67 Returning to Eta (1/2)
”Of course. Everyone, thank you for joining us in this celebration. Do stay for the after-party after the photo-ops,” said President Valores as he stood up, and the remaining guests bowed in respect to him. He guided Xander, Syn, and the rest towards the Lobby, where there were multiple independent and conglomerate news sites and groups waiting.
Upon seeing the figure of the president, the crowd became rowdy, and when they saw the Elven queen and Xander, the crowd turned into a riot. President Valores, on the other hand, signaled one of his aides to calm down the group.
The aide immediately chanted a short spell, covering the crowd, causing them to fall silent, as there was no more sound being produced. Upon realizing what had happened, some of the new reporters were aghast, but the others who have been subjected to this treatment knew this was the way of signaling the conference, and photo-ops would begin. They calmed down their fellow reporters in a matter of seconds, completely organizing themselves in no more than a minute.
President Valores then smiled, beginning his prepared speech. It went on a for a few minutes, before ending with,
”…now, let us please welcome a friend of the country, Mr. Xander Cloverfield, to say a few words.”
Xander then moved to the front, visible to the reporters, a lot of them were recording this and live-streaming it. He smiled brightly, like what one would expect children would do when they are happy.
”Hello everyone, my name is Xander Cloverfield. Some of you might have heard of me, some might not, and that's okay. The events yesterday were quite unfortunate, but hopefully, the government has passed that and was able to learn from their mistakes. They have publicly apologized to me, and I hold no anger over their previous actions. After all, they were trying to ensure their country's growth, thinking for the sake of their residents. That kind of government is the kind I would like myself to be under. However, we must always ensure that knowledge and wisdom shared by researchers around the world are not limited by nationality or race, but rather free and unfettered, allowing Eteria to grow together united and informed.”
Xander finished his speech, his voice childish and yet the words he used were mature, concise, and straight to the point, summarizing the situation and clearing the air.
The presidential aides then said that the floor is now open to questions, and immediately several rose their hands. The aide in charge of noise control had long removed the sound cancellation so everyone can use their voices.
”Mr. Cloverfield, I'm Jeffrey from Daily Sun Tribune. Yesterday, it was briefly summarized all over the country as to why the government was attempting to capture you. However, the keenest of eyes noticed a split in the video being broadcasted. Are we privy to learning what was talked about in the cut segment?”
”Hi Mr. Jeffrey, I could tell you and the rest of the reporters, but I don't think the government and military of Nema would like it if I revealed their state projects. If you want to learn more, ask the military or the president about it, thank you.” Jeffrey caught on what Xander was trying to say, so he nodded his head before sitting down.
”Mr. Cloverfield, I'm Mary from Weekly Calder Times. What is the role of the Elven Queen in this situation?”
”Sister Syn? She is a witness to the reconciliation between me and the Nema government. She was visiting a nearby country so President Valores invited her.”
The questions continued on for Xander and the President until one of the aides stepped in and stated the time for questions is over, and photo-ops is now in session.
Basically, for the next 30 minutes, Xander was just shaking hands with the president, with Syn in the background, posing for the cameras. He had to smile naturally as well as greet the other important guests who were in the banquet earlier.
After 30 more minutes, Xander and the trio left, heading back to Fargrow city. He bid farewell to both Syn and the president before leaving.
He then whispered something to the president's ear, causing him to be visibly surprised. Xander smiled at the look the president gave at him, before leaving the Silver office and then flying back.
He arrived around 3 pm in the afternoon in the villa. It was technically his last day in Nema, since tomorrow, he leaves around 3 in the morning.
He didn't want to sleep, so he left the planet and headed to Eon. He created a time-accelerated field, and began to immerse himself in developing more and more spells for the next 7 hours, Eteria time.
_____________________________
Unknown Location in Nema.
General Cabal was looking at a man lying down on the bed, his body fragile and weakened. Around him, multiple machines were placed monitoring and stabilizing the man's condition.
General Cabal clenched his fist, feeling helpless. He couldn't even be in the same room as his son, because the magic and elemental fluctuations were harming him already, intensifying the pain he was feeling. He had to transfer his son to a physical facility where there was no trace of elements, a dead spot. This only managed to stabilize the condition, but it was still decreasing as the hours and days passed by.
On his side, a table with several documents placed, one of which was the document handed to him by his aide.
Written on it was the information regarding the patient.
Name: Armando Cabal
Age: 58 years
Cultivation level: Mythic-9 magician
Test results:
Elemental sensitivity: Dangerously High
Magic sensitivity: Dangerously High
Blood count: low
Organ function: low
…
…
Conclusion:
The patient shows symptoms of magic and elemental rejection stage 8. This is quite rare since such a thing is usually developed while in the womb, allowing the child to be aborted to save it from future suffering that will result in death. The patient cannot be treated using magic or elemental energy/particles, nor fed with materials containing high amounts of elemental particles. Doctors and Life magicians' recommendation: Please euthanize. Prolonging will just increase the suffering and degrade their health.
Upon seeing the concluded advice, General Cabal's reaction was of fury. He just couldn't accept it, to kill his eldest son. He didn't even want to test a possible theory of resurrecting his son and see if the curse was already gone. One problem with the resurrection method of the magicians in Eteria was that it wasn't perfect. He had tried enlisting the help of those who went beyond the stars but was met with silence.
He also sent his two other sons, two daughters, as well as his grandson to be tested an hour ago. He wanted to confirm if it truly did affect them as well. He had the testing rushed and got the results back.
All the men were positive. However, the two daughters were negative for the disease, but they seemed to have something abnormal in their blood, specifically, the genetic structure they have in their X chromosomes.
It was at this point, his communicator rang and saw it was the President. His best friend. His comrade. He answered the call, looking calm and confident. Once the president's hologram appeared, he saluted.
”At ease.” General Cabal immediately relaxed, as he knew this was a personal call rather than an official one.
”Andrew, before you ask, I have good news and bad news for you concerning your situation. Which do you want to hear first?”
”…Cain, what even- sigh, fine, I know you won't stop. I choose good news.” Andrew responded to Cain, who was still smiling.
”Ok, the good news is that we might have a solution for your sons' and grandson's cursed conditions.”