When I let my eyes off of Lotus for a second she bit into my shoulder. I started to panic a small bit until I realized that nothing was happening. Isn’t she supposed to be sucking up all of my magic power until I die right now? Oh wait, I constantly absorb mana to refill my magic power so maybe it’s impossible for her to suck up all of my magic power?
Well if I’m not in any danger it should be fine to just let her eat, or drink, or however she’s consuming my blood. Hopefully it doesn’t take that long because I’m unable to move my body. I guess it would make sense for the victim to be paralyzed so that they can’t call for help or resist. What a considerate curse.
So uh... how much longer is she going to suck my blood. I can’t exactly tell the time because we’re still in the cave, but I feel like it has been at least a few hours. Does it normally take this long or is it just because she might not have sucked up any magic power recently? That is plausible since she’s been in the city for about a month now.
Or could it be taking so long because it’s me she’s sucking on? From what Lotus has told me she’s never sucked blood from animals because her family couldn't afford to hunt a strong animal just so that she can drink its blood. So uh... what are the chances that she can’t stop sucking until the victim is dead. If this theory is true, then my death is going to be pretty dumb. Just laying perfectly still until I die of thirst or something.
Since I couldn’t do anything else in my current state I just let my mind wander back to the past. Specifically I recalled some of my favorite books that Mary would bring with her when she visited us. Sometimes she would make me read books to learn about the history of the countries near us. Though at the time I didn’t care too much about anything outside of the forest so I didn't bother to try to remember anything.
Anyways, most of the time Mary would bring fiction books with entertaining stories. I enjoyed reading most genres and sometimes I would change my spells a bit to mimic something I read. Though the only new spell I actually created was the same spell I used to hide my hidden room in the academy. I believe I got the inspiration for it when I read a story about some person who would play pranks on random people by turning stuff invisible in front of their eyes. Sadly this spell doesn't have many practical uses because you need a Shadow Spirit to actually use it and it only actually disguises the location by making it look like something that's already there so it can't actually permanently turn anything invisible.
I didn’t realize it at first but reading the books also made me even less interested in people than I already was. Characters in books are always interesting in some way because if they weren’t interesting, then the story likely wouldn't be interesting either. In real life everyone who doesn't have a unique characteristic or interact with me in a unique way tend to blend together into the same person. I found being around all the other kids in my hometown boring and eventually I found it too tedious to keep trying to befriend them when I couldn't even be bothered to remember who was who. I couldn’t be bothered to care, or even pretend to care, about most of the people around me anymore unless they caught my interest immediately.
Of course it's the people who are different from others who mainly draw my attention. Fai was the daughter of one of my foster mothers, could also use Holy magic, and had cute reactions to being teased so I liked being around her. Leila has a constant desire to learn about anything to do with magic and she's willing to forgo interacting with other important nobles if it means she can further her understanding of magic. There's been a few times I've actually considered telling her everything I know about Spirits just to see what she would do with that information. Last but certainly not least is Lotus, who is a vampire and whose family wants her dead. I've only known her for less than half a day, but I can't resist wanting to know more about her past and what she's going to do in the future.
Speaking of Lotus, “Hey Lotus I'm getting a bit bored here. Could you hurry and let me go already." I wish I could actually say that but the paralysis is still in effect so I can't even open my mouth. While I did enjoy figuring out Lotus’s secret, I'm not feeling very much joy right now. If only I payed attention to her so I could teleport away before she bit me.
After a long time had passed I felt Lotus start to move. Thinking that she was done sucking me I tried to move as well. I could slightly move myself but I could tell that the paralysis is still mostly preventing me from speaking. Lotus began to speak with teary eyes. “I can’t believe I killed the only person that may have been able to get rid of my curse. I am so so sorry, kind stranger. I'll make sure to give you a proper grave.”
I'd appreciate it if she didn't automatically assume I was dead. I guess I can't blame her for assuming I'm dead since every other victim died. Before she wanders out of the cave to build a grave and get herself killed I should try and stop her. I could barely speak but I was able to whisper, “I’m not dead you idiot.”
Unsurprisingly she didn’t hear me over the sound of her own crying. Since plan A didn’t work I guess I should use plan B. I tried moving as much as I could to shake off the paralysis. It was annoying to do and I wish I had Holy magic so that I could move magic power around my body to get my muscles moving. Then again this paralysis might be special because it's part of Lotus's vampire curse and will wear off with time. If so I just need Lotus to notice me moving so that she can wait for me to recover.
Thankfully Lotus soon noticed that I was shaking and she carefully got closer in order to inspect me. Once she got closer I whispered, “I’m not dead,” again but she couldn’t hear me. Maybe I should try manipulating the air around my mouth? With all the experimentation I did to create music I was unable to replicate voices but I was able to make my voice be carried on the wind. It could only carry the sound of my voice and any words being said would be unintelligible. It is also very easy for other air to interfere with the sound and completely break it up but since we're in a cave with little wind interference it should work.
So I tried once again to talk, this time using magic to carry my voice, and I think she heard me because she asked me a question. “What was that noise? Did you make that sound stranger? Are you really alive? Oh please tell me I'm not just hearing weird cave echoes."
It's still hard to speak because of the lingering paralysis so hopefully she can still understand me if I shorten my sentences. "Unlimited magic power. Impossible lose all.”
“I don’t know how you have unlimited magic power but I’m just glad you're alive. I thought I killed the person who could get rid of my curse. I promise to repay you as soon as I can.”
Hearing that I internally frowned. I do have unlimited magic power but she has a very complicated curse and trying to get rid of it may do more harm than good. To get rid of a curse you need a complete picture of everything the curse does which is almost impossible unless you created the curse yourself or have a complete understanding of how the curse works. For example, I would need to know stuff like how the curse gets transferred through the family even after the cursed ones are dead and how magic power in blood sustains Lotus. Even with my changed soul I still need to eat the Nature magic ball to survive so I have no clue how magic power could replace food and water.
With all these problems complicated curses tend to be viewed as impossible to get rid of. Which is why most people consider the only way to get rid of a curse is to kill everyone afflicted. Complicated curses also persist after the casters death unlike weaker curses so there's no hope there either. I would tell Lotus to just give up on curing it before she gets her hopes up but talking is too much of a pain right now.
Since I couldn’t really move, Lotus ended up waiting with me in the cave for a while. I don't know what time it is but I'm gonna be surprised if it isn't night time already with all the time that has passed since I overheard Leila’s conversation with Lotus.
When I could finally properly move around and talk, the first thing I asked was, “Does it normally take you that long to suck out the magic power you need?”
“No it usually takes two hours at most but that’s if I drink blood every week. I hadn’t drunk any blood in a month and that’s why it took longer. It’s also why I couldn't resist biting you. Once again I am so so sorry for doing that to you.”
“Well I still have a lot of questions I want answered but that can wait until tomorrow, I am way too tired right now. Oh and I will get the answers to my questions tomorrow whether you want to answer or not. I am at least owed that in return for you taking my magic power for the last few hours.”
Lotus went on to apologize again but I just want to go to sleep, laying down in an uncomfortable position while being forced to stay awake was torture. I teleported us back to the capital in front of Leila’s house and the first thing we saw was a soldier training under Leila's family impaled with a sword. It didn't take long to find the sword's owner who was wearing armour with a flower insignia prominently displayed.
Oh wow it's back! Very exciting, glad to see your all good