69. Reina

It wasn't an intellectual thing. It was all feeling. And as the feeling left him, he lost the magic. He couldn't find it anymore—it wasn't a matter of trying. Like grasping at water running between his fingers.

He was relieved when one last notification popped up as his dream faded out.

𝕄𝕒𝕛𝕠𝕣 𝕃𝕒𝕨 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕙𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕕!

𝕄𝕒𝕛𝕠𝕣 𝕃𝕒𝕨 𝕠𝕗 ℙ𝕦𝕣𝕖 𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕘𝕚𝕟𝕘 (𝔼𝕝𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕝 𝕃𝕒𝕨 𝕠𝕗 𝕊𝕥𝕖𝕖𝕝)

***

Zane woke up breathless. He felt exhausted. He didn't even want to think about trying for another Law. He'd done too much. This wasn't the kind of thing you walked off. He could tell it'd be days, maybe a week before he'd give Laws another go.

Lesson learned. Two Major Laws in one go was too much. For the first time he'd brushed up against the limit of his soul.

But he was still satisfied. Two Major Laws was still a lot.

What could he do with them?

***

He found a garden courtyard to practice.

So. Major Law of Pure Forging. His only steel Skill was Spirit Steel Body. They should go well together, right?

He tested it out. He sank Laws of Pure Forging into his skin, his muscles, his bones. He started weaving them in, just as he'd woven Unyielding Might. He followed the template of Spirit Steel Body.

Could he even do this? He thought back to Spirit Steel Body's description—

𝔾𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕓𝕠𝕕𝕪 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕕𝕦𝕣𝕒𝕓𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕕𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕠𝕗 𝕊𝕡𝕚𝕣𝕚𝕥 𝕊𝕥𝕖𝕖𝕝. 𝔼𝕩𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕝𝕪 𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕓𝕠𝕥𝕙 𝕤𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕔𝕦𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕕𝕒𝕞𝕒𝕘𝕖. 𝕊𝕥𝕖𝕖𝕝 𝕘𝕣𝕒𝕕𝕖 𝕤𝕔𝕒𝕝𝕖𝕤 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕝𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝.

Pure Forging went beyond "durability and density," right? So it went beyond the scope of the Skill.

But as he weaved, the Law went in just fine. The more he wove it, the more his body subtly changed, sharpening, smoothing, growing more robust…

Then—

𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕖𝕧𝕠𝕝𝕧𝕖𝕕!

𝕊𝕡𝕚𝕣𝕚𝕥 𝕊𝕥𝕖𝕖𝕝 𝔹𝕠𝕕𝕪 [𝔼𝕡𝕚𝕔] -> 𝕄𝕒𝕟 𝕠𝕗 𝕊𝕥𝕖𝕖𝕝 [𝔼𝕡𝕚𝕔]

𝔾𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕓𝕠𝕕𝕪 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕕𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕚𝕥𝕪, 𝕕𝕦𝕣𝕒𝕓𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕪, 𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕔𝕚𝕤𝕚𝕠𝕟, 𝕗𝕝𝕖𝕩𝕚𝕓𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕪, 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕕𝕦𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕡𝕦𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕠𝕗 𝕊𝕡𝕚𝕣𝕚𝕥 𝕊𝕥𝕖𝕖𝕝. 𝔼𝕩𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕝𝕪 𝕕𝕦𝕣𝕒𝕓𝕝𝕖, 𝕡𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕗𝕦𝕝, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕕𝕦𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖. 𝕊𝕥𝕖𝕖𝕝 𝕘𝕣𝕒𝕕𝕖 𝕤𝕔𝕒𝕝𝕖𝕤 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕝𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝. ℙ𝕣𝕠𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕥𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕒𝕕𝕛𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕦𝕤𝕖𝕣'𝕤 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝.

He blinked.

...well, shit.

No one told him he could make new Skills.

He read it over again. Adjust…? He felt those Steel Laws like lights woven through his body. Lights he could turn bright or dim at will.

The brighter he turned it, the more his skin took on a subtle gleam, pure and blemish-less. It was the Law of Steely Refinement showing through.

His features sharpened too. Precise casting defined him, made him sharp—it brought out his jaw and his cheekbones, muscles, the separation on his arms, down his legs. He found a mirror in the palace and took a moment to inspect himself. Everything just seemed... cleaner. The lines on his body flowed smoothly, symmetrically, like a statue carved of marble.

