Sam's POV

When Mark suddenly collapsed in the street, Sam's heart just about jumped into her throat. She searched his body for physical wounds, but knew she wouldn't find any. If Mark had been hurt, he would have already dealt with it.

During their battle, she felt that he had pushed himself to his limits, but even that wasn't enough to cause this response. Mark had consistently used all his Prana to the point of exhaustion, but always kept some available to remain conscious. He'd warn them what could happen if they gave away all their Prana while healing. It led to unconsciousness until the body could gather its strength again.

That's what this looked like; however, as she held onto him, she could tell something more was going on.

Mark wouldn't have made that kind of mistake at this stage. Especially since he had been up and about just seconds ago.

"Jon, hold him up, I need to examine him," she said.

Luckily, Mark had just taught them how to search for physical problems. In doing so, Sam activated [Prana pulse]. The spell was different from her usual manipulations. It primarily worked like sonar, using just her Prana. Then, it returned all the information it had gathered. Unfortunately, she was not that proficient with it yet, so what she got back only confused her.

He was indeed suffering from a lack of Prana, but more than that, it was like he was forcibly expelling his energy, even when he had no more to give.

They needed to get Mark home and to a healer.

There was a problem with that. Running back now would no doubt take around half an hour, even if she pushed her magic to its limits.

She had only recently begun to grasp long-range spatial magic, and taking anyone with her right now was probably impossible.

That only really left transporting via Mark's waystone, but that came with complications, as accessing it without Mark's help would not be easy.

Turning away from Jon, who was carrying Mark's unconscious form, Sam did the next best thing: she searched the area for NAS.

"Lisa! We need you here now!" she shouted as she walked out of the alleyway with Jon on her heels.

To her credit, the woman responded quickly.

Lisa arrived less than a minute later with Patricia in tow.

Even her gaggle of followers rushed after her, surrounding the three of them. Sam tensed slightly. These men and women had been trying to kill them just minutes ago, and she didn't feel comfortable having them this close.

Jonathan sensed this because even in his transformed state, he remained her Jon. A deep rumbling growl echoed into the area, followed by biting words.

"Only you two may approach," he said as the area around them was plunged into cold Aura.

Lisa eyed Jonathan warily. She'd probably heard reports of Jon's new body from Wesley, but this was the first time she was seeing it in person. Nevertheless, she forged on ahead

"What's going on? How can we be of assistance? "

Sam didn't move from her spot next to Jon, but she schooled her expression.

"We need a healer for Mark. Can you have one waiting for us when we get back to the wall?"

Lisa glanced at Patrica and the woman nodded. She was still wrapped up in the glow of dawn, but it had subsided somewhat, making it look like she was simply glowing with leftover light.

"No need, I can be of assistance. Let me look at him," she said.

Sam nodded her thanks and stepped aside to let the woman pass. Mark was still unconscious, and by the looks of things, he was even paler than he had been earlier.

Patrica approached without any hesitation and placed a hand on Mark's chest. There was a brief flash of golden light, and when she opened her eyes, there was a frown on her face.

Mark looked about the same as before, causing a sinking feeling to open up in Sam's stomach.

"I've done what I can, but this is not a physical wound. Mark has damaged his soul. Or to be more precise, he's cracked his vessel. The only way to help him is to keep filling his body with Prana and hope that he can close the rift himself. Take him somewhere familiar and keep his energy levels up. Make sure you two provide as much Prana as you can. The closer the person is to him, the more their Prana will want to help him."

Sam's brow twitched. The soul?

She didn't know how that made any sense, but right now they didn't have many options.

From the sounds of things, this was even worse than she had expected. Sam changed her mind, they needed to leave now.

The Corrupted would no doubt arrive in this area sometime soon. The fact they hadn't already was a miracle. The destruction and energy in the air would no doubt has this place crawling with their kind by nightfall.

Turning back to Jon, Sam reached into Mark's armor and pulled out the waystone.

"We're heading home, there are spots open if you want to join us," Sam said

Both Lisa and Patrica shook their heads.

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"We still have some things to get done here," Lisa said.

Sam glanced at the templars around them but nodded.

Without another word, she sent her Mana into Mark.

Now, normally, one could not activate an item owned by someone else unless given permission or temporarily traded to them. Permission could also be given if Mark let her use a bit of his Mana.

Seeing as he was unconscious, she would have to rely on his instincts.

Time and time again, Sam had joined her Mana with Marks, and each incident she did, she noticed the way their Manas became more suited to one another. Almost as though attuning to one another. She didn't think either Mark or Jon had figured it out yet, but she had a theory. And if she was right, she only needed him to respond.

Sam called to Marks' Mana, and at first, it was stubborn and unresponsive, but as she laced his power with hers, it reacted. Once the process had begun, his Mana drifted over almost as easily as her own would. This technique would only work if one's energies were attuned and compatible. Sam smiled to herself as she twisted his Mana to her fingertips.

Mark's remaining power was barely enough to do anything with, but she didn't need a lot, just enough that the item recognized him.

As she sent the mental command through Mark's Mana, the waystone began to glow.

Keeping her Mana on point allowed the silver threads to descend. A minute later, the world warped, and they left the battlefield.

Arriving back at the base was chaotic, but they managed to get Mark into his room. Jon laid him down on his bed, and Sam looked at the man.

