Erin would very much like to maul Lyra with all of her passion and desire but her heightened senses made her think twice. Erin pulled herself away from Lyra’s glistening lips with a scoff of frustration and indignance. “Fucking damper...” she muttered.
Lyra, who was in a trance from having her lips taken, snapped back to reality upon feeling the absence of her lover’s assertiveness. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
Erin was glancing sideways at the entrance of the alley they were in. “Someone’s looking for me… no, us. They’re looking for us,” she answered. She closed her eyes and focused on her hearing. “It’s a man. He’s asking around for our whereabouts. He sounds extremely desperate.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know… but going by how everyone is gasping at his persistence, must be a Paladin.”
Lyra widened her eyes. “Why would a Paladin be looking for us?”
Feeling the trembling hands of Lyra on her shoulders, Erin turned her gaze back to Lyra with an assuring smile. “I’m going to go ask.”
Lyra instinctually grabbed Erin’s sleeve just as she was about to dash off.
“Lyra?”
Realizing what she had done, she let go, but her gaze cast at Erin turned solemn. “I will go with you and I will hear no objection from you.”
“It’s dangerous—” was what Erin wanted to say but seeing such a resolute Lyra, she didn’t have the heart to crush her resolve. She nodded and the two rushed out of the alley, into the street.
The pair instantly caught the Paladin in their sights, who was frantically asking anyone he came across of the pair’s whereabouts. He was extremely young, probably younger than Lyra by two years or so. Erin recognized him as one of the Paladins stationed around the perimeter of the church cum orphanage. They had crossed paths beyond the simple exchange of greetings, they had never really conversed before. Considering it was a Paladin from the church looking for them, Erin deemed this to be most likely a message from Saphielle.
Nevertheless, Erin approached the Paladin slowly and steadily with Lyra a few behind her. There was always the possibility that she could be wrong.
“You’re looking for us?” Erin spoke out.
The young Paladin snapped his head to the voice that called out to him. “Lady Erinthea!” he exclaimed. He ran up to the two with a face filled with relief. “Thank goddess, I found you.”
Erin and Lyra were weirded out by the Paladin’s upfront attitude. Erin crept her left to the hilt of her saber.
“Please, come quick. Saphielle calls for you. There’s something wrong with Celia.”
The moment she heard that, Erin carried Lyra into her arms and leaped off into the air with all that she could muster. The Paladin was left dumbfounded and Lyra was shrieking at the sudden transition of events. One moment she was on the ground, and the next moment, she was dozens of feet in the air, in the cradle of lover’s arms.
Erin landed on one of the nearby buildings’ rooftops. Taking only a second breather, she leaped into the air again. She continued this pace until she reached the church. She forwent going through the gate and landed roughly on the side yard of the church. The ground caved in from the excessive force and mildly shook the land. The first one to rush out of the building was Saphielle, followed by two Paladins. The three relaxed their shoulders once they realized who was the cause of the sudden ruckus.
“This way,” Saphielle calmly said and beckoned the pair to follow her. The two Paladins promptly returned to their stations.
In the church, Erin, Lyra, and Saphielle walked hastily down a corridor with doors aligning the left side and windows aligning the right.
“Saphielle, what happened?” Erin asked.
“I don’t know. One moment she was fine. She was just playing with the other children when one of them suddenly came up to me and told me Celia had suddenly collapsed. We brought her to the healing hall and I already have a healer attending her.” Upon finishing her brief explanation, she stopped in front of a door larger than the others in the corridor. She skipped any pleasantries and entered the room in stride. Lyra and Erin followed closely behind without question.
The healing hall was a large room where people came to heal, as the name stated. It had no tools or anything of the like that could assist in one’s healing. There were only beds, lined up in rows without any partition. Aside from them, Erin could only see a priest and two sisters in the room, in which of the three were standing over the bed Celia was on.
“Father, how is she?” Saphielle asked as they approached the bed.
Erin was way past being cordial and appraised the priest without hesitation. Fortunately, the priest was none the wiser. The priest’s name was Crux, level fifteen, with only a single Magic Art in his repertoire which is Healing Magic; at level seven. “So he must be the healer Saphielle mentioned,” Erin surmised.
