“I can’t live without you!”

"He's… dead?" Jodeus muttered to himself, unable to believe the old healer's words.

"AS GOOD as dead, boy. Attempting to save him would be," his words were cut off by his own uncontrollable laughter,

"FOOLISH. Only a numbnut would even try!" He continued laughing, promptly stopping after a few seconds.

'He can't be…'

"There must be something else I could do. Something that would save him. Please, Archius, I cannot let him die." Archius shook his head continuously, zipping his mouth and throwing away the key.

On the other hand, Ektes sat across from him seemingly pondering about something. A few beats of silence between the three passed before Ektes cleared his throat and spoke.

"I have read scripts in the past that suggest an old variation of the Syneisforá. In which blessed gave their blessings to the dying, turning it into a life force of some kind."

Jodeus raised his head to look at the man before turning to Archius for confirmation.

"PFFFT! Limit! There is a limit. A Stone gives a part of them to you, but if you give a part of you to another, weak! A receiver of the Syneisfoira will have a connection with the Stone BUT it is undoubtedly lesser than the giver. LIKE YOU!" Archius laughed at himself but stopped to sip his tea, only to spit it out again.

"But would it be enough to save him? Or at the very least give you enough time to lift his curses and heal him?" The healer looked conflicted, choosing to ignore Jodeus' queries and brewing himself more tea instead. Jodeus' gaze was locked onto the healer, impatiently waiting to be acknowledged.

When the healer started to stir the hot cup of tea with his finger, Jodeus' patience ran out.

"Archius!"

"OKAY! OKAY! CALM DOWN." Jodeus stared at him unamused.

"If the ritual were to work, it would give him enough life force and would PERHAPS give me enough time to lift all of the MANY CURSES and heal him." Jodeus sighed in relief, watching in disgust as Archius dragged a finger across the spilled tea on his counter before tasting it.

"BUT! I must warn you! Even if the Syneisforá were to not work, you are sure to suffer or even DIE! AND the 'weak' life force it would give him IS NOT guaranteed to last long enough for me to fully heal him!"

"I'm willing to take that risk. When shall we do the ritual?" Ektes turned to him in worry.

"Are you sure about this, Jodeus?" His brows were knit as he waited for an answer.

"You heard 'im! Are you CERTAIN that you want to risk your blessings and your LIFE for a SLIM CHANCE that this gem will be healed?"

Without another thought of hesitation, Jodeus nodded. "Yes, I am."

'He would give everything.'

"A foolish numbnut, I tell you."

…

Jodeus sat beside the bed, Archius holding the ring in his hand while Ektes watched from the room's threshold.

Ektes had tried to reason with Jodeus, trying to talk him out of the ritual only to be shunned by the man. The former thought that it was foolish, to sacrifice your own life for another, no matter how much they meant to you. That if you meant the same to them, they would hate themselves for losing you for their sake.

He had tried to tell Jodeus, to stop him from doing the ritual, but Ektes knew that Jodeus would give anything to save this Carnelian. He knew that after everything Jodeus had gone through, he would never stop fighting for Brytos as long as he has the strength.

"Are you ready, boy?" Jodeus nodded, trying to calm himself.

As sure as he was, his shoulders were tense and his chest was pounding irregularly.

Jodeus watched as Archius closed his eyes, placing the ring on the bed as he muttered something to himself. The ring on the bed started to glow a warm, red light emanating from the gem.

Suddenly, the light from the red gem brightened, forcing him and Ektes to look away. When they turned back, the ring rested on Brytos' chest.

Archius opened his eyes, a white glow slowly weakening as his blessing simmers down from the spell use. He removed the ring from the unconscious man's chest, placing it on the bedside table.

The old healer walked closer, hovering a hand over Brytos' bare chest before retreating and turning to Jodeus.

"Are you REALLY CERTAIN that you want to do this? I could feel EVERY. SINGLE. CURSE. that was laid upon this boy very, VERY clearly now that he isn't just a gem. The raw power put in every curse is almost TERRIFYING." Jodeus exasperatedly looked at Archius in reply.

