When Sia woke up the next day, Varian was gone.
She tried calling him, texting him. There was no response.
Filled with worry, she decided to approach the authorities to lodge a missing case. Then, she found a small holographic letter in his room.
{Today is the last day. There is just some work remaining. I’ll be back by evening.}
Sia took a deep breath and suppressed her emotions. She was both worried and enraged.
With a cold face, she attended school.
As expected, Varian skipped today’s school.
Kacha!
Sia’s desk cracked and the class suddenly fell silent.
“I’m sorry. Continue.” She said in a neutral tone.
Her expression must have been terrifying. Not even the teacher looked her in the eye. Her fellow classmates… all moved three feet away from her.
As the classes rolled on, Sia was avoided like a plague.
It didn’t help that she ignored the first few that tried to speak. Sia didn’t feel any regret for her behavior.
As time passed, she began to have scary thoughts. What if Varian was in danger? What if he was severely injured?
After the bus dropped her in the neighborhood, she walked back home alone. It felt weird. They were always together.
But now…
“I’m fine.” Sia shook her head and reached home.
After a quick shower, she threw herself into studying. Night fell and Sia closed her books.
She wasn’t in the mood for dinner. In fact, she was on the verge of exploding with anger.
‘Where are you? It’s 11!’ She bit her lip and stared at the clock.
As each minute passed, her worries only increased.
‘If he’s not returning by 12, I’m reporting this.’
She kept staring at the clock and it finally hit 12.
Sia dashed to the door. But before she could touch it, it slid open, revealing Varian.
His shirt had small cuts here and there, his hair was disheveled and his hands were covered in new bandages.
But it seems like all the bandages were used up since he only tied a few strips of cloth around other injuries. The blood from those injuries drenched the cloth and dyed it red.
“Heavens!” Sia turned around to rush for the medical kit when Varian grabbed her hand.
She felt a warm liquid touching her hand. It was his blood. It flowed down her fingertips, straight to her palm, and splashed on her feet.
“We can talk later? First, your injuries must be—”
“Happy birthday.” He said with a bright smile and with his injured hands, presented her with two connected figurines.
Sia covered her mouth with her hands and looked at them with wide eyes.
The two figurines—Varian and Sia were dressed in their casual clothes. The black-haired boy and the brown-haired girl stood together with bright smiles.
It was a smile of joy, companionship, and naivety.
Their faces, their clothes, even their expression—it was all too real.
With current technology, others would’ve been quick to judge it was made by bots. But Sia knew better.
Because she identified the metal.
Heart Steel.
It was a metal that could only be carved through aura.
Usually, it wasn’t that hard. Even level 1s could easily provide the necessary aura.
But Varian…
“H-How?” She asked in a choked voice. He didn’t have any aura. He didn’t awaken. How could he provide aura?
“Aura permeates all things. Even if I don’t have aura for myself, it is present in my body. So, I used it.” Varian grinned and said as if it wasn’t a big deal.
The ‘using’ meant he had to use his own blood to bring out that tiny bit of aura for the carving.
Heart Steel was a sensitive metal. With a slight change, everything would be ruined.
And Varian…he literally had to use his blood and flesh to carve this gift.
“Don’t think too much.” Varian smiled and waved his hand. But he seemed to forget he didn’t have the special bandages, so blood spilled out of his wounds.
A droplet of blood fell on Sia’s cheeks.
Sia touched the blood and lowered her head. She covered her face, but tears were already spilling between her fingers.
Now she understood everything. Why he needed her clothes, why he got a sudden part-time job, and the continuous bandages…
“Hey, it’s easy, ok? Just some work…”
No, it wasn’t easy like Varian said. His face was scarily pale because he lost so much blood in trying to carve out the figurine.
Sia’s heart beat faster and faster as the overwhelming wave of emotions drowned her.
Why was she feeling this?
“…Why?” She choked as she leaned on his chest and let her tears run free.
Varian raised his hand to caress her hair, but after seeing the blood on his hands, he put them down.
“For your next birthday, you’ll be in a college. From then on, you will be busy. After that, any birthday you have will be on some other planet, with your friends and colleagues.” His voice was warm and his gentle words stirred her heart.
Sia cried harder. “I won’t go, I won’t go!”
Varian shook his head and said gently. “This again? I don’t want you to sacrifice your future for me. If you do that, I’ll live my life in guilt.”
Sia buried her face in his chest and didn’t answer.
“I’ll be the happiest to see you rise. But…from next year, Sia won’t be the Sia only I know. She’ll be a big awakener, have many friends, and will bravely pursue her dreams.
With each passing year, the distance between us will only grow. Even if I try my best, without power, I can’t help you much.” Varian gritted his teeth but quickly forced himself to smile.
He held Sia’s hand holding the figurines and lifted it.
“So, now, I gave you the best gift I can.” He pointed to the two figurines. “They are made of heart steel. My figurine has my aura.
This will shine on your birthday every year. It will work on my aura and wherever you are, it will carry my wishes to you.” He hugged her tightly and said.
“Even if we grow physically distant…I want our bond to last in our hearts.”