The two sisters immediately said their greetings and took their leave with terrified expressions. Erin didn’t understand why the two needed to leave but at a guess, it might be because of the presence of two Fae in the room. But Erin’s concern wasn’t on the sister but Celia who was lying on the bed with anguish written all over her sleeping face. Lyra fell to her knees by the bedside. She took Celia by her right hand while her other hand gently brushed away the hair on Celia’s forehead. Every once in a few seconds, Celia would groan or flail a little in her sleep.
“It’s alright, Celia. We’re here with you,” Lyra whispered.
Celia seemed to writhe in her sleep as a response. Though she seemed calmer, the anguish ever apparent.
“Father, how is she?” Erin repeated Saphielle’s question as she placed the sacks containing the recently purchased items on the ground.
“The girl is fine, physically,” answered the father. But her mind... is… for a lack of a better word, a mess. I heard everything from Lady Saphielle. It’s a terrible thing that she has gone through. I have done everything that I can but… my trait is only in the body. Her mind and spirit are the ones that needed mending.”
“Her spirit too?” Lyra questioned with an aghast look.
Upon hearing that, Erin used Spirit Sight on Celia. “What the fuck…!?” Erin gasped in her heart. Celia’s whole body was constricted miasma like vines. Erin was baffled. She had checked Celia herself with the Spirit Sight before and there were no such things on her.
“Miasma...” Saphielle muttered in an equally shocked tone. “How is this possible? I examined her just days ago. There was no miasma within her. Was it induced into her sometime after the examination?”
“N-no,” Father Crux refuted as he wiped a drop of sweat off his forehead. Though he had a higher standing than Saphielle, the other individual was a Fae and this was a delicate situation. One wrong word could sour their relationship with the Fae and it would be on him. “It has always been inside of her. It was just dormant. Whoever induced the miasma into the girl, managed to hide it well. Its mastery is meticulous. They could even control when the miasma would bloom. They have to be extremely adept in the dark arts for them to even be able to masque it in holy grounds.”
“What do we do?” Erin asked, her tone was calm but within her heart, a storm was brewing. She knew precisely who was the one that induced the miasma into Celia. “So this is what the Necromancer meant… That fucking shit….!”
“I’m sure you already know, milady. To treat her mind, we’ll need Mist Pearls. But that’s only for the mind. As for the miasma within her, only the caster can dispel it. The other option is to seek out an Arch Healer to extract the miasma’s root out of her. If that’s also an invalid method, eliminating the caster will be the only option left.”
Lyra quickly met her gaze with Erin’s. Lyra knew what Erin would do and she pleaded for her to stay even though she knew her pleas would not be considered.
Erin spared not a second longer and turned around to leave. Saphielle stepped into her path.
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“Erin, no,” said the Elf, sternly. “It’s suicide.”
“Saphielle, you heard him. There’s no other way. I need to get the flowers and I need to kill that son of a bitch who did this to Celia. These two agendas are right in The Singularity. I know you understand the futility in this but I implore you not to lump me in with the logic that you know. I will not be idle while Celia suffers.”
“I’m not asking you to concede. I’m asking you to be sensible, Erin. Spirits are barren in that land. A Fae would not last, not without the right companions.”
“I have done my research, Saphielle. No one in this town can survive The Singularity. I can.”
“This is reckless, Erin. You need, at the very least, companions.”
“I have tried that. It was a path that led to nowhere.”
“I know you tried, Erin but you can’t just walk into The Singularity alone.”
“Then what do you propose I do!?” Erin roared and at the same time, she felt a heavy thump in her heart. “I am sick of waiting. How long more do I have to wait? Until Celia experience a new attack? Or another curse surface? This cannot wait any longer.”
Everyone in the room was startled by Erin’s outrage, even Lyra; no, especially her. The calm and composed Erin the rumors spoke of who showed only the least amount of emotions even in the direst situation was nowhere to be seen. Veins were showing on her forehead.
Father Crux had a strained expression. He was a mere priest with Healing Magic. Under normal circumstances, it would be considered an extreme honor to be in the presence of two Fae but the current circumstance was simply the worst to be in.
Saphielle regained her composure and met Erin’s enraged gaze. “Erin, even just the paths leading to the Singularity are already more than you could handle. Even if you managed to brave through that, you will be spent by the time you arrive at The Singularity.”
“Then what should I do?” Tears began to trickle down her cheek. Her teeth gritting. “Tell me, what should I do?” Her trembling words were slowly turning into sobbings.
“You don’t have to do everything, Erin. You can’t solve every problem in the world. Let someone else handle this, someone with the right skills.”
“You don’t understand, Saphielle. I did this to her. I did this to Celia. That son of a bitch’s aim was me. It was trying to hurt me through Celia. I wasn’t able to help the town that showed me so much kindness. Instead, I left it to a bunch of zealots who might bring dire consequences. Now... I can’t even do anything to help Celia…”
“Erin...” Lyra muttered sorrowfully at her lover’s helplessness. For all the time they had been together, she couldn’t believe she didn’t realize how much those failures were eating at Erin. She saw Erin’s grieving on her failures, lamenting them, she just didn’t know how much it was affecting her. Lyra cursed herself for being blind and selfish to her own desires.
“Please, Saphielle… I need to do this…” Not a single trace of the dignified one-star adventurer could be found on Erin’s current expression. Tears streamed down her cheeks seemingly without an end. She was on the verge of falling on her knees while her hands clasped together, forming a praying gesture. “I have to do this… Please, Saphielle, I have to...”
With all of her frustration and hopelessness released, Erin lost all strength in her legs but Lyra was there to support her as she collapsed. “Erin, I’m sorry for not realizing your pain. But… I have to agree with Saphielle. There will be no meaning in your bravery and spirit if you die regardless.”
“Lyra, you know I can’t die,” Erin reminded her in a whisper.
“I’m inclined to believe that’s not the whole truth. You can’t die as easily as anyone else, I understand that. But there’s no telling if that skill of yours is perpetual with its grace.”
“But Celia she— You can expect me to sit by and—”
“We will find another way,” Lyra said, glaring into Erin’s eyes. “We can consult with Iris on this. We have run out of options. We will seek her help now as we have discussed before. We will be in her debt but for Celia, shouldering that debt would be nothing, no?”
Erin was silent. Her experience in her past life told her owing a debt was the first step in having your freedom taken. She wanted to refute but no matter how hard she tried, no words came. This was no longer about her.
“Allow me if you will, Erin.” Saphielle put her hand on her chest. “I will call out to any of our kin in the vicinity. If they are present and they know how dire things are, they will come and help.”
“The Fae will help?” Lyra questioned.
“For the town or the people? No.” Saphielle shook her head. “But for a kin, yes, without question. The Faerie-kin is more than just sharing the same blood. We’re a family. If it’s to help a family. They will come.”
“But is there even any Fae other than us two around these parts?” Erin threw back such a question.
“...I am not sure, Erin,” Saphielle admitted. “There are many of us who are traveling incognito. There has to be someone close by. If there isn’t, I will call upon the favors I am owed.”
“I will also do what I can to help,” Father Crux chimed in.
“Anyways, Erin, Lyra, the two of you will remain by Celia’s side in case she wakes up. Right now, the girl needs all the mental support. I will handle the procedures. If you’re tired, you can use the beds here.”
“Thank you, Saphielle, Father Crux,” Lyra expressed her gratitude.
“You have my uttermost gratitude,” Erin muttered.
“This is just the expected course” Saphielle replied with a warm smile. “Erin, you are family, Celia and Lyra are your families, so the two of them are family too.”
“I-I should go… Ruva’s grace be with us,” Father Crux said and left the healing hall with hasty steps.
“Can we trust him?” Erin asked.
“He’s faith is deep but he’s no zealot. We can trust him,” Saphielle answered.
“What can we do in the meantime?”
Saphielle only had one answer to that question. Her warm smile dimmed. “Pray, my dear. Not to Ruva specifically. Just pray. Who knows, maybe some god will answer your prayers.”
There was a glint in Erin’s eyes. Her fists that were coiled up in frustration, loosened. Her breaths slowed. The contortion on her face disappeared. Her expression had returned to what the rumors painted it as. She had not prayed but she already received an answer from a god; her goddess.
“Fine, Nyx. I’ll play your game, just this time.” A dastardly sneer appeared under her facade. “Since you’re bored, allow me to entertain you.”