Chapter 611: Bonus [6]
They spent the following days following Selene’s journal of plans, with Moon involved in choosing which activity to do, from time to time.
One of their plans was to spend time at the private cinema inside Tom’s estate.
Selene picked a movie from her list of five. A romance from before the Great Collapse, about two lovers separated for forty years. After battling hundreds, and crossing thousands of kilometers, her hand found his.
At the climax, silent tears slid down Selene’s cheeks, and Moon wiped them away with his thumb as they came.
She leaned on his shoulder until the credits ended.
"Till death reunites us."
"Till death reunites us." Moon repeated the slogan of the movie.
The next afternoon, she pushed his wheelchair through the private gardens of Tom’s estate. In a sunlit courtyard by a fountain, they found a cat.
Pale silver fur, iridescent blue and violet where the light touched it.
A Moonveil. There was about fifty registered in the entire kingdom, and one of them was sunbathing in Tom’s garden.
Selene crouched, "Psst. Psst. Psst"
The cat glanced at Selene for a moment, before walking towards her, letting her pet it before rolling onto its back.
"This is the greatest honor a cat can give a human." Moon said, before he tried to do the same thing Selene did.
Unfortunately, the cat did not give him any face, and completely ignored him.
Seeing this, Selene exploded out in laughter, unable to hold herself.
"Can we bring it home?"
"We have to ask Tom... It’s his cat."
Selene kept scratching its stomach anyway. The cat purred like it had waited its whole life for her.
Moon watched from the wheelchair and said nothing. As much as he hated to say it, a small part of him felt jealous.
When they were done in the garden, Selene wheeled Moon back toward the medical wing.
Moon’s appointment with Stacey was today.
She would decide whether he could finally start using skills again. The weaker ones.
Selene wheeled him into the examination room. Tom was already waiting, leaning against the far wall with his arms crossed and his usual half-grin in place.
Stacey came in a moment later.
She didn’t waste time. Her hands rose and the green appraisal light swept across Moon’s body from head to toe.
She frowned at the readings, adjusted her scan parameters, and swept him again. Her frown deepened but not in a bad way.
Stacey lowered her hand, before smiling wryly, "Your body is a work of art. Truly. It’s like there’s a constant healing spell running from the inside out. And not an ordinary one, either."
She turned toward Tom.
"He’s healing at nearly five times my initial projection. His mana channels are already showing signs of recovering along the deepest scarring. I’ve never seen anything like it. In my years of healing. Never."
She looked back at Moon.
"Maybe it’s the size of your acupoints. They’re the largest I’ve ever measured on an Evolver. The volume alone might be creating faster circulation than a standard body could produce. Whatever the underlying reason, with natural treasures factored into your recovery, my new estimate is that you could be back in action within a week."
Hearing the new estimated timeline, Moon exhaled slowly. This was some great news, one that he needed to hear. Whilst he greatly enjoyed his time with Selene, he was itching to fight and grow stronger again. He was addicted to say the least. That was his bread and butter.
He turned toward Tom.
"What did the Association say?"
"They’re preparing everything for you. I can drop by tomorrow to claim them. They tried to make you collect the treasures in person at the central archive, probably because they wanted to corner you with a debriefing panel while you were there. I told them where they could put that idea...
The treasures will be picked up by me personally. If they want to talk to you, they can send someone through official channels once your recovery is complete, and that’s after getting through me of course."
"Nice." Moon raised a thumbs up.
Tom was the best person in the kingdom for handling the Association’s specific brand of bureaucratic crap. He knew exactly which buttons to push, which favors to call in, and which threats to leave gently implied.
Nobody at the Association wanted Tom Glassy irritated with them.
Stacey watched the exchange with a small, amused smile.
She turned back to Moon.
"On the medical side, you’re cleared for minor skills starting tomorrow, although I still recommend not to use any. Nothing that draws significant mana in a single burst. If you feel any pain during casting, stop immediately and notify me. We’ll reassess after the natural treasures begin their work.
You can also start walking from... tomorrow." She looked at Selene before smiling to herself, "If you want to... that is."
Once her job was done, she left, closing the door behind her.
"I’ll have the treasures ready by noon tomorrow. Rest tonight. Big day ahead." Tom clapped Moon lightly on the shoulder and walked out.
The door closed behind him too.
Moon sat in his wheelchair for a long moment.
Selene rested a hand on the back of his wheelchair.
"You’ll be back to your routine in a week."
Moon didn’t answer immediately, weighing his next words carefully.
"You know... when the time comes, I’ll work harder than you will. Don’t think I forgot what you planned during the attack. I won’t be a bystander anymore.
I’ll get strong enough to stand beside you. To support you when you need me... like today."
Over the past few days, Selene had done more than simply spend time with Moon. She had become a constant presence in his life—a shoulder he could lean on when things became difficult.
And that...
That was a feeling she would trade anything in the world to keep.
"I’m sure you will." Moon smiled. "Also... I’ll make sure to take breaks... for our walks."
He paused.
"I liked them."
Selene’s expression softened. Her face brightened, and a tear slipped down her cheek as she smiled through it.
"Hehe."
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Author’s Notes: 4 Chapters today, since they are quite character development heavy, and not much progression going on. Rather than splitting them over two days, which can get boring, I decided to do it in one sitting so you can binge.