Chapter Ninety-Five: A Dying World

“Miss Seraph?” A male voice asks, a note of concern coloring his voice. “A-Are you-”

I jerk awake, then rub at the sore spot on my cheek as I look down at the desk that I fell asleep on. What…What time is it?

Blinking rapidly, I look up to see one of the clinic’s large guards standing over me with an embarrassed expression. Stars… I’m probably a sight to behold right now, I think, reaching over to nudge Celeste, who was sleeping soundly beside me.

Clearing my throat, I try to remember what happened last night. I was waiting for Akari to finish her incursion before heading home. All the while, I was considering ways that I might be able to reduce the mana toxicity levels of my patients. Sadly, I’ve had little luck in that regard. Using magic on them obviously won’t work, so I need some kind of non-magical solution. Sadly, that is the area of medicine where I am by far the least qualified. I have the normal doctors in the clinic to work on it, but if this were an easy problem to solve, we would have been clearing out toxicity in sentinels for years. I…I’ve forgotten the guard, haven’t I?

Shaking my head to clear it, I manage, “S-Sorry, did you need something?”

The young man nods curtly as I make my way out of my chair and into a back-cracking stretch.

“Yes, Miss Seraph. We received a missive from headquarters for you. Something about an injured sentinel?”

Despite my severe lack of sleep — I doubt I’ve been out for more than two hours — the guard’s words manage to make me come alert. “Who?!” I demand, just a bit of power leaking into my question for emphasis.

The guard swallows nervously. “The sentinel was named Akari Kimura. When she arrived in medical a few hours ago, Sentinel Calan insisted that you be contacted. The message said that the injuries were minor and that he had everything handled. However, he thought you should be informed.”

Immediately, my heart is in my throat. My eyes find Celeste’s, and she nods. Without a word, we both vanish from the room in a swirl of mist.

As always, teleporting through the Dawn Cloud is inaccurate at best, and doing so in a hurry is even more off. Celeste and I reappear on one of the streets far beneath the looming GDF Headquarters building. Without having my Dawn Cloud within the building itself, I can’t directly teleport inside. This is as close as I can get, although getting into one of the skyways would have been more convenient. Those are hard to get mists into, though, because they are so well ventilated.

For a moment, I pause to study the street around me. These ground-level streets so far into the city used to be so clogged with choking smog that only the truly desperate came to them. Now though…

The Dawn Cloud swirls colorfully around people’s feet and in great currents above their heads, leaving the street fairly well-lit despite the shadows of the massive buildings above. And since my mist was designed to combat the smog, the air here is as clear as it was in Shirakaze. Tents line the streets, with people moving about in an orderly fashion. As I watch, a group of children runs past, laughing as they kick a ball around the now bustling street.

For a moment, I allow a slight smile to cross my lips. Worry for Akari still causes my gut to churn with stress, but seeing these streets that were once a lifeless warren turned into a place that people can actually live in warms my heart. Until I start to see the problem.

Since I made the Dawn Cloud, I’ve always been able to get a kind of snapshot of the city. A large-scale impression of things that I generally use to hyper-focus on one area to teleport to. However, as I look around, something from my sense of the Dawn Cloud nags at me. The fact that, all over the city, streets just like this one are filling to the brims. The old slums, the skyway and skyscrapers, and now that they are habitable, these forgotten roads.

That isn’t necessarily a problem. As the Northern Front has been pushed further and further south and a Southern Front needed to be established, we have been evacuating people to the major population centers like Tokyo and Shinara. And yet… those children look awfully thin.

My hands clench at my sides, and my joy at seeing a recovering city turns sour. Still… there are only so many problems I can solve, and I have my hands full already.

I go to summon my wings, but I don’t yet have the skill to fly up to the hub. Stars, I’ll need to find an elevator up and then-

“Lady Daybreak Seraph?”

I turn, my boots crunching on the asphalt as I take in the old man who spoke. He’s a hunched man with sun-wrinkled skin and laugh lines around his eyes — although now those eyes look dismal. Instead of the more common English, he speaks in formal Japanese, something more common with the elderly from outside the city.

A part of me wants to ignore this man and start searching for an elevator up. If Akari is hurt, I need to get to her as quickly as possible. But… there is a quiet determination in this old gentleman’s eyes. If Calan is looking out for Akari and he has everything in hand, then… well, there shouldn’t be too much of an issue if I take a moment to see what this man needs.

I offer my best smile to the older man, although it doesn’t reach my eyes. “Can I help you, sir?” I respond, also in Japanese.

For a moment, the man just watches me with concern lacing his gaze. “It is my grandson, Lady Sentinel,” he starts, and I slowly become aware of more and more people on the streets looking our direction.

“He’s taken ill and — I’m so sorry to bother you with this. I cannot lift him to bring him to your clinic. I saw you here and… it felt like fate. I know you are busy, Lady Sentinel, but can I please impose on you for this one thing? He is all I have.”

