Ansel paused, thinking carefully. Then, as if a practical solution came to mind, he asked. "Do you have an electric blanket?"
"No." Heka replied, his voice was soft.
Ansel's eyes flickered with another idea. "What about plastic bags?"
"Maybe, it is in the kitchen." Heka said hopefully.
"Okay, wait a minute." Ansel said as he quickly moved to the kitchen.
Heka watched him go, feeling a strange mixture of gratitude and curiosity. The cold was relentless, but Ansel's calm confidence gave him a thread of comfort. He wrapped his arms around himself, trying to hold onto warmth as the minutes stretched on.
The kitchen was small but functional, with a kettle Ansel filled and set to boil. He rummaged through a drawer and found several sturdy plastic bags. Carefully, he filled three bags with hot water, sealing them tightly to avoid any spills.
Returning to the living room, Ansel handed the warm bags to Heka. "Here you go, it can warm your body."
He placed two of the bags gently at Heka's feet and held the third one on his own lap, sharing the warmth between them.
Heka smiled faintly, gratitude shining in his eyes. "Ansel, thank you very much. I hope you don't mind, but I often bother you,"
Ansel shook his head with a warm smile. "It's okay. If the water is cold, you just say. Then, I'll do it again."
Ansel glanced down at the plastic bag resting on his lap. To his surprise, the bag had already frozen solid, its surface glistening with a thin layer of ice.
The other bags he had placed at Heka's feet were no different. It turned to ice almost instantly. The cold that clung to Heka was so intense it was leeching the warmth from the hot water itself.
Ansel's heart tightened as he realized just how cold Heka's body truly was. The warmth he had hoped to provide was being stolen away by the deep chill that had settled into Heka's bones.
He understood this feeling all too well. He had experienced it himself many times before. But for Heka, an ordinary human unaccustomed to the harshness of the Immortal realm's cold, the process of warming up would take much longer and be far more difficult.
"I think it is better if you soak in the bathtub. It is filled with hot water." Ansel suggested gently, his voice calm but firm.
Heka nodded slowly, his movements still stiff and slow. He said quietly. "Okay."
He stood up with some effort. He followed Ansel's advice without hesitation.
As Heka made his way toward the bathroom, Ansel stopped in his tracks. A pang of guilt washed over him.
He said, his tone apologetic but resolute. "Heka, I'm sorry. I have to go. I can't accompany you. Don't worry, you just soak yourself in the bathtub. Maybe it takes a long time because your body is completely frozen."
Heka looked back at him, a faint smile of understanding on his lips. He replied softly. "Okay. Thank you."
Ansel gave a small nod and turned away, his mind already racing ahead. There was something far more urgent demanding his attention.
He had to report everything that had happened at the funeral to Mr. McVeigh immediately. Time was slipping away, and he couldn't afford to lose a moment.
As Ansel left the room, the quiet sound of water filling the bathtub echoed softly behind him.
***
Heka sat quietly in the bathtub, the hot water enveloping him in what should have been comforting warmth. But as the water touched his skin, he realized with a sinking feeling that he could not feel the heat.
Instead, the warmth quickly dissipated, replaced by an unnatural chill that crept through his body like icy fingers.
Small pieces of ice began to form on the surface of the water, delicate and crystalline. Before long, the entire bathtub was filled with frozen water, the ice overflowing the edges and pooling on the floor.
Yet, Heka did not move to stop it. His body still felt frozen, trapped in a coldness that no ordinary heat could thaw. So, he let the hot water continue to flow from the faucet, hoping the endless stream might eventually break through the icy barrier that held him captive.
As he lay there in silence, his mind drifted back to the mysterious mansion in the forest. It echoed softly in his thoughts, stirring a deep curiosity.
"Kiervant Sky. The Immortal realm." He thought, eyes closed beneath the icy surface.
With this understanding, Heka sank deeper into the water, as if trying to immerse himself fully in the truth of that otherworldly place. "It means Kiervant Sky is not in the human realm. But it is in the Immortal realm."
Then, faintly at first, he heard a whisper. The voice was so soft, it seemed to come from the very air around him. "Kiervant Sky, come again. I'm waiting for you."
The whisper stirred something inside him, pulling him from his reverie. It felt like a special invitation, a call that resonated deep within his soul. But with it came a flicker of fear. "Should I come back to that mansion? Then what if my body freezes again like this?"
Despite the fear, a strange comfort lingered in the thought of returning. The time trapped in the cocoon had been brief, but it had felt like the safest place he had ever known. A sanctuary away from the confusion and cold of the human world.
After a long pause, Heka made his decision. "Okay, I'll go back there."
Almost as if the house itself had heard his resolve, a gentle force seemed to guide him, leading him back toward Kiervant Sky.
The pull of the Immortal realm was strong, and with it, a weariness settled over his spirit, a tiredness of living in the human realm, of the fragility and limitations that came with it.
As he moved toward the unknown once more, Heka felt the weight of destiny pressing down on him. Whatever awaited at Kiervant Sky, he knew his life would never be the same again.