122 The Parting Gift Dont Purchase Until This is Gone! (1/2)
As soon as the words came out his mouth, he and Lu'um bolted out of the bakery in a mad rush. There were many obstacles that hindered their way, be it destroyed infrastructure, ruined buildings, and lost, hurt people who were outside looking for help.
It was an awful scene to witness. Blood, glass, and broken concentrate littered the streets in abundance. Screams for help echoed across the ruined streets of Cem-Elle. Children crying out for their parents, lovers calling for one another, some not receiving replies…
Reed's stomach started to churn in dread as he and Lu'um rushed past the overflowing streets filled with misery. His heart started to beat faster and faster the closer they got to the Hartfords' residence, an old single-story house that... had seen better days.
\”Don't worry… the seal's still intact, despite the wretch's continued attempts to break through it,\” said Reed. \”…It's gone, for now.\”
It had taken a long time for Reed to reach the level he was at now and a considerable amount of effort on both his and Lu'um's account. The events that had transpired during the Twilight War had taken a heavy toll on Reed.
Not in a physical sense; he was healthy as could be. His spirit, however, had not fared as well…
In the beginning, it'd started off as nothing more than a faint, indescribable feeling of unease in his heart, but then… it had progressed into something far worse.
Anxiety, fear, and guilt poisoned his mind until he could no longer tolerate it…
Lu'um clearly remembered that first started happening sometime early during their first year in exile, when their relationship had finally started to get serious.
She'd been woken up by him in the middle of night, out the blue. He had looked paler than death as he stood in front of their bedroom mirror. It'd been a heartbreaking sight for her as she watched the one she loved break down until he'd turned into a total mess.
Never before had she seen him so vulnerable and weak. He'd been drenched in cold sweat, trembling like a newborn fawn when she'd woken up. Tears pouring out his eyes as he struggled to breathe.
She understood that wounds of the mind — sickness that resided within the spirit — was not something to be trifled with. It was a serious affliction would have to be handled by an expert on matters of the mind.
For the longest time she'd known that he'd been afflicted something, even before night of his panic attack. That something had been eating at him from the inside as far back as when they'd been trainees in the Spire.
It took a lot of effort on both their parts, but after several months and many intensive therapy sessions, he finally began to move past what'd been haunting him — the self-perceived regrets, failures, and fears he had kept buried for the longest.
What he had unhealthily bottled up inside of himself as a result of not knowing how to properly cope and manage his negative emotions and thoughts…
It's not the same as back then, though. This was nothing more than a hiccup in comparison to what he was like before we started going to therapy.
Been months, maybe more than half a year since the last time he's had his last episode…
Reed felt better almost immediately after Lu'um had taken him into her arms. It always astounded Reed how Lu'um could always make him feel safe with her presence alone. She'd come to possess a borderline magical ability that he'd come to rely upon whenever he felt awful.
Naturally, it wasn't something that Reed was all too accustomed with — being tenderly and lovingly held by someone — given his troubled history.
He'd scarcely ever made physical contact with others, so it'd been quite the experience for Reed when he realized just how intimate and close a real relationship with another person was, especially one of… romantic love.
The dark, brooding clouds that hovered over his he always seemed to part whenever she was beside him.
\”I don't have the slightest idea about what you're talking about,\” said Lu'um with a blank, confused expression on her face.