I bite my lip, but… I can’t deny such a request. “Of course, sir. I’m always happy to help however I can. Please, lead the way.”

The refugees are definitely watching us now, and I can’t help but notice the near reverent way that they look at me. Despite the fact that I am very much a sleep-deprived wreck right now, they stare at me like one might watch hope rising upon the horizon.  

No one else speaks up as the older gentleman leads me to a tent nearby. Instead, they watch, as if curious what I’ll do.

“We’ve been following your guidance, Lady Seraph,” the man says, walking beside me and gesturing to those around us. “We’ve been using kindness among each other to give the blessing of the mists upon those who need it most. Your power has not yet helped my grandson, but it has helped so many others.”

My lips turn up at his words. I did a few interviews after my naming, in which I explained the mists to a city of people who wanted to know what it was and what it meant for them. In those interviews, I explained how showing kindness within the mists would grant a boon to the one within the mist who needed it most. If everyone in the city did so, when they were the ones who needed it, the mist would be there for them too.

Beams of light fall from the sky every few seconds all across Shinara. The effects of Dawn’s Second Light being spread across the city is by far the best thing I think I’ve ever done for a group of people. Each little downward streak of power leaves me feeling glad for another soul given a second chance. If I weren’t a point of power, this would never be sustainable. But as I am now? Well, I’m quite pleased with how the Dawn Cloud has done.

“I’m glad you’ve been helping people,” I say, allowing myself to slowly fall into the rhythm of this place. My heart still pleads with me to rush to Akari’s side, but this is worth taking a few minutes, I think.

“Of course, Lady Seraph,” the elderly man says, moving towards one of the tents. “You have created for us this home within a city that did not want us. Following your teachings is the least we can do.”

“Huh… this guy is a little odd,” I tell Celeste, while nodding to the old man. “It sounds like I’m at church. We don’t have teachings, do we?”

[Hmmph,] Celeste huffs, [I think they are all just weird. They look at us funny.]

Sending my agreement, I follow the old man over to a small camping tent. And slipping inside, discover that there is hardly enough room to stand within — and that’s for someone of my small size. With me, Celeste, the older man, and the sick boy lying in a sleeping bag, it’s positively crowded.

[What is that smell?] Celeste complains, hopping up on my shoulder to bury her fuzzy nose in my hair.

I have to agree with her. This tent smells strongly of body odor and the sickly-sweet scent that accompanies infection.

The boy in the sleeping bag looks to be around fifteen or sixteen years old. No wonder the old man couldn’t lift him. Like the children I saw earlier, this poor boy is skin and bones. Yet, that fact can’t hide that he’s growing into a tall and broad young man. He just has to survive the nasty cut in his leg first. The boy’s leg is wrapped in a dirty bandage that might once have been white, pus and blood leaking through.

“What’s his name?” I ask, kneeling down beside the boy.

“I’m sorry, I’ve been rude,” the older man says, any of the strange reverence he showed gone from his tone. Now he just seems worried about his grandson. “My name is Renjiro, and this is Takeru.”

Takeru is unconscious, his breathing harsh. It’s easy to see that whatever infection he has had spread quite severely. Without magical healing or some really good drugs, this boy certainly would have died. Thankfully, however, this is a problem I can easily solve. Unlike the men and women back at my clinic sick with mana toxicity, this kind of wound can be simply wiped away with my power, as if it never was.

Laying a hand on Takeru, I quickly assess his nodes before expertly guiding bits of Celestial Restoration to where they need to go. Immediately, the boy’s clammy skin starts to look healthier, and I sense the dangerous black lines around his wound fading away. He’s still dirty, far too thin, and… well, living in a tent. But he will survive.

I remove my hand — the healing complete. Taking the time to check Takeru’s pulse and breathing, I find both steady. So long as this boy eats a healthy diet and follows good hygiene practices, he’ll be fine.

“He will be okay,” I tell Renjiro, straightening. “He’s just resting now. Make sure he has plenty to eat and drink over the next few days, and tell him to take it easy. Magical healing might seem like a miracle cure, but sometimes the body just needs time.”

Renjiro nods, looking incredibly relieved. “I will do what I can to find food for him. The true miracle is you, Lady Seraph. Thank you for taking the time. It means more than you can ever know to this old man.”

Right, there is hardly enough food to go around nowadays. But I think I have…

In a swirl of mist, a pile of cans and other packaged foods appears in the only free corner of the tent. I gesture to them, “These are for you. This is just what I have left over from a mission that took me out of the city. I can get you more later if you think-”

I cut myself off as Renjiro frantically shakes his head, even going so far as to pick up a can and hold it out toward me with his head bowed. “Please, Lady Sentinel! I cannot take food from you! You need it far more than we do with all you do for us!”

