Chapter 57

Chapter 57

This is bad. Armin was only eleven years old, and his only option was to extend his Spirit Zone to dodge the obstacles. “Sienna, open your eyes! You can’t lose consciousness!”

“Armin! S-save me!” Sienna cried, her voice trembling as she was unable to regain her calm.

However, the physical abilities of the two children against the river’s fury seemed to present an impossible feat. Armin realized he had to rely on himself. We just need to make it to the Delphons area. From there, the delta will reduce the flow. At our current speed, it should take about twenty minutes to reach it.

Yet, those twenty minutes stretched out like an eternity. He wondered if they could survive the rapids for that long with Sienna in a semi-conscious state.

Don’t be foolish, he scolded himself, knowing there was no other choice.

The landscape swirled menacingly, and life-threatening debris surged toward them. Armin twisted and turned, fighting against the elements. Mud blinded him, rocks bruised him, and sharp branches scraped his skin, but he never took his eyes off the path ahead. We’re almost there.

Sienna’s tiny hand clutched at his waist, her life depending entirely on him. The weight of this responsibility was heavy, yet he was driven by a deeper sense of duty.

The downstream destination came into view, but the path was blocked by ominously fallen trees.

“Listen closely, Sienna. We need to go under that tree. I’ll push you down, so hold your breath and swim as far as you can once you’re clear. Understand?”

“Armin! I’m scared! I can’t do it!” she wailed.

“You have to! You can!”

As they navigated through interlocking whirlpools, the speed of the current doubled.

Armin gritted his teeth at the unexpected challenge. Beyond his sight, with only his neck above water, a flood of debris loomed like monsters in waiting. He swam with a desperate strength. His body suffered cuts and bruises, and his consciousness began to fog from the cold and pain.

Finally, they reached the obstructing tree. Upon closer inspection, diving was their only option.

“Sienna, get ready!” he shouted, calculating the timing. Just before the collision, he pressed down on Sienna’s shoulder. “Now!”

Her scream was muffled by the water, and as Armin reacted to the recoil, the sharp bark of the tree trunk approached before his eyes. Even so, his focus on pressing Sienna down remained unyielding, ensuring her safety first. As soon as he was certain she had gone under the tree, he released his grip.

Well done, Sienna. Armin allowed himself a faint smile, but in that fleeting moment of relief, the shock was apparent on his face. Yet, even in the throes of losing everything, he refused to close his eyes.

“Armin! Armin!” Sienna’s voice, now distant and faint, echoed as it was carried away by the rushing water.

***

“And that’s what happened,” Sienna concluded her story, leaving the trio speechless. “I was safely carried by the current to the Delphons area and rescued by the villagers. Once out of the danger zone, there were no more dangerous obstacles. Armin was eventually rescued but was found unconscious and adrift. The school did everything it could, but he was diagnosed with permanent eye damage. He’s been blind ever since.”

“What a story...” Nade murmured.

“Armin’s bravery helped me overcome my fear and overcome overflow, but it cost him his sight. The bright future of the greatest talent in our school’s history ended… just like that.”

Sirone felt a pang of sorrow. Losing one’s eyesight meant losing a fundamental part of the human experience, especially for a student and aspiring magician. He could imagine the disappointment and torment that Armin must have felt.

“I only recently discovered that Armin moved here three years ago. He’s been developing a unique style of painting—one that captures light—and I volunteered to model for him.”

“We had no idea... We’re terribly sorry,” Sirone apologized.

Their misinterpretation of an affair was disrespectful to both Sienna and Armin.

As the mood grew somber, Armin returned with refreshments. “I hope I’m not interrupting. It’s rare for Sienna to talk about the past.”

“Armin...” Sienna said, her expression tinged with sorrow.

“Have some tea. It’s nothing fancy, but my wife’s secret touch makes it special.”

The boys all expressed their gratitude, accepting the tea with respect.

Even though Armin had turned to painting, he had shown extraordinary talent in magic over twenty years ago. Despite his unfortunate fate, as aspiring mages, they couldn’t afford to underestimate him.

Returning to his canvas, Armin gestured toward the back of the room. “Well, I should get back to my work. Could you students wait here?”

The trio agreed as they shifted awkwardly with their tea cups.

As Sienna resumed her position for the portrait, Nade cautiously addressed a delicate subject. “About the earlier comment... ‘I don’t need to wear it today?’ What did that mean? Should we leave the room if it’s a nude painting...?”

“No, no. Even though I’m blind, I wouldn’t ask her to do that.” Armin chuckled. “That comment must have caused quite the misunderstanding. Sienna, could you bring it out?”

Sienna retrieved a foil coat from the wardrobe. Its reflection in the sunlight was so blinding that it was a bit difficult to look at. “It’s really shiny.”

“I need to feel the light because I can’t see objects clearly with just my Spirit Zone. I use luminescent materials on objects and people to sense the light. The foil coat is an excellent tool for that.”

“Fascinating. So you paint by feeling the light...” Sirone mused.

“Instead of losing my sight, I’ve been gifted with the ability to paint things other artists can’t. But today’s the last day I’ll be painting Sienna. I have to move soon due to a new patron, so I wanted to capture her natural essence one last time. However, I decided not to use the coat today since it detracts from her beauty.”