"FINE fine! I'll continue!" Archius walked up to Brytos' form holding a mortar where he had crushed quartz, labradorite, and bloodstone into a fine powder.

Dipping his finger into it, he started to trace symbols on Brytos' chest. Ektes and Jodeus watched in curiosity, both not having a clue as to what the symbols meant.

Finishing up the final symbol, Archius strutted next to Jodeus, telling him to remove his upper garment. When he removed it, Ektes saw the unhealed bruises where his ribs broke before having his sight obstructed by Archius.

Jodeus tried not to shuffle or fidget as he felt Archius drawing the patterns on his chest, uncomfortably stiff as he sat straight on the chair.

After the last stroke, the symbols lit up and Jodeus felt like his breath was just knocked out of him as he struggled to breathe properly. As the light emitting from the symbols grew brighter, the more it felt like something was attempting to pull his organ right out of his chest.

Ektes watched in silence as Jodeus tried not to scream in pain, his veins bulging as he strained. He stared at Jodeus' bare chest as it glowed a strong blue light.

Jodeus leaned forward, trying to ignore the tight feeling in his chest, shutting his eyes tightly as tears slowly start to form.

On the other hand, Brytos' chest rapidly rose and fell as it glowed a dim, flickering red hue. Tears steadily streamed down his face as groans of pain escaped his parted, chapped lips. His brows were knit together, eyes firmly shut as his head slightly shook left and right.

Slowly, Jodeus' strong blue glow gets pulled from his chest, a scream escaping him as it happened. As the blue glow entered Brytos' chest, a flash of light momentarily blinded both Ektes and Archius.

The blue light snapped back to Jodeus' chest unbeknownst to anyone.

When they opened their eyes, the symbols ceased to glow, along with Jodeus and Brytos' chests. Slowly, the symbols and scripts began to fade until they completely disappear. Glistening in sweat, Jodeus finally managed to catch his breath, panting as he opened his eyes.

"What happened? Did it work?" Turning to Archius, all he saw was annoyance and dejection. Archius faced the bed, quickly transferring Brytos' life force back into the ring.

"Answer me, what happened?"

"A powerful curse was laid upon Brytos. The curse fed on your blessings, giving NONE OF IT to him! THE SYNEISFORÁ HAS FAILED! Leaving you with NO blessings." Archius' words made the two men speechless.

Jodeus felt like his life force had been drained from him, a cold empty feeling resonating in his chest before shattering into pain.

And in a blur of events, Jodeus found himself jumping off the island, landing on a smaller one. The drop made him stumble and fall to his knees, ignoring how a crack sounded when he landed.

He couldn't recall how the ring ended up in his hands but he clung to it. He bowed his head as he prayed to the Stones, pleading for them to help him save Brytos.

Right before his eyes, he watched as the cracked gem's flickering light slowly dwindle before its faint red glow completely died out.

"NO! NO! NO!"

Tears quickly fell from his eyes, staining his cheeks as they uncontrollably and unendingly pour out. The ring's gem shattered into pieces before the ring itself disintegrated into dust, falling through Jodeus' shaky fingers.

"PLEASE! No! I can't…I can't live without you! I don't want to! Please! Come back."

'Gone.'

He was gone, scattered into the wind. And Jodeus couldn't feel a thing.

His arms and legs had gone limp and the earth was soaked from his tears. He doesn't leave nor does he want to. He couldn't bring himself to do it. After all this time, there was nothing left for him.

"Why?!… why?... I gave up everything, so why?"

He sobbed against the earth, when he felt limbs again he only screamed and pounded the ground, tearing blades of grass from their roots.

He glared at nothing, water blocking his eyes. His blessings were gone, his parents were gone, and his lover was gone.

A pained wail escapes him, his broken voice echoing against the islands.

…

"I have warned him!" Archius said, brewing himself, what seemed to be a cup of coffee, but it looked odd and there was something lurking inside it.

"Some things, even over hundreds of years of living, are impossible to achieve. People, EVEN BLESSED, shall NOT play God by attempting to turn their blessings into life!"

Ektes put the cup down on the crooked table after having it shoved into his hands. "Is there really nothing we can do?"

