Athos was holding onto Omri's right hand as they navigated through the narrow alley. After dispelling the barrier with Omri's help, they continued to follow the trail of blood bond that was floating above their heads, they have been following it for fifteen minutes by foot and it led them to dried up aqueduct.

"My prince, watch your step as the ground is uneven. It seems this place has been neglected for quite a while."

Omri held out his hand to assist Athos as they traveled along the stone aqueduct.

Sweat trickled on Athos' face and neck, his breathing became heavy and Omri saw a tired expression etched on Athos' face. Being sheltered inside the palace since childhood never exposed Athos on how to navigate through rough terrain, and the feeling of prolonged physical exercise was new to him.

"Haaah, I never thought the city of Anima would have rough areas like these." Athos sighed and grabbed a hold of Omri's outstretched hand. "Thank you, Omri."

Omri gently smiled back to Athos "I'm grateful my prince."

"Also… is your hand fine? I was shocked to see you cut yourself earlier." Athos glanced at Omri's left hand with a worried expression.

"My prince, it is perfectly fine. The wound has been healed by a spell." Omri then showed his left hand and opened his palm to Athos. "Not even a scar was left, my prince." He smiled at Athos and gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder.

Athos sighed with relief, it was good that his companion was a capable Healer. Athos then briefly recalled his lessons regarding Mana back in the Palace.

There were two ways to use Mana.

The first method was invoking mana to directly influence the target with the use of Spells. It actively consumes the caster's mana pool in exchange for its manifestation. The higher-grade the spells are, the higher the mana pool is required. Casting spells in excess also resulted in mental fatigue.

The second method was controlling the flow of Mana to surround the target, this was known as Enchantment. This required minimal mana consumption as it uses ambient mana from the surroundings instead of the caster's mana pool. The higher the concentration of mana in the surroundings, the more efficient the enchantment will be.

"Don't push yourself too hard Omri." Athos gave Omri a stern gaze. "I don't think I can bear the thoughts of losing more people around me…" Athos' brows creased and his face became dispirited.

"Do not worry my prince." Omri knelt in front of Athos and held his right hand. "I'm your shield and I'll always be by your side." Omri then kissed Athos' wrist as a gesture of loyalty.

Athos then noticed the thread above their heads flicker. The color became more vibrant and radiated a faint golden glow. Athos reached out his hand to touch the thread. It had gotten thicker like yarn and was pulsating.

"Omri...Sagitta is close!" Athos eyes widened in surprise and looked at Omri who was now clenching his chest.

"It feels like my chest is being pulled out, my prince. Ugh…" Omri then stood up slowly and tried to compose himself. "I can feel her mana, it is very faint."

Athos then located the end of the thread trail, he saw the thread pass through the door of a dilapidated watermill a few meters ahead.

"The trail leads to there, Omri." Athos pointed at the watermill. "Let us hurry." Athos and Omri then ran uphill towards the building.

As they got closer to the watermill, Omri detected a familiar scent in the air, it was blood. A foreboding feeling slowly crept through Omri's body, cold sweat was visible on his face and his skin grew pale.

"M-my prince, please stay here for a moment." Omri reluctantly asked Athos to stay put outside the watermill. "I need to make sure it's safe before we head inside."

Athos hesitantly nodded and stood on the porch of the watermill. "Alright, just, call out once you're done looking."

Omri inspected the worn-out doorknob, it was unlocked. He slowly turned it and pushed open the door. The wooden door produced an eerie sound as the rusted hinges moved.

*CREAAAAAK*

There was a heavy scent of blood in the room. It made Omri remember the gravely wounded patients in the palace's hospital. Omri was overwhelmed at the smell, he coughed, covered his nose with his hand, and tried to steady his breathing. It was dark and humid inside as the windows were sealed, he then cast a minor illumination spell to brighten the room.

He saw a fresh trail of blood on the wooden floor, the trail led to the stairs at the corner of the room. The blood trail was heading down to the lower level of the watermill, Omri followed the trail cautiously. Once he reached the lower level, he cast an illumination spell once more.

Omri was appalled with what he saw, Sagitta was lying down near the water wheel. She was bloodied and beaten, Omri rushed to her side and quickly cast a high-level healing spell on Sagitta.

"M-mother!" Omri quickly inspected the state of Sagitta's body. She was unconscious, her face was pale, her lips were turning blue, her breathing was shallow and her pulse was getting weak.

Omri then swiftly assessed her wounds. There were multiple cuts on Sagitta's torso, heavy bruising and a multitude of cuts on her arms, the worst was when Omri saw her right leg, there was a deep stab wound on her thigh, close to her femoral artery. Omri ripped a portion of his cloak and quickly made a tourniquet to suppress the bleeding.

'Please, please... please! Work!' Omri's thoughts were in a panic. Seeing his adoptive mother in a grave state shook him. Teardrops started to fall uncontrollably from Omri's eyes and his anxiety settled in.

"Mother…. Please! Don't leave me!" Bitter memories flashed through Omri’s head. It reminded him of the time when he had to choose between the House of Fidelis or the Cura family. Only this time, life or death were the only options.

He then cast a recovery enchantment on top of the healing spell he initially applied. Sagitta's minor wounds started to improve as the bleeding gradually stopped, small cuts and bruises also started to heal and improve. However the deeper lacerations kept on gushing profusely, there was a curse applied on the critical wounds.

