Losing himself - Bastian's POV (part 2)

"The dagger has been successfully removed," spoke one physician.

"It didn't puncture any vital arteries," said his senior.

"We will stitch him up right here," said their assistant.

Bastian rose to his feet, feeling the numbness encompassing his body from his neck down to his toes after expelling everything inside him near the trunk of the nearest tree. He observed the physicians diligently tending to his uncle, who had accepted his impending demise. His attention then turned to Egon, who resembled a bewildered child, seated behind Leopold and the physicians, hugging his knees tightly to his chest. He rocked back and forth, his vacant, dark eyes betraying the shock coursing through his trembling body.

Bastian forcefully struck his scarred eye, his stomach churning once again as he forged ahead through the pool of blood staining the ground, determined to reach his older brother. He crouched down beside Egon and enveloped him in a tight embrace.