Chapter Thirty-Nine

  "Help comes to those willing to reach out for it."- Coach Williams.

  James, Nadia, Trish, Tuck & Will

  “Something needs to change,” Steel growled, his voice cutting through the tense atmosphere of the infirmary. He paced with barely restrained fury, his gaze flickering between Tuck, James, and Trish. Everyone else had been sent away—Steel had no patience for tiptoeing around his words or filtering his thoughts in front of an audience. Across the room, Lysa maintained her healing aura over Will’s infection with quiet focus while Nadia worked intently to unravel the mysterious, eroding energy afflicting him.

  Will sat upright, his face tight with concentration. Through their Nex’s, he and Nadia discussed the risks of trying to suppress this energy too aggressively. Doing so might erase critical insights they’d need if someone else in the tribe fell victim to the same affliction. But Steel’s agitation wasn’t helping.

  “This is it,” Steel snapped, breaking the tense silence. “He can’t just pretend like nothing is happening.”

  “We still know next to nothing,” James countered, his tone firm despite his restrained anger. “How would this change his mind?” It was a rhetorical question, but the frustration behind it mirrored Steel’s own. After seeing the team drag Will into the village, Chief Elric's lack of action still sat like a stone in everyone’s stomach.

  “You think this is nothing?” Steel rounded on him. “A month ago, these creatures wouldn’t even come near us. Now, they’re attacking with what looks like murderous intent!”

  “It’s something,” James conceded, his tone careful and deliberate. “But if we push Elric, you know how he’ll respond. Do you really think this will make him alter his course after all these years? And what do we really know about the source? Our people lie between us and that mountain.”

  Steel’s eyes narrowed. “Are they still our people anymore?”

  “Yes,” James shot back, his tone flaring to match Steel’s aggression. The two locked eyes for a long, tense moment before Steel forced himself to back off, exhaling sharply through his nose.

  “This energy,” Nadia interjected, breaking through the heated exchange. Her back was turned to the group, her focus still on Will’s abdomen. “It’s… similar to the Taint. But more concentrated.”

  “It’s the energy of the mountain,” Trish said quietly, standing off to the side. “Is the Taint just diluted energy?”

  Nadia shook her head, a frown forming as she pieced her thoughts together. “I don’t think so. This energy feels entangled to the creature Brick was fighting. Almost like it mutated—a chemical reaction caused by the Taint the creature had ingested.”

  “So, the Taint isn’t just some energy that causes erosion and madness,” Trish mused, her brow furrowing. “It’s a reaction agent?”

  Nadia nodded slowly. “I think that’s a closer answer. Maybe as close as we’ll get without observing more reactions.” She turned fully to Will now, her tone sharpening with determination. “This energy inside you, Brick—it’s fighting to merge with you. Your resistance, combined with its sheer volume, is creating a reaction. I don’t want to wait anymore. Follow my Vitalize pattern and reciprocate your energy. I’m putting this into overdrive to flush your system.”

  Will nodded, bracing himself. Nadia placed her hands firmly on his chest, vines from the roots of the infirmary snapping to life and wrapping around her legs. The air around her shimmered as her skill flared, isolating the hostile energy. Will groaned as the agent compressed in his core, shrinking under Nadia’s control until it finally dispersed into the air with a faint hiss.

  No sooner had the corruption left Will’s body than the infirmary door slammed open. Everyone whipped around to see Frank, hands on his knees, gasping for breath.

  “Brick,” he wheezed. “I… came… as quick… as I…” He coughed violently. “…could. Are you okay?”

  “Jesus, man, I’m good,” Will said, half-exasperated. “But maybe check on that door—you nearly ripped it off its hinges.”

  “Oh…” Frank coughed again, clearing his throat as he turned his head to the side. “Thank goodness. I sprinted here from the mines when I heard.”

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  A stunned silence settled over the room before Tuck broke it. “Forge… you sprinted from the mines?”

  “That’s almost—” Tuck started.

  “7.2 kilometers,” Trish, Will, James, and Nadia chimed in unison, finishing his sentence.

  “What is even happening right now?” Steel muttered, rubbing his temples as if surrendering to the absurdity of it all.

  “It’s called camaraderie, brother. You’d know if you had some friends,” Lysa quipped from her station without missing a beat.

  “Hey now,” Steel shot back, glancing at Will. “Brick’s my friend.”

  Will, still recovering, managed a weak thumbs up. Lysa frowned. “Brick’s more my friend. I see him nearly every night in here.”

  “Sounds like forced friendship,” Frank added with a shrug, earning him a sharp look from Trish.

  “All right,” James interjected, clapping his hands to regain focus. “Let’s regroup. We need more information about what’s happening in the north. And second, we need a way to combat this Taint. We can’t reach the north without withstanding its influence.”

  “And we need to refortify the village,” Steel added firmly.

