Garden Of The Abyss

Hesitantly, she placed her arms on his shoulders firmly, holding him still as Mr. Kerull removed the blood-stained cloth wrapping around Macheo's arm, narrowing his gaze as he saw the vibrant crimson reveal itself in full glory.

"What is the status of this infliction?"

"I…"

"Answer quickly; he is losing life as we speak, girl."

Mr. Kerull went about the situation with haste, giving little time to Iris--forcing her to find her words properly before answering.

"His arm was infected...So I amputated it."

"I see. Good call; not many have the will to make such a decision."

Quiet, yet chilling groans continuously left the boy's lips as he remained out of the realm of consciousness as they spoke, garnering their attention.

"...That tourniquet was quite tightly wrapped; likely in your haste. Let's hope there isn't permanent damage to his nerves. That is assuming he makes it."

"Assuming?..."

"He will."

Mr. Kerull assured her, correcting any misleading doubt in his words before bringing his hand close to the spilling wound, "Be ready to hold him."

Not knowing what to do in this situation, Uylia could only watch, still not fully adjusted to anything that had happened in the past hour--finding the reality beyond her gaze to be fickle.

"I've got him."

Iris gave the doctor a nod as she kept a firm grip on the boy's shoulders, looking down at his messy blonde hair that draped over his winced expression.

Slowly, Mr. Kerull brought his palm before the open wound, a subtle aura of orange emanated from his hand as he seemed to enter a deep concentration, biting down on his lip as sweat began to drop down his forehead.

Iris didn't recognize what the doctor was planning to do even as she saw the glow from his hand, running from his wrist to the tip of his fingers. It wasn't until the radiating heat itself was recognized, pelting directly against the exposed flesh of Macheo's bisected arm that she knew what he was doing.

--Cauterization?...

Before she could commit to a full thought, her grip was challenged as Macheo thrust his torso up from the potent pain inflicted onto his wound. Handling a wounded person, Iris found it difficult to muster her strength--finding it only once she knew it was for the best, using a slight bit of reinforcement to promptly hold him down.

"The amputation wasn't perfect; there is still some residual infection left. Mainly isolated flesh that has been tainted, but nonetheless--it must be done away with."

As if reading the confusion on Iris' expression without even looking, Mr. Kerull explained calmly, keeping his hand close to the wound while maintaining the fire spell.

"Look at me…"

The doctor began to say, fishing for the girl's name as he brought his keen gaze up to her briefly, potentially finding the sight of cauterizing flesh a bit unsightly.

"Iris."

She supplied him with her name, albeit slightly confused at what he was getting at. The sound of searing flesh filled her ears, finding it hard to maintain eye contact with the doctor.

"Look at me, Iris; none of this is at a fault of your own. You made the right decision, you gave him the chance to live. I can't say for myself if even I would have spared this boy, but you did. I'll save him, worry not--we will."

Before she could respond to the reassuring words of the elven doctor, her hold on the boy's body was tested as he convulsed, thrusting his body upwards with an ear-wrenching scream of agony as his wound continued to be dealt with.

"...Just a moment more; it's almost done."

The smell that wasn't the least bit alluring filled the room; a smokey, pungent aroma that attempted to pry Iris' fingers from Macheo's shoulders. She watched the doctor's expression carefully to know when this deathly moment would be over.

In the last seconds of the hastily put-together operation, Mr. Kerull magnified the heat radiating from his palm, veiling his hand with a radiant orange that completely did away with the leftover infection; sealing the wound shut.

"It's alright now...The worst of it is over."

Mr. Kerull stood himself up, brushing his palms together with a forced exhale before turning his gaze towards the girl.

"..It is?"

"I'll handle the rest from here, how about you get Uylia back to her father? Then, get some rest yourself."

Wiping the sweat from his skin with a beige rag, Mr. Keruller motioned with his head towards Uylia for the small primorelf to go with Iris.

"I'm fine."

Iris interjected, shaking her head as it felt as light as a feather, and as warm as a pile of burning coal. As she took another step to try and maintain an image of stability, the strength in her leg gave out, nearly causing her to collapse as she clung to the cricketing bookshelf.

"You're clearly not fine; come here."

The doctor ushered her over, placing the back of his hand against her perspiring forehead, narrowing his eyes before retreating his hand.

"You've expended your natural well of mana to its last few droplets--you're lucky to still be conscious. Uylia, assist her to your father's, would you?"

"Yes, sir."

A picture-perfect diagnosis left Iris without any room for argument, simply nodding her head as she walked arm-in-arm with Uylia, briefly looking back at the unconscious boy before exiting through the front door.

"Don't worry, Mr. Keruller is the best doctor in the village--well, he's the only one, but he's great at what he does."

The once meek girl assured Iris, keeping her body close to the human girl's side as a means to help her stabilize each step, walking along the rock-bound trail that found itself burdened with many silver pillars of cedar.

"...Uylia, why did you help him?"

It was a question that had been plaguing Iris' mind since the moment they left the temple, realizing that the primorelf didn't hesitate to assist in saving the man who enslaved her. Looking down towards Uylia, her expression had begun scrunched up as if stirring thoughts that she had kept herself from thinking.

"You saved me so I have no right to question your decisions…"

"So you still--"

"I don't hate him; truthfully, he didn't do anything bad to me. It was scary, I won't lie--but I was simply a hostage for him; not a slave. I get it...Why he did it, I mean. All of this. Most of the villagers don't understand what Purgatory is like outside of these walls, but I saw it when I was with him."

Hearing these words from the girl of a humble stature sparked a weak smile from Iris, feeling as if the choice she made was the right one indeed.

--Everyone deserves another chance...I'm glad she seems to agree with that thought process. Thank you, Uylia...You might've saved me today, as well."

From head to toe, the nauseating heat radiating from her core took her over completely, leaving her huffing as she dragged her feet over each step across the path.

"A break...Gimme a break for a minute, Uylia…"

Iris weakly came to a stop at the sight of the pond filled with clear water, dropping down to her knees as her hair met with the cool embrace of the liquid. Without another moment of hesitation, Iris dunked her head straight into the water, feeling the chilly substance combat the fire plaguing her from underneath her skin.

"Iris…"

The primorelf girl looked around in second-hand embarrassment, seeing that the villagers stopped to give peculiar looks to the human girl.