4 hours after the incident.
—Luke! —Melissa appears, looking like she might faint at any moment.
Luke has deep dark circles under his eyes and a lifeless expression, but then he gives a faint smile.
—You… took your time, you know? But thank you, really, thank you. If it weren't for you, I never would have found her. If I had discovered her lifeless body… I don't know what I would've done. —Luke puts a hand to his face, and from a distance, Melissa can see his eyes filling with tears.
Melissa just stands there in silence.
A man in white appears, and Luke jumps up desperately, grabbing the doctor's shoulders. Before he can say anything, the doctor speaks.
—Don't worry, she's not in danger of dying, but… with the loss of most of her limbs, she'll never be able to live a normal life again. She woke up a little while ago—go see her.
Without a word, Luke opens the door and sees Alice sitting up, looking to the side. Her eyes are closed, her black hair still vivid, but her expression is gone. It's as if she's just existing there, like… a plant.
—Alice?
Alice quickly turns her head, searching for the source of the voice. Her face comes alive with just that one word.
Luke approaches and sits in the chair, taking her arm and examining it.
—I'm sorry…
Alice pulls her arm away—she doesn't want him to see it.
Then, Alice starts tapping her hand against the edge of the bed. At first, Luke is confused, but then he stands up and shouts for the doctor to bring a notepad. When the doctor arrives with his clipboard, Alice starts tapping on it again. Luke signals for the doctor to stay quiet, and she continues.
*"Do you know Morse code?"*
At that moment, Luke's eyes light up, and he responds with a big smile.
—Alice… who—no, what was the pact your father made with that demon?
Alice starts again.
*"He kidnapped me, and then my father made a mana pact with him. The deal was, in exchange for my father's obedience, he couldn't kill me."*
—Alice, your hand is bleeding. You don't need to give long answers—just the essentials. I don't want to see you hurt even more.
Alice begins the code once more.
*"I'm happy to see you. I missed you."*
—Yeah… I missed you too.
*"Now, there's nothing left for me. So I just have to wait for death, right?"*
Luke slams his fist against his leg, biting his lip as tears well in his eyes.
—No! I promise you, I'll make sure you live well—even if I have to sacrifice everything just to see you smile.
Alice slightly opens her mouth, then closes it, forming a small smile. Luke hugs her, and Alice tries to hug him back.
—(cough) I think I'm interrupting something.
Luke freezes—that voice is the last thing he wanted to hear. He slowly turns to see a massive shirtless man in the doorway, standing at least 6'6". His muscles are enormous, his red hair striking against his tanned skin. His brown eyes give his face a somewhat simple look.
He runs over and hugs both Luke and Alice.
—(Laughs) It's been a long time, hasn't it?! Luke and Alice!
—Yeah… it's been a while, hasn't it, Jack?
*"Jack—one of the 20 Kings of Voyeur, the Intellectual King."*
—You're all worn out, huh Alice? Just skin and bones!
Luke jumps up and punches Jack in the head.
—Watch how you talk to her!
—You haven't changed a bit, Luke!
Alice starts smiling. She thinks to herself.
*"I'm glad there are still people with me… I thought I'd die alone."*
—No, you won't die alone. You'll live many more years, so don't worry.
At that moment, Jack's eyes glow yellow.
—That's my power—I can read minds. Interesting, isn't it?
Luke grabs his shoulders.
*"Then we can communicate with her much more easily now!"*
—Yes, we can. —Jack places a hand on Luke's head.
He grabs a notebook and starts writing, asking many questions: *"Did you see the face of the person who did this to you?"*, *"Can you tell me when it happened?"*, and countless others. Then, he starts laughing.
—Alright, if that's what you want… come on, Luke. She asked to be alone for a while.
Luke hugs her and says goodbye.
—A potion… could it heal her?
Jack thinks for a moment, then scratches the back of his head.
—Probably not. Potions only heal tissue—since she lost body parts, it's unlikely she'll ever be the same as before.
Luke lowers his head.
—But… maybe we can fix her tongue.
Luke's eyes light up, but before he can speak, Jack cuts him off.
—However, we can't just heal it with a potion. We'd need to get her a tongue. The question is—how?
Luke starts thinking.
—No. I'll get a tongue at an auction, so don't even think about what you're thinking.
—Alright, thank you, Jack.
Luke walks over to where Melissa is, while Jack stands at the door, lost in thought.
*"He's crazier than I thought… who would've guessed? Even I was shocked. He was about to rip out his own tongue. If I'd been a second slower, he would've done it right then."*
Jack suddenly looks sad, remembering the past. The weight of something he did is suffocating him.
—(Laughs) Alright, for the sake of these two lovebirds, I'll make it happen. This time, I'll make sure you two stay together.
He walks away, feeling imaginary stakes piercing his back. He knows there's no turning back—so he'll settle everything he's done.
Thank you very much for reading this far.
:D