He found he could superheat his body too, like a metal. He can make his grip incredibly hot. Any part of his body, really—his thermal regulation was off the charts. It was the Minor Law of Heat Mastery at work.

He could also make his skin texture harder or softer at will. When he dimmed his Steel Laws fully he seemed almost like any other human. You could only tell the difference if you inspected him very closely. Or cut into him—then it'd feel like cutting into kevlar.

He wondered how much more durable he was now. Nothing in that Gorge had really tested him. And while it was fun releasing all that pent-up annoyance on those birds... he did miss having a real challenge. Something to push him to the edge of a fight, something that really roused him.

Next up was Abyssal Crater. When he saw it on the beacon map, it presented as a C-ranked dungeon. But when he zoomed in on it, a little plus popped up next to it. C+… He wondered what it meant. Stronger, he hoped.

He'd soon find out.

***

Next up was his new Major Fire Law, Ethereal Flame. And since it was mostly the stuff of the soul, there wasn't much he could apply it to. He thought about layering Spirit's Incandescence on something like Rising Sun Slash, but it proved much harder than adding Forging to Spirit Steel Body.

Forging and Spirit Steel Body just felt like they should go together. But Rising Sun Slash was a physical thing, and adding a soul part… was too much of a leap.

What he could do was buff Rebirth in Flame.

He made a little pale fire dance on his fingertips. Then he poured in the rest of the Laws of Ethereal Flame. They came easily.

𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕖𝕧𝕠𝕝𝕧𝕖𝕕!

ℝ𝕖𝕓𝕚𝕣𝕥𝕙 𝕚𝕟 𝔽𝕝𝕒𝕞𝕖 [𝔼𝕡𝕚𝕔] -> 𝔽𝕚𝕖𝕣𝕪 ℝ𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕨𝕒𝕝 [𝔼𝕡𝕚𝕔]

He made a cut down his hand and tried it out. It was a little better than Rebirth in Flame, healing-wise. But now it could burn through poisons too, poisons of all sorts—even lingering foreign essence that might stop a wound from healing. It could cleanse a wound as well as heal it.

It didn't seem exclusive to him either. He saw no reason he couldn't use it on someone else. Could come in handy.

***

That done, he returned to the palace and found a note Reina had left for him. She invited him out to a mid-afternoon picnic. There was a map attached of a city he didn't recognize. It had directions.

Zane scratched his head. Then he went outside and saw the city on the map.

Reina had worked some kind of miracle.

When he left Portland, it was a war-torn wasteland. Black was the color of this city. The burnt-out buildings, the blackened barricades, the ashen streets.

Now he felt like he'd walked onto the set of The Lord of the Rings or something. Dark and light greens were everywhere. Green was woven into the wood housing, under the rooftop gardens, all along the pebbled roads. Vibrant purple flowers peeked out of wide swaths of well-trimmed grass, swaying softly in the wind.

Reina had told him some of her plans when they were sleepy, in bed together. She wanted to give Portland some of its old life back. He strolled down a pebbled path, past rows of quaint wood houses, smoke puffing up from the chimneys. He started walking down a riverfront.

A wide, strong flow of clear blue water ran straight through the middle of the city. He came across a lovely, historic-feeling wood bridge spanning its breadth. On the other side was a lumber town hall and a little nature reserve flitting with birds. There were dirt sparring arenas and a little cluster of dojos, vines woven through their roofs.

He saw some folk standing on the bridge, staring vacantly up the river in a daze. Some still looked haunted, like they couldn't believe where they were.

There were still huge chunks of the city undone. He saw them mostly across the river—the edges of this little green haven fading to black wasteland. But still… he shook his head. Nuts.

As they walked, he saw a little woodland treasure area called Tranquility Park teeming with essence—motes of soft glowing light drifted about between groves of massive dark green trees. People lay there resting. Some red tomes. He saw some of the resistance fighters he'd met sitting there on benches, watching the gurgling of an essence fountain.

Past that were the food stations, modeled to look like those quirky old cafes Zane imagined once peppered the city.

That was Reina for you. She got all the little details right. It still baffled him that she seemed to like him. He scratched his head. He was pretty much a Neanderthal next to her.