"Yes, there is." Archius slurped the drink and spat it out, a few things were swirling on the spilled drink on the ground, (Ektes was glad he didn't take a sip)

Then he stood and yelled. "Move on! Once the gem inside you breaks, the blessings will go POOF—GONE! You shall ask for another, but the Stones are cunning great creatures, they aren't good. Your blessings may turn into malediction! OHOHOHO a big word! I still remember it~" He sang the last part

Ektes pondered before standing up and heading for the door.

"Where are you going?"

He pushed the door open, "To find Jodeus, I reckon we've given him enough time."

…

It took him some time to figure out where he was; it was a tiny little island, small enough to see a figure curled on the ground, just below Archius' residence, isolated from the other islands.

He leaped off the island's ledge and landed swiftly on the grass. He squinted his eyes and gazed up at the sun. It looked so close from up here. He looked at the figure again before slowly and quietly treading toward the curled-up form.

He slouched on the ground next to Jodeus, hearing the faint sobs and whispers but didn't say a thing. The ring that Jodeus ever so cherished was nowhere to be seen. One could guess what happened.

He pulled his quivering shoulders up, they felt like glass under his touch, so he carefully leaned him against his own body, hugging him close. Jodeus didn't fight it nor did he seem to know what was happening, he kept whispering under his breath.

'Why? Why?'

"You need to rest," Ektes said before sighing.

But he received no response, not like he expected Jodeus to, so he lifted him off the ground and made his way back.

…

Jodeus shivered as Ektes laid him on the bed. His quivering body was cold to the touch, so cold that one would assume that he was dead. Tears continued to stream down his disheveled face as he shook so violently that Ektes yelled at Archius to get his attention.

"What's happening to him?" Ektes' voice was higher than he had meant it to be, panic setting in his chest as he watched Archius observe Jodeus' condition.

` "I WARNED THE BOTH OF YOU! Attempting the type of Syneisforá that he did would take a toll on his health! The Stones detest the people that throw their blessings away, ESPECIALLY when they try what he did!" Archius tried to feel Jodeus' temperature again, swiftly retracting his hand when it barely touches his skin.

"We need to warm him u, quick! Put something warm on him! Being half-naked is not helping him. And BE CAREFUL! The boy's temperature is low enough to instantly give you an ice burn or frostbite." Ektes nodded, covering his hands with sand as he tried to calm himself down, searching for something warm to wear in Jodeus' stuff.

Unable to find anything, he instead grabs warm clothing in his pack, quickly putting it on the shivering man. Ektes summoned a warm blanket of sand over him, watching worriedly as he continued to shake under it.

Finally, Archius had come back with another mixture in his hand and a few more blankets in the other. After placing all of the blankets on top of Jodeus, Ektes carefully raised Jodeus' head to help him drink whatever mixture Archius has given him.

"I cannot do much because the Syneisforá's effect is more powerful than any spell I can conjure up but that should help, even just a bit." Ektes' eyes never left Jodeus' vulnerable figure, worry evident on his face.

"What could we do to help him?" His head slightly turned to where Archius was.

"Nothing else."

…

A hiss escaped Ektes once more when he gets frostbitten again. Looking down at his hands, it sported multiple ice burns and frostbites, old and new. He had been watching and taking care of Jodeus for days.

The man had been barely conscious the whole time. Shaking and spasming as his tears dry out and all he could do was bellow.

Muttering words to himself, his voice hoarse and barely even existent at this point, worn out by the constant sobbing and wailing both in pain and grief.

Ektes pulled Jodeus near him, positioning himself again, raising his head while protecting himself with a layer of sand. Reaching for the spoon and bowl again, he continued to feed Jodeus warm soup that he had made himself, not trusting Archius with the cooking.

It has been a repeating cycle of Ektes feeding and helping Jodeus drink, wiping him down with a cloth and warm water, and changing his sweat-soaked clothes. And then helping him drink the mixture Archius had made in an attempt to warm him up.

The healer, on the other hand, relied on Ektes' reports regarding Jodeus' state as he tried to search for any more spells or medicine that could help the weakened Tanzanite.

