For a fraction of a second, I watched as Terra’s face began to crack apart. Each part of her split and shattered, breaking into a million tiny fragments. The explosion radiated outward, and even King Diorite seemed to welcome the end with outstretched arms. That was all I saw, as a moment later a powerful force slammed me into the floor and I lost consciousness.

Again, I was only out briefly. The drill was moving now, sending us up, and force on our bottoms was extreme. Everyone else was strapped in, except for me who had been standing at the door up until launch. I had ended up hitting my head again, but thanks to my constitution, I didn’t seem to be able to be knocked out for more than a few blissful moments before I was back to full lucidity. The image of Terra being destroyed played through my mind over and over again.

I had nothing else I could do but watch it as our drill shuttered and bounced while drilling its way up a volcanic shaft at likely blistering speeds.

“Master, I’m really sorry…” Alysia’s voice whispered in my head.

I felt a surge of anger at first, but it quickly dissipated into helplessness. It wasn’t Alysia’s fault. She had only done what she thought was right. Terra had only done what she thought was right too. That cost Terra her life. It was her life exchanged for mine. It wasn’t just her life. I remembered what they said. The explosion would have hurt Gaia too. If it was just me, igniting my soul world, then the explosion might not have been as strong. However, it was Gaia using a fraction of her energy. It became a double-edged blade. The explosion might have been better, but Gaia would also have been hurt. As for Terra, she was nothing but the middle-man used to accomplish this feat.

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Boom! There was a big thud, and I was airborne for a moment before slamming into the side. I really should have strapped myself in. I ended up being bounced around for a bit more until the drill finally settled. We had reached the surface. I didn’t even both to see where we had come landside. Instead, I brought all of the dwarves into my soul world and then used Return to bring myself back to a familiar castle.

It was still under construction, but I considered this my home more than the mansion. When it was finished, it’d be the place I ruled from. Except, that rule was down a person.

“Master!” Alysia gave me a warning.”

“What?”

“There is something wrong with Sapphire.”

I was going to spend a few minutes grieving before revealing to the girls I was back. After such a long journey there, it all felt far too abrupt. However, it appeared I wasn’t allowed any breaks at all. I entered my soul world, and my eyes immediately went to Sapphire. She had suddenly collapsed to the ground, her face red, and her body weak.

“What’s going on?” I demanded.

“When the drill started, she started looking sick. I thought she just wasn’t handling the forces, but as soon as she was in your soul world, she just collapsed.

Sapphire was on the ground, her face pale and her body completely weak. Was this some kind of cruel curse sent by Twilight? Was this some backlash from trying to merge with the other Sapphire? I couldn’t guess, and at that moment my emotions were a roller coaster that had trouble thinking clearly.

Everyone was looking down at Sapphire anxiously, even Gabbro. He appeared to have become somewhat concerned about his new apprentice over the last few days, and now genuinely looked frightened.

I immediately began using every spell I knew. Whether it was a curse, a poison, physical damage, or a spirit, I tried to heal all of it. In the end, she calmed down a bit, but I knew I had only postponed things. It was hard to say exactly how I knew, but some aspect of my White Mage made it certain in my mind. Sapphire was dying.