"...Dum?"

Viora said and turned her head toward me, staying like that for a few seconds. Then, she turned her head back toward the ceiling.

"No... He... Isn’t... Here..."

I didn’t speak up because I was waiting for her to answer whether it was me she was calling a liar. But she just came to the conclusion that I wasn’t here.

"Halluc... nations..."

She was in denial. Maybe she knew I was here and just didn’t want to believe it. Whatever the case was, I didn’t want to see her like this.

"Viora, I am really here."

When I said that, her eyes widened and her hand shot out toward me. I grabbed it and let her touch my cheek.

"Did you feel it now?"

Her mouth slightly opened and she let her hand stay on my cheek. At first, she was a little surprised, but soon her expression began to change.

What took over her was a serious face and sharp eyes. Instantly after that, she pulled her hand back and lay on her side, causing her back to turn toward me.

What?

Is she angry at me or upset about something?

"Hey, Viora. What happened?"

I touched her upper arm and tried to turn her back toward me, but she just persisted in her position and shoved my hand off.

Shit.

She is really mad.

Is it because I left yesterday without telling her anything? But she was sleeping, so I had no choice.

What should I do now? Am I supposed to ask for forgiveness?

However, I have came back, so leaving for just a day shouldn’t be a problem. Right?

I paused for a moment.

After thinking, I realized it may not be a problem for others, but Viora was a completely different case. For someone like her, even one day probably felt like being abandoned again.

Okay then, since I am the one at fault, I’ll just let her stay mad at me for now.

"Viora, if you are angry at me, then I have nothing to say in my defense."

I began.

"I just had to leave for some reasons. But I am back now. And do you know why?"

I was speaking and saying everything that came to my mind, but there still was no response from her.

She was still keeping her act up. I’ll just say one last line and see if she reacts or not.

"I came back to take you with me."

That... was the line that made Viora’s body stiffen a little. Yet, she didn’t turn around toward me.

"...Liar."

She didn’t believe me, or didn’t want to. But the result was still the same. She wasn’t going to talk to me.

However, when she called me a liar, her serious face began to soften up and a small smile appeared around the corners of her lips.

’Looks like it is working.’

"Okay, I get it. I was wrong. I am sorry. Really, really sorry."

I apologized, then waited for it to work on her. It didn’t take much longer for Viora to slowly turn back toward me.

"Ok... Apolzi... Accept..."

She accepted my apology. But her eyes were still fixed toward the roof.

"How about this? When we get out of the hospital, I will take you to eat ice cream."

Hearing me, her face lit up and she quickly turned her head toward me.

"Relly..."

"Of course," I said. "So stop feeling like I am about to disappear again."

I did my best to ease her fear, but I didn’t know it would work so well that she would get eager to go out immediately.

She placed her elbows on the sheet and tried to sit up.

"Let’s... Go... Ice... Crem..."

"Huh?"

I was baffled by her sudden shift.

"W-wait," I stopped her from getting up by placing my hands on her shoulders. "I don’t think you can walk right now."

"It... Ok..." Viora said and grabbed my forearms. "Am... Feeling... Lot... Better... Yesterday..."

Yeah.

Now that I think about it, her speech has also improved a little. Now she isn’t speaking only in broken words.

I think the evolution is already doing its work. That is good. But I still can’t let her go anywhere before completing Phase 0.

’What if she suddenly feels weak and falls down?’

Of course, I would be there to catch her, but I still can’t take that risk. If the evolution is complete, then I won’t have anything to worry about. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

So let’s complete it, and when Viora can walk without any trouble, then we will go.

"Viora, feeling better doesn’t mean you are fully recovered."

I began as I looked into her purple eyes that were lifeless before, but now were filled with joy.

"But I have something that will make you feel even better so you can walk properly."

"What... Is...?" she asked curiously.

I grabbed the same paper bag I wore yesterday from the ground and pulled out the mana stone from it.

"It is this. You just need to grab it with both hands and try to absorb its energy."

I hesitated at first then placed the mana stone in her hands, and she didn’t waste any time. She grabbed it with both hands and soon realized what it was.

"Mana... Stone...?"

"Yeah, it is a mana stone. Now absorb it so we can go eat ice cream."

I said. The mana stone was for her own good, but I also had something else in mind. I was going to continue the Phase 0 evolution while she was extracting the power from it.

That way she wouldn’t realize the other thing happening to her... perhaps?

I just hope she won’t feel pain like before. Though, I still remember it was the Soul-Link that hurt her, not the evolution process.

But we will see now.

"Ok..." Viora began to absorb the stone and it began to shine even brighter.

This is it. Now I should continue the process too.

’System, continue Phase 0.’

[Evolution ’Phase 0’ Resumed!]

[Current Progress... 5%]

[...]

[...]

[...98%]

[Warning: Mutation Phase Reached]