Alza woke up in pain, her body stiff and achy. She tried to shift her limbs around, careful not to aggravate her injuries. But even slight movements caused her discomfort. Despite the pain, Alza felt some sense of relief. She was safe in bed, surrounded by the comfort of her sheets. It was admittedly, only a small comfort, but a comfort nonetheless.

Soon, the door creaked open, and Myriam entered the room, carrying a silver tray adorned with an assortment of freshly sliced fruits and a clear glass of water. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw that Alza's eyes were open.

"Oh, mistress!" Myriam exclaimed, her voice catching in her throat. "I didn't realize you were already awake."

Alza winced at the sound of Myriam's voice, her head throbbing with pain. "It's fine," she muttered. "Are those fruits for me?"

"Not exactly," Myriam replied. "Lady Faye likes to wait by your bedside every so often, and I was about to leave the fruits for her. However, you are free to have them instead if you'd like, mistress."

"I…would like that, yes."

Myriam approached Alza's bedside. She carefully placed the tray on the bedside table, her fingers brushing against Alza's hand in the process. Alza flinched, and Myriam immediately withdrew her hand, her eyes filled with concern.

"Are you alright, my lady?" Myriam asked, her voice soft and gentle.

Alza nodded weakly. "I'm fine," she repeated. "Just a little sore."

Myriam smiled reassuringly. "Well, please let me know if you need anything else," she said. "I will be just outside the door."

Myriam turned to leave, but Alza stopped her. "Wait, can you help me sit up please?"

"Of course, mistress." Myriam hurried back to Alza's bedside. She gently placed her arm around Alza's waist and helped her to sit up against the pillows.

"Thank you," Alza said.

"You are welcome, mistress. Is there anything else you need from