>>Amber

I struggled to keep my composure. The priest and the trainees walked away, leaving me and him there all alone.

"It's just... I wasn't expecting you to be in the temple," I said, my voice wavering despite my best efforts to stay calm.

"Hmmm" His tone was still casual, "You seem a bit disturbed, may I ask why?" But there was a sharpness in his eyes now, a hint of something more. He took another step closer, the space between us shrinking. "Did you hear something off?"

I hesitated, my mind whirling as I tried to decide how much to reveal.

"You looked disappointed." I said

"Hmmm?" Today he looked different. But there was a part of me that didn't want to believe that he was actually bad.

I mean, I don't know the whole story, but still, I believed he wasn't a bad person.

"Were you disappointed because the assassin failed?" It just slipped out of my mouth and it surprised even myself. But now that I had said it, I didn't want to take it back, I wanted his answer.

I was worried for Serena. She had sent me a letter, telling me about how she and Nevan had started writing to each other and I could see where this was going.

!!

His eyes went wide for a moment, then he relaxed once again.

"Saint Amber, I never wished to kill Lyal." He answered.

!!!

Hearing that made me relieved but my doubt didn't just fly away.

"Really?" I was still skeptical.

"Yes," He answered confidently

"But you knew The Baron was doing something."

Nevan glanced around before he answered me. We were alone in the place now. His gaze came back on me after making sure no one was there to eavesdrop, "I did," He answered and my heart fell, "But,"

"But?" I whispered as I kept my eyes on him.

"Lyal had made an attempt to kill me too. It's only fair I return the favor. I would never pull a move like that otherwise."

"Oh..." That was a shock, "I see," Lyal did something like that?

But wait,

"Why did you call Illaris for help when you were getting consumed by the miasma? She's his..." What is she to him? They were always together but did they announce their relationship? "She's his fiance, isn't she?"

"That was never made official." Nevan replied.

"Still, why did you call her to heal you if Lyal had already made an attempt at your life."

"Because she wasn't going to tell Lyal." He answered

"What makes you say that?"

"She came to despise him after all." His expressions were soft

"..." I didn't know that, "Why?" I asked

"It's not my place to say," He said, "But I see that you see me differently now that you know. But our world is like this. We can't survive if we don't retaliate."

"..."

I know

I know it well. Being Royalty isn't easy, definitely not when you have competitors.

"I understand," I nodded, "I should get going," I turned around to step away but I barely managed to take a few steps when he spoke again.

"You look conflicted," He said, making me pause, "I can see you're still disappointed but there's nothing I can do about it because some things have to be for our own safety."

I turned to look back at him, "No," I started, "I do get it." I can understand it, "And I know it doesn't really make you a bad person either," I turned my body to face him, "I'm just wondering how'd you be as a king,"

His lips curled up into a smile, "Are you worried about Lady Serena?"

!!!

My eyes went wide in shock. How did he know?

I softened my gaze, "I am," But I kept my eyes on him.

"I can promise you that I, as a person, will never bring harm to anyone. Not unless I am provoked." His voice was soft, "And I will never hurt someone as sweet as Lady Serena," I looked into his eyes, "I give you my word,"

I found no lies in those eyes and perhaps that's why I found my soul relaxing a little.

I passed him a smile, "I wish you well, Your Highness," I gave him a bow, "And I pray that you remain true to your words." I straightened up and looked at him again, "I have to get going now." I turned around, "Until we meet again."

"Yes," He answered, "Until we meet again."

I hope the next time we meet, I find that you did indeed keep your word.

I walked away

But I have a feeling that he will.

"Ah," I turned around, "Your Highness."

"Yes."

"I have a favor to ask."

He smiled, "What is it?"

"I want to nominate a person to lead the team to Hollow Woods."

***

I was back at the center of the room, where surrounded by a gentle glow was the glass case containing Illaris. The glass case was intricately adorned with protective runes, their faint blue light pulsing softly in the dimness but looking at her made me feel bad.

She looked worse than before.

I looked back at the two temple employees who came into the room with me, then looked back at Illaris.

I should get this over with.

I placed my hand on the case and closed my eyes. I had gotten a lot better at casting my powers now, and I didn't necessarily need to clasp my hands together.

"Heal," I whispered as I channeled my holy power into the glass case. The air around us hummed with energy, the protective runes reacting to my power with a faint, shimmering light. I could feel the warmth spreading from my fingertips, seeping through the glass and enveloping Illaris in its embrace.

And then I felt the reaction from within the case. The warmth intensified, growing hotter and more intense until it felt as if it were engulfing me completely. My eyes snapped open in pain, but all I could see was white—an all-consuming, blinding whiteness that seemed to erase the room around me. I felt a zap—an electric jolt that shot through my body, leaving a trail of searing pain in its wake.

A strangled cry escaped my lips as the zap rendered me completely powerless, the energy sapping the strength from my limbs and making my vision swim.

And then, everything went black.

***

I opened my eyes to the same vast emptiness.

My head spun but I still managed to get myself to my feet.

Gosh,

I shook my head. I need to find another way to get here. I would rather not go through that again.

I shook my head again to get rid of the dizziness.

"You're back," I heard Rosie's voice and turned to look at my right.

"Roise!" I exclaimed when I saw her sitting there in the air with her legs folded.

"Hi~" She waved at me

"Hey," I passed her a smile and then sat down, "I've been wanting to come back here for a while, but things just got busy,"

Her gaze was soft as she looked back at me, "I can tell," There was a soft proud smile on her face, "I can tell you've gotten so much stronger," But I heard her voice tremble.

"Rosie?" It confused me

She blinked away the tears before letting them form in her eyes,

"Rosie, are you okay?" I asked

"I'm fine," She said, "I'm just happy that we chose you as the saint."

...

I frowned, "We?" I paused and a number of thoughts went through my mind, "Rosie, um there are a few things I want to ask."

She nodded, "Ask," She answered confidently. Well, she must be expecting this.

Where do I start?

"Um," I wasn't sure, but maybe I should get Illaris out of the way, "About the other saint, Illaris,"

"Yes?"

"Why is she the trigger?" I asked

"Your power reacted to the power of the other fake saint. You are two of the same kind. So you repel." She said, "The same kind of force helps you reach this place once it hits you back."

"Oh..." I paused, "Is that why she's in a coma? Because I pushed her? But I didn't use my power on her then." I was talking about when I last talked to her in the palace.

"No, her body can't handle Holy Power anymore. That's why she fainted."

I blinked at her, "She can't?"

"Of course she can't," Rosie looked at me as if she was stating the obvious and I should know that, "Saints cannot be made." She talked calmly, "It was only a matter of time before the fake's body reacted and she ended up in a coma. And soon she'll die,"

I felt a chill go down my spine. The skin on my arms stood up.

"But I am a fake too" I whispered.

"Well," She thought about her words, "Not really," She answered, "You're an inheritor."

Goosebumps formed on my body when I heard her

"What?"

"You ate the original, so in a way, you inherited my powers. And these powers are not fake, but,"

"But?"

"These don't belong to you either, so we can't be sure what will happen in the future."

....

My eyes darted around in worry, mostly staying low, before they went back to Rosie

"Will I die too?"

"You won't," She said, "When you ate me, and when you ate that mana piece, I did my best to reshape your soul in order to blend with the powers you were getting."

"Reshape my soul?"

She nodded, "A person can't survive if they eat a holy artifact or eat a mana core. It's a sure fire death. Even if a person somehow manages to survive, like Illaris did, they are sure to die in a matter of time."

"But, I won't die?"

"You don't feel like the power is heavy on your body, do you?"

I shook my head, "No,"

"That's proof enough that you've inherited the powers just fine." She smiled, "But since you weren't born with them and you didn't awaken and they were forced into you, they can be snatched away as well." She paused, "But you don't need to worry about that. It's not like anyone knows that. So no one can exploit it."

...

"You never know though"

"True," She nodded

I looked down and there was a moment of silence.

"So when will she die?" I asked after a while

"Soon enough, Illaris is going to die. The only way to save her is to take all her Holy Power."

I shot my head at her, "How?!? Is that even possible?"

She nodded, "The Tower Master has an artifact that can do that." She smiled, "We won't be able to meet again using her though."

"Oh!" I was surprised, "Hael had something like that?"

"Yes," She smiled, "He used it to me in the previous timeline,"

"Wait," I stared at her wide-eyed, "You know Hael?"

She nodded, "He used his expertise to turn me into the very flower you ended up eating."

"..."

"It's a unique and very powerful extraction machine," She said, "And he put me in there to get my powers out." She noticed my confusion, "And the extraction was a success even though it took a lot of time." A soft smile appeared on her face, "I thought my power would take the shape of something ugly but-" she grinned shyly, "It turned out to be a pretty little white Lily."

"Wait, wait, wait!" I raised my hand up to stop her, "You and Hael knew each other in the previous timeline?" I frowned, "How?" I felt strange, "What did you do together?"