I Reincarnated to Another World as a Woman-Chapter 239: Eye of the Storm

The storm, which had begun to calm, surges back with vengeance when grief strikes Theo without warning.

It is sudden.

Unexpected.

Theo closes his eyes.

He mourns a new friend he has just lost.

The pain is sharp and deep, far deeper than he anticipated for someone he had only just met. Yet it feels natural. Inevitable.

He feels unusually close to Alex.

They are alike in ways that are almost cruel.

Both willing to die to protect the people they love.

Both living on borrowed time.

Borrowed lives.

Alex had been easy to talk to. Honest. Straightforward. Around the same age Theo had been before Caelthorn fell.

A man who understood responsibility.

A man who carried guilt.

Theo lets the grief take him.

He does not fight it.

He does not suppress it.

And the storm responds.

The wind begins to roar again.

The waves rise higher and higher, climbing like towering walls of water.

Rain lashes down harder, as if the dark sky itself is grieving with him.

He opens his eyes.

The world is chaos.

Waves as tall as skyscrapers crash around him. Lightning fractures the sky. Thunder shakes the ocean beneath him.

He is half submerged in freezing water, but he does not notice the cold.

He welcomes it.

Tears continue falling down his face.

No one would notice.

Not in a storm like this.

He turns his attention back to his friends and Alicia.

They remain suspended safely above the water, enclosed in a water bubble, held by his will.

Safe from the chaos.

Arthur’s eyelids flutter.

He is waking.

Theo does not wipe his tears.

He does not try to hide them.

There is no need.

The storm hides everything.

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Arthur opens his eyes.

The first thing he notices is the sound.

Or rather, the lack of it.

Everything is muted. Distant. As if he is underwater. As if he is wearing noise-cancelling headphones and the world has been turned down to a dull hum.

Then he notices something else.

He is warm.

Not cold.

Warm.

And dry.

His vision slowly sharpens.

He is inside a sphere of water.

A perfectly smooth bubble, suspended above the raging ocean.

It hovers steadily in the air, untouched by the violent storm outside. Waves crash and lightning splits the sky beyond the translucent barrier, but inside the sphere, everything is calm.

Still.

Safe.

He looks around.

Julian. Liam. Maeve.

Chief Lutherford.

All of them unconscious.

Arthur immediately pushes himself to his feet and moves from one to the next, checking their breathing, their pulses.

He exhales in relief when he finds them stable.

Alive.

He finally turns toward the storm beyond the bubble.

Through the shifting surface of water, he catches a glimpse of white hair whipping in the wind.

Thea.

His heart lurches.

"Thea!" he shouts.

The bubble responds instantly.

It glides through the air toward her.

The moment it reaches her, Theo steps inside seamlessly, the water parting and sealing again without resistance.

"Thea!"

Arthur does not hesitate. He steps forward and pulls her into a tight embrace.

Tighter than he intended.

"Thank God you’re okay."

He releases her after a moment, stepping back, scanning her from head to toe.

"But..." He frowns.

"How are you okay?"

He gestures vaguely toward the chaos outside.

"And what is going on?"

Theo’s expression is heavy.

Grief still lingers in his eyes.

"I’m okay," he says quietly.

"A friend saved us."

Arthur does not interrupt.

He can tell Thea’s thoughts are somewhere else. Far away.

"A friend I just met gave his life to me," Theo continues softly. "In exchange, I save his little sister."

His gaze drifts toward Alicia, who floats peacefully inside the bubble, looking as though she is merely asleep.

Arthur follows that gaze.

He waits.

Theo turns back to him.

"It was Chief Lutherford’s older brother. He’s dead. But somehow... a remnant of him remained in the dungeon. A fragment of his soul, I think. He lingered all this time."

Arthur’s eyes widen.

Theo continues, voice low.

"I was dying, Art. Completely mangled. I didn’t have enough time. Not enough mana. He..." Theo swallows. "He gave what’s left of himself to me."

He opens his arms slightly.

"And as you can see, I’m healed."

Arthur stares at her, trying to process it.

"A soul can do that?" he asks, disbelief clear in his voice.

"Not that I know of," Theo answers.

That sounds too certain.

He corrects himself quickly. "Theo never mentioned anything like that. I’ll ask him later."

Arthur nods slowly. He does not press further.

"How about them?" he asks, gesturing toward the others.

"They’re exhausted," Theo explains. "Their mana was drained. You woke up first because your physical constitution is slightly stronger."

Arthur shakes his head.

"That can’t be right. It should be Liam. He’s the fittest among us."

Theo’s expression flickers briefly, something awkward passing across his face.

But Arthur is already looking outward again, studying the storm.

"What’s happening?" he asks. "Where are we? Are we even still inside the dungeon?"

"Yes," Theo answers.

"We are."

He grimaces faintly.

"And what’s happening out there... is partially my fault."

Arthur raises an eyebrow.

"When I heard you and Julian fighting the spider, I knew you wouldn’t last much longer," Theo says. "But I wasn’t in a condition to help either. I needed a massive amount of mana to heal, purify the green mist, and kill the spider."

He pauses.

"And I needed to do all three in rapid succession."

He exhales slowly.

"Then I remembered the gate is on the beach. Close to the ocean. I thought if I could submerge myself in seawater, even partially, I could extract mana directly from it and use that."

Arthur listens carefully.

"You see, the ocean holds mana too," Theo continues. "Not just the land. It’s a reservoir like any other natural source. But I didn’t know how much it held. Or if I could even pull water through the gate."

He glances at the raging sea beyond the bubble.

"It was a gamble."

Theo takes a deep breath.

"A gamble because I had no other options."

His fingers curl slightly at his sides.

"A gamble I had to take because I made a mistake."

His voice rises without him meaning it to. The words begin coming faster.

"A mistake that cost Alex his life!"