Omega's Rebirth-Chapter 438: Backfire ()

"Veah! Veah!" Menarx desperately called to Neveah who had gone limp in his arms the very moment he had picked her up.

Menarx dashed for his quarters, his eyes wide with panic and terror.

Terror...pure and unadulterated had gripped Menarx’s heart from the moment Neveah coughed up blood and it grew more with each passing second.

Menarx could feel the warmth of Neveah’s blood seeping through the fabric of his clothing, she was bleeding from all the places she should not have been and though the bleeding was slow, it would not stop.

Neveah was in perfectly good health, she was strong and fit, Menarx knew there was no underlying condition to blame this on, he just could not understand what was happening!

Everon was ahead of him, quickly shoving the door open so Menarx could get in. Menarx hurried over to his bed, laying Neveah down quickly.

He stepped aside, letting Everon take a look while he anxiously watched from the side.

Everon checked Neveah’s vitals and examined her pulse, the expression on his face was complicated with his brows furrowed up in concentration.

Other than Everon, Kaliana, and Imagor had also followed along with and they stood some distance away, watching in concern.

Everon’s examination carried on for at least ten minutes and Menarx was quickly losing patience but he knew better than to interrupt Everon when he worked with such deep concentration.

Neveah’s brows were furrowed in obvious pain and her forehead was overrun with perspiration, her breaths were short and difficult, and her hands were clenched into tight fists even while unconscious.

In the next moment, a gasp of pain sounded from Neveah and she jerked slightly, visibly trembling from head to toe.

"Keep her still!" Everon instructed.

Menarx complied immediately, sitting by Neveah’s side, he held her down with gentle force on her shoulders, his eyes widening the moment they came in contact with her skin.

"Scales! She’s burning up! Do something!" Menarx exclaimed.

"I know! What does it look like I’m doing?!" Everon shot back as he reached for his medicine box and grabbed a bowl, quickly tossing some herbs into it.

Everon quickly ground up the herbs and then poured some sort of tonic into the grounded mix. A sizzling sound could be heard from the brew as Everon brought it closer to Neveah’s lips.

Menarx held Neveah still, so Everon could gently feed the tonic to her.

Neveah immediately coughed it up but Everon was quick to hold her nose, stopping her breath so she had no choice but to swallow it down.

When she had drank up the tonic with some portion of it still slipping out and soaking up the bed, Everon placed it aside.

"This should help her relax and take away the pain. The fever will die down in time but she will not regain consciousness for a short while yet." Everon supplied to Menarx knowing he wanted to hear some assurance.

"Then?" Menarx asked, breathing a sigh of relief as Neveah’s trembles stopped and her pained expression eased up slightly.

Everon said nothing, leaning his head down for a moment in a bid to calm his own emotions that had been triggered by the shocking event.

"Then? Then we have to find a solution, Narx. A solution to your scale... the second merging has backfired." Everon announced in a grim tone.

"Oh scales!" Kaliana exclaimed in dismay.

Menarx’s eyes widened in horror, he had heard of the effect of a backfire during the second merging but he had never seen one for himself neither had he even comprehended that this was what it meant for a merging to backfire.

"Ron, please let us know exactly what is going wrong." Imagor asked, holding onto Kaliana’s hand soothingly.

"Menarx’s scale has recognised a true bonded, as such, the bond with Neveah is being rejected. Menarx’s scale is... harming Neveah." Everon explained in clearer terms.

Menarx shook his head in disbelief, he could not believe what he was hearing...all that had just happened was as a result of his scale tormenting Neveah simply because the supposed true bond had been identified.

"I... what can I do?" Menarx stuttered out.

"I have never encountered such a situation before Narx. A backfire is rare and even when it does happen, it happens while the merging is taking place, in which case, the bond is not fully formed and we can interfere."

"With Veah, the merging was already successful, the bond established. But with the sudden recognition of a true bond, everything is going wrong."

"The bond has already taken root, a backfire at this time... will have graver consequences than any we have ever seen before." Everon revealed grimly.

"I’m afraid other than reducing the pain, there is nothing we can do for Veah, Narx. Being able to suppress your scale will all depend on her strength and her fate." Everon finished.

"The true bond is complex and powerful. I will go see the other, perhaps I can gain a better understanding of what to do then." Everon decided, grabbing his medicine box, he headed out.

"What have I done?" Menarx murmured aloud, his eyes going closed in pain and self blame.

_______________

"Narx." Cassian greeted as he walked into Menarx’s quarters to find Menarx in exactly the same position he had left him in a half hour ago.

He sat by the bed where Neveah was laid, head cradled in his hands and he had not moved even an inch.

"Everon is with the fairy as we speak..." Cassian began but was cut off by Menarx.

"I do not want to hear it! I do not want to hear anything about her!" Menarx hissed.

"Yet you must, Everon insists on it." Cassian still carried on.

"It is established that the fairy has come in contact with some kind of poison, though it is difficult to determine which exactly as there are hardly any traces."

"Kirgan has taken the Ixora bloom for examination and should provide a report soon. The fairy’s condition seems quite critical, the poison has already overtaken her bloodstream and inches closer to her heart with each passing moment."

"Everon is looking into every option to recover her consciousness, hoping to find a solution to Neveah’s condition in the process. In the meantime, Jian has dismissed the banquet and warded off the upper three levels."

"Xenon...is handling the intruder. Everyone is doing what they can...but I fear news of what has happened has already spread, with the unified council bearing witness, we should expect trouble soon." Cassian finished.