[Your actions have attracted the attention of some deities]
[Soliel approves that you followed your heart]
[The ten fingers show their disapproval]
[The eleventh finger is pleased with your help]
Moments after Malexus's death, the system opened what seemed to be a window displaying the various opinions generated by the gods who had been observing him.
Part of Uriel felt calmer, now that he knew Soliel had approved his actions. Without a doubt, just moments ago, he had followed only the voice of his heart.
Uriel stepped away from the grisly scene of the two mangled corpses. He was surprised he hadn't fainted yet from blood loss or the intense pain in his eye. Even so, now that the adrenaline had worn off, he needed to sit down to endure the sharp pain.
"Uriel, quick! Let me help you!"
Ininise had already shaken off her shock. Uriel guessed it had happened so fast because she must be used to seeing people die around her. After hearing Kaelira pull one of the assassins's arm, it seemed very likely.
Ininise moved with extreme skill.
"Is it as bad as it hurts?"
Uriel asked with a painful laugh; he felt that if he didn't make a joke, the pain would drive him insane.
Ininise didn't speak, but her gaze said it all. Clearly, what he saw was not pretty.
Uriel couldn't help but chuckle a little at how they were in exactly the same situation as just a short while ago. Honestly, he hoped it didn't repeat too often; after all, his body had a limited number of organs.
Ininise took out a vial of bright red liquid.
"Forgive me, Uriel. Your eye… is gone forever."
Uriel was already aware of that. After all, he was the one who had taken the arrow; the sound it made upon impact had been unmistakable.
"It's okay, don't worry. I still have another one."
He gave her a painful smile.
Ininise seemed to react with even more sorrow.
"I'm going to remove the arrow… this is going to hurt… a lot."
Uriel exhaled heavily.
"Go ahead, do it quickly. I'm ready."
Ininise laid Uriel on the floor as she poured the red liquid into his eye. At the same time, she slowly pulled out the embedded arrow, which came out gradually, tearing through the flesh of the cavity where Uriel's eye had once been.
"GGGHHHKKK!"
Uriel let out groans of pain; it was unbearable to feel it being torn apart slowly.
"I'm sorry… I need to go slow to heal you with the crimson blood."
After what felt like an eternity, the arrow was successfully removed and the cavity cleaned, erasing the traces of what had once been Uriel's eye. Ininise was already bandaging the wound to prevent it from reopening and to avoid infection.
The crimson liquid… Uriel didn't know what it was, but he was grateful that Ininise had used it. The pain in his eye had lessened considerably.
"Ininise…"
"Yes?"
"Sorry about earlier."
Ininise looked at him curiously; she didn't understand why Uriel was suddenly apologizing.
"You know, for asking if you wanted that guy dead and stuff like that."
Ininise's gaze shifted to her right hand, where her sixth finger was.
"You're not apologizing… I'm glad you did it."
Now it was Uriel's turn not to understand.
"You're glad?"
Yes, she was a bundle of tears. Uriel couldn't see how that could be a happy situation.
"You know? I've spent half my life running, being protected by Kaelira and the others. During all that time, I've seen so many people die…"
Ininise paused. The procedure was finished. She looked at the one eye she still had.
"This is the first time the people who protect me have asked if I want to hurt someone. It's the first time I realize that I'm not the one causing others to die."
Ininise stopped for a moment.
"Oh, no… it's not that I think you're a killer or anything. Quite the opposite: I'm grateful you defended me."
Uriel brought his hand to her hair, gently patting it.
"Don't worry, I understand what you mean. But Ininise, at some point, you'll have to defend yourself, you know that, right?"
Ininise sighed sadly. Her gaze dropped to the floor.
"I know… now I realize… if the ten fingers keep sending climbers, sooner or later I'll die. Who knows, maybe one of them will become strong enough to kill me and Kaelira as if we were nothing."
Her gaze regained some determination and shine as she returned it to him.
"That's why I'll keep climbing and become stronger, so that no one will ever have to protect me again and no one will get hurt."
Uriel smiled; he liked what he heard. He feared she would stay stagnant on a single floor, hiding. That, sooner or later, would bring a flood of assassins to her door again.
"I suppose now you want to hear about the god of duality, right?"
Ininise took the initiative to bring up the topic they had left pending; however, Uriel only felt sleepy. He was utterly exhausted after all the fighting and chasing.
"It's okay, don't worry. We'll have plenty of time to talk about that, don't worry."
Uriel smiled; he had no intention of pressuring her on the subject.
"How are Kaelira and the others doing?"
Ininise nodded in understanding, postponing that conversation for later.
"They're fine. I communicated with them, and they're a few hours away; they had to divert during the fight."
Uriel yawned; he really felt like taking a nap.
"I'll try to rest a bit. If anything happens, wake me, okay?"
After saying that, Uriel lay down on the floor. After all, there was nothing more comfortable… well, he could think of something, but he didn't dare ask Ininise for it.
"Uriel."
"Y-Yes?"
"Come, get closer, lean on me."
"O-okay…"
It was as if she could read his thoughts.
Uriel timidly approached and rested his head on Ininise's lap, and she began stroking his hair with her right hand. Uriel felt six fingers running through his hair and slowly fell asleep.