Draconia Offline vol. 1

13.1. Her New Wings - Part 1

It's sooner than we expected but it's not like we know how the whole process works in the first place. In panic, we storm into Liana's bedroom. Dr Stein had already rolled Liana over to her stomach and uncovered her back.

It makes me nauseous to see for myself how the transformation looks like from another's point of view. Liana's new limbs are pushing into her skin and it's totally alien. Poor Liana is wailing, crying and swearing. I freeze for a moment but Liana's pain doesn't let me stay still for too long.

"We've managed once, we'll manage for the second time as well!" Dr Stein throws a disinfectant as us. "Wash your hands and help me."

"A-Aefener," Liana's eyes water and she desperately grabs my hand when I sit down on the bed next to her.

Her pain hits me hard and my head spins. I don't perceive it as my own sensation but it's still really intense. I clutch her hands in comfort.

"Aaa!" she screams when her wings jerk again. Fefnir holds her down and this time he has to carefully watch his own strength.

"The sedatives aren't working," Dr Stein wipes the sweat from her forehead. "I was hoping that... no, her metabolism must be much different now."

"Scheisse!" Liana swears again and is clutching my hands tight.

Her pain is too much for me to handle. It's risky but I enter her mind, trying to calm her down. And... it does seem to work. She's still wailing and hurting but it isn't overwhelming. I gently touch her mind without sending any of my thoughts, hoping she's too occupied to notice my presence.

It feels endless but eventually her wings tear the skin. Liana faints for a few minutes but another burst of pain wakes her up. I push further into her mind to blunt it.

"Pull!" Dr Stein instructs and together with Erik they're trying to get the wings out.

Half of my consciousness is in Liana's mind, the other half is trying to keep track of what's happening around me. Once again I must admire Erik's ability to act in extreme situations. Even Ingri is doing well, assisting the doctor.

And then the wings finally come fully out. They're all bloody but it's strangely beautiful. It looks like a birth and from a certain perspective it is. I'm not the only winged person anymore. I'm a Celestial and now she is too—the beginning of a new race.

"A-ah," Liana sighs in relief and faints for good. Her grip loosens and she lets go of my hands.

I'm silently watching as Dr Stein stops Liana's bleeding, disinfects the wounds and bandages her. The wings are dirty but I can spot black fluff. So we'll get our ingame colours after all, that pretty much proves it.

"Ryuu, are you okay?" Erik takes a look at my wrists. "Damn, does it hurt?"

Only now I look at my hands. They're badly bruised and I didn't feel it that much because Liana's pain was stronger. But I don't care, my friend needed to hold onto someone and I feel honoured to be that someone.

"I'll be fine," I nod. "Can I wash her wings? I didn't do much."

You did plenty, Erik says. You entered her mind and lessened her pain, right? Don't think I haven't noticed.

"Emotional support counts as well," Ingri shakes her head. "On the contrary, you did too much it seems," she stares at my bruises.

"I want to do it," I insist. "I think she'd wish I do it for her as another Celestial and her friend."