Gently, I lower Renjiro’s hands. “Keep it, I beg of you. I have plenty of money and plenty of access to food. You need this far, far more than I do. Your grandson is a growing boy, and he needs the nutrients to finish his recovery. Doctor’s orders.”

“But… Lady Seraph…” seeming at a loss for words, Renjiro simply gestures to my own scrawny frame. Immediately, I see what he’s getting at. I hardly look like I’ve had enough food either.

Even acquiring the Dawnseeker didn’t fully restore my body to what it once was. Weeks upon weeks of pain, illness, and being practically bed-bound don’t disappear overnight. And while I’ve been doing my best to get back to where I was, I’m still far from the picture of perfect health. Oh, my powers make my hair silky, my skin soft, and my complexion perfect. But it hasn’t brought my weight or muscle mass back up to what it once was, nor has it fixed the scars my torture left behind. Perhaps both are signs of my lack of mental recovery from the event, but the simple fact that I can even walk around normally as I do is entirely thanks to my powers. If I weren’t a sentinel, I’d be struggling to do the most basic of things.

“You are barely older than my grandson, and you do so much,” Renjiro says, snapping me out of my thoughts. “I can find food, I promise you.”

I shake my head. “This isn’t from lack of food,” I tell him, rubbing at my scarred arm.

“I was…” I shudder just slightly. “I was hurt by a very bad man. It left me sick and crippled for a long time. I’ve only recently started to recover and… well, it’s like I said. Sometimes the body just needs time.”

Renjiro momentarily looks shocked and horrified. Then, he looks furious. “A man hurt you?” he asks, clenching fists at his sides. He looks as if he would personally hunt Akari’s uncle down and kill him himself.

I raise my hands, trying to calm the old man. “It’s okay, Renjiro. That man is long dead now. I just… I’m still recovering.”

I smile sadly. “Keep the food, please. I want you to have it.”

After a moment, Renjiro sighs. Although he looks sad as he glances over my too-thin, too-small form. “Very well, Lady Seraph. Just know, if you ever need help, you can call on old Renjiro. I served in the military, and while I can’t say as to those Volcora, I can take care of any man. Especially for the young lady who saved my grandson’s life.”

“Well, thank you,” I say with an awkward laugh. “I do actually have a bodyguard. Though I might have accidentally ditched him at the clinic. I’m sure I’ll get lectured about it later.”

“It was great meeting you and your grandson,” I say, then, raising my hand, I produce a card in a swirl of mist. “This is the phone number for the clinic, and my personal number is written on the back. I might not pick up if you call, depending, but leave me a message. If Takeru has any more issues, please tell me. I wouldn’t mind stopping by.”

Renjiro bows deeply, taking the card in both hands. “Thank you, Lady Seraph. More than words can express, I thank you.”

I offer the man a final smile before I turn to leave the tent. This was a nice little side adventure, but now I really need to go and be there for Akari. I’m certain Calan would have told me if things were critical. However, I know well how important it can be to see a friendly face after an injury, and I also know how awful it feels to lie helplessly in a hospital bed while the world moves on without you. I’d do anything to make sure Akari never has to experience that for even a moment.

Stepping back out onto the street is a breath of relief after the terrible-smelling tent, and I briefly wonder what I can do about that. At this point, I pretty much have more money than I could ever spend. The clinic depleted a great deal of it for certain, but there is still a ton left over. While the amount of food I can buy for these people is very limited, I can certainly help in other ways. How many tents, cleaning supplies, hygiene products, and many other things are sitting unpurchased in department stores when they should be down here helping people? If money is the only thing standing between these refugees and the things they need, then I would be more than happy to provide.

To my surprise, the number of people looking at me as I step out of the tent is even greater than those who watched me enter. Conversations stop as I emerge with people just kind of… staring at me.

“You’re right,” I tell Celeste, awkwardly smoothing my hair as I look around. “This is super weird.”

After a few tense seconds, a dirty woman who looks to be about thirty steps forward. She has a cautious air about her, like I’m some kind of snake who might snap out and bite her.

“Miss Daybreak Seraph…” the woman starts apprehensively. She watches me a moment, but when I just wait for her to continue, she does so. “Miss Seraph, how long do you think this food shortage will last?”

I bite my lip, starting to consider the question, but before I can even think about it, more questions come. Apparently, it only took this one woman’s bravery for the dam to break.

“Miss Seraph! What are-”

“Are we close to retaking Fukui?! My home is-”

“Please, Lady Sentinel, I can’t find my-”

Question after question comes from person after person, and if I weren’t a sentinel, I would be getting very nervous about how they are surging around me.

With a frown, I leak a touch of power, enough to silence the crowd around me. Despite not having magic of their own, even a normal person can understand that sudden sensation of being a mouse standing before a tiger. I quickly withdraw my power, as my goal isn’t to intimidate everyone but just to silence them for a moment.

“Please, one at a time,” I say, mentally begging Akari to forgive me for taking just a little bit longer.