He rarely went near Jodeus as to Ektes' request, he had worried that maybe the old man's boisterousness wouldn't help with the unconscious man's case.

…

Still unconscious, Jodeus flinches when Archius burst into laughter again as he read a medicinal book near the bed. The small movement caught Ektes' eyes so he approached the reading man cautiously.

"I'm sorry to ask you of this but could you calm down or at the very least, keep quiet near Jodeus? I know that it may be too much of me to ask but your rowdy behavior may be worsening his illness." The healer stared straight at him and Ektes wondered if they were about to be kicked out of the island right then and there.

"Fine! Fine! I'll stay away from your precious boy! Just report his condition to me."

"Thank you."

"IT IS MY HOUSE BUT FINE!"

…

"Jodeus is still unresponsive to anything but pain. He flinches when something too hot touches his skin but other than that, all I've been getting as a response are unintelligible noises or wails." Ektes fidgeted with his collar as he watched Archius' back.

The bags under his eyes had deepened from the sleepless nights that came with taking care of Jodeus.

"Is he still cold as ice?" Archius chuckled to himself leaning back to read another scroll from his library. The old healer's eyes were also bloodshot, more than usual, from the nights he had stayed up to read his books.

"His temperature had gone up but he is still dangerously cold." He waited for a reply from the healer, who continued to stare at the scroll he held an inch or two away from his face.

After a minute or two, Archius still hadn't said anything so Ektes turned to leave. But as soon as his back was turned, he heard a yell from Archius.

"THAT'S IT! HOW COULD I HAVE FORGOTTEN!" Archius' loud laugh seemed to reverberate around the house.

Ektes almost spoke to silence him, thinking that Jodeus may be disturbed but was cut off by the healer.

"These! PYRE STONES! They will help warm him up! How could I have forgotten such a simple thing!" He laughed again, shoving the scroll in Ektes' face.

Taking the scroll from the madman's hand, he began reading it.

"Pyre stones are combustible stones that are commonly used in fire or Carnelian spells. They glow a faint, deep orange light and are usually depleted of their properties once used."

"CORRECT! And I know the perfect place to get them!" Before Ektes could ask, Archius ran out of his house and jumped off the island, the sound of his voice slowly fading as he fell.

Unable to calm his mind, he continued reading the scroll, going into Archius' room and grabbing an Azurite book when he had finished. He sat down next to Jodeus' shivering figure, starting to read the book in silence, Jodeus' incoherent muttering filling the atmosphere.

…

A few minutes later, Ektes' head snapped up when he heard a crash near the house's entrance, followed by Archius' yells.

"I've got them! THEY'RE HERE!" The old man stumbled through the threshold, holding a large sack almost as tall as him, filled to the brim with stones as it glowed a deep orange hue.

"LO AND BEHOLD!" He dropped the sack to the floor, some of the rocks cracking at the impact as what seemed like hundreds of dark amber stones scattered on the floor.

Flicking his hand, Ektes' sand gathered the stones back into the sack, neatly leaning against the wall near Jodeus' bed.

"How do we use them?" Archius grabbed a few of the stones, surrounding Jodeus with them. The stones seemed to glow brighter as they started to warm Jodeus' body.

"IT'S WORKING! YES!"

Ektes approached Jodeus, flattening a hand on his forehead. It worked as he 'did' feel warmer. Although, he was still colder than he should be, and the scroll stated that the stones will run out of energy, making their effect limited.

As Ektes pondered about how to help Jodeus, a screech sounded from under him.

Jodeus' mouth hung open as an unholy shriek came out of him. His eyes were rolled back and wide open, tears continuously streaming down.

Blood was dripping from his nose and ears. His back was arched so much that Ektes worried that his spine would fracture.

Ektes dropped to his knees, thoughtlessly grabbing the man's shoulders before retracting his hands. He felt colder than he had ever been.

"JODEUS!" He covered his hands in sand as he shook Jodeus' shoulders. His heart pounded in fear as the man seized so violently, vomit starting to leak out of his ajar mouth.

"Archius! Help him!"

Then, as quick as it started, Jodeus fell limp onto the bed, the two men still shaken from what had happened.