Her Ring

The force of the explosion threw me back as the world around me seemed to implode.

My instincts screamed, and without thinking, I willed the pale, glowing liquid of my ability to expand outward, forming a translucent shield in front of me.

It wasn't perfect, but it absorbed the brunt of the blast.

Even then, the impact was enough to send me crashing into the remnants of the dining table, my head spinning from the force.

My ears were ringing, a sharp, continuous sound that made my teeth ache.

Everything else felt distant, muffled, like I was submerged underwater.

My vision blurred as I tried to make sense of my surroundings, my chest heaving with laboured breaths.

The air smelled sharp—ash and something acrid, something I couldn't place.

When the ringing in my ears finally dulled, it was replaced by the unsettling crackle of fire and the faint creak of the house straining to stay upright.

The noise-cancelling mana film surrounding our house was gone.

Panic rose in my chest as I struggled to my feet, only for my stomach to turn at the scene before me.

The house… was in ruins. The once-cozy interior had been blown apart, leaving broken furniture and glass scattered across the floor.

The walls were barely standing, jagged and covered in burn marks.

Blood splashed the surfaces in violent arcs, painting the room in gory patterns.

I stumbled forward, gagging as the stench of burnt flesh filled my nostrils.

It was too much.

I staggered, holding my stomach tight.

"Bleeergh!"

The sound of me throwing up filled the air as I once again collapsed to his knees, all the tasty buns I had eaten splattering in front of me.

Ewww-

My throat burned as I coughed out loud, the taste of bile hugging my tongue.

I wiped my mouth with the back of the hand, forcing myself to look up, but the scene hadn't changed.

If anything, it had grown worse in my mind. I couldn't unsee the gore, the dismembered limbs scattered among the debris. My breathing quickened as fear clawed its way up my spine. 

"No... no, no, no!" I muttered, stumbling as I tried to steady myself. My voice rose into a shout. "Grandma! Where are you?! Grandma!!"

The fear in my voice didn't just echo in the ruined space—it consumed it.

My steps were shaky as I moved towards the staircase, careful to avoid the mangled remains of the assassin's body lying in the centre of the chaos.

His face—or what was left of it—was barely recognizable, twisted and melted by the explosion.

His limbs bent at unnatural angles, bones protruding from torn flesh. I gagged again, choking back another wave of nausea as I turned my head away. 

It was over for him. He was dead. But that didn't matter. None of it mattered if I couldn't find her.

"Grandma!!" I screamed again, louder this time, my voice cracking under the weight of my desperation. I staggered toward the stairs, the flight barely intact. 

The wooden steps were charred and cracked, threatening to collapse under even the slightest pressure.

My hands trembled as I gripped the railing, using it to pull myself up.

Each step creaked, but I didn't care. 

I couldn't stop.

Not now.

When I reached the top, my heart dropped.

Just outside my bedroom door, slumped against the wall, was her. 

"Grandma!" I choked out, rushing forward. 

Her weak figure was barely recognizable beneath the blood that soaked her clothes.

Her face was pale, her breathing shallow. 

For a moment, I froze, my mind unable to process the scene in front of me. 

Then, the panic kicked in, flooding my veins like magma. 

I fell to my knees beside her, my hands hovering helplessly over her body. 

"Grandma... no, no, no, stay with me," I begged, my voice shaking. 

Her eyelids fluttered, and she let out a faint, raspy breath. 

"I'm... fine, Noah," she whispered, though the blood on her lips betrayed her words. 

"You... you did good, my boy." 

Her words broke something inside me. 

I clenched my hands, fighting the urge to cry my balls out. 

"Don't say that! You're not fine! Stop talking like this!" 

Her lips twitched, a weak attempt at a smile. "Listen... listen to me," she said, her voice barely audible. 

Her trembling hand reached for mine, and I grabbed it, holding on as if letting go would mean losing her forever.

Her next words were so soft I almost didn't hear them. "Wear my ring."

I blinked, her words momentarily pulling me out of my spiral.

Her ring?

My eyes dropped to her hand, where a simple silver band rested on her finger.

Slowly, I understood.

My eyes widened as realization dawned on me.

It wasn't just any ring—it was a space ring. 

"Grandma, this..." My voice trailed off as I swallowed hard, my fingers trembling as I removed the ring.

My hands were still glowing faintly, the residue of mana coursing through me. I held the ring tightly, channelling my energy into it.

The space within the ring opened up, revealing its contents.

My breath stopped for a second as I found several bottles of green tonic inside the ring.

My hands moved on their own, pulling them out with a flick of mana. 

Without wasting a second, I uncorked one of the bottles and brought it to her lips. 

"Drink this," I urged, tilting the bottle gently. "It'll help, I promise." 

She coughed weakly as the liquid passed her lips, but when she swallowed it, her body shook as the tonic took effect.

The change was almost immediate. The ashen colour of her skin began to fade, replaced by a faint flush of peach. 

Her breathing steadied, each breath coming easier than the last.

Relief washed over me like a tidal wave.

If the blood hadn't been there, covering almost the whole of her figure, I would have thought of her as half dead.

I slumped against the wall beside her, my body finally giving in to the exhaustion that had been eating at me.

She shifted slightly, using the wall to prop herself up. Her eyes met mine, and for the first time since the explosion, a genuine smile graced her lips. 

"Thank God you're okay... Noah," she said softly, her voice steady but filled with emotion.

Her words hit me hard.

My chest tightened as I looked away, blinking rapidly to stop the tears from falling.

"I thought I lost you," I admitted, my voice barely a whisper.

Her hand reached out, resting gently on my cheek.

"You didn't," she said firmly. "And I never doubted you'd protect me." 

"After all... you have your father's eyes."

***

A/N:

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