Puri took a few moments to think about it. Kenrich had no idea what she might say, or if she knew anything about his power at all, but if there was anyone who might know about it, it would have to be her.

  “And this power has nothing to do with any gemstones you have in your possession?” Puri asked.

  “It’s happened without me holding any gemstones at all, so I’m positive it’s not related.”

  “Not even one in your sock that you forgot about?”

  “Uh…no.”

  “Hmm…” Puri went back to thinking.

  “Is it even possible to have such a power without a stone being involved?” Violet asked.

  “There are ways to heighten human ability using intensive training, much like our solidity training, but having it be activated in such a specific way…I don’t see it being possible without a gemstone,” Puri said. “…You’re certain there’s not one in your sock?”

  “His socks have too many holes in them for that to be possible,” Violet said.

  “Hey, they still work, don’t they?!” Kenrich objected.

  “There’s only one possibility I can think of, and I don’t like it,” Puri said with an upset look on her face.

  “That sounds a bit ominous,” Fae said. “What is it?”

  “It’s possible that he’s…fused.”

  “And that means?” Fae asked, still confused.

  She looked over to Violet though who looked like a cold sweat had taken over her body.

  “That’s impossible…” Violet said under her breath. “When could that have happened?!”

  “What does ‘fused’ mean?! Is it bad?!” Kenrich asked nervously.

  “It depends,” Puri said, in a serious tone. “Fusing happens when someone has a gemstone surgically embedded into their body from a young age. If that’s why you have this power, then…”

  “Wait?! ‘Surgically’?!” Kenrich yelled. “Th-there’s no way! Who could’ve?!”

  Puri looked down at her feet through the water. She refused to think of the worst case scenario, so she put a smile on her face.

  “There’s a good chance that it’s not as bad as we’re making it out to be,” she said. “I think we’ve had long enough in the bath, so why don’t you come with me and we’ll run some tests on you? Yui. Get us set up in my bedroom with x-ray stones.”

  “Of course, my lady,” Yui responded before warping away.

  Kenrich was very confused. The thought of having a gemstone inside of him somewhere was disconcerting, but if it was true that it was put in him when he was young, he had lived with one for a long time without much issue, so was it really that bad?

  He followed Puri out of the bath, got dressed, and they made their way to her bedroom. Violet and Fae remained in the bath where Fae began asking questions knowing that Violet knew more about the concept of fusing than she did.

  “I was a straight ‘A’ student. How the hell do you know about fusing and I don’t?”

  “It’s taboo. There’s no way you’d find knowledge of it in any legal textbook,” Violet said. “Fusing is very rare. It’s only done correctly by members of wealthy crime syndicates.”

  “Are you saying that Kenrich is some secret crime boss?”

  “No! But…it makes no sense! You’d need a very skilled surgeon to successfully embed a gemstone. He’s from Millin! There’s no way he got a surgery like that there!”

  “Calm down, Violet. What’s so bad about having a gemstone inside of you anyway? Especially one with such a specific power. I would understand that having a jump stone embedded in you would suck because you’d never be able to jump normally again, right? But his is so specifically activated, is it really that bad of a thing to have?”

  “It depends where it is…”

  Being in a queen’s bedroom so often was not something Kenrich had expected in his life, but he really wished it were under different circumstances. As they entered the room, Yui was sitting on a short stool on the side of Puri’s bed.

  “Please lie down, Kenrich,” Puri said.

  “Is it really okay to lay on the queen’s bed?”

  “No, it’s not,” Yui said coldly, but they each knew that regardless of their feelings, Puri’s word is absolute.

  “Don’t mind her. Please-” Puri said, gesturing at her bed.

  Kenrich laid down in the middle of the bed. Puri took a seat on a stool right next to Yui and grabbed a stone from Yui’s grasp.

  “Now, please remove your shirt. Most fusings take place somewhere from the abdomen to the chest, so this is the best place to start.”

  Kenrich nodded and took off his shirt awkwardly. Now he was shirtless in the queen’s bed. Puri looked upon his toned body, but this time she did not become flustered in the slightest. She was too focused…and too worried.

  “Okay, I’m going to place this gemstone on your body and slide it up and down your abdomen. Sorry if it’s a bit cold,” Puri said.

  Kenrich had never seen an ‘x-ray’ gemstone before but it was very different from many of the other stones he was used to seeing due to its long and flat shape and dark black color. It was about half the side of a sheet of paper and was quite thin. As Puri began sliding it slowly around his abdomen, he was amazed when he looked down and saw inside of himself. It was a black and white image that was difficult for him to make out, but it made him jump a bit at the sight regardless. Queen Puri put her hand on his chest and gently pushed him back down, flat onto the bed.

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  “Please don’t move around a lot, okay?” He nodded.

  Puri continued for a couple more minutes on his abdomen before removing the stone from his skin and letting out a deep sigh.

  “What’s the matter?” Kenrich asked.

  “It’s not in your abdomen. I can say that for sure.”

  “Isn’t that a good thing?”

  “No. Sadly, it’s not. It would be much easier to remove if it were somewhere soft without a lot of bone in the way.”

  “You want to remove it? Why?”

  “I’ll explain in more detail when we find it,” Puri said before gently pushing him back down onto the bed once again. Her hand was shaking.

  A few more minutes passed as Puri was sliding the thin black stone across his chest and shoulders. Kenrich noticed that her path with the stone seemed to be in a circle, like she was avoiding something. After another minute, Puri finally placed the stone around the spot where she had been circling, she let out a quiet sound which made Kenrich look at her face. Her brow was furrowed.

  “What is it?” Kenrich asked.

  “Well…it’s true that you are fused with a gemstone,” she said sadly. “Yui. Retrieve Violet and Fae. They need to hear this.”

