Celia stood silently beside Theo, who remained as still as the gravestones he stood before, as if he were an integral part of the mute stones.
Her blue eyes, which Theo was accustomed to seeing wisdom and calmness in, now carried an immense weight of sorrow, reflecting the deep pain she felt at Elena's loss. She looked first at Elena's grave, contemplating the inscription carved on it, then at Kyle's grave, her gaze conveying a hidden appreciation for the man who was the village's stronghold. Then her eyes returned to rest on Theo, who seemed as if his soul had detached from his body, immersed in his own world of despair and loss.
Moments passed that seemed like an eternity, filled with the cold wind blowing through the ruined remains, carrying with it the smell of dry blood and soil soaked with tears and the death that hung over everything.
Celia slowly raised her hand, reaching towards Theo's shoulder, hesitant before gently placing it on him, as if she feared he might shatter at her touch, or that she might add to his burden. Her touch was light, delicate, but it was enough to bring Theo, if only for a brief moment, back from his dark, isolated world.
He did not look at her. He kept staring at the graves before him, but his body trembled slightly under her hand, as if her touch awakened a part of the suppressed pain he had hidden deep within his soul.
"Theo..." Celia whispered, her voice barely audible amidst the whisper of the wind, a voice choked with deep sorrow. "My dear boy..."
Her voice was tender, full of love, but it was mixed with the bitterness of loss that broke her heart. She too had lost much on this tragic day. She lost Elena, who was like a sister to her in life, and who was a true support for her. She lost her friend Kyle, the strict man who was the village's stronghold, and its guardian. Seeing their graves like this, in such a violent and sudden way, tore her heart to shreds.
"I know... I know this is too cruel, Theo." Celia continued, slowly pulling her hand from his shoulder, and looking at the graves again, as if she was speaking to them too, expressing her shared grief. "I saw what happened."
Celia paused for a moment, collecting herself. She was very sad now, remembering Elena's warm smile and laughter, but the broken little one in front of her was the most important now. She had to be strong for him.
Theo did not answer. He made no sound. He kept staring at the graves, his eyes empty, reflecting nothing but the immense void within him, as if his soul had been stripped of everything. His lips trembled slightly, as if he was trying to speak, as if he was struggling to utter a single word, but nothing came out. The absolute, terrifying silence, was his only response.
Celia felt a worry creeping into her heart, stronger than any worry she had felt before. "Theo? Are you okay? Talk to me, my son!" She tried again, this time a little louder, but it was still gentle. "Please, say something. I'm here. I'm with you. I won't leave you."
Theo seemed to have heard her, but he was unable to respond, as if his body no longer obeyed his mind. His eyes seemed to be searching for something, as if they were trying to conjure words from the depths of his wounded soul, but they were trapped, imprisoned behind a thick wall of unspeakable shock and pain. He slowly raised his hand towards his mouth, as if he wanted to open it to speak, then lowered it again in absolute despair, which Celia clearly understood.
This time, it was not the silence of contemplation or fleeting despair, it was a deeper silence, a silence indicating something profoundly broken within him. Something in his soul had shattered.
"Theo..." Celia whispered, her heart aching for him, and she felt worried. "You... can't speak?"
Celia knelt in front of Theo, raised his hands stained with dirt and blood, and looked at them closely, then looked at his pale, frozen face, the face of a child who had lost everything, there was no response.
He looked at her, but his eyes were distant, as if he was seeing something else she could not see, as if he was seeing specters of the past or nightmares of the future.
"Oh my God..." Celia said, her voice trembling, he had seen so much, and suffered from a young age, but what shocked her most, was not his loss of speech, but what she suddenly felt emanating from within him.
And more shockingly, she felt a second ring circulating around his heart, a new mana ring. It was slightly unstable, fluctuating, but its presence was undeniable, this dark energy, was pulsing in Theo's chest, she immediately knew that he had formed a second ring amidst this tragedy, amidst this hell.
This was impossible, forming a second mana ring required years of training and meditation, not moments of tragedy.
'But how?'
She looked at Theo in pure shock, but she did not show it on her face. This little one had performed a magical miracle under immense pressure, breaking a barrier that most mages could not break for decades of effort.
Celia took a deep breath, trying to control her inner shock and her worry, which had increased due to this new ring. She had to take care of him now and his difficult condition, before his soul completely collapsed.
"Theo... listen to me carefully." Celia said in a more steady voice, holding his hands more firmly, trying to instill some stability in him. "I know you are sad. And I am sad too. Elena... was my sister too, and the greater part of my soul."
She paused for a moment, allowing herself and the atmosphere to absorb this painful truth, allowing her tears to fall uncaringly.
"But there's something else you need to know, Theo. Ryan." Celia said, watching his eyes for any reaction from him, any glimmer of hope or pain that might return to him. "I found him. He was gravely wounded. I was there shortly after you arrived, I used all the healing magic I had on him, I tried to save him with all my strength."
Theo immediately understood what she meant, even without her completing her words. And the pain began to multiply in both his heart and mind, a new pain, more bitter. His only hope, the last glimmer of light in his dark world, had been extinguished.
Celia noticed a slight movement in Theo's eyes, a faint glimmer of awareness, as if Ryan's name, even if it carried death, had penetrated the barrier of silence surrounding him. There was a thin thread of pain, unbearable pain, passing through his eyes, reflecting the magnitude of the catastrophe.
"I buried him, Theo." Celia completed, in a very faint voice, barely audible, as if she feared to increase his pain. "I buried him with his family, I found them... I found Ryan's family too. No one survived. They had to have a proper burial, at least in the end."
The pain in his heart doubled. Ryan also died. His companion, the only remaining part of his childhood, was gone.
Theo looked at the ground for a few seconds, contemplating the dirt, then raised his eyes again to the graves before him, Ryan was dead now, with his family.
This truth alone was enough for his mind to completely collapse in his current state, to drive him to madness again. But he did not collapse, he made no sound, not a single tear fell. But the pain intensified manifold, a silent, burning pain, even if he could not express it in any way.
Celia slowly extended her hand, and touched Elena's headstone, tracing with her fingers the words "The Most Tender and Loving Mother". She felt a cold shiver run through her body, then moved to Kyle's headstone, tracing the words "The Toughest Trainer Kyle". These words reflected them perfectly, summarizing them in two words.
"You did what you could, Theo." Celia continued, trying to instill some strength in his devastated soul. "Don't blame yourself now. Do you think both Kyle and Elena would be pleased with your state?"
Celia remained kneeling before him for some time, looking at him, waiting for any sign, any reaction. Theo was still silent, like a stone, but his eyes were no longer completely empty. There was something, a faint glimmer of understanding, of grief mixed with a kind of harsh acceptance, and a mysterious power brewing within him.
Celia slowly rose, remaining standing beside him. She felt the weight of this moment, and the weight of what she now carried on her shoulders. Theo had lost his ability to speak.
This meant that the shock had affected deep aspects of his soul and mind, it would not be easy to heal his soul.
"I will be here, Theo." Celia said in a calm voice, placing her hand back on his shoulder, this time more firmly, as if it were an irreversible promise. "I will stay by your side until you recover from these scars, and I will help you to be stronger, stronger than you can imagine. For them, and for yourself."
Theo was unable to respond with words, but he did not move away. He remained standing, slightly bent, feeling his body weighed down by something.
And on the other hand, the sun began to tilt towards sunset, casting long shadows over the graves and over the silent boy and Celia standing beside them, as if it were indifferent to what was happening now.