right behind him. The whispering grew more urgent.
They got within an arm's length of the heart. Jonathan and Sara moved to the side to have space to work. But just as they stepped away from Aiden, something happened.
A single, thin mana vein shot out from the heart. It was as thin as a needle. It moved very fast. It did not attack. It just poked through Aiden's sleeve and into his arm. It was a small pinch.
Then it pulled.
Aiden was yanked off his feet. He was dragged toward the black heart. The voice in his mind shouted, **"Yes! Come here! Become one with me, Aiden! We will rule the world together!"**
As the voice spoke, Jonathan moved. He vanished and appeared right beside Aiden. His face was angry and scared. He made a **Lava Blade**. It was a hot, fiery sword. He cut the thin vein. It broke and turned to smoke.
At the same time, Sara arrived behind Aiden. She put her hand on his shoulder. She teleported him far away, back to the edge of the cavern.
The strange voice screamed. **"NO! Come back, Aiden! COME BACK!"**
All the mana veins went wild. They thrashed and tried to kill Jonathan, who was now alone at heart.
Jonathan moved fast. He dodged spikes and sweeping tendrils. His **Lava Blade** cut any vein that came close. In the middle of the fight, he saw his chance. He swung a silver chain at the heart. It wrapped around the dark crystal with a *clank*.
Suddenly, the veins slowed down. The chain was working.
Jonathan threw a second chain. It wrapped around the heart, too. He shouted, "Sara! Get ready with the chest!"
Sara heard this. She let go of Aiden. She vanished.
She appeared behind the heart, chest ready. Jonathan threw the third chain. It wrapped around the heart. The veins were slow now, but they still attacked in a last try.
Jonathan was dodging when he felt a sharp pain in his back. He stumbled. He looked down. A mana vein had turned into a dark spike. It had poked through his waist from behind.
Jonathan groaned in pain.
Sara and Aiden saw this from across the cavern. Aiden shouted, "DAD!"
Sara did not move from her spot, but her face was full of worry.
Jonathan gritted his teeth. He used his **Lava Blade** and cut the vein in his waist. It turned to ash. He looked at Aiden and shouted, "Don't come here! I am fine!"
Then, with effort, he threw the last chain. It wrapped around the heart and locked the others.
**CLANK.**
A deep sound echoed. All the mana veins stopped. They went limp. Then they slithered back into the black heart until they were all gone.
It was quiet.
Jonathan shouted, "Sara! NOW!"
Sara vanished. She appeared in front of the heart. She opened the silver chest. She put it around the chained heart. It clicked shut.
The whispering stopped. The heart's light went out.
Jonathan sighed in relief. Sara put the big chest on the ground. Then she vanished and appeared beside Jonathan.
"Are you alright?" she asked. Her hands glowed with green healing mana. She put them on his wound.
Jonathan said, "I'm fine. It's just a small wound."
But Sara's face changed. Her healing light flickered. The wound did not heal. "It… the wound is not healing," she said. She sounded confused and scared.
As she said this, Aiden used **Blitz** to appear beside them. "Dad! Are you alright?"
Jonathan looked at him and tried to nod. Then he looked at his wound. The skin around it was black. No blood came out. He asked Sara, "What's the problem? Why is it not healing?"
Sara said, "I don't know. It's not healing. It feels like a force inside is fighting the healing. It's corrupting the skin."
Jonathan thought. Then he understood. "I think the artifact is corrupted. The wound has that black energy in it. We need to purify it first."
He looked at Aiden. Aiden knew what to do. He was the only one with light mana. He stepped forward. He made a **Purification Spell**. White-gold light came from his hands. He pointed the light at the black wound on his father's waist.
Nothing happened at first. Then a hissing sound came. Black mist leaked out of the wound. The mist disappeared in the light. After a few moments, the black skin turned pink. Then red blood flowed from the clean wound.
Aiden stopped his spell. He was tired.
Sara used her healing spell again. This time, the green light worked. The wound healed. The skin mended until only a faint scar was left.
After the wound healed, it was quiet. The three of them just stood there.
Both Sara and Jonathan looked at Aiden. In their eyes was relief, thanks, and a new worry. They both thought the same thing, but did not say it: *If Aiden had not come, we both would have died here.*
Author's Note: Fate is cruel — yet sometimes, the weakest thread becomes the one that holds everything together.