  “At once,” Yui said before warping away.

  The few moments of awkward silence before Yui returned, helped Kenrich realize that this was not going to be good news. Violet and Fae made their way into the room. Violet had clear worry on her face while Fae kept the same confusion as before.

  “I want you all to listen to this very carefully,” Puri started. Everyone was silent. “Kenrich is fused, and the gemstone is attached…to his heart.”

  Violet’s eyes widened.

  “A-are you sure?! How?! How could that be?!” Violet yelled.

  “I know, I know. I didn’t want to believe it either,” Puri said. “Fusing a gemstone with someone is a difficult enough process, but fusing it with someone’s heart? That’s unheard of.”

  “Is that bad? I still don’t really understand,” Kenrich said.

  “Of course it’s bad! The chances of being able to remove it is practically zero!” Violet said.

  “She’s right,” Puri said. “A successful removal would be very difficult to pull off. Now, are any of you familiar with magic shortening?” Everyone shook their heads. “It makes sense you wouldn’t know. It’s not an effect that many care about even when they do know about it. Magic Shortening is the reduction of a person’s lifespan from the excessive use of magic gemstones.”

  “What? I’ve never heard of that,” Fae said, still confused.

  “The amount is negligible in virtually all cases. Even a longtime general who’s fought with gemstones on the battlefield for forty years would not be affected in any extreme way. They might only lose a couple weeks total. The average person who uses gemstones for everyday chores and such would likely only lose a day or two.”

  “I have heard people say that using gemstones too much is bad for your health, but I never really asked why. I figured it was just some moronic conspiracy theory,” Fae said. “Are you trying to say that Kenrich is a special case to this rule?”

  “He is,” Puri said. “When gemstones are touching bare skin, that’s when the process of magic shortening is at its highest level. When encased in jewelry, magic shortening only happens when the gemstone is being activated. So, since this gemstone was likely fused with Kenrich at a young age, and has been there ever since without a buffer of gold surrounding it, the amount his life has likely shortened…would be a lot.”

  Kenrich suddenly felt cold. He was not sure he wanted to know any of this. There are some things that people are better off being ignorant of and he assumed that this would definitely be one of them, especially if there was no way to prevent it.

  “How much?!” Violet yelled. Puri flinched at her loud voice which brought an angry look to Yui’s face.

  “W-well…how old are you, Kenrich?” Puri asked.

  “I’m 20…” he said nervously.

  “Let’s say he was fused right after he was born, while his bones were still malleable, if magic shortening has been taking place for twenty years straight…he likely has already lost ten years to his final lifespan.”

  “T-ten years…?” Kenrich said weakly. His head was spinning.

  Violet grabbed her head and paced to the back of the room. Fae could only stand there in disbelief.

  “A-and you can’t remove it?!” Kenrich pleaded.

  “I-I’m sorry, Kenrich…” Puri said. “It would be a life-threatening operation just to attempt it. You’d be better off just living with it than taking the chance of having it removed.”

  “What are the chances of success?” Fae asked.

  “With the technology available in Aquarium, probably…10-20 percent.”

  “Those are not great odds,” Fae said awkwardly.

  Everyone was quiet for a moment.

  “W-well! That number is only accurate if it was embedded in him when he was born, right?” Fae said. “That’s only the worst case scenario. I’m sure if we ask around on our travels, someone will be able to help him. R-right, your majesty?”

  “Oh! Yes! I’m sure there are a lot of people who know more than I do! Please don’t lose hope,” Puri said with fake enthusiasm.

  “So, for every twenty years, I lose ten years of my final lifespan…So, if I was destined to live until sixty, I’d die at forty instead…” Kenrich mumbled. He then put his head in his hands. “That’s…a lot of time to lose…”

  Suddenly, he heard a quick set of footsteps approaching him which ended with a warm set of arms wrapped around him as he sat up in the bed. It was Violet. She held him tight enough to where Kenrich could smell the medicinal bathwater in her long black hair.

  “I promise I’ll find a way to fix you,” she said quietly in his ear. “Way too much time has been unfairly taken from you. Staying in that mine your entire life for the sake of your village, who turned you in to the military like it was nothing, to being on the run from the government for wanting to save even more people by keeping the ring out of Admia’s hands, to using the gemstone inside of you to save me in that prison as it sucks away your life…You deserve so much better than any of that.”

  “V-Violet…! Where’s this coming from?!” Kenrich said. He felt warm tears hitting his neck.

  Puri whispered to Yui and she made a portal which they and Fae took in order to give them both some space. They could tell that they needed a moment.

  “It’s just not fair…” Violet said. “This world is so fucking messed up.”

  “We really can’t ever catch a break, huh?” Kenrich said, putting his arm around Violet’s back.

  “N-no, we can’t,” she giggled with tears in her eyes.

  She then put her head up and wiped her eyes with her shirt sleeves before taking Kenrich’s and wiping her nose with it.

  “H-hey! Get your snot away from me!” Kenrich laughed. Violet smiled.

  “I’m sorry for losing my composure there. Looks like I embarrassed myself because the others seem to have left…”

  “Don’t apologize. I needed that. Having someone with an even more tragic life than mine feel sorry for me was just what the doctor ordered.”

  “Shut up,” Violet said, giving a playful punch to Kenrich’s chest.

  “Hey, do that again but harder! You might knock the gem down into my stomach and I can just throw it up!”

  “Well, this touching moment is ruined now,” Violet smiled.

  “It was ruined when you wiped your nasty snot on me.”

  “Maybe…So, you ready to make our trip down the longest flight of stairs in history?”

  “No, but I guess we should get started so we can reach our floor before sunrise.”

  Kenrich jumped out of bed and followed Violet out the door as they began their descent down the stupidly long set of stairs.