Sienna blushed at Armin’s flattery. “You and your ridiculous compliments.”

Armin laughed. “Why? In my memories, you’re still that little nine-year-old girl.”

“Yeah, yeah. Just get on with the painting. We won’t be able to continue once Keira returns.”

Sirone and his friends fidgeted, feeling the odd and somewhat awkward atmosphere.

Though Armin and Sienna had a sibling-like relationship, they weren’t blood-related, and Sienna’s strong reaction to the affair accusation hinted at deeper feelings.

“Let’s begin. I will paint by feel, so it might be quicker than usual.”

As Sienna posed gracefully, Armin began sketching the outline with charcoal. They were impressed as Sienna’s form began to take shape on the canvas.

“Wow...”

“He’s really fast.”

Sirone and Nade were gaping, but Iruki shushed them.

Being unable to see posed a significant challenge for a painter, demanding much more concentration than usual.

This fact made the situation even more intriguing to Sirone. Something’s not right. Without luminescent materials, Armin was capturing Sienna’s fine details. How is that possible? Could his Spirit Zone be that precise? Even so, how could he capture such details...?

Increasing the density and weight of the Spirit Zone might allow for more precise descriptions through synesthesia. However, capturing the emotions conveyed by facial expressions still seemed implausible.

As the painting progressed, Sienna wore a beautiful smile he had rarely seen at school. Then Armin perfectly recreated her smile with the help of a piece of bread acting as an eraser.

Sirone was almost certain now. I understand. This is impossible.

Creating portraits presented a considerable challenge, particularly when it involved capturing the intricacies of the mouth, especially the corners. Subtle variations in angles could completely transform the overall feeling and expression of the artwork.

“Excuse me, Mr. Armin...” Sirone began.

“Yes?” Armin replied, turning his head slightly.

Wondering if he should ask such a question, Sirone hesitated. If his guess was incorrect, it would be a tremendous breach of etiquette.

“May I ask...” he trailed off. When he resolved that he wouldn’t find any answers without asking, Sirone gathered his courage. “Can you... see?”

Armin fell silent, his hands pausing, but a smile remaining on his face. He put his charcoal down and turned to Sirone. “Yes, I can.”

Sirone was speechless. Does he mean he can really see with his eyes? But how could Professor Sienna not have known?

“I’m sure you have many questions. Allow me to show you.”

Unwinding the cloth from his eyes and revealing numerous scars around his closed eyes, he squared himself with Sirone.

How can he see if he is injured? And not just that... Even with blindfolds?

At that moment, Armin slowly opened his eyes, and Sirone felt like his heart had stopped.

His eye sockets were hollow, yet they emanated an unnatural light.

“N-Nade, do you see that?” Sirone whispered, his voice quivering.

In a rush to confirm that what he was seeing was real, he instinctively tapped Nade’s thigh. But the sensation was unusual, almost like touching metal. He turned his head to look at his friends and suddenly stood up with shock painted across his face.

“Wh-what happened to them?” Sirone gasped.

Nade sat frozen, his eyelids unblinking. Iruki, leaning on his chin, and Sienna, sitting on the bed with a smile, were as motionless as wax figures.

Bewildered, Sirone felt Armin approach him from behind.

“It’s been a while since I’ve had guests in my domain.”

“I-is this...”

“Yes, it’s a spell using stop magic.”

Sirone faced Armin, his expression a mix of awe and confusion.

Stop magic was a type of magic only mages capable of manipulating the speed of light could perform. Throughout history, only a handful of individuals had reached such a level of mastery. In other words, he was experiencing the absolute pinnacle of time magic.

“Please, sit. Allow me to explain. We have all the time in the world.”

Sirone’s breathless chuckle sounded awkward when he realized the literal truth in Armin’s words. With time stopped, they indeed had an endless amount.

“I’ve been nervous since you arrived. I was wondering when you would notice,” Armin stated.

“How did you know I’d figure it out?” Sirone asked.

Armin gestured toward the light in his hollow eye sockets. “Eyes usually process light into visual information. But without eyes, I perceive the world through light itself. It’s quite a terrifying experience. What others see as solid forms, I sense in a completely different way.”

“Like the theory of forms?”

He contemplated the philosophical implications, realizing that human senses might not always accurately convey the truth. Perhaps in a different realm of perception, bricks could indeed feel like jelly, fire could be cold, and a lover’s kiss might bring pain.

“Let me reintroduce myself. I am Armin of the Illuminate Eyes. Among those who know of my existence, I am known as the Eternal Contemplator.”

The Eternal Contemplator? The moment he heard this, he understood why Armin had referred to this space as a “domain.”

“How long have you been in this domain of yours?”

“Time doesn’t flow here in the conventional sense. It’s impossible to measure it as you would in the outside world. However, in terms of the depth and breadth of thought, it might equate to about 120 years.”

Sirone found it unimaginable. The outcomes of a genius mage’s contemplation spanning that length of time were beyond his grasp.

“But when you were younger...”

“Yes, it was a tragic accident. After leaving the School of Olyhper, I spent fifteen years wandering. I roamed a world of darkness where not a single ray of light penetrated.”