-Who’s there? - I heard Jack’s voice through the hole. - What’s going on?

-A fucking accident, that’s what going on - I wanted to reply, but what came out of my mouth was just an undecipherable groan.

I feel like that surprised them as much as it did me.

I tried clearing my throat and speaking again, but that only made things worse. Instead of a groan, I just coughed up some ice.

-Is that some sort of creature? - I heard Vendi speak.

-I don’t know… get Mor. Who knows, maybe he knows.

Get me? But I am here?

-This thing uses fire and ice! You are a pretty bad matchup. Leave me here and you go!

-It’s not that much better for it to be you… and if you use that magic as well…

-I know what he said, you’d rather get burned?

-Yh. Fine, I’ll go. Don’t go overboard again.

-This time I am not against some mana-absorbing creature. I’ll be fine.

I wanted to yell that it’s just me, no need for panic, but I could not. Only more undecipherable noises came out of my mouth, along with more ice.

Wait. This time, it was not ice. It was too clear to be ice. And was not melting, even though I was still using fire magic. Some small splinters… of a crystal? Hold on a second…

I took a deep breath, as deep as I could muster at the moment. It was not painful so to speak, but I could feel something strange… like something was stuck inside my throat. I tried coughing, as hard as I could, to maybe dislodge whatever was missing and… I succeeded.

With a loud crack, I felt something break off and shoot off from my mouth, at the same time as something a bit larger landed right in front of me, bouncing off the ice and missing the flame by a hair.

I just spit out a piece of my throat. A literal piece of crystal. Small one, but still. The worse thing was, that the thing that landed in front of me was a lot larger.

I grabbed my neck, having a bad feeling about this and indeed, I was absolutely right. My neck has been cracked and broken open, just like the ice in front of me.

I couldn’t help but to laugh. Of course, the noise I made was far off from the metallic laughter I was used to, instead I basically was whistling like some very, very broken kettle.

When I used the ice magic to get rid of the water, I did not exactly think of what was going to happen to me. I expected I was not going to take damage because, you know, I was made out of crystal, but I had not taken in consideration the fact that my lungs were full of water. The spell that was supposed to slowly freeze everything did so, but in a split second. The water and ice can erode even the strongest rocks, and it was no different with me.

I patted myself again, checking if I was not missing something else, but no.

So apparently, my lungs survived the flash-freeze. The layer of crystal was thick enough for the ice to not crack it, but my throat was not that lucky. Apparently, being the thinnest and basically the weak spot, it cracked. Hell, it was not completely broken, it just had a hole.

For a second, I was wondering what exactly would’ve happened if the magic was stronger and managed to destroy more of my neck. What if the force was enough to behead me? What would happen then? As far as I was aware, I no longer had inner organs, or at least not the fleshy ones, I suppose, but how exactly did my body work? Would’ve I been killed if beheaded? Or was my body just for show? I did regrow my ear after losing it, but it was just a small, non-vital piece.

Also, since I was able to regenerate, where would it start? From my neck or from my head? Where was the consciousness? In the beheaded body, or the head? Or both of them? If both, what then? Would there be two mes?

That was a lot of questions, all of them for later, because in front of me there was still Vendi. And he was getting ready for something. The plants were no longer there, probably being the work of Jack, that disappeared after, what by now I guessed were, the kids that ran away.

That also meant several things. If it was really the kids that ran away, I had to be underground. Somehow, while creating the ice ball, I broke through the ground and landed right in the middle of the “bunker”. I just hoped that I did not crush anyone on the way here. Even when healthy, I was not able to tell the difference between them all, so after they ran away it was hard to tell if any was missing. I didn't even know how many of them were in here anyway.

Nevertheless, I had to get out of the thing that I stupidly made, but also I had to be wary about Vendi. He obviously had no idea that it was me, probably thanks to the water and then ice obscuring my image, and even then I was not so sure that he’d attack me anyway.

I couldn’t hear him anymore, or at least not clearly, but I was certain that he was casting something. Which definitely was not good news. Nothing came out of the hole in the ice though, so there was that at least.

For a good ten seconds we were just standing there both, waiting for the other to make a move, but no one was rash or sure enough of themselves to actually do something.

He, most likely not sure what the fuck he was dealing with, was standing there, now with a spell in hand, I could tell as much, waiting for me to make a move, or for Jack to come back, with, funnily enough, me. Of course that was not going to happen.

I on the other side did not have to move at all. While I stopped when I saw the roots break the ice, I did not break the spell. The heat was still slowly melting the ice.

The stalemate was pretty long. I managed to get rid of enough of the ice to be able to easily slip through the hole, so I dismissed the fire orb, continuing to wait for Vendi. Or maybe rather for Jack to come back.

But it looked like neither was happening. I could not feel the entirety of the house so I couldn’t tell how much more was Jack going to take, and since I was assuming that he was looking for me, it could be a while since I was not there.