On his way back from his little stroll, an old man in a tattered vest came up to him, a shy little blonde boy at his side. The boy introduced himself as Jacob. He gave Zane a flower unlike any he'd seen in the city. It was duller and smaller, a little white-petal thing, kind of wilted—the boy said it was the only flower he'd found back when the city was still a war-torn waste. It was the boy's lucky charm. The thing he held onto as he cringed under the barricades, waiting for the Spell-fire to stop.

"Thank you Mister Sage," mumbled the boy. And he gave it to Zane. "This's for you."

Zane felt a soft warmth in his chest. He ended up putting it in his Bag of Holding, right next to all his other treasures.

It also gave him an idea.

***

Hours later, he arrived at the little grove where he and Reina would have their picnic.

The first thing she pointed out was that he looked different. He explained the changes to his steel body, and she studied him for a bit.

Then she said, "You said you could adjust it?"

"Yeah."

"Could you lower it a little?"

"Sure."

He did, and the sharp edges softened some. His skin did too. He asked her why.

"Maybe it makes you a little more handsome. But you were already handsome," she murmured. They sat beside one another, leaned against a thick tree trunk. She put her head on his chest, her favorite resting spot. "I like you like this," she said, closing her eyes, sighing happily. "I can cuddle you easier."

Slowly, he stroked her hair, and they just lay there for a while.

They ate the sandwiches she'd made and murmured softly to each other. And by the end of it, just when they were about to pack up, he nervously reached into his bag of holding. Zane was not someone who got nervous. Reina just did strange things to him. His heart was going weirdly fast.

He brought out a crown made of bright, spotless steel. It gleamed gently in the soft afternoon light.

"What's this?" said Reina, blinking. She must've inspected it. "It's... not a treasure?"

"It was a treasure," said Zane, scratching his head sheepishly. "I melted it down. And... made this. For you."

He melted it down by hand, and molded it by hand, and tried engraving little flowers onto the thing. He wasn't sure they looked much like flowers.

She just stared quietly. He felt he should say something. "You know, 'Reina.' It means queen... right? So…"

It had taken him almost five hours, an embarrassingly long time for such a little thing, and a lot of tries. Way too many tries. He kept breaking them or twisting them. His hands felt way too big with these clumsy sausage fingers. He felt kind of stupid hunched over the tiny thing, trying to coax the steel into something pretty. He was so much more used to breaking things than making them.

He thought for a while about what to give her. But all his treasures were pretty much useless to her. In the end, he realized nothing he gave could possibly show his appreciation. All he had to give was his time, his body, and... a stupid little crown.

At least he tailored it. She loved resting her head on his chest, and he loved stroking her hair. So he had a good idea of her shape.

She was so quiet, still staring. "Zane..." she whispered.

"I put two major Laws into it," he said. "Unyielding Might and Pure Forging, so it should never break or rust."

He tried to make it sound unique. But the more he looked at it, the more amateurish and ridiculous it seemed. He wasn't a craftsman. This was stupid. He wasn't sure why he even bothered—

She threw herself at him and kissed him, bowling him over. Then she was on top of him. She kept kissing him.

He wasn't the best judge of these things, but he got the sense she was pretty happy with it.

***

Before he set off the next day, he got a message.

𝘏𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦! 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘺 𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘴. 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱! 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴. 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵, 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘸𝘢𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶—𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘸𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘉-𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦. 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘦, 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵. 𝘐 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘱. 𝘋𝘳𝘰𝘱 𝘣𝘺, 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶? 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘈𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴, 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘵. 𝘞𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳, 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘻𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦, 𝘪𝘵'𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦.

𝘈𝘭𝘴𝘰! 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘶𝘱!

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘍𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘰𝘮𝘣 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘓𝘈. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵'𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥-𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘍𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘥𝘢 𝘵𝘰𝘰. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘥𝘰𝘻𝘦𝘯 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘙𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘺 𝘥𝘶𝘥𝘦, 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘙𝘢𝘯𝘬 #11, 𝘔𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴.... 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 20, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮.

𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘢. 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘢𝘧𝘦 𝘡𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩.

𝘕𝘰𝘸, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮! 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘉𝘺 𝘮𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺! 𝘐'𝘮 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺.

𝘔𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘴… 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘝𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘺. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.

𝘈𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘐'𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭! 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺 '𝘛𝘰𝘮𝘣 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴' 𝘍𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥, 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳!