"Hi Seth, it's been a while…" the young man said with a smile.
"Casper," Seth murmured, recognizing the voice.
He stared at the young noble, surprised by his sudden appearance. The Trial of Blood and Iron had lasted only three days, but so much had happened during that short span. The last time Seth had seen Casper, he'd been barely clinging to life- his hands badly burned, and a stab wound in his chest threatening to end him.
Although Seth had later learned that Casper survived, seeing him now- alive, well, and standing before him- brought a surprising sense of relief. More than he would've expected.
Letting a faint smile slip onto his face, Seth added, "Seems like even a sword to the chest couldn't keep your eccentric-self down." He chuckled lightly.
Casper smiled in return, his eyes briefly scanning Seth's appearance, noting the small bruises and the dirt smudging his clothes.
"You've been busy," he remarked.
"Oh, this?" Seth replied with mock dramatics, glancing down at himself. "I finally got that much-needed workout."
Not long after, Seth invited Casper into his home, leaving the guards outside despite their brief protests.
"Sorry for the mess. I haven't had time to clean up in a while," Seth said, pouring Casper a cup of tea into the only ceramic cup he had- one that still bore a few cracks.
"I don't mind," Casper replied simply, taking the cup and sipping without hesitation.
"So," Seth began as he took a seat across from him, "what brings you all the way out here?"
Casper leaned back slightly, his gloved fingers loosely curled around the cracked ceramic cup. "Honestly?" he said his tone light. "I just came to see if you were doing alright."
Seth raised an eyebrow, watching him closely.
It was a convincing enough answer- Casper's voice calm, expression casual, but Seth could tell by the subtle way Casper avoided eye contact for a heartbeat too long, the overly relaxed posture, and the way his fingers tapped once against the cup before going still. Classic signs of someone dodging the truth.
"You are a terrible liar," Seth said with a small smirk, though his eyes stayed sharp. "You didn't come all this way just to check on me. That's part of it, sure- but there's something else."
Casper sighed, the playful mask cracking ever so slightly. "Was it that obvious?"
"Painfully."
Casper looked down at his tea for a moment, swirling the liquid absentmindedly. "I figured it might be easier to ease into it. It's something I figured you might want to forget."
Seth leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees. "Then don't dance around it. Just tell me."
Their eyes met. For a brief second, the room felt heavier, the air still. Casper's usual grin was gone, replaced by something quieter. More serious.
Casper released a gentle sigh. In two fluid motions, he slipped off the black leather gloves, revealing his hands- both covered in burn scars. The skin was rough, discolored in places, a permanent reminder of the backlash he'd suffered from attempting a spell far beyond his capabilities.
Seth's eyes widened slightly at the sight. He had witnessed the damage firsthand- the searing flames, the desperate moment Casper unleashed a powerful fire spell during the trial. But what truly surprised him now was the fact that the scars still remained.
He blinked, uncertain. "I thought… your family would've had that healed by now."
"They tried," Casper replied quietly, flexing his fingers slightly as if testing the movement. "High-tier healers, recovery magic, even alchemical salves. But the damage was… deeper. Not just physical. The magic burned through more than just skin."
Seth sat back, absorbing the weight of that. In a noble household like Blackthorn's, where resources were endless and magic plentiful, for wounds to remain- it meant the cost had been far greater than he realized.
"You knew the risks, didn't you?" Seth asked, his voice quieter now.
Casper smiled faintly, eyes distant. "Of course I did. But I also knew we were going to die if I didn't do something."
Noticing Seth's subtle reaction to the scars, Casper merely offered a calm, knowing smile.
"It's from the overuse of essence," he said, voice even. "And the forceful activation of a spell far beyond my level. Injuries like this… they don't just go away. It'll take far more than mundane healing magic to erase them completely."
He paused, taking another slow sip from the cracked cup, his gaze drifting for a moment.
"Thornspire left behind more than just physical wounds," he added quietly. "Scars run deeper than flesh."
His eyes flicked toward Seth's bandaged right arm. "Seems I'm not the only one."
As if responding to his words, a sharp throb pulsed through Seth's arm. He winced slightly and reflexively brought his other hand up to cradle it.
"Yeah…" Seth muttered under his breath, his tone half bitter, half resigned. "You could say that."
For a moment, the silence between them was thick with unspoken memories- flashes of fire, pain, blood, and desperate choices. Two survivors, sitting across from each other, their bodies marked by horrors of thornspire, their lives forever altered by what they endured.
And one of them was going back to experience it all over again.
The thought struck Casper like a punch to the gut, and his frown deepened. After a long, heavy pause, he finally spoke- his voice quieter, more hesitant than before.
"I… heard about your verdict," he said through gritted teeth, lowering his gaze. He lifted a hand to his face, covering part of it, as though ashamed.
"If I had been awake… maybe I could've spoken in your favor. Maybe I could've done something." His voice cracked at the end, the weight of guilt seeping into every word. "If only I'd been stronger…"
The silence that followed was thick- dense with regret, with things unsaid. For a moment, it wasn't noble and commoner, mage and swordsman. It was just two people, broken in different ways, sitting across from each other, both haunted by what could have been.
The silence lingered between them for a few more moments, heavy and unmoving, until Seth finally stood, his chair creaking slightly beneath him.
"Are you done?" he asked, his tone calm- almost too calm.
Casper blinked, caught off guard. "What?"
"I said, are you done?" Seth repeated, eyes steady. "If you are, come with me. I want to show you something."
There was no edge in his voice, no visible frustration- but the solemn weight behind his words made it clear: Seth wasn't dismissing Casper's emotions. He was simply choosing not to dwell in them.
Casper hesitated for a second, then silently rose from his seat, setting the cracked cup down with a soft clink.
"All right," he said, his voice softer now. "Lead the way."