Gabriel was lying on a bed in a peculiar room that was much smaller than the throne room. There was only one bed inside the room, and on the bed, Gabriel seemed to be sleeping.
His clothes were different than before, as his old clothes were either destroyed or covered in blood in the battle.
The clothes he was in now were the same that he was wearing when he entered the Tower of Challenges. It was the attire that he had received when he got the Ancestral Staff of Necromancy.
Just for the battle with Cylix, he had taken off the clothes that could easily be considered Numens. In any case, his clothes weren't ordinary. Instead of them, he wore ordinary clothes before the battle.
Now that his special clothes were back on his body, thanks to Novius, he felt much more comfortable since his attire was filling him with a familiar and comforting feeling. The attire was also healing his physical wounds much faster.
Novius also fed Gabriel some Soul Healing Pills to help his soul recover, but it wasn't as easy this time.
For his hunger for victory, Gabriel had used too many High Ranking spells! As if that wasn't enough, he even used the 'Divine Entrapment of Light and Darkness' in the end, which was a bit too much for him even when he was at his best, let alone when his soul was already exhausted after two hours of battle.
Just the fact that Gabriel hadn't passed out right away after casting that spell in itself was stunning for Novius.
Novius sat right next to Gabriel, watching the unconscious young boy. "Just why...?"
He was happy that Gabriel succeeded, but he didn't understand why the boy pushed himself in harm's way like that. Why did he want to win so badly? If he wanted to, he could've tried next time. He could've even used his Origin later, but he didn't. Even at his own risk, he went forward with the challenge and stuck to the rules even till the end.
Novius placed his hand on the forehead of Gabriel, checking if the kid had any fever.
'As expected, even with healing and the pills, he has a fever. This boy...'
As soon as Novius touched his forehead, he realized that Gabriel had a fever, and it wasn't a weak fever at all.
"You know your hand is really cold." A voice came, surprising Novius.
"You are up?" he asked.
Gabriel moved Novius' hand from his forehead as he opened his eyes, which looked tired.
"No, I'm talking in sleep," Gabriel commented, slightly amused that Novius was really asking this question even after seeing everything.
Novius was sitting to his left. After answering him, he glanced to his right. If Cylix were here, he would've been standing to the right, asking him if he was good while scolding him for being so reckless.
For some reason, he was missing Cylix's presence. In such a short time, he had become so accustomed to them. If only the people outside were like them.
"I really killed him, didn't I?" he asked Novius, trying to sit up.
Even though his head was aching and he had a fever, he didn't care.
"You did what he wanted. Don't blame yourself." Novius sighed. "Taking lives isn't always wrong... Sometimes, it can also be a form of mercy."
He further continued, "As death is mostly used for punishment and revenge, people often forget that it's not even a fraction of death's essence. Death isn't just a form of punishment. It's much more."
"Sometimes it can also be a reward, a doorway to a new and a better life... You didn't take his life. You freed him from these shackles that were keeping him trapped here, and that's what he wanted."
Gabriel nodded, still feeling a bit empty with the absence of Cylix, but maybe this was it? A lesson to him that nothing was permanent.
"You want to die as well?" he asked Novius. The same shackles that were keeping Cylix here were the ones that kept Novius here as well. Both spent the same amount of time here as well, so it wasn't hard to guess.
Novius only smiled in response. He didn't say anything, but his expressions were enough to answer.
"Enough talking. Rest now. I'll give you some privacy." Novius knew that Gabriel had a fever, and no medicine they had was going to work on him for this because of the obstruction with his unusual Element.
Moreover, Cylix knew about healing much more than him. He couldn't do anything other than letting Gabriel's body naturally heal with time. And for that, he needed lots of rest.
"Oh, one thing I forgot..." Novius stopped before the door and turned around, revealing a small box in his hand.
"This is from Cylix to you," he explained. "He asked me to give this to you if you succeed in killing him. This is his last gift for you..."
He placed the small box on the bed before leaving.
Gabriel was left all alone in the room with the small box.
Gabriel's hands were still shaking a little as his soul was still in the process of healing. He picked up the small box and brought it closer to him.
This was what Cylix left him... The last gift from the man who had given him so much.
People said knowledge was the biggest gift a person could give, and Cylix had imparted all his knowledge to Gabriel, along with everything else that he had. He left everything to the only person he ever had as a student...
Gabriel gazed at the beautiful silver box that was made from some kind of metal that was very light yet very firm.
He slowly opened the box, noticing the first thing that was inside the small box... It was a folded piece of paper.
Gabriel picked up the piece of paper and unfolded it. It was only when he unfolded the piece of paper that he realized that it was a letter written by Cylix.
****
[A few days ago]
Gabriel was sleeping peacefully under the starry sky. Tomorrow was supposed to be his battle with Cylix, and he was told to get plenty of rest.
As Gabriel slept, Cylix sat near him with a letter and a pen in his hand, writing something.
"Dear Gabriel,
Since you're reading this letter, It would be safe to assume that I'm no longer alive... if I could even call myself that."
He glanced at Gabriel as soon as he finished writing his first paragraph.
