Chapter 8: Life Thread

The two of them eventually reached the town. By the time they entered through the gates, Caelan could barely feel his legs anymore. The deep scratch on his arm wasn’t doing any better either.

His whole body felt like it was going to give up if he walked any further, and Eveline wasn’t doing much better.

They were both covered in snow, their clothes were dirty, and they probably looked like they had just escaped from a battlefield by now.

Thankfully, nobody stopped them.

The town was much livelier than Westmere. There were people everywhere even if it was already late at night.

"So this is what a normal town looks like..." Caelan looked around as they walked.

"You really don’t know anything aside from your town, do you?" Eveline asked.

"Nope."

She stared at him for a moment.

"You’re really strange, Caelan." Caelan just shrugged his shoulders. If that was what she thought, then so be it.

They continued walking until they found an inn. Unfortunately, the moment they asked about a room, they found another problem.

"How much?"

The innkeeper told them the price, and Caelan couldn’t help but stare intently at him.

"Are you saying it is really that much?"

"It’s the cheapest room we have."

Caelan looked at the small amount of money he had. It was all he found in the pouch in his pocket. Then he looked at Eveline.

I’m already tired, so...

"We’ll take it."

"Are you sure?" Eveline blinked unsurely at that.

"It’s either you go with me, or you’re sleeping outside."

She looked toward the snowy street behind them and winced.

"Go on. Take the room already," she encouraged him this time around.

"Exactly." Caelan laughed inwardly before shaking his head.

Eveline’s cheeks reddened, and she didn’t say anything more.

"Room 8. Second floor."

The innkeeper handed Caelan the key after he paid him with his coins.

"Thank you."

They climbed the stairs, and when they arrived, Caelan unlocked the door.

When he opened it, he immediately understood why the room was expensive It was definitely better than his own home.

There was a well-sized table on the side, two chairs, a wooden cabinet, and one queen-sized bed.

One bed...

Caelan slowly looked at Eveline, and he saw her slowly looking at him too. Neither of them said anything, but they already understood each other’s thoughts.

"Well, I guess we’re sharing."

Caelan looked at her with not an inch of malice in his eyes.

"Sharing the bed?" Eveline’s face became slightly red. She didn’t really mind the idea, but still...

"Unless you want to sleep on the floor?"

"I’m fine with sleeping together!" Eveline quickly shook her head at that.

"Good choice." Caelan closed the door behind them and immediately sat down on the bed.

His entire body felt exhausted. He leaned backward and let out a long sigh.

"I’m never running again."

"You were the one who decided to jump off a cliff." Eveline laughed quietly.

"That was an emergency," Caelan reasoned. "And we’re alive, aren’t we?"

She didn’t have a response to that since it was true. They both gave each other a look before minding their own business.

Caelan looked around the room again. It wasn’t much, but it was warm. There was a small fireplace in the corner, and thankfully, there was already logs burning inside it.

Finally, he could relax.

Caelan took off his coat and threw it over the chair. Now that his outer clothes were gone, his bruises and wounds all over his body were revealed. And with adrenaline gone, the pain had just got worse.

"Ah..." He slowly sat down on the edge of the bed. His arm was probably the worst.

Even though the wounds weren’t deep enough to kill him, they still hurt like hell. What was more was the several scratches across his body and his shoulders.

"Damn..." Caelan touched his shoulder and winced.

He was running with so much strength earlier, and now he could barely move.

"Is it even possible to feel this fine earlier and suddenly become like this?" Caelan looked at his hands and saw that they were trembling slightly. His legs also felt incredibly heavy.

If he had to run again right now, he probably wouldn’t even make it past the front door. Eveline noticed his expression and quickly walked toward him.

"Caelan?"

"I’m fine."

"You don’t look fine."

"I said I’m fine."

Caelan tried standing up to prove it. However, the moment he put weight on his legs, pain shot through his body.

"Ah!"

He immediately sat back down as horrible pain spread through his body.

"See? You’re clearly not fine."

Eveline stared at him worriedly.

She quickly went to his side and helped him sit on the bed properly. Her soft hands guided his arms, careful not to touch his wounds.

"I didn’t know my body would start complaining this much after everything."

"You’re bleeding."

She crouched in front of him and looked at the wounds on his arms. They were really bleeding now.

"I noticed."

"You should treat them."

"I don’t really have anything to treat them with." Caelan answered honestly.

"Then what about your healing ability?"

Eveline looked at him in confusion. That’s when Caelan realized what she meant.

His healing ability.

That reminded him of something too.

He had used Life Thread on Eveline earlier. At the time, he thought it was simply a healing ability. But then why did the System mention it when he was attacked?

Caelan suddenly remembered the moment the Bloodfang’s claws struck him. When he fell through the wall of his room, nothing happened. He was even completely fine after landing in the snow.

However, when the Bloodfang’s claws wounded him, the System said his Life Thread Protection had ceased.

Was it because of my injury?

"Wait..."

"What?"

Eveline suddenly looked at him when he spoke.

"Do you remember when I healed your leg?"

Caelan quickly stared at her.

She nodded plainly in response.

"Did you feel anything strange afterward?"

Eveline thought about it before shaking her head.

"Not really."

"Hmmm..."

Caelan stared into the air for a moment.

Hey, can you explain it to me?

A familiar window suddenly appeared in front of him.

[Life Thread.]

[Current connection: 1/1.]

[To ease your confusion, Life Thread is not simply a healing ability.]

What?

[Life Thread establishes a connection between the Host and the person. The connection allows the Host and the other person to share a protective bond.]

[While the protective bond is active, the connection will protect both person from incoming attacks.]

Caelan slowly looked at Eveline.

[However, if either person receives a fatal wound, the Life Thread will be severed, and the protection will momentarily stopped.]

Caelan’s eyes widened. That was exactly what happened!

[Do you want to check your current Life Thread status?]

"Yes."

[Life Thread Status:]

[Eveline Ardent: Severed.]

[Reason: Fatal wound received by the Host.]

[Protection Effect: Inactive.]

Can I still restore this?

Caelan asked hopefully. It would be a waste if he couldn’t, especially after learning that Life Thread was such a nice ability.

[Yes, Life Thread can be restored. However, the connection must involve both individuals.]

Caelan frowned.

"What does that mean?"

[It means the Host and the person must perform a physical activity that requires shared bonds with one another.]

- - -

A/N: Instead of re-uploading. I just made a major change in the earlier Chapters (hence why this scene is pushed up). If you find any mismatch, just comment on it. I might have overlooked it cus I was just editing them on my own.

I advise you to re-read again if you want.