Chapter 15: Departure.
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Beginning of the Third Arc: Journey Through the Citizen Zone.
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Is curiosity not one of the strongest of desires?
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Liu had made her decision. Now it was time to organize the departure.
"Ok, so before we leave we still need to try a few things..."
Lumian spoke while looking at Liu, pulling her out of her thoughts and her nostalgia.
"...mm, are you ok with him knowing?"
He asked, turning his head toward Patrick.
'Knowing what?...'
She turned her head as well to look at Patrick, and saw further behind him, the Form still in the shadow of a tree.
'That's right... I had forgotten again...'
"Why are you both looking at me like that?"
Without answering Patrick's question, Lumian advised:
"Better to tell him now, besides he's not going to be able to do much about it even if he knows. And hiding it from him for three years would be way too much of a pain, wouldn't it?"
'... that's true... just thinking about it makes me tired.'
Liu looked away to look at Lumian.
"Alright, but what do you need to try before we leave?"
Patrick interrupted them, feeling unjustly left out of the conversation.
"Hey, why do I get the feeling I'm not part of this conversation?"
In response, Lumian handed him the chores.
"You're going to pack up the things while we finish a few things. Ok?"
Lumian's "Ok?" wasn't really a question.
"What!.. no but seriously, I'm not a servant!"
The situation felt more and more unfair to him.
"Pfft.."
And Liu holding back her laughter added itself to the list of things he found unfair that morning.
'...a servant...that suits him well...' thought Liu, holding back laughter to the point of tears.
Seeing this, Patrick the servant was completely offended.
"...seriously?..."
He stood up and started packing, sulking.
'...and he's actually doing it?...'
The urge to beat him up had completely vanished from Liu's mind.
"...damn!" whispered the servant, in a voice that wasn't quite so discreet.
A less violent but more wicked urge was beginning to grow inside Liu.
"First, we need to do something about your arm..."
Until Lumian interrupted her by bringing up a problem Liu had already begun to forget.
"... it won't work like this, you need to at least get your arm back."
'What on earth...'
He stood up and walked toward Liu.
"I'm going to grow it back for you. But this is the only time. If you lose your arm again you'll have to get it back yourself. Ok?"
'... what is he talking about?!...'
Seeing Lumian approaching while saying frightening and strange things.
"Why are you coming closer?!!"
Liu abruptly stood up and stepped back.
'...what is he going to do to me??'
Lumian wore an expressionless face as he said a whole string of frightening things.
"Do you want it to hurt or not? I can cut off all physical sensation in your arm so you don't feel anything if you want."
'Cut off??!'
Without trying to understand what was happening, Liu reached for her daggers to defend herself, but they were in her bag.
'Damn.. damn!'
She quickly looked around to find her bag.
"Ha!"
But the only thing she saw before Lumian reached her was Patrick's head peeking out from behind the carriage.
"Save me!"
She cried out to the servant with a terrified face.
Tap.
Lumian placed his hand on Liu's left shoulder, making her stare at that hand in terror.
"What are you doing?"
He asked the question in a monotone voice, no doubt mirroring his expressionless face.
'I'm going to die!!?'
Thought Liu as she slowly turned her head to face Lumian.
"W..what are you going to do to me??" she asked in a trembling voice.
Lumian looked at her strangely.
"Uh... I don't know what's going on inside your head, but I'm just going to grow your arm back."
He moved his left hand, and tore off the sleeve of Liu's t-shirt.
Scrr!
"Kyaaa!!"
'What is he doing??!'
He then oriented the palm of his hand to face the remaining stump of Liu's right arm.
"Alright, you won't feel anything in your right arm anymore."
Clap!
He snapped his fingers.
"Since it's your first time, this is better. Oh, and close your eyes if it gets too hard to watch. And above all, don't activate your Energy perception."
He warned, when suddenly, all sensation in Liu's right arm disappeared.
'What!!...'
Liu stared fixedly at her right arm while trying to move it. Without success.
'...what the!'
Lumian brought the palm of his hand closer until it touched the bandage on Liu's arm.
"I'm starting."
Liu tried to flee with the rest of her body, but the sensation of an immense weight coming from Lumian's hand on her shoulder prevented her.
'Damn!...'
Lumian began slowly pulling the palm of his hand away from Liu's arm. The bandage disintegrated as threads of light emerged from Lumian's palm to join the stump of Liu's right arm.
"I'm going to rebuild the entire structure of your arm, from the cells to the hairs."
The white threads coming out of Lumian's hand transformed into blood vessels, veins, bones, flesh, skin... all of it in a fluid and organic manner.
'What is happening?...'
What was happening left Liu speechless.
"Of course, nature does things well, and the imperfection of my abilities will be completed by the natural balance. With the world's permission, of course."
Lumian spoke a whole string of incomprehensible words. But Liu didn't take her eyes off her arm.
'How is this possible...'
She felt nothing physically. But mentally, she was in full turmoil.
'...incredible...'
Curiosity. Wonder. Excitement. Anxiety. Novelty...
A whole collection of thrilling words.
'...my arm?...'
Lumian's hand continued to pull back, giving way to a flood of new visual information imprinting itself onto Liu's mind.
'...is this real...?'
Until it gave way to a new... right arm.
"Mmh... alright, I'm done."
Lumian's hand slowly withdrew from Liu's left shoulder.
"Since I took my time, the balance should already be sufficient to use your right arm."
Clap.
