Legend Reborn

Chapter 27: The Power of All

"Lovino!" Feli and I shout at the same time.

The elder Wolf doesn't respond to our alarmed call. He clenches his teeth in pain, but is oblivious to what's going on around him. Feli hesitantly reaches out to shake his brother gently, and I kneel down trying hard not to panic. Lovino's breathing is labored and a clammy sweat covers his unusually pale skin.

"W-what's wrong with h-him, Liz-za?" Feli asks me with fear filled eyes.

"I-I-I... I don't know," I stammer. My eyes focus on the arm Lovino is clutching so tightly that his knuckles are white. "There's something wrong with his arm."

Feli starts to reach for the injured limb, but he pulls his hand away before he even touches his brother's shirt sleeve. "I can't..." he whispers. By now the others are gathered around us.

I gently place a hand on the younger Wolf's shoulder. "It's okay, Feli. I'll do it."

Steeling my nerves, I take a shaky breath and begin to roll up Lovino's sleeve. The fabric is soaked in blood in some parts and sticks to his skin, unwilling to come off without some encouragement. Once the sleeve is rolled back it becomes apparent what's wrong.

"Oh man," Gilbert breathes when he sees the gash running up the Wolf's arm.

"L-Lovi," Feli whimpers with tears in his eyes. "Why? Why did you do this for me?"

"What do you mean?" I ask him as gently as possible.

"I saw h-him get hit," Feli explains. "He d-didn't even flinch, s-so I didn't t-think there w-was anything wrong. Lovi..." The Wolf's voice breaks and he begins to sob.

Kiku crouches down next to Feli and places a comforting hand on his back. "There's no need to cry, Feliciano. Elizabeta can heal your brother. Right?" The dark haired Eagle looks at me, and I nod once in affirmation.

Lovino is still unresponsive as I place my hands just above the cut on his arm. My hands tremble, but I try to steady them for Feli's sake. Everyone has their eyes on me now, which only makes my anxiety worse. I haven't done this often enough to be certain that I'll be able to heal an injury like this. I wasn't able to heal myself in Oblivion after all. There might be limits to this power I don't understand.

I look at the abnormal gash on the Wolf's arm again before tapping into my energy. The wound appears to be unusual in color, as if the area around it has been tainted with a gray color. A warm, golden glow surrounds my hand and Lovino's arm as my energy attempts to repair his injured limb.

The Wolf's muscle and skin begin to knit themselves back together, but at a rate so slow that I'm starting to suspect something is wrong. I pour more energy into my healing efforts, but the wound refuses to heal completely. It's as if it's resisting my energy. My arms are soon shaking from the strain of channeling so much energy, and I'm forced to stop before I use up all of my strength.

"It's...not working," I say between breaths. "It won't heal."

"How is that possible?" Ludwig asks me.

"I...I don't know," I admit. "There are...limitations to my power."

"Limitations?" Kiku repeats.

"Yeah. I can't heal myself. Tried and failed in Oblivion."

"But you could heal his arm," Gilbert says pointing to Feli. "Why is this any different?"

"I don't know!" I say despairingly. "I don't understand any of this! I'm all out of energy and I don't know what I'm doing!"

A gentle hand on my shoulder keeps me from breaking down into a complete panic attack. I turn around to see Ludwig looking at me intently, and his hand unconsciously tenses on my shoulder.