  “I can help,” Trish said unexpectedly, drawing surprised looks from the group. Seeing their reactions, she crossed her arms. “What? You think I’ve been doing nothing all this time?”

  “Well… maybe,” Frank replied sheepishly, half-flinching as if bracing for a verbal smack. None came.

  Trish sighed, her confidence faltering slightly. “I’ve… found something.”

  “What is it?” Nadia asked.

  Instead of responding immediately, Trish raised her wrist, revealing what appeared to be a bracelet.

  “It’s a bracelet?” Frank said, baffled. Realizing his mistake under Trish’s glare, he quickly amended, “I mean, it’s a very pretty bracelet!”

  “No.” Trish’s tone was sharp. “It’s a modular computation system that embeds directly into any object or device. It allows me to influence the genetic makeup of anything.”

  The group stared at her, dumbfounded. Steel was the first to recover. “Have you shown that to Uma?”

  “No,” Trish admitted.

  “You do know who Uma is, right?” Steel pressed.

  “Yes,” she mumbled. “I just… haven’t been back there since that first day.”

  Frank finally erupted, “You haven’t even been there? It’s literally your primary talent!”

  “I was going to go,” Trish said defensively, “but I got distracted. And… those people in there, they just don’t seem like they’d teach me anything new.”

  Lysa and Steel exchanged a glance. Without another word, Steel turned to Trish. “Let’s go.”

  “What? Where?” Trish asked, startled.

  “To meet my great aunt. Well… our aunt,” Steel clarified, as Lysa nodded. “And apparently, you can tell me how that bracelet will help protect the village on the way.”

  Trish hesitated but ultimately followed Steel out the door.

  As the two departed, Frank voiced what everyone was thinking. “Am I the only one confused by that tangent?”

  “Nope. Same here,” Tuck noted.

  “Lysa, dear new friend, could you kindly fill us in?” Will chimed in, tilting his head toward her, his voice exaggeratedly polite.

  “Nope…” Lysa replied without looking up, her mind shifting to look for something in the back of the room.

  “Oh, perfect. Thank you, Lysa,” Will quipped, leaning back with a sarcastic smile.

  “I think we can just wait for Glitch at this point,” Nadia said with a shrug, her tone light but edged with quiet frustration.

  “Okay,” James began, his voice calm and steady as he shifted the conversation back on track. “Rose and I have the ability to venture north, but Kama… I’m worried about the impact on Rose if she goes too far. Can you help me with a solution?”

  “I can,” Nadia started, her brow furrowing as she weighed her words carefully. “I’m just not sure what will maintain—” She stopped mid-sentence, interrupted by an unexpected voice.

  “Why not use a branch from the Katuwa tree?” Lysa asked abruptly from the back of the infirmary. The group turned toward her, a ripple of surprise washing over them.

  Will raised an eyebrow, smirking. “Ah, Lysa, I’m afraid only us friends know about this miraculous solution. Would you mind enlightening everyone else? Except for me, of course.”

  Lysa’s lips curled into a small, unexpected smile as she reemerged from the back of the room with a pair of clippers. With purposeful steps, she approached the infirmary's wall, where the Katuwa tree's base stood rooted like a silent sentinel, its ancient presence intertwined with the building’s foundation. Placing her hands gently on the trunk, she bowed her head and whispered. The air shifted in response, a faint hum resonating as a vine began to sprout, unfurling delicately from the tree’s bark.

  She whispered another quiet thanks before delicately clipping the vine free. She twisted it into a bracelet with practiced ease and walked back, placing it in James’s outstretched hand.

  New Item: Katuwa's Embrace

  Forged from the sacred Katuwa tree, this bracelet is a rare artifact of profound beauty and resilience. Worn as a second shield, it forms an unseen barrier that safeguards its bearer from physical harm and mental intrusion, grounding their spirit with unshakable resolve. Imbued with ancient energy, the bracelet fortifies the wearer’s body and mind, granting the strength to withstand even the most relentless adversaries and insidious forces.

  “This won’t block out all impurities,” Lysa explained, her voice steady and confident. “But it will fortify the wearer’s mind enough to withstand the Taint—at least for shorter periods.”

  “Thank you,” James said softly, studying the bracelet. He turned to Nadia, who gave a subtle motion toward the tree behind Lysa. Realizing her intent, James bowed and placed his hand against one of the roots embedded in the floor—a faint warmth spread through his fingers—a gentle acknowledgment from the Katuwa tree itself. “Thank you, Katuwa,” he murmured with quiet reverence.

  “So, uh, what about the rest of us?” Frank asked, breaking the moment as he looked around at the group.

  “Well, Frank,” James said with a faint sigh, “I think it’s time for all of us to prepare for the inevitable.”

  Frank’s face twisted in confusion. Will, catching on, leaned in with a grin. “Frank, he means we’re all going to be fighting soon, so you better figure out your girlfriend's name.”