I already knew that talking was impossible so I dismissed even the idea of attempting it. Most likely I would’ve just spooked him even more. Instead, I decided to just come out and hope that he’ll hold his fire for long enough to recognize me, but, let’s be honest though, I really did not have much faith that was going to happen. I was just thinking that, if he was to blast me with a spell, I would just absorb it, hell, maybe it would even help me regenerate my neck.

So, slowly, without any spells out, I started moving up and squeezing through the hole in the ice. As soon as I moved he startled and almost dropped the spell he was holding all that time, but managed to regain his concentration and instead I felt a surge of mana racing towards me.

Anticipating a surge of energy, I did not even turn towards him, trying to completely leave the ice ball, so you can imagine my surprise that it did not come.

Instead I felt a burning heat on my back, piercing right through me and blasting the ice next to me.

While there was no weight to the spell, I could feel the mass of energy that the strange projectile was carrying, none of which I managed to absorb. It just went straight through me.

Yelping in surprise, or rather whistling, because my wound managed to distort even that sound, I lost my balance and fell right towards the ice again, face first. I crashed right through it, sending chunks of ice all over the place, along with a splash of water.

Cursing, or at least trying to, I turned right towards him and barked:

-Calm down, it’s just me.

It definitely did not sound like words, but nevertheless, it caught his attention. I could tell that he was preparing to blast me once more, but hesitated for a second, looking directly at my face.

-What the hell…

Seeing as he was not intending to attack again, I grabbed the side of the ice ball and wanted to use it to try and lift myself up, but instead fell again onto the ground.

For some reason, most of the outer wall was already melted. It looked more like snow or slush than hard ice. At first I thought it was the work of my fire orb, but nope. As I fell down and landed on my back, I again could see the inside, and the ice there was as hard as it was getting. It was only outside and right next to me where the ice was this strange.

In any case, I was out and free and could confirm that I was indeed on the bottom floor of the mansion, in the bunker. Under the ball of ice I noticed a bunch of cabinets and shelves, crushed to barely recognizable shape, wet and broken. Luckily, I did not notice any blood in the area, which was a good indicator that I missed everyone.

-Not again… - I groaned. - But I need to give you that, you at least stopped yourself this time and…

Yeah, there was no point in even trying to say anything. Instead of the words, out of my mouth were coming just unrecognizable noises and whistles. Or rather from the hole in my neck. I tried covering the hole and trying again, but then instead of the whistles, it was just a weird noise. Great.

Vendi was looking at me with genuine disbelief the whole time. But at least he was not blasting me with magic any more, which was nice.

Speaking of, as I stood back up again, I still felt the remnants of that spell. He managed to get a hit right above my heart, or where it was supposed to be, and I could now feel an unpleasant amount of heat radiating from there. It was not so bad, especially thanks to the ice that almost immediately started cooling off my wound… or the place where it should be at least.

Yeah, even though I felt that he hit me, there was no visible wound on my crystal skin. Unlike with my neck, my chest was still as hard and as flat as it was before. I was not even glowing.

Which was doubly weird because now I could tell what exactly he used against me - it was the light magic.

First off, I did not expect him to be able to use it, but it was not that strange. After all, he was one of the three people responsible for this place and having someone that was able to maintain all those light crystals was a big plus. Of course, Jack could’ve just had them fixed or replaced at the capital, I don’t think it would’ve been hard for him, but having someone on site to do that kind of thing was for sure handy.

-What the hell is happening?! - he finally yelled, clearly not sure what to think of this development. - JACK! GET DOWN HERE! - And added, a lot quieter - What the hell happened to you? What’s all this ice?

I just shrugged and rolled my eyes, pointing to the obvious hole in my neck.

-Yeah I can see that. But…

He was interrupted by Jack’s arrival.

-I can’t find him anywhere! - What’s going…

Then he noticed me, standing in front of the ice.

-...on?

For a second, he stood there dumbfounded, but then almost immediately changed his demeanor.

-WHAT HAPPENED?

-Yeah, I’d like to know too.

Now instead of one Vendi, I had two men staring at me with a mix of disbelief, fear and straight up confusion.

I only whistled with my neck in response, which made both of them jump.

-Are you alright? Can you breathe?

I nodded, not in the mood to try and explain how I did not need to and all that.

-So I am relieved. But why and how? Why the hell were you in a giant water ball!? Or an ice ball?! AND WHY ARE YOU DESTROYING MY BUNKER?

Not like I was able to respond, I just opened my arms in a gesture “my bad”.

He definitely did not know what to say. For a second it looked like he wanted to say something, but instead just fell down on a chair that was next to him, sighing heavily.

-Eh… at least we are not under attack again…

For a second he seemed relieved, but it was just a moment.