He snapped his fingers once more, restoring sensation to Liu's right arm.
'What just happened?'
She quickly moved her right arm, pivoting it rapidly.
'..is this really my arm?..'
She still couldn't believe it, so she pinched her arm.
'It hurts... but it still feels... strange...'
She paid attention to nothing but her arm.
'... I need to hit something, to see...'
So she headed to the back of the carriage, where she found Patrick still dumbfounded by what he had just witnessed.
"Let me hit you, just once."
Bam!
"Argh!"
And she struck him directly in the face.
'It's real! It's real! It's like before... everything is like before...'
"Hey seriously!"
Thrilled, she turned sharply toward Lumian, ready to thank him.
But... Lumian had a smile on his face.
Seeing it, Liu abruptly remembered what had just happened. The shame of her actions showed itself immediately on her face.
"Uhm... thank you... and sorry?"
Lumian nodded, but paid little attention to Liu's embarrassment.
"We still need to try a few things with the Form before we can leave safely."
And noticing Lumian's indifference, Liu's shame faded a little.
'...it's partly his fault too, why does he walk toward me with an expressionless face saying frightening things without even explaining himself.'
She followed him as he made his way toward the Form.
"What else do you need to try?"
Lumian stopped five paces from the Form.
"Mm, silence."
'Silence?...'
He turned toward Liu and picked up a small stone from the ground.
"We're going to do two tests, the first..."
He threw the stone into the Form, which made Liu's heart race.
"... will be to see if the Form can move while it absorbs something. Move to within less than five paces, then move away to more than thirty paces."
No sound came from the Form, no chewing or crunching.
'...that was the silence?...'
Feeling reassured, Liu slowly stepped forward to cross the five-pace boundary, her heart racing nonetheless.
"It's... not moving...?"
The Form didn't move.
'No sound...?'
"Ok, now move back to more than thirty paces."
Liu did so slowly, but let her doubt show.
"Is it really absorbing the stone?"
"Yes, I can hear it."
She nodded and continued to back away, until she reached thirty paces. She passed them without waiting any longer.
"It's still not moving."
Lumian nodded, and said out of nowhere:
"Don't move!"
At that moment, the Form vanished only to reappear in the shadow of another tree, closer to Liu, about ten paces away.
Liu didn't move.
'Why?'
"Well, the second test didn't work, we'll have to teach it."
Liu still didn't move.
'That was the second test?'
Lumian turned around, and looked strangely in Liu's direction.
"Why aren't you moving?"
'You?...'
Rather than Liu's, it was Patrick's voice that answered.
"You said don't move... so we're not moving."
Liu turned around to see Patrick, holding one of the camping chairs in his arms, three paces behind her.
'That was meant for the Form... even I got caught by it.'
That thought made Liu blush a little.
"That's right, you still can't see it. Mmm... besides the three of us, no one will be able to see or hear the Form."
Lumian moved toward the Form.
"By the way what is the Form? That's what you're talking about, right?" asked Patrick, following Lumian with his eyes, until he caught a glimpse of the Form in the shadow of a tree.
'That's right... he hasn't seen it yet.'
"Huh... what is that thing?..."
The surprising appearance of the Form didn't make Patrick react as much as Liu had expected.
'Does he have eye problems too?...'
"You can ask Liu about it later, when she also has questions to ask you."
Lumian raised his eyes toward the sky briefly.
Then after lowering them again, he spoke in a monotone voice.
"No matter shall be able to pass through this Barrier, a Barrier following each property belonging to the Form."
By reflex? Or more out of curiosity, Liu activated her Energy vision.
'Mm, that's strange... I can't quite see the Barrier...'
"...it's there but not really visible... isn't that right." said Patrick, stepping up beside Liu.
"It really is a strange thing, isn't it? Will you be able to explain to me what the Form is?"
Strangely, with everything that was happening and piling up, Liu and Patrick were no longer thinking about arguing.
"I guess..."
Their anger and frustration were clearly weaker than their curiosity.
"Alright let's pack up what's left and go, the Form shouldn't cause any more problems."
Liu and Patrick nodded, one continued the servant's work, while the other headed toward her bag to pick it up.
'I need to make sure I haven't lost anything...'
Which she proceeded to do.
'Clothes, books, money, flasks... okay, looks good.'
"You two go in first, I need to check one last thing before we head out."
"Okay!" answered Patrick.
By the time Liu had checked her bag, he had packed everything up.
"You're going to see, it's incredible inside." he said, looking at Liu as he stood in front of the carriage door.
'Incredible?... I've never been inside a carriage... but for him to say it's incredible.'
Curiosity got the better of Liu, she put her bag on her back and joined Patrick to get inside the carriage.
'Is there something I don't know?...'
Liu's curiosity made her excited to the point where she forgot about the Form and her right arm.
Patrick opened the door.
"You first." he offered.
So she went through the door first.
'Huh... what is this place?...'
To find herself in a small room matching the size of the carriage, but the layout of it didn't match at all.
"Welcome to the best carriage in the world."
Patrick arrived behind Liu, pronouncing a welcome phrase.
"What is this room?" she asked in quite a strange voice.
"Hehe, this is just the entrance hall! It's only the beginning, you're going to see..waah!"
"Waahh.."
'It's moving!'
Suddenly the floor became rather unstable.
"We're off!"
Lumian's voice resonated through the walls of the small room.
The carriage had resumed its journey.
The journey had begun.
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Is curiosity not one of the strongest of desires?
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