"The healers are on their way. I'll explain the situation, but when the time comes, you're going to have to sit quietly for treatment. How much longer do you have?" she asked, unable to help the hint of concern entering her voice.

Right now, Jonathan was playing with fire by remaining in his transformed state, but he didn't have much of a choice.

The wound on his chest was nasty, and were he to transform back, his wounds might put him in a catatonic state too. Sam didn't know if she could handle both of them going down at once, so she was grateful he'd held on for as long as he had.

That was including all the attention their arrival had garnered. One rumor about monsters roaming around the base was manageable, but when they landed, they had no way of concealing Jon.

Considering that he had to stoop in the passageways, and the glances they got as they moved down the halls. The rumors would spread—she couldn't stop that—but maybe she could shape it into something useful.

Mark was unconscious, and Jon's breathing was laboured. Even in this state, she could tell things were not going well, but she didn't have the Prana to heal either of them.

The quiet knock at the door had Sam on her feet in seconds, but it was the gentle voice that came through the wood that grounded her.

"Sammy, are you alright in there?" Karter said.

Sam opened the door, and she hugged the man on the other side. When she let go, she saw several others behind him.

Healers from the clinic, several guards, and messengers waited outside. Sam recognized many of their faces. A lot of which Mark had worked closely with.

Without saying much, she ushered them in, placing Willow at Mark's side and gesturing for the guards to secure the hallway. Let them see purpose, panic could wait.

Willow took charge of Mark with her usual no-nonsense focus, while a man in faded military garb examined Jon. Within minutes of treatment, Jon's breathing steadied. Relief flickered, then passed.

But Mark didn't move. He lay there, pulse steady, but vacant. Unresponsive.

Sam didn't argue when they announced they'd transfer him to the clinic for round-the-clock monitoring. Her mind was already running logistics: what supplies he'd need, who she'd need to speak to, how long she'd stay by his side before someone forced her to sleep.

Still, the facts didn't change the weight in her chest. She noted it, filed it. And when the noise settled, and they wheeled Mark away, she was already planning how to get him back.

Jonathan's POV

Jonathan cursed as his hammer struck the glowing ingot, the hollow clang echoing across the workshop. Every blow warped the metal further, no matter how carefully he controlled his strength.

The wound on his chest still throbbed. The healers had done what they could, but even with all their effort and Prana, it had taken a team of them pushing themselves to their limits just to stabilize him enough for him to release his transformation.

He should be resting. Instead, he was here, trying to work, trying to think, trying not to sit by Mark's bedside doing nothing.

The ingot twisted again under the hammer. Useless.

The attack had come from the High Priest of Vision. Jonathan had managed to subdue her before she could do more damage, but it hadn't been enough to stop the fallout. From what he'd read in the report, NAS had escorted the church remnants back to the city, and now the Church of Brilliance was setting up a temple in their territory.

That had been two days ago.

And Mark still hadn't woken up.

Jonathan gritted his teeth and threw the ruined ingot back into the forge. The tongs hit the workbench with a clatter as he sank into his chair, scrubbing a hand down his face.

He hadn't even seen what happened to Mark. They'd been separated during the fight—again—and knowing Mark, he'd probably done something reckless, something noble and infuriating.

When would the guy stop throwing himself in harm's way?

There was a knock on the door.

Since the workshop had started expanding, they'd given Jonathan his own room for personal projects—his own space. Right now, it felt more like a cage.

"Come in," he muttered.

George Moore stepped inside, holding a sheet of oddly folded metal. "Jonathan, you've got to see this—new shipment just came in, and they used this folding tech—" He cut off mid-sentence, eyes landing on Jonathan's face.

The room went quiet for a beat. Then George shut the door behind him.

"He's still not awake?"

Jonathan shook his head and reached for a cloth to wipe his hands. "No."

George stepped closer, gentler now. "Son, I know how hard this is. But sometimes all we can do is wait. I know Mark. He's not done yet. They're bringing in specialists, right? People who know what they're doing."

Jonathan huffed a dry breath. "Sam already called the blood doctor. He couldn't do much either." He tossed the cloth aside. "Joslin's been hunting down the best-grade Spirit Tonics, but Mark can only take one a day. It's slow."

The only thing keeping Mark tethered right now was their effort—all of their effort. Sam, Karter, Ethel, Gibby—anyone with even a shred of Prana had been offering it up. But it wasn't enough. Sam and Jonathan barely had any to spare. And still, Mark's body leaked it like a cracked barrel.

If this were a forge, Jonathan could patch the hole with steel and be done with it. But this wasn't metal.

This was flesh.

And blood.

He sat up straighter, the thought sparking in his chest like a flare. Mark is flesh and blood. But he'd always had a thing for growing things—plants, grafts, strange little alchemical tricks with seeds and soil. And some of them had been useful. Very useful.

So… if metal could be reforged, reshaped, made stronger…

Couldn't the same be true for something living?

The idea slammed into him, sudden and electric. Maybe the answer wasn't in Prana. Maybe it was in growth.

He stood up abruptly, grabbing his jacket.

George blinked. "Where are you going?"

"I need to check something," Jonathan said, already halfway out the door.

He didn't know if what he had in mind was possible, but he knew where to start looking.

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