THE NETHER ALCHEMIST: RISE OF ZEGRATH VOID

Norval's mother and sister sat next to Luciana and Jalon. The corridor was unusually silent, with only the beeping of the machinery inside the room and the clanking of the fan whirling above them to be heard. Jalon was tempted to take out his phone and log in to his social media accounts at times, but Luciana would elbow him in the gut and he would put his phone back.

“It's ok, folks; you can go ahead and prepare.” Mrs. Greensmith read the room and said, "You still have matches today, and I don't want you to waste your time here while your opponents are getting ready."

“No, Mrs. Greensmith, we're not bothered in the least. Norval is a friend of ours, and we are here to provide him with the assistance he requires. If we had been in his shoes, I'm sure he would have done the same for us,” Luciana added, smiling at the small girl next to Mrs. Greensmith.

“And who is this little princess you have brought along?” Luciana inquired, a pleasant smile on her face. Because she was shy, the girl nestled her head into her mother's armpit to avoid Luciana's attention.

“Come one Miriam, don’t be shy. Mrs. Greensmith softly tapped the small girl's shoulder and murmured, "These are Norval's friends."

“Please accept my apologies for her behaviour; she is a little shy around new people. Mrs. Greensmith said, "This is Miriam, Norval's younger sister."

“Hi there Miriam, my name is Luciana. Luciana extended her hand towards her, expecting a handshake, and added, "It's great to meet you." As Luciana's hand approached Miriam, she hid her head back beneath her mother's arm. For a little moment, the situation became awkward.

Finally, a doctor broke the silence by pushing the room door open and exiting with a clipboard in hand. Norval's mother was the first to leap to her feet. She dashed to the doctor's office door.

“Hello, doctor, how is my son?” She inquired, her voice trembling as she questioned.

“Good morning, Mrs. Greensmith. Yes, he is no longer in danger; in fact, he was never in danger in the first place. We were able to realign his shoulder after it had been dislocated. And his ankle suffered a significant sprain, but he will recover in a few weeks, and in less than two weeks, he will be up and running as usual.”

“Does it mean he won't be able to compete in the trials?” Luciana had inquired.

“Unfortunately, the answer is no. The amount of damage done was enormous. He would have been out for months if we hadn't given him the elixirs, which has greatly accelerated his rehabilitation. If we had given him any more therapy, he would have had to be in a coma for it to recover in under a week, and he still wouldn't have been able to compete in the competition. However, he will continue the trials, so there is no harm done,” the doctor explained.

Norval's mother was lost in contemplation for a time when the doctor approached her and asked, "Mrs. Greensmith, is everything okay?"

“Everything is OK, doctor; may I see my son now?” She inquired, beginning to enter the room before the doctor had a chance to respond.

“Of course,” the doctor answered, “just don't stay too long; he needs all the rest he can get right now.” Luciana and Jalon also entered. They rushed over to the hospital bed and encircled it. Norval was just waking up from the anesthetic-induced coma he'd been placed in by the physicians, and he couldn't tell who was around him. He first recognised her mother's voice when she talked.

“Norval dear, Are you all right?” She inquired, her body coming in closer to him.

“Mother, I'm fine. It was nothing more than a minor sprain. He answered, "I'll be walking in no time." Her sister climbed the bed's railings and sat near him. His vision returned to him as he swept his fingers over her soft hair, and it was then that he noticed the tears shining beneath her little sister's eyes.

“Miriam? Is that you? He inquired.

Miriam knelt down and hugged him. “Where is father, I thought I saw him in the stands with you?” he questioned, turning back to his mother. His mother was silent for a brief period before responding. As she pronounced his name, her lips twisted up, as if every letter of the name revolted and terrified her at the same moment.

“Your father was unable to remain son. He left as soon as the fight was done. He said he couldn't stay,” her mother explained. Jalon and Luciana were taken aback. They had never realised in all their years together that neither of them had ever seen Norval's father in person. They'd only heard of him and read about him on the internet, but they'd never met him face to face. Norval seemed unfazed by his father's departure, as if it were nothing out of the ordinary for him, but his friends were perplexed as to how his father could leave after seeing his own son hurt in such a way.

“I apologise, son, I tried...”

“It's ok, mama,"  Norval interrupted his mother before she finished speaking, saying, "You don't have to apologise; there's nothing to apologise for."

“To be fair, I did warn you that man was peculiar, and you'd have your hands full dealing with him,” Jalon replied. Norval laughed as Luciana punched him in the gut as she often did. They could see the hefty bandages wrapped over his palms when he moved his arm.

