Chapter 28: The agony

Aiden and Ember walked for almost an hour. There was nothing in sight except grassland and trees. They had no other choice but to stop.

They only had 15 minutes before they would feel the pain of the impact.

[Task: Endure pain without separation]

[Reward: Self-healing]

The Covenant issued a mission when Ember least expected it. She didn’t expect that after surviving one thing after another, there would be a reward. But it was good. She didn’t need to think about buying another patch.

With the impending pain, she didn’t want to have to experience the same thing again.

If she got the self-healing skill, then she would only need to worry about Aiden.

Ember thought for a moment and decided to ask the Covenant. She didn’t expect him to get it, but it never hurts ot have all the options.

Covenant, would Aiden be able to get the reward, too?

[The conditions for the bond have not been completely met. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t be able to get the full extent of the self-healing ability. At most, he would be able to get a minor healing skill. You should work hard to make thebond complete.]

Being able to get minor healing was still a win. Ember smiled brightly, turning to Aiden.

“The Covenant gave me a task. If we can hold each other for as long as the pain lasts, we can get a healing skill.” Ember did a little dance when she thought of it.

“Healing?” asked Aiden, brows furrowed.

“Yup!” Ember said, smile still wide. “It’s just that you won’t be able to get the same healing power. We haven’t completed the bond yet, so you can only get minor healing.”

Ember quickly checked the system to see how much longer they had.

There were still ten minutes.

She looked at Aiden and decided to apologize. She knew the consequences, but she didn’t tell him. She wasn’t sorry about using the patch. She was sorry about not telling him before now.

Hugging Aiden tightly, Ember spoke. “I’m sorry for not telling you about what would happen. Although we didn’t feel the pain before, we’ll still end up feeling it later. We won’t actually be injured. Our bodies will just feel the pain we were supposed to feel.”

Aiden patted her back. He didn’t say anything at first. Ember expected him to be processing what would happen in the next few minutes.

“It’s alright. We’ll get through it together. Didn’t you say the Covenant would give us healing powers after?” Aiden stroked Ember’s hair. “Consequence and reward come simultaneously. Why would I be angry? As long as I’m with you, it’s fine.”

Ember couldn’t help feeling the need to cry. She felt the need to beat whoever caused the accident.

Time ticked on.

Aiden hadn’t let go of Ember since she hugged him.

“It’s almost time,” Ember whispered.

They lay down, holding each other. Then it began.

It wasn’t a sudden burst of pain. It crept up slowly. It began in Ember’s left leg, a bone-deep ache that blossomed into a firestorm. She gasped, her vision swimming. Her knee felt as if it had been hit with a rusty chisel, and then pain came from her right ankle. A stabbing pain that caused her heartbeat to accelerate.

Aiden cried out beside her, a raw guttural sound. She felt him try to curl his body. He wasn’t able to because he held her. His face contorted into a mask of pain. His grip on her body tightened.

The pain began to radiate up her body. It was creeping around her body like a living thing, giving no respite.

Ember felt her world narrowing. She felt sharp stinging cuts on her arm and leg. The pain from her ankle radiated, shooting all the way up to her ribcage. She screamed now, unable to hold back.

Ember tried to open her eyes. She needed to know how Aiden was doing. Through her tears, she could see his face. His jaw was tense, and his eyes were squeezed shut. The only sound escaping him now was low moans.

She knew he didn’t want her to know just how much pain he was in.

She wanted to say something, to tell him that he could scream. But no matter how much she tried, when she opened her mouth, only her weak cries were heard.

She tried to pat his back, hoping he would be able to differentiate the feeling. She wasn’t even sure if she did it. The pain she was feeling was excruciating.

Neither of them spoke. The shared weight of their suffering was recognized by each other. It was a comfort to both of them, knowing they weren’t in this alone.

Ember felt tears on her neck, and for a moment, she wasn’t sure if they belonged to her or him. It didn’t matter.

Time lost all meaning. The pain continued to stretch over their bodies. They clung to each other in the hopes of overcoming the pain. And also to acknowledge that they were a shared entity.

Slowly, the pain receded. Their trembling eased, and their breathing evened out.

Neither of them let go, simply listening to their shared breathing and heartbeat. Ember lifted her head, her cheek sticky with tears and grime, and looked at Aiden.

His face was pale, looking exhausted, but his eyes were clear.

He brushed a strand of hair from her face. “We’re okay, he whispered.

Ember nodded, tears streaming again, “We’re okay.”

They were both alive and well. The accident left a scar on both their hearts. But it inevitably made them closer.

Still clutching each other, they tried not to dwell on what just happened.

Rather, they thought of it as a lesson.

Everything that happened today taught them not to underestimate anyone. If Ember hadn’t decided to put the patch on both of them, the pain they just felt wouldn’t have become a memory for them.

They would be living it, or rather, they might die because of it.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep