So far, the elixir had never caused Cedric any discomfort. Usually, he would feel a rush of power and a warmth that made him feel secure. Now, the warmth felt like it was a raging inferno. The fire was too hot for even his improved body. He was being burned from the inside out and couldn’t even manage the strength to scream. Instead, he clutched his hands into fists, slamming them into the ground. The stones cracked under his hands, but the pain didn’t subside. It grew more intense, and he vaguely felt water running down his cheeks.

Why!

He screamed the word internally, still unable to do anything other than grinding his teeth. His mind raced repeating the question over and over again. There was no opportunity for thought as the burning sensation shifted. First, it started in his chest. It felt worse than a broken bone. That was something he was familiar with. He had broken bones constantly as he grew up, and this was worse than that.

A vision passed through his mind, of himself standing with his back towards the stables back home. The crack of a whip as the owner of the horses struck him. The pain as the man had tried to kill him, and the scars that had remained for the past few years. Back then he had lost consciousness, but this time he held on. When he was a child, he had constantly wondered why he was still alive. This time would not be the same, and Cedric managed to yell a single word against his fate.

“NO! “

It took all of his strength to manage that single word and he threw it at everything. At his fate, at the pain, and even at the very gods themselves. The burning feeling returned, reminding him of times that people had splashed him with boiling water. The stabbing pain invoking images of faceless men and women beating him. The sensation of his insides being turned was nothing compared to the gut-wrenching feeling of knowing that he was useless.

Those memories and images were no longer what defined him. He had become more. The elixir had made him strong, and he had gone into battle and killed an enchanter. Even now, he had just been revealed to be one of the strongest people in the army and a leader for the other soldiers. That was what he was becoming. His past was just that.

The pain didn’t vanish with his growing resolve, instead, it seemed to grow more intense. He couldn’t tell how long the pain had lasted, whether it had been days or hours, he persevered. Honestly, after the past few months of his life, he didn’t think that he could feel so much pain.

It wasn’t endless though, and at some point, the raging fire turned into a soothing flame. His body still felt like it was hot, but the pain was gone. The stabbing sensation across his body dissipated, and he slowly found the strength to open his eyes.

Cedric was slumped over on the ground. His arms extended outwards with his fists firmly implanted into the stone. Cracks branched from where his fists lay. The ground itself seemed to have been pushed down beneath the force of his hands. Even with the pain gone, he didn’t try to get up. Instead, he just curled up more, fighting the urge to cry. The shame and pain of all the memories he had remembered resurfacing now that the pain wasn’t distracting them. Another feeling slowly pushed those thoughts away. His resolve had lingered and acted as a barrier against his past. Slowly he dragged his head away from the ground.

No more looking down at the imagined fall he saw waiting for him. Rather, he would hold his head forward at the steps he could still climb. He would not fall back to what he was, that was a past that he had overcome. Cedric wiped his eyes, removing the tears before they could start. As he pulled his hand away from his face, he saw blood smeared against his hand. Seeing it he realized that he should probably find the doctor and pushed himself into a seated position.

He was surprised to see that the others were still in the room, though they stood a distance away from him. Their faces were mixed with fear and interest, though the doctor only had the interest and none of the fear.

“What happened to me?”

Cedric didn’t bother looking at any one person, as he bet that they would all have an answer. They visibly relaxed at his question, and the doctor broke away from the group, approaching him excitedly. He almost thought that she was skipping, but the distance was too small to tell. However, she did answer his question.

“You have become a hand taller; your hair has darkened from its blond shade to one of orange. It reminds me of a fire. The whites of your eyes are now red, though that might be due to blood loss. Sit still while I check the rest of your condition.”

The doctor’s answer was not what he expected. It felt like she was being specific on what had changed, but it wasn’t really what he wanted to know. He was asking more about what the elixir did rather than the results. Still, he followed her orders and remained seated as she prepared to run her hand across his body. However, when her hand made contact with his skin, she let out a small yelp. It was surprisingly high-pitched, but she quickly found her composure.

“Your body is hot, and I wasn’t prepared for the feeling. Fascinating, I don’t detect anything amiss. Even your eyes seem fine, despite their odd coloring. How is it, do you feel any stronger or faster?”

She finished speaking while checking his eyes with a type of glass. He had seen it before, though he didn’t remember the name. It let people see things better. Cedric considered her question for a second, realizing that he didn’t really feel all that different. He might be a little stronger and faster, but it didn’t feel like anything big. His body did feel hot, though he could tell that he was cooling down.

“Maybe a little bit, but I don’t notice much.”

The doctor didn’t say anything in response, only nodding as if she had expected the answer. Cedric saw Sir L draw his blade, and he nodded at Cedric before stabbing him. Cedric didn’t dodge, not really having the strength to move just yet. The sword didn’t do much though, stopping completely once it hit his bones. It was in his forearm, and the blade was completely stuck. The healing had started immediately, and Cedric watched as his skin grew onto the blade. It was turning the blade into part of his body, and it took serious effort from Sir L to pull his sword out. Cedric watched as his body healed and realized that the stab had felt like a soft slap. It didn’t even sting.

Cedric couldn’t help but wave his hand in amazement, and the doctor seemed to share in his joy. That or she was just happy to see that his healing ability had improved again. Rather than sitting around, Cedric felt the urge to move. Sir L seemed to read his expression and spoke as Cedric rose to his feet.

“First, let’s do the doctor’s testing, then we can do our usual training.”

Cedric nodded, following the doctor’s commands as she led him through a series of tests. They were much like his previous ones, although she collected a lot more of his blood now. The tests lasted the better part of an hour, and the two old men lingered around the doctor. They were just as curious to see the results.

As it turned out his body was a lot more durable now. Although it wasn’t because his skin or bones became that much stronger. They were stronger, but it was the healing that truly made the difference. His skin healed as it was cut, and muscles tried rejoining through the metal blades that they had tested with. Honestly, Cedric thought that some of the blades would break simply from the attempt. He didn’t really even know if he was human anymore. Thinking about it, he decided he was something better.

“Do you want to continue with this elixir or return to what you were using before?”

Sir L had spoken as the tests came to an end, and Cedric froze at the words. Stiffly he turned to face the man. His movements alone told his instructor what he thought about that idea, but he spoke his response anyways.

“No, I will use the old one. More of it if you want, but I don’t want to go through that again.”

The doctor was the only one that seemed disappointed by his reply, the two old men only nodding to him. He didn’t think the elixir could kill him, but he was afraid that he would lose his mind if he tried that again. The doctor did one last check-up and seemed pleased to see that his body temperature had dropped significantly. She told him it was still higher than normal, but it didn’t look like it was dropping anymore. After that last bit of information, she sent him on his way.

Sir L saw that Cedric still had energy to burn, and he pushed him for the remainder of the day. There was a lecture with the training too, and it involved him constantly repeating things when he noticed that Cedric’s focus had failed. It happened enough times that Cedric was embarrassed about it, even if Sir L seemed unbothered.

There were a lot of things that Cedric had missed while he was on his mission. He also didn’t realize how many attacks had been conducted. Apparently, they had been ready for the war to start and were merely using this to disrupt supply lines. In effect, his attack had been the first of the war. Elpis would be reinforcing borders, but that wouldn’t matter against this force. Sir L gave Cedric quite a lot of praise as he described what his role would be. Cedric would be the one to lead their first reclamation. He would be responsible for taking down the city and destroying its walls. Even with their smaller force and lack of chanters, Sir L was confident that they would win. After the tests Cedric had just done, he had to agree.

Cedric was truly strong, beyond even a chanter. They were still human, and he had gone beyond that. Honestly, if Cedric really wanted to walk away from all of this, he didn’t think that anyone could stop him. He wouldn’t do that though, he owed them too much, and would at least try to repay them.

The training continued for a while, but eventually, he was released. There was no point to go on until Cedric actually got tired because that would never happen. After the first drop of the elixir, his stamina had increased enough that he could last for days without worry.

After being freed, he ate a big meal. He ate five or six times as much food as he had before, and he had to receive Sir L’s approval to continue to receive that much food. After filling his belly, he finally got back to his room. His hallway was far enough away that not many people had occupied it, and as he opened the door, he was pleased to find it as he left it. All the extra blankets were still there, and he comfortably climbed into his bed.