<h4>Chapter 16 Beauty sleep</h4>


    Julia entered her cluttered office, surrounded by the remnants of her work- half-opened books, scattered memorabilia, and partially signed papers. Realizing she didn''t have the mental energy to deal with the documents, she wearily made her way to the plush leather sofa at the far end of the room. With a heavy sigh, she sank into itsforting embrace, seeking a moment of sce amid the chaos that had enveloped her life.


    As she closed her eyes, hoping to find some respite from her troubles, a sudden change in the room''s atmosphere caught her attention. The window, which had been tightly shut, creaked open on its own, letting in a gentle breeze. It carried with it a soothing energy that wrapped around Julia like a warm embrace, releasing some of the tension that had gripped her.


    Noticing the change, Julia understood what was happening and said "Thank you Sylv" despite the seemingly empty room. A soothing voice was then heard


    "You''re wee."


    "How is your son?" the voice asked.


    Julia hesitated, unsure of how to answer. Her friend was unaware of her son''s condition. Although her son was awake, it was aplex situation. Technically, it wasn''t her son, but in a way, it still was, since El is a part of Elian. but it was mentally taxing to exin. Her exhaustion overcame her and she simply replied,


    "He''s fine, he woke up."


    "That''s wonderful news," Sylv replied with genuine happiness beforeunching into a more probing inquiry, "So how did he get like this?"


    Julia found herself in a dilemma. She longed for answers as well, but she knew that patience would be required. Having revealed that her son was awake, she couldn''t avoid offering an exnation. Putting aside her desire for a nap, she sat up and began to fill Sylv in on her son''splex condition.


    In short, Elian had Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), but his case was unique. The two personalities, Elian and El, were distinct yet consensual. El was acutely aware that he was not the primary personality, and his existence revolved around protecting the body and Elian''s primary personality from traumatic events. Despite Elian''s repeated attempts to ce them on an equal footing, El remained deeply subservient to the main personality. Because of their deep trust, they could exchange with each other at will, and they could somehow perceive each other''s actions through the body''s senses.


    Upon hearing this, Sylv had many questions, especially how this unique situation hade about. However, she sensed that it was likely due to a traumatic event in Elian''s past, something Julia might not want to revisit. Instead, Sylv decided to focus on the present.


    "So, if I understand correctly, El has awakened, but Elian remains dormant?" she inquired.


    "Exactly," Julia confirmed with a nod, settling back into her seat.


    Sylv, struggling toprehend this unusual scenario, pressed further. "Is there any chance that your son is deceiving you? Perhaps he''s pretending to avoid questioning or scrutiny?"


    The skepticism stemmed from her understanding that multiple personalities should normally share the same mental energy reserves. If El had the mental energy to awaken, Elian should theoretically be able to do so as well.


    Sylv also considered the idea of a mental block - a psychological or unconscious barrier that might be preventing Elian from fully awakening.


    However, she found it difficult to believe that such aplex and unique situation could be exined by something as ordinary as a mental block.


    Thus, the only reasonable exnation in Sylv''s mind was that Elian might be deliberately avoiding his mother''s scrutiny and questioning.


    Julia empathized with Sylv''s confusion, acknowledging that she had struggled with simr questions. However, she hade to ept that El and Elian''s rtionship was truly unique, and she had long since stopped questioning their idiosyncrasies.


    As for Elian hiding from her, it had crossed her mind too, but she didn''t care because she knew he woulde out sooner orter. In fact, it didn''t matter anymore. The reason she wanted to know what happened was to prevent her son from doing it a second time.


    She was afraid of this possibility because without the incredible luck of her son, she might not have been able to save him. Yes, luck yed a significant role. It wasn''t Julia who had really saved him, but Sylv, who had used Julia as a conduit for her healing magic.


    Julia felt that she didn''t really deserve the credit. She understood that the resurrection that had been used on Elian''s eyes and some parts of his brain was something far beyond her abilities, or any human''s for that matter.


    However, it is crucial to note that Sylv had not been at the house until an hour before the ident. Had the ident urred a few hours earlier, Elian could have been facing lifelong disability. Even if Sylv had arrivedter, she wouldn''t have been able to restore his sight after such a long dy.


    This realization was why she had been so deeply affected by her son''s reckless actions that she had cried in front of El. The mere thought of her son bing disabled just days after her husband''s death had been unbearable, and it had driven her to the brink.


    "Thank you again, Sylv. I can never repay you," Julia expressed her gratitude for the umpteenth time. Sylv casually replied, "No need to thankme," as she did not consider her actions to be a significant favor.


    Julia was well aware of that, and she knew that Sylv would dly offer her help again if she asked. She just hoped that her son wouldn''t need Sylv''s help anymore.


    Fortunately, El showed clear remorse for allowing Elian to reach such a state, so he wouldn''t allow it to happen again. As a result, Elian would be safe for quite some time.


    Julia sighed and tried to return to the nap she had nned before being interrupted. However, seeing her make this attempt, Sylv immediately interjected.


    "Why are you pushing yourself to sleep when you don''t have to?"


    Julia replied, "What do you know? We all need our beauty sleep, maybe you more than others." She had missed her beauty sleep the day before because she was worried about her son. But there was no way she was going to skip it this time, or...


    "What are you insinuating? All right, I won''t tell you the whereabouts of those guys," Sylv replied with a yful pout.


    ...or so she thought.


    Julia woke uppletely, chuckled darkly and said, "Are you serious? Hehehehehehe, just tell me." She could finally stretch her limbs after an incredibly hard week.


    "Hmph, keep dreaming!" Sylv replied, still sulking.


    But first she had to convince the old softie.