Chapter 115: ¹¹⁵: unconcious

"Damian! Is that you? Where have you been since yesterday?" Mother Elena asked as soon as she opened the door to their small wooden house.

Her relief at finally seeing her son lasted only for a moment. Her eyes widened when her gaze fell onto the girl lying unconscious across Damian’s back.

"Athena?!" Her voice nearly rose in panic, but she quickly lowered it again. "What is Athena doing with you?! And what happened to her? Why is she unconscious?"

The sight of Athena’s unresponsive face immediately erased any relief Elena had felt at seeing her son. She stepped closer, her eyes moving anxiously over the girl’s pale face before looking back at Damian.

"Mom, keep your voice low!" Damian whispered quickly, making her stop in the middle of her questions. "Let’s move quickly to your room for now so that Grandmother doesn’t see me right now!"

Mother Elena’s eyes widened as she looked at her son with suspicious eyes. There were far too many questions running through her mind, but she decided to interrogate him properly once they were inside her room.

Because it was true, if her mother saw Damian right now, she would not spare him, especially after how much they had searched for him over the past two days.

"Quick. Your grandmother has just gone to sleep in her room. Move without making any noise," she whispered, stepping aside to make way for Damian.

She glanced toward the hallway once before quickly closing the door behind him.

The both of them sneaked toward Mother Elena’s room as quickly and quietly as they could. Damian carefully adjusted Athena’s weight on his back every few steps, making sure her body didn’t jolt too much despite how exhausted he was.

"Place her on the bed carefully," Mother Elena said to Damian the moment they entered her room.

She immediately shut the door behind them, checking once more to make sure no one had seen them.

Only after she was certain they were alone did she turn back toward Damian.

He moved carefully across the room before sitting on the edge of the bed and gently lowering Athena from his back onto the mattress.

As soon as he released Athena’s arms, Mother Elena quickly supported her, helping her lie down properly while Damian stood up and pulled the quilt over her.

For a moment, Elena simply stared at Athena. The girl’s face looked far too pale, and there was something about her stillness that made Elena’s uneasiness deepen.

She reached out instinctively, checking whether Athena was breathing normally before finally turning toward her son.

Damian was still standing beside the bed, his expression tense and exhausted. There was worry written all over his face, and that alone told Elena that whatever had happened was far more serious than he was letting on.

Mother Elena’s brows furrowed in anger as she waited for Damian to explain himself.

"Are you going to tell me what happened or not?" she asked, deliberately keeping her voice low even though every part of her wanted to scold her unruly son harshly.

"Mom, I will tell you everything. Please don’t get angry." Damian’s voice was quieter now. He looked at Athena again, his eyes filling with worry as he watched her lying motionless on the bed.

"But please, first examine her. She has exhausted herself too much. Her wounds were getting more and more painful as time passed, but she didn’t tell me until she passed out completely after..."

"After? After what, Damian?" Mother Elena immediately caught the hesitation in his voice. Her eyes narrowed as she waited for him to finish.

"It is a long story, Mom. I will tell you after you make sure she is fine," Damian replied, looking at her with his worry-filled eyes, silently pleading with her to focus on Athena first.

"Okay. Don’t worry," Mother Elena said, moving forward to sit beside Athena.

She placed two fingers against Athena’s neck and closed her eyes, concentrating on the dark magic coursing through Athena’s body. Her expression gradually became more serious as she focused on the strange energy moving beneath Athena’s skin.

Damian stood beside the bed, watching her every movement anxiously. He wanted to ask what was happening, but he forced himself to remain quiet until she finished her assessment.

"Mom, what happened? Is it serious?" Damian asked as soon as his mother opened her eyes, ending her assessment.

His voice was filled with worry. "She has been unconscious for over fourteen hours now. All the way here, she didn’t regain consciousness even once."

Mother Elena shook her head, her expression turning grim. "I had told her that my method of protecting her vital organs from being infiltrated by the dark magic would take a few more days. She was supposed to avoid doing anything that could aggravate her wounds until then."

She looked down at Athena, her brows drawing together. "But it seems that not only did she not listen to me, she went way too far with it."

Damian lowered his gaze toward Athena, his worry deepening at his mother’s words.

Mother Elena suddenly pointed toward the cabinet behind Damian. "There is a Riverthn Orb in the second cabinet, kept in a rosewood box. Quickly, bring it here!"

Damian moved immediately without asking another question. He rushed toward the cabinet, opened it, and pulled out the rosewood box before swiftly bringing it back to his mother.

"Here, Mother," he said, handing it to her.

Mother Elena nodded as she moved the quilt away from Athena. "Give the orb to me."

She raised her right hand toward Damian while using her other hand to carefully slide up the shirt Athena was wearing, exposing the wound on her abdomen.

Damian’s movements stopped for a moment. His fists clenched as his eyes fell upon the hideous wound on her abdomen. It looked as though it had been carved into her flesh with a dagger just a few seconds ago and seeing it made his stomach tighten.

"Poor girl," Mother Elena gasped, her voice filled with pity.

She quickly tore her gaze away from the wound and took the orb from Damian’s hand.

Damian watched as she held it carefully in her palm. He could feel the faint, unnatural cold radiating from the orb even from where he stood.

Mother Elena placed the orb directly over the wound and closed her eyes, concentrating her own magic into it.

For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then the orb began to glow.

Athena suddenly gasped.

Her breathing became rapid on its own as the light from the orb intensified. Mother Elena remained completely focused, channeling her magic through the orb and into the wound.

Damian’s heart tightened as he watched Athena’s body react.

"Mom..."

"Don’t distract me," Mother Elena said quietly, without opening her eyes.

Damian immediately fell silent. He could only stand there and watch as his mother continued fighting against the dark magic that had spread through Athena’s wounds.

Slowly, Athena’s frantic breathing began to stabilize. Mother Elena finally moved her hand upward from Athena’s abdomen, but her fingers were trembling slightly from the effort.

"Help me turn her," she said to Damian.

Damian moved quickly.

He carefully placed one hand beneath Athena’s shoulder and the other beneath her upper body, making sure not to put unnecessary pressure on her wound. His movements were as gentle as possible as he slowly turned her over.