Athos who was waiting outside felt Omri's overwhelming mana presence. It prompted him to rush inside the watermill, he hesitated a bit as he saw the blood trail on the floor, but sensing Omri's mana going out of control, he hastily followed the trail leading to the lower floor.

Once he reached the lower level, Athos found the mother and son duo on the ground. Omri was still treating Sagitta's wounds and was pouring all his mana to Sagitta who was still unconscious.

"Omri..." Athos approached the duo and tapped Omri's shoulder. "That is enough, using too much mana… the recoil will be-"

"N-no, I… I must continue!" Omri's face was full of tears. "This is the only way to save mother!" he shrugged Athos' hand and glared at him. "I-I'm sorry my prince." Omri's stare intently saying not to interrupt.

Athos felt Omri's voice tremble. He felt a little guilty as he couldn't do anything to help Omri and Sagitta. It was always him receiving the royal treatment and it reminded him of the times Omri had to comfort him whenever he was in distress. It was expected due to their court ranks, but Athos considered Omri more as a close friend than his position as his attendant.

'If Omri collapses here, then it will only be harder for all of us to escape.' Athos pondered. 'I also need to know what happened to mother and father… If only Sagitta was conscious.’ A scowl formed on Athos’ brows. ‘But if I lose both of them now, then…’

'I need them both.' Athos deliberated for a bit and groaned. "This won't do." Athos then focused on the duo with a determined face.

"Omri, I'll take over." Athos cast a repelling enchantment around Sagitta, blocking Omri's mana. "Please take a break for a while." Athos then forcefully shoved Omri to the side and cast a thick barrier around him.

Omri was taken aback by Athos' actions "This barrier…? Wait, my prince, please!" Omri hammered his fists on the barrier. Panic was engraved on Omri's face.

"I'm sorry Omri, but stay there for a bit." Athos gave Omri an apologetic look and then sat down next to the unconscious Sagitta.

Athos then held onto the red thread connecting Omri and Sagitta. 'They're both alive, though one of them is weak… Hopefully, this should work on blood bonds too.' Athos hesitated a bit before taking a deep breath. He recalled a peculiar line from the Tome of Moirais.

[If a red thread thins, it must be woven into the soul.]

Athos closed his eyes to focus, he steadily gathered the mana around him and slowly channeled it to the thread he was holding. The red thread started to radiate a golden glow.

Omri was surprised to see Athos being wrapped in a golden aura. He stopped pounding his fists on the barrier and focused on Athos' actions.

Athos then concentrated his mana on his left hand, a golden tapestry needle then materialized. Athos opened his eyes and grasped the needle and proceeded to thread the blood bond into it. He invoked Sagitta's Thread of Fate and a faint golden thread together with a thin red thread appeared near Sagitta's heart.

He saw the golden thread lose its brilliance bit by bit, and the red thread was loosely tangled to it. Athos had to act fast, as death is imminent once the threads lose their colors.

With a swift motion, he knotted the two faint threads with the bond. Athos slowly imbued his mana to the bond and spun the three together, forming a thick, single thread that had a golden luster and bright red strands. He then started to weave the thread and knot it to Sagitta's heart.

Although Omri wasn't able to see the threads clearly, he felt a massive amount of mana radiating from Athos, he witnessed Athos' emerald eyes transform into a golden hue, which meant that he was using Divinity.

This was the first time Omri saw Athos use his Divinity, and the sight of it made Omri's jaws drop.

"This...should suffice." Athos wiped the sweat off his forehead. He finished knitting and stitching the woven threads after a minute, he then pushed the woven threads into Sagitta's heart. He observed Sagitta and saw color slowly return to her face, her lips started to turn pink, her breathing normalized and her pulse started to throb at a normal rate. The curse on Sagitta’s wounds was dispelled and Omri’s recovery enchantment started to take effect.

"It...worked! Whew!" Athos sighed with relief. He then took out a pain relief poultice from his spatial inventory and slathered it on his forehead. "Ugh, this headache." Athos then lied down on the floor and closed his eyes to rest.

Athos lifted Omri's barrier and canceled the repelling enchantment around Sagitta. Omri rushed to his mother's side to check her vitals, and he was astounded at Sagitta's recovery. Her wounds had closed up and bruises vanished leaving no traces of injury.

"P-prince Athos, what did you do?" Omri stared at Athos with a bewildered expression.

"I.. used your blood bond and my mana to rejuvenate Sagitta's Thread. S-she should be fine for now… Ugh, my head feels so heavy…" Athos replied with a weak voice.

Omri cast a recovery enchantment on Athos as he laid down beside him. This was the first time Omri had seen Athos perform such a heartfelt act. He was moved to see Athos, the child he raised since infancy quickly grow into a virtuous person.

“Thank you, my prince.” Omri gazed at Athos with tenderness and stroked the little prince’s silver hair gently. “I’ll never forget this day, I am in your debt.”

Athos, still lying down, glanced at Omri and smiled back. “You’re welcome Omri.” he replied in a soft tone.

“Ughhh…”

A feeble moan was heard from Sagitta. Athos quickly sat up and observed Sagitta while Omri held onto Sagitta’s hands, gently massaging them.

“It looks like she’s finally gaining consciousness.” Omri felt relieved and slowly touched his adoptive mother’s face.

Then they both saw Sagitta’s eyes, gradually open.

Sagitta looked around her surroundings and recognized the faces in front of her.

“Little... Prince? and...Omri?”

~~~~~

To Be Continued.

~~~~~