Noah burst into Cecilia’s office, the door slamming open as he stumbled inside. The sound made her flinch, nearly dropping the quill in her hand.
"Noah?" she said, rising to her feet. "What’s going on?"
"My skills!" he blurted out, chest heaving from having run all the way here. "They’re gone!"
Cecilia blinked, startled by the panic in his voice. "Gone? What do you an gone?"
Noah struggled to steady his breathing. "My status screen— so of my spells disappeared! They’re just... not there anymore!"
"Calm down," Cecilia said, raising a hand. "Breathe, and explain it properly."
He nodded, forcing his words out. "I just checked my status a few minutes ago. Everything looked normal except for my spells. I have at least three spells gone. And... and I can’t cast them anymore. I tried!"
"That’s impossible," Cecilia muttered, already moving towards him. "Spells cannot just disappear. Not unless you injure your soul. But for sothing like this, it can only happen when..."
She froze. Her expression darkened, a flicker of fear in her eyes. "No... it can’t be..."
Before Noah could respond, the world tilted. His vision blurred, and he staggered forward, grabbing the edge of her desk to keep himself from falling.
"Noah!" Cecilia caught him by the shoulders. "What’s wrong?"
He tried to speak, but his body convulsed, his breath coming out in ragged gasps.
Cecilia’s eyes widened as she sensed it. A strange, unstable current of mana surging through his veins, twisting and clashing against itself.
"No... this isn’t possible..." she whispered. "It’s starting already..."
"W- What’s... starting?" Noah managed to ask through clenched teeth.
She didn’t answer. Instead, she stepped back and said quickly, "Cast a spell. Any spell."
He hesitated, then lifted a trembling hand. A small Fireball flared weakly above his palm, at least for an instant. Then pain exploded through his body.
"Ah!" Noah gasped, doubling over as blood sprayed from his mouth. The fireball fizzled out instantly. His knees buckled.
Cecilia’s eyes went wide with horror. "Noah!"
He fell to the floor, the dizziness overtaking him again. The world spun wildly before going dark.
Cecilia dropped to her knees beside him, shaking his shoulders. "Noah! Stay with !"
But his body had already gone still, his breathing shallow.
She quickly began casting every healing spell she knew. But Noah was a long way away from waking up again.
[][][][][]
Principal Kael’s voice was low but filled with urgency. "How could this have happened? Where did things go wrong?"
Cecilia didn’t answer. She couldn’t. When she didn’t know the answer herself.
She stood beside the infirmary bed, her eyes fixed on Noah’s pale face. His chest rose and fell faintly beneath the thin blanket.
Every few seconds, the soft hum of a diagnostic spell would pulse through the air as the royal physician worked.
From the mont Noah had fallen unconscious and she’d stabilized him, she’d sent word to Principal Kael, who had sent word to the palace.
The royal physician himself had been sent under the secrecy of the night, and was performing his final checks on Noah.
As for Cecilia, she barely noticed Kael’s presence. Her hands trembled where they gripped the railing of the bed. "I should have known," she whispered.
Kael’s head snapped towards her. "You couldn’t have."
"I should have seen sothing," she said bitterly. "I should have noticed sothing was wrong. He told about the dizzy spells, but I still didn’t connect it."
Kael’s voice hardened. "Stop being stupid, Cecilia. No one, not even the High Magus himself, could have sensed this. You did everything right."
Her throat tightened, but she said nothing.
The physician murmured another spell, his hands glowing faintly blue before dimming. Then he exhaled and straightened, his face grave.
Kael stepped forward imdiately. "Well?"
The physician hesitated. "His mana system is collapsing from within," he said finally. "It’s feeding on itself. And as I’m sure you both know, right from the mont it touched his mana... there is no stopping it."
"All this started months ago. It’s simply showing itself now."
Cecilia’s breath hitched.
Kael’s voice turned grave. "You’re saying there’s no solution?"
The physician shook his head solemnly. "None. All we can do is make his passing painless. You should... prepare yourselves."
The words hung heavy in the air.
Cecilia pressed a trembling hand to her mouth, trying to stifle the sound that escaped her.
Kael’s eyes softened as he looked at her, but his voice remained steady. "Could this be a targeted attack?"
The physician frowned, thinking. "Unlikely. Leeches are way too dangerous to be weaponized. This is simply a coincidence. An unfortunate one."
Kael’s shoulders sagged. "Then Calot’s hope grows dimr by the hour."
He turned to the physician, giving a small nod. "Thank you for coming."
The man bowed respectfully and they both left the room with quiet footsteps. The door clicked shut, and the silence returned.
Cecilia stood alone beside the bed, her vision blurring as she stared down at Noah’s still form.
Then she whispered, "I won’t lose you too."
She took a seat at Noah’s bedside, staring at him. His breathing was steady but faint, each rise and fall of his chest sent a knot of fear twisting tighter in her chest.
Hours passed. She stayed motionless, her hands clasped together, her thoughts heavy and restless. Then, at last, Noah stirred. His eyes fluttered open, unfocused at first, before slowly finding her face.
"Professor..." His voice was hoarse.
Cecilia imdiately leaned forward, a relieved smile breaking through the exhaustion etched into her face. "Noah. You’re awake."
Without thinking, she hugged him tightly, feeling the faint warmth of his skin against her cold fingers.
Then she quickly pulled away, reaching for the glass of water on the bedside table. "Here, drink this."
He drank slowly, the sound of the cup clinking faintly as he set it down. Silence hung between them for a long mont before Noah spoke again, his voice quiet. "It’s bad, isn’t it?"
Cecilia hesitated, then nodded. "Yes."
He turned his head towards her, his expression unreadable. "What’s wrong with ?"
She drew a deep breath before answering. "You’ve been infected with sothing called a Mana Leech."
Noah frowned faintly. "A what?"
"Tiny parasites," she said softly. "A Mana Leech is a small, translucent worm that lives in a mage’s bloodstream. They feed off mana."
Her voice faltered, and she lowered her gaze. "I should have known. I should have seen the signs."
Noah managed a weak chuckle. "If you’d known, could you have stopped it?"
Cecilia shook her head slowly, silent for a few seconds before answering. "No."
"Once a mana leech enters a mage’s body, it rges completely with their mana system. It becos invisible to detection, even to the best spells."
She hesitated, before speaking again. "If I’d known, there still wouldn’t have been a way to get it out without... killing you."
Noah laughed, a hollow and bitter sound. "The world really is a cruel place."
"Noah..."
"Why can’t it just let live in peace?" he murmured, his voice trembling. "Would it be satisfied when it’s taken everything from ?"
Cecilia reached for his hand, squeezing gently, but he only exhaled, his gaze distant. "Tell more about it," he said finally. "The Mana Leech. Let know what is trying to kill ."
She hesitated but nodded. "Mana leeches feed on the mana that circulates through a mage’s body. Every ti you cast a spell, they consu part of that mana, reducing your efficiency, and causing dizziness, nausea, and even pain. That’s why your spells began to weaken."
He said nothing, listening quietly.
"The more they feed," Cecilia continued, her voice tightening, "the more damage they cause. The host’s mana channels start to collapse."
"And when the leeches have consud all the mana inside you...," she paused, swallowing hard, "they start feeding on your life force instead."
Noah’s eyes narrowed faintly. "And the end?"
She looked away. "The end is death."
He was silent for a long ti. Then, quietly, he asked, "There’s no cure?"
Cecilia shook her head. "None. No one has ever survived it. Every attempt to remove a leech only kills the host faster. We’ve never found a way to pry one off once it’s bonded with a mage."
Noah chuckled again, softer this ti, almost weary. "So that’s it, then."
Cecilia’s throat tightened. "Noah..."
He looked up at the ceiling, eyes half-lidded, a faint smile touching his lips. "Guess there really isn’t any hope left, huh?"
Cecilia couldn’t bring herself to answer.
Noah exhaled slowly.
Cecilia finally spoke, her voice quiet. "I’ll find a cure, Noah. I promise you that."
He managed a small nod, forcing a faint smile. "Thank you, Professor. But... I want to be alone for a while."
Her brow creased in worry. "Are you sure?"
"Yes," he said softly. "Please."
Reluctantly, she rose from her seat. She lingered for a mont longer, her gaze filled with concern, then finally turned and left the room.
Noah sat in silence for several seconds before pushing himself up from the bed. His legs trembled, the weakness still heavy in his body, but he steadied himself and made his way to the window.
The first light of dawn was breaking over the academy grounds. The sky glowed pale gold, calm and quiet, so different from the turmoil churning inside him.
He stared out at the horizon, mories surfacing unbidden.
That day in the capital. The dragon’s corpse.
And then the warning that had appeared before him.
[Consuming this energy has a high risk of acquiring a parasite.]
He exhaled bitterly.
So this was the parasite.
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