'When will…it all end? I want to go to sleep…'
Shuu felt like he was in between the plane of waking up and falling asleep forever. The pain was starting to feel numb to him, and his body refused to listen to him.
He felt like he was in his body and not at the same time. Time was also of no consequence to him.
What he did recall were hands on his back and the bite of a cold knife. But there was one more thing he recalled.
Pity-filled eyes looking down at him and a voice telling him that they were sorry he had to go through this, but it was their own fault for trying to get something not theirs.
After who knows how long, Shuu finally felt something change. Something sweet was pushed against his lips, and he drank the liquid.
His consciousness slowly began to come around, and he blinked before he tried to pull back from the touch of the high elder.
"Tsk, stay still or you will spill the medicine. We are done with the sword, so you can get up now. Can you feel another presence inside you?"
The high elder asked, but Shuu was too disoriented to answer him. His whole body hurt, and when he tried to move his limbs, it felt like pins and needles were attacking him.
"Don't try to move too much. You have lost a lot more blood than we expected. Your body is too weak, and you won't stop bleeding once we start the ceremony. But at least you have a strong will to live. God knows we were close to losing you a few times."
From the high elder's voice, it did not seem as if he would have minded if Shuu had kicked the bucket. But Shuu felt grateful to be alive once more.
He blinked a few times before he somehow managed to sit down and eat a little more.
Shuu had not been hungry until he put the food in his mouth. But once he started to eat, he found that he could not stop.
The high elder gave him a disgusted look before signaling something to someone else.
A hand grabbed Shuu's arm and forced him to stand up.
"Take him to the side room to rest today and give him medicine to close his wounds. And you, kid! Don't you dare breathe a word of what happened here to anyone else. This is a secret technique passed down in our clan to make the hero's sword. There would be too much trouble if this got out."
The high elder warned Shuu, and he nodded. He was still not fully there, but he did understand enough to know that he needed to keep this all to himself.
'Besides, who can I even tell? The hero's journey is the most sacred rite of this world. Any sacrifices made for it are worth it, right?'
Seeing how Prince Kaiden had pushed Shuu here, he had no choice but to obey the command. Running away was not an option.
"Here, hold the sword. I want to see if it reacts to you."
Shuu suddenly felt a presence in his hands. It pulsed, and he tightened his grip. The presence comforted him, and he tightened his hold. Even the slight pain was worth it, and—
"Alright, give it here. You are still not fully conscious and are just hurting yourself. Someone, take him to his room to rest for now."
The elder spoke, and Shuu felt a little panicked as the sword was taken away from him. He tried to reach for the sword to grab it back, but his wrist was tugged before he could do that.
He was thrown into a soft bed, and his exhausted body finally relaxed.
"Sleep for now. We will tell the crown prince that the ceremony is over."
Someone told Shuu, but he was already half asleep by that point and no longer listening. The soft bed called to him, and Shuu surrendered himself to sleep.
The next time he woke up, he felt much more aware of where he was and what he was doing. He blinked a few times and pushed himself up before he put his feet on the ground.
The cold instantly made him retreat and woke him up fully at the same time.
"This place…where am I?"
He asked as he looked around. There was not much in the room, and his body still hurt too much. He forced himself to walk toward the mirror before he turned around.
"Are these…the knife marks? The pattern is not bad…but…"
Shuu trailed off, not liking how his back was covered in scars. The mark on his neck was glowing as well, and he refused to look down to see the one on his navel.
"Tsk, I am covered in marks all over. Ah, there goes my dream of living a normal life."
"Normal life? Why would you want to live a normal life? Hmm, but if you do want to live it, then I guess I can arrange something…"
A pair of arms snuck around him, and Shuu paled as soon as he noticed the crown prince's presence.
'When did he come in…?'
Shuu wanted to question, but the hand touching his still-fresh wound on his back made him forget about anything else.
"Oh—! So this is the mark created because of my sword? I want to say that I am sorry, but I really like you being covered in my marks."
The crown prince admitted as he touched the marks even more. It was getting painful for Shuu, and he let out a groan.
He was instantly let go of, and the crown prince pulled him back onto the bed. Shuu landed on his stomach and instantly felt vulnerable.
"Prince Kaiden…"
"Don't worry, honey. I will cure the pain for you. Just relax and let me use my magic."
The crown prince promised as he moved his hands over Shuu's back. There was a slight pressure before Shuu felt magic seeping into his back, and he let out a relaxed sigh.
It did feel better, and the pain was numbing. But there was another pressure on his…back…that he did not expect to feel at the moment.
One look was all it took to tell him that he was not going to get out of it calmly….