Luciana locked her attention on Norval's hands, saying, "The professor told me what you were doing with those vials, you don't have to be so irresponsible you know."

“Well, I told you my plan was going to succeed, didn't I?” By the way, where is he? Wardric?” he wanted to know. Norval inquired, his voice becoming more hushed.

“You still want to see him, despite everything he's done to you?” Luciana had questioned.

“He is not my adversary; he was simply doing what he needed to do in order to win, and I applaud him for it. Norval stated, "He was nothing more than my opponent; I don't consider him to be my enemy in the least."

 "Well, the last I saw of him, he was going back into his changing room."

The chamber's doors slowly began to open, and a man entered the room.

“Jalon Barr? You are up next. Your match starts in thirty minutes, so I just wanted to let you know ahead of time that you should get ready,” he stated, turning around and walking away before Jalon could respond.

“Well, I guess I'll be up next, smart guy.  I'd best get ready for my fight; good luck to me. Get better soon so I don't have to carry you all the way to your room,” Jalon stated as he walked out of the room, chuckling at the end. Norval made an attempt to wave, but his hand moved slowly, as if he were a sloth groping for a leaf.

“It was nice to see you Norval, and I am glad you were not terribly injured,” Luciana said after being with them for a time. So get well; we still have a lot of work to do in the trials, so it's not finished yet,” she remarked. She knew she was offering him false hope deep down in her heart. Her father had already assured her that she would be the next champion, so it stung even more knowing that Norval had suffered and had to go through all of that for nothing, because in the end, all he would be was her sidekick. It was a regulation that any candidate who passed the trial but was not chosen as the next champion might still serve as the champion's commanding officer, assisting the champion in battles and keeping the kingdom in order. The title was not as beneficial or respected as being the champion; it was merely a consolation prize, and it was optional. Given that the majority of the contenders were from royal families, their egos would never allow them to serve as a servant to the champion. Even if they chose to, their families would never consider accepting the title a humiliating act, therefore only individuals with no prominent family background or who cared less about being disowned by their families and more about serving the kingdom accepted the title.

Luciana left the room without saying anything. The crowd could be heard chanting and shouting as they awaited the next battle; after the first one, they were eager to see what the tournament had in store for them next.

“There are only twenty minutes left!” As Luciana ascended the elevator to the floor where Jalon stood, the announce system yelled. She proceeded through the rooms, slowing down her pace as she approached the one with the name tag "Wardric Waller" on it, and lingering at the door to see if she could hear any activity inside. She couldn't hear anything and wanted to stay longer, but she didn't want to appear awkward, so she moved away and unlocked Jalon's chamber. As soon as she entered the room, the overpowering fragrance of his cologne made her stomach turn.

“Ugh, what is that?” she exclaimed, putting her tongue out and making a strange expression.

“Hey, don't you dare to make fun of my signature scent!” It's what I refer to as the Barr experience,"  He grunted as he flexed his biceps and heaved some dumbbells, saying, "Once a man puts it on, he'll be reeling in the girls like a worm on a hook."

Luciana advised, "You should not wear that next to ladies, because they might have to be ones without a nose to get close to you."

Jalon remarked, sticking out his tongue as he lifted the dumbbell towards his chest, "You are simply saying that because you can't accept the truth that it is good."

Luciana moved closer to him and stood there silently for a few moments. Jalon was a sourpuss who couldn't read the signs. He finally decided to put the dumbbell down and listen to Luciana after she hurled a slur at him.

“Hey, dumbass, put down the dumbbell.” Do you think I've come to see you struggle to lift two kilos?” She poked Jalon in the brow with her finger.

“Woah, it hurts like hell. So, what exactly do you want to say that you're so desperate to say?” Jalon finished by lowering the dumbbell.

“This isn't a fashion show or a photo shoot for a magazine.

“By the way!  spotted you and the ‘lorth mage' this morning,” Jalon remarked, air quoting the words as he wiggled his eyebrows towards Luciana. “The two of you were wearing similar outfits and such,". Jalon had to keep his laughter in check as he continued, "I had no idea you were intimately acquainted with the lone wolf."

“I'll break your jaw if the lone wolf doesn't do it during the fight. Because I'd like some peace and quiet for the rest of the week, and breaking your jaw to get it doesn't seem like such a bad idea,” she added sarcastically in the conclusion. With a laugh, Jalon shook off the threat, saying, "You don't mean that right?" as he continued to chuckle. When he didn't get confirmation from Luciana that it was all in good fun, his laughter died away. He dashed over to the door and yelled at Luciana, “You seriously don't mean that, right?” as she walked back to the elevator.