"Richard, we need to talk."Richard opened his eyes and looked at Erin. Her face was still in a mess, her cheeks slightly rosy, but her eyes were piercing at the moment. Didn"t she need some time alone? It hadn"t been even an hour and she was already looking for him. Did she finally sort out her thoughts?
"What is it?" He asked. His lips started to twitch, as he tried to force himself not to smile.
"What happened to Lyse?" Erin drove straight to the point. That was what she wanted to know the most.
"Lyse?" Richard tilted his head. With a slight nod, he stretched his hand and a long shadow emerged from it. The shadow grew until it became large enough for a human to be inside it. An ice cube slowly revealed itself from the shadow. In that cube, there was a female. It was preciously Lyse, with her eyes closed and the big wound on her chest. She was frozen inside it.
"Lyse!" Erin stared at her, confused. Why was she in that ice cube? What was going on here?
"That"s her magic. She covered herself in ice before she was to die. That"s the last spell an ice magician could cast if they were in danger or on the verge of death." Richard explained. It was like he had read her mind.
"On the verge of death...I-I see, then, she isn"t dead? Will she wake up? When will the spell be lifted?"
Richard looked into her eyes. There was still some hope in them. Now it was the time for the hard talk. He took a deep breath and began to talk.
"She won"t wake up on her own. That magic only helps her to extend her life until someone helps her. In this case, she is lucky that there is someone who wants to help her, but the price for that..." Richard paused, concentrating on Erin. He was looking for some change in her expression. He had guessed right., While he was talking about the magic, she was first crestfallen, then a new hope emerged in her eyes. In the end, confusion was written all over her face.
"The price for that?" She asked, tilting her head. What was the price for that?
"The price for her recovery is a ma.s.s sacrifice." He said, his expression solemn.
Erin was taken aback. What did he mean with those words?
What ma.s.s sacrifice? She almost choked while asking this question. One thing was for sure, if he was talking about ma.s.s sacrifice, then it wasn"t anything good.
"We need to sacrifice lives for her. It"s too hard to get her back from that state. She needs the lifeforce of others. Preferably, with magic power in their bodies."
"What does this mean? How many will be needed for her to wake up?" Erin got even more nervous. Now she was convinced. The price must be huge, or else Richard wouldn"t hesitate to talk about it.
"Hundreds, maybe thousands of lives. It would be better if they were humans, or elves, or even demons. That way we will need fewer sacrifices." He said.
"Thousands..." Erin faltered. She almost fell to the floor. Richard stood up from his throne. He wanted to catch her up so that she wouldn"t fall. "Don"t come!" Erin extended her right hand in front of her, stopping him. She collected herself and asked. "Can we sacrifice magical beasts instead?"
"We can, but even the whole forest might not be enough." Richard sat down again, a bit disappointed by her reaction.
"I-I see, is it really that bad?" Erin still had some hope, that this was a lie, that Lyse could wake up without a ma.s.s sacrifice, or at least Richard was mistaken about the numbers.
"Erin, you have to know...in this world, the hardest thing is to save someone from the verge of death. If she was already dead, there was no hope. No revival. Every life is unique and precious. That"s why the price of it is big."
"I-I understand." Erin"s hopes were crushed. She was almost in despair. To wake up Lyse, they needed to sacrifice so many people? Why was that happening to her?
"I will let you make the decision. If you want to wake her up, we will make the sacrifice. Even if I have to sacrifice some of the races living in this castle, I can do that for you. Think about it and tell me what you want to be done."
Erin looked at him, a bit shocked. He was even willing to do that? It was obvious that he was doing it for her, not for Lyse. But why? Why was he willing to do such a thing for her? Her heartbeat accelerated again. She felt her cheeks getting hotter.
"I...I will go back to my room, for now, I need some time to think about it." She said, turning around and almost rushing out. It was like she was running from something. Though in less than a minute, she returned.
"What is it?" Richard asked, his lips lifting upwards.
"I forgot to ask you, how did we come back to the castle? For how long did I sleep?"
"I carried you here. You were asleep for close to a month."
"What?!" Erin was astonished. How could she sleep for a month? What truly happened back then? She looked at Richard and saw his smile. Somehow, it made her panicked.
"Alright, I"m going to my room now." Saying so, she ran away once again.
"What is it now?" Richard asked as he looked in a corner of the room. A silhouette emerged from the shadows. It was a man, fully clad in black. Even his face was with a mask.
"My Lord, the humans have started to gather their forces. They sent messages to the elves and dwarves, too. I think they want to start another crusade against us." The man bowed to Richard.
"I see! Withdraw!" Richard waved his hand. The man disappeared. A bright smile emerged on his face, but if someone looked at that smile, they would be scared. A strong aura burst out from his body and covered the whole room.
"A crusade, huh? Seems like I will have some fun. And I was about to go to them, but it is even better. I can just wait. And when they come..."
The aura retracted back into his body. He contemplated for a moment. "Henry!"
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"Yes, my Lord." Henry walked into the room, his head bowed.
"I want you to familiarize yourself with the castle. Do it fast. Soon we will have visitors. You will lead my men in the next battle." Richard said, his smile even wider than before.
Henry felt chills all over his body. He bowed to Richard and left the room, without asking anything else.
"When they come, I will give them a good surprise. Would they be able to appreciate it?"