Chapter 40 The Power of Time
The Power of Time
One Month Later
Never before in her life had Alissa thought she would walk the streets of Bryniard and not have a glimpse of the giant wall surrounding the town. She never considered that one day she would not see people encircled by the black and white threads of the Senectus Subita, yet this was her reality now.
The wall was gone, and so was the curse. The people were finally free from the evil that killed so many generations before them, the walls that held them hostage to a crown, and the dreadful siren, which would never ring again.
Alissa had revealed the truth to the whole town.
She told them about Heldraine and what awaited them beyond these lands.
She explained the wall’s true purpose and the story of Senectus’ origins.
Some called her “the hero of the era,” but she loathed the term.
A hero wouldn’t have taken as many lives as she did to succeed.
Still, half of Bryniard worshiped her like a goddess, especially after they had watched her summon magic like something otherworldly.
The others, however, lived in denial. Even though Alissa and Eldric showed proof of the truth, they remained skeptical. They believed Alissa’s usual recklessness had finally damaged her mind, afraid of stepping beyond the land where the wall used to be.
Imagine living trapped and fed with deception for a lifetime, when suddenly someone shows up, accusing everything you have ever known to be a lie.
For the more stubborn of them, accepting all those changes had been overwhelming.
She could only hope one day they would welcome the truth into their lives rather than choose to live in a different kind of imprisonment, the one of willful ignorance.
Bryniard was still trying to find their new normal after everything, rebuilding themselves and their town in the wake of past traumas.
All the damage caused by the Iron Claws invasion and their brutal interrogations was still being repaired.
Before arriving, Alissa had hoped the general had been lying when he bragged about being in Bryniard and killing Dane, but it was all true.
In fact, Dane hadn’t been the only one who refused to cooperate and was killed as a consequence.
Mr. Weller’s body was buried beside his wife’s.
A third grave was reserved for Freyah, to be buried alongside them.
Alissa made a vow to find Freyah’s body and bury her with her parents.
She would forever hold the Wellers fondly in her heart for their love toward her and her child and for their sacrifices in the end. They were her family.
Alissa contemplated for a moment how the entire lineage of the Weller’s had come to an end in just a few months, how unfair it was that her entire family had been a victim of this wicked world. Alissa hoped they had been reunited in another type of existence, hopefully a happier, gentler one.
Since saving Dhalia, everything seemed oddly quiet, but Alissa knew better than to take the peace of the past month for granted.
She knew it wouldn’t last. It was only a matter of time before the Crown discovered that the Iron Claws stationed in Bryniard had been killed and the wall was gone.
It was only a matter of time before they learned of her magical abilities.
If their efforts to eliminate her had been relentless before, she could only imagine what they would do when they realized she could be the last mage alive in Heldraine.
If it came to fighting for her life and those she loved again, she wouldn’t hesitate.
Not that her magic would make any difference now.
Since breaking the curse and saving her daughter, her powers had failed her.
She didn’t know if it was the strain of killing so many soldiers, tearing down the wall, or ending a centuries-old curse.
Perhaps her magic was resting, lying dormant in her veins, or perhaps it was gone forever.
It didn’t matter. If they came for her—and they surely would—she would fight with sword and arrow, the old-fashioned way.
As they helped rebuild the city, Alissa teased Eldric about how the only reason he could move rubble faster than she was that her magic was gone.
He was so in love, he would take anything she said as the ultimate truth, a universal fact.
It wasn’t even funny to taunt him when he stared at her with so much passion that her heart melted.
Alissa, however, wasn’t the only one enchanted by his charms. Dhalia refused to leave the man’s side for anything.
Well, of course, she did; he tirelessly played like another five-year-old.
Alissa was almost jealous, going all that way to save her girl, only for her to prefer spending time with Eldric rather than with her own mother. Still, she couldn’t deny the love she felt for him, which only deepened seeing how he cared for her daughter.
“Mommy, Eldric says you have the power to make snow. Is it true?” Dhalia asked, tugging on Alissa’s trousers frantically.
“Well, I did. Not anymore.”
“Why?”
“Because my magic is sleeping, sweetheart.”
The girl nodded, pleased with the explanation. “When it wakes, can you make snow here? Eldric and I want to build a snowman.”
Alissa wasn’t sure if her magic would ever return, but she couldn’t bear to deny her daughter anything, not after almost losing her. She wanted Dhalia to have all her dreams come true. “Of course, sweetheart.”
Dhalia ran off, beaming and proudly telling the other children how her mother was going to make snow for everyone.
Alissa shot a reprimanding glance at Eldric, whose mischievous expression made her question if the snow idea had even been Dhalia’s in the first place.
His arms wrapped around Alissa’s waist, his lips brushing her cheek gently.
“You should stop telling her about my magic,” she teased. “At this rate, she’ll ask me to create an entire ocean if it ever comes back.”
“I didn’t do anything, darling,” he replied, though his tone said otherwise.
“Oh, so you weren’t secretly hoping to build a snowman?” Her laughter was laced in her voice.
“No.” He shook his head, grinning as he nuzzled her neck. “But have I told you how much I love you today?”
She knew he was changing the subject, but she didn’t mind. “Actually, you haven’t.”
“Maybe later I can show you instead of telling you,” he said with a wink, his suggestive smile painting a clear picture in her mind of what he meant. He kissed her once more before dashing off to go after Dhalia, who had decided that chasing a chicken was the best idea of the day.
Alissa watched them. In her mind, she relived every second of the past months away from home. She thought about the people she loved and lost, all the lives she had taken, and now tried to make peace with.
How many lives were worth the life of a child?
Countless, Alissa had learned along the way.
She would never be the same woman again. Pieces of her were forever gone, changed into something else she was still trying to recognize. In the end of it all, she was grateful for Eldric, for her daughter’s life, and for the freedom of her people.
Alissa looked around her with a bright smile on her face.
Her greatest fulfillment in life was being given the chance to watch her daughter grow up, watch her live.
She acknowledged she hadn’t been the best mother she could have been before Senectus Subita cursed Dhalia.
There were times when she would constantly ignore the child’s wishes and calls for attention, when the obligations of adulthood seemed more urgent than spending time with her daughter.
None of that seemed to be that urgent anymore.
She had finally learned to appreciate the small things in life, to savor each moment with the proper value.
Without the relentless ticking clock haunting her every step, she found peace in giving each second the significance it deserved.
Every breath, every smile, every moment held an importance that she had once overlooked.
But is the race against time really over when life remains ephemeral? Alissa thought to herself.
Time was the force that ran in Alissa’s veins and, at the same time, a power so strong, not even the rarest of magics—that of a Hozter—could control. Time had the strength to heal and harm to the same extent. After all, it would continue passing by whether she liked it or not.
Time would come, and without her ever realizing it, it would transform her life a little every day into a new week, a new year, a new decade, until she unnoticeably traveled to all different phases of life and asked herself:
Where has all the time gone?