-Anyway, Vendi, can you clean this thing up somehow… melt it, move it, something? - asked Jack. - This thing is sort of inconvenient…

-Yeah, on its own it would definitely take a while… but sure I can speed up the process… The problem is, won’t the water destroy the room?

-Hmm… Probably…

-But why do you want to melt it? You mentioned that we were running low on frost crystals… Can't we use this thing? Sure, it’s not the same but still, it’s cold and there is a lot of it.

-Hey… it’s not a bad idea - he raised his brow. - We just have to break it into pieces… but that’s easy, and then…

I was just standing there, astounded. Even if not for the wound on my neck, I would’ve been speechless. Those two just witnessed me break half of their underground by creating an enormous ball of ice and they were just talking there like nothing happened.

That was… not something I would even consider. All that time I was thinking of the barrage of questions that would definitely come from the event and the mass of answers I would’ve been forced to give, but none came. They were discussing the ice block like it was just a regular Tuesday for them. Or whatever day it was. What the hell was going on?

-I don’t know what you were trying to do - finally said Jack, leading me out of the underground - but thanks for the ice. I mean I know I said we needed it, but I never expected you’d be so eager to provide…

I wanted to say that it’s just another misunderstanding, but I decided to let it go. Not like I was going to try and explain this without a word.

-But I can see that it did not come without some issues… I assume you can’t speak?

I nodded and whistled with my neck in confirmation.

-Eh… let me get a piece of paper for you…

We were again in his study and this time he gave me a lot more paper, so we could actually communicate. I probably would be able to figure something out without it, but the simplest solutions are most of the time the best ones, so I accepted.

-So… what exactly happened to you?

“Spell went haywire. Not what I wanted.“

-Ha, you were talking so much about us being careless and now look at you.

Suddenly, he turned pale.

-Can… you heal that?

“I think so. It’s going to take a while.”

-Oh thank fuck… - he relaxed again. - For a second I thought that Kon was lost… but then, you’d be able to write your findings anyway… By the way, you found anything?

“No. That’s why this happened.”

He nodded but did not reply. This time I asked a question.

“What about the bunker?”

-What do you mean “what about the bunker”?

I rolled my eyes.

“I did break into it. Bunker with a hole is not a bunker.”

-Oh, it’s fine. I’ll later rebuild it with Vendi. It'd be easier if Kon was there, but even without him we always managed to survive.

I looked at him puzzled.

“How?”

-It’s not the first time I had a broken wall or a roof. Those things always happen with the kids around.

“Elaborate?”

-I don’t know what to tell you - he shrugged. - Kids are rowdy. When I first started this whole shtick, I never expected that either. At most I thought that they might just break a door, or a window, not set the place on fire or send half of the roof flying into the forest.

I just looked at him stunned.

“You don’t teach them?”

-I do teach them from time to time to write and read, but recently I had too much stuff on my hands, so it’s been mostly Vendi. He’s been teaching them math’s as well. Since you know, he’s a merchant and all.

“That’s great, I meant magic?”

-What magic?

I really wanted to slap him. Is he that clueless?

“You are not teaching them the basics of magic?”

-And how do you expect me to do that? I am one person only. I heard Kon was doing something along those lines, but now… you know…

Even the prospect of Kon teaching anyone magic was terrifying to me. He might have had a large reserve of mana for his age, but that was about it. And his body locked in a freezer spoke for himself.

“You mentioned the old notebook with spells. From that?”

-You mean the one we used when we rebuilt the barrier? Nope, that’s just some old spell book I bought once in the capital. Kon said it belonged to someone important so I gave it to him.

“Name?”

-No idea. It was not signed, but it definitely had some useful spells in it, so we had a great use for it.

“He can read?”

-Of course he can? - he looked confused. - Why?

“He said he couldn’t when I first met him in your inn.”

-Ah… back then. Well, back then, that was the truth.

I looked at him questioningly.

-I was surprised too - he nodded. - I never wanted to teach him, but one day after you left he stole a bunch of papers from my desk and learned from that. He’s talented.

“I can see that.”

If he was talking the truth, and I didn’t have any reasons to doubt him, the kid was a prodigy. Which was strange, since his own spells were absolute crap. Even the other kids that I saw back when I first was discovered used better spells than he did when he tried attacking me. Or was he just pretending back then? While it would’ve seemed so, I really was not buying that. His mana was so easy to read, he was so open… Was it just a ruse?

Nah, not possible.

-In any case - Jack interrupted my train of thought - how long is it going to take you to… recuperate? Seems like a pretty bad wound…

“No idea.”

-Are you sure that… you’re going to heal? It looks bad…

Oh how nice. He was worrying about me.

-You probably won’t be able to do anything about Kon until you heal.

Ah. Never mind.

That also probably was not the truth, but I was not going to correct him. Not like it mattered.

“I probably will be unapproachable for a while.”

He looked confused.

“Just don’t be surprised next time you see me.”

-Okay… Don’t know what that was supposed to mean, but whatever.