I was greeted by a warm sunset, the storm was gone. The ruins were now filled with colours, green plants already pierced through the black stones yearning to meet the splendid pink sky.

I couldn't believe everything was done now. Me and Jinhyung were safe; the challenge was completed; we even defeated the abominable chimera king and the fearsome Lillian.

I felt great; no matter how hard it was, I enjoyed this adventure. In this very moment, I decided to reach the final chapter of this train.

I looked at where Lillian once laid. The sunlight turned her inanimate remains to ashes, leaving only a ragged nightgown.

Beneath the ashes was what I thought to be my grimoire. I theorized that if I could copy spells, I could also manage to replicate a soul, as both of them were made of magic sequences. If she accepted the deal, she would normally fill the third and last chapter of the grimoire.

As I picked up the book, something was very odd. It was way heavier, and unlike before, I couldn't feel the first two stored spells. I carefully blew the ashes from the cover; shivers scattered throughout my body.

The title was no longer 'Empty Grimoire' but 'Lillian'. I tried to open it but failed. Dark blood glued the pages together. I could feel magic slowly moving inside. Was it her soul? Seemingly, she accepted my deal.

I stuffed the book in my pants and looked for Jinhyung. It would be better if he was conscious when the Gate arrived.

His spirit seemed alright; his paths and core were moderately damaged, but that was to be expected after using Dawbringer's stance. I then looked at mine and was horrified.

My spirit vessels were almost completely destroyed, and my core barely even sustained a little flame. I was on the very verge of death. I suddenly felt fatigued and sat down near my companion. I feared going to sleep again. What if I didn't wake up this time?

These were the drawbacks of using power beyond my limits. After all, all of the energy used by Jinhyung went through me first.

Numbness slowly started to grow. I had to wake him up before I completely collapsed. The day and night cycle here and in the 'Rest Train' were a bit out of sync, when the day ended here, we should normally have some time to leave this place until the 'Rest Train' closes at 9 P.M.

But if we both fell unconscious, we would be stuck here until the next morning. This would be a guaranteed death for me.

"Wake..." I managed to utter it through a stiff throat. I struck his diaphragm; he would definitely wake up from disturbed breathing.

"Kuak," he coughed up and looked around with a disturbed look. When his gaze fell upon me, his expression immediately twisted.

The landscape darkened as the sun was almost gone. The end of the second day neared, and as appointed, the Gate appeared near us.

A panel appeared, but my companion swept it aside. He quickly selected the destination, and the doors started to open. Until they completely unlocked, he grabbed his blade and came to pick me up.

"Please, Fred, hold on. We will get coins for the level. I will buy medicine; just hold on. Please do not fall asleep," he desperately mumbled while transporting my frail body through the Gate.

My vision started to darken, and a fierce cold slowly embraced me. I felt energy fleeing my spirit.

The inner doors opened, and we finally exited the second car.

The Gate's room was filled with a large group; about two dozen people were waiting. They all stepped aside, clearing a path; they seemed to follow someone's commands.

I couldn't recognize any faces but one, Pierre. He was the one ordering them.

"So this is your companion, huh?" he said with a smug grin on his face.

"Step aside," coldly commanded Jinhyung.

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"What if I refuse?"

What a brat! He was lucky; Jinhyung's hands were full.

In a blink of an eye, he was thrown into the wall by a powerful kick. I couldn't even notice how fast Jinhyung's feet moved. He didn't even scream; his body couldn't handle it and fell unconscious to the ground. Everybody else fled our vicinity in fear.

In a matter of seconds, we entered the elevator room. we both used the same capsule as I couldn’t move my limbs anymore, it was very tight.

This was the only time I didn't feel sick inside the elevator. My sense were almost all numb.

Arrived at the market, Jinhyung stormed out; he left me by a wall. I couldn't even distinguish objects anymore; each breath took away every bit of strength remaining.

I ignored if my heart was still beating or not. My eyelids were slowly closing and lips stiffening. The light before me started to seem further and further away as I fell deeper within myself.

And then, the cold darkness completely swallowed me. I felt a slight relief, as I didn't need to breathe anymore. Pain completely subsided, and a sweet feeling of 'nothing' embraced me.

I floated a bit in this place before someone disturbed me again, urgh can’t even die peacefully.

"Hey!" a pale girl waved at me, walking out of the thick darkness.

She had waist-length braided, platinum-blond hair, contrasting with her dark eyes. She wore a long white camisole tucked into a knee-length black skirt.

Her young appearance battled the elderly wisdom contained in her gaze. It was undoubtedly Lillian.

"Lillian? Is this the afterlife?"

"Silly, how could you meet me in the afterlife? I am in the damn book."

"Then how can I see you if I am dead?"

"You are not dead, at least not yet. When your soul reaches a critical energy level, its magic frequency starts to plummet. You simply lost enough energy to exist at the same frequency as I do; didn't you feel faint magic from the book? Those are my thoughts."

Suddenly, my self-image started to gradually become blurrier.

"What is happening?"

"Well, you are starting to completely disappear. Fuck, I will get stuck in this book forever since nobody knows about me apart from you."

This really was my end? I wasn't scared, but something didn't sit quite right. I couldn't really put it into words. Mayhap, was it shame? Shame for failing so early in this adventure? Shame for letting Kim Jinhyung all alone again.

I didn't want to admit it, but I really got attached to that guy, he was my companion in this adventure after all.

I couldn't cry since I wasn't quite real anymore, but I felt like crying.

"Goodbye, Lillian. I am sorry for letting you stuck."

"Yeah, fuck you...."

“How kind!"

“Sorry… Farewell.”

Suddenly, my image reformed, and with it, the overwhelming, strident pain came back.

"Oh, he must REALLY need you. Lucky."

Those were the last words I distinguished before the darkness parted ways to a blinding light. Air filled my lungs, as felt as a newborn breathing for the first time.

I felt like something burned me from the inside of my stomach. Energy flew anew in my spirit. I took a quick glance; everything was still as broken, but somehow it burned anew.

"You are alive!" exclaimed Jinhyung with a tearing voice as he squeezed me.

I still sat by the wall, just near the elevator capsules. On the ground were Lillian (the book) and a large crystal flask with a remaining of sparkly, blueish mixture.

I pointed at the flask as I finally regained some sort of control over my body, and asked,

"Wha t is tha t?" I slowly uttered, sound by sound.

"The Great Sage's Essence, a prestigious elixir containing large amounts of energy. Your spirit is heavily damaged and cannot hold Qi. Right now you feel better, but you are not cured. This elixir only gave you enough power to wake up," quickly explained Jinhyung as he meticulously mixed many powders and plants.

I could feel the burning sensation in my stomach slowly fading away.

"Take those."

He placed his hand as a funnel and dropped some small pills in my mouth. At least I still had enough strength to chew them myself.

They were disgusting, they tasted akin to very bitter grass. As their active components started to get absorbed in my blood, I could feel the numbness stopping its progression.

"Now drink this." He then approached another flask with a greenish liquid. As my vision sharpened enough to read, I made the description of the item appear.

-Item-

Sap of the Great Tree of Life

Cost: ???

Consumable: Cause a healing comma (3–15 hours).

Again, the medicine tasted terrible. It had a sticky texture and a very acidic taste. As it entered my system, my lids immediately shut off, and my consciousness began to falter. My last thoughts were, How much did all these elixirs cost?