It was like a nightmare, except it was not. Roy could feel every ounce of pain at every moment. The virus was rampaging in his body, destroying his immune system, causing his lymph nodes to swell. Wave after wave of heat surged within him, and he contracted a disastrous fever. His lips turned dry, and blisters started popping up, but no matter what he did, he could never fall asleep or even black out.
It felt like a viper made out of magma was invading his body, slithering everywhere within him. He was rolling and squirming in the operating theater, his face contorted with pain. Even so, he grinned and bore the pain without so much as a complaint, though he did gasp.
It was as painful as the first time he took the preparatory decoction, but he could still take it.
Coral was holding her hands together, looking worried. She had seen a lot over her years as a sorceress, and most were more gruesome than what she was witnessing. Willingly or unwillingly, she had to take part in the dissection of those who were cursed by the black son, merge parts from different monsters, and perform forbidden necromancy. It had been too long since she cared for a test subject, and Roy broke that streak.
Sorceresses were a schemeful bunch, but Lytta was true to her words. She promised she would never let anything happen to him. Roy’s pain eventually made her think she should cast a spell to lessen his pain, but she squashed that thought in an instant. Calm down, Lytta Neyd. Any magic right now could destabilize him. Follow every step as planned.
She composed herself and made a magical circle in the air, chanting incantations at the same time. Lights started shooting out of Roy, projecting rows of detailed data on the papers before Lytta, recording everything that was happening. Lytta steeled herself and turned her attention toward the book of records.
***
“I’ll probably go mad, even if I survive this, won’t I?” Roy suddenly had a moment of realization as he suffered the pain. He finally realized why the disciples who passed the trial ended up having some form of mental illness. He finally realized why Nenneke wanted him to cleanse himself. Because the pain was unbearable.
The pain seeped into his soul, tormenting him, tearing his will apart. If the candidate’s perception was great enough, the pain would be even more pronounced. That went for the witchers from Cat School. They might have passed the trial, but their minds were broken, and their souls were corrupted. In the end, their will turned to the dark side.
“I have to do something.” Roy could still think thanks to his incredible will. Even though he was squirming and spasming, his sanity remained, but not for long. It would eventually be consumed by the madness.
“I’ll meditate.” That was the only way he could come up with. He thought the pain would go away if he entered the void, so his mind wouldn’t be broken. Roy tried to relax his body according to a guide he’d read before. He started with his head and imagined a hand gently caressing his hair, the fingers pressing down on his scalp, as if giving him a massage.
Once that was done, he closed his eyes and rolled them around. Then he breathed in and out with his nose and mouth, relaxing his face. It was then followed by his neck, shoulder, chest, stomach, back, and legs. He split his body into parts, relaxing them one at a time. He failed the first time, but he did it over and over again.
The pain interrupted, of course, but he didn’t stop. It felt like a few minutes had passed since it started, but it had also felt like an eternity. Time had no meaning for him, so he kept trying and trying. Eventually, his body finally started relaxing, so he started focusing on his mind.
Roy breathed slowly, imagining himself on a raft on a great lake. He imagined the sun shining warmly on him, while the spring breeze sent ripples throughout the lake, caressing his face, and kissing him with the scent of the earth.
And then everything changed. He felt the coil on him leave him as his mind entered that strange land again. Stars stretched on as far as he could see, while the elements swirled around him, kissing him, telling him they wanted to be friends. Roy immersed himself in it, forgetting all about his pain, and time flew by.
“Hm?” Lytta was surprised that Roy actually stopped struggling after a night. But what was weirder was that he was sitting cross legged on the operating theater, as if he were a statue. His skin was still red, his body was still drenched in sweat, but he looked calm. Then she realized he was meditating.
Meditation requires precision, no matter if you’re a witcher or a sorcerer. It requires an empty mind, so how did he do it when he’s under the virus’ influence? Coral went through the recording in her crystal and saw the whole process. It lasted for five hours, but Roy eventually stopped squirming as his body started relaxing.
“I see why Letho took an interest in him.” He has a stronger will than most adults. She didn’t wake him up, since a forced awakening might hurt him. Besides, he was doing well, so she started working on the second virus, taken from the parts of arachas, giant centipedes, and shriekers. It was the total opposite of the Furnace Virus.
It was freezing. That was all Roy could feel. He curled up before the burning hearth, trembling. He had built up some resistance after a week of being tortured by the Furnace Virus, but he couldn’t fight against Ice Lake, or so Coral had named it. It was as if everything had turned to ice, including the air itself. His skin turned blue, his pores contracted, and he felt ice cold. His organs retained enough heat to work, but his skin, fingers, toes, and face were freezing. His eyes started to lose focus and were turning blue too, while his ears seemed like they would break at the slightest touch.
However, the worst thing was that meditation worked against the heat, but not the cold. The cold was already goading him to sleep in the first place, and his life signals were slowly dissipating. If he were to enter the meditative state, Roy thought he might never wake again.
“Roy, wake up! Don’t sleep! I’ll teach you about magic once you wake up! I’ll do it right away!” She started chanting loudly, “Aenye… aegean… deithwen…” Her fingers were dancing in the air, weaving magical circles. A few beams of scorching hot light started showing up, then she put her hands down, letting them hang limply. She didn’t want to risk it even more.
Roy’s eyes twitched. He tried to hold his hand up, but his strength wasn’t enough for a simple lift. It was as if he were dying.
“Damn it!” Coral cursed. She felt frustrated, as if something were squeezing her throat. “Did I overdo the concentration? I have to do something to save him!” She looked at Roy’s face that was illuminated by the torch.
Roy was almost freezing to death, but he could hear something rustling beside him, then he felt like something warm took him in its embrace. The welcomed heat lessened the cold somewhat, and Roy leaned against it out of reflex, greedily hugging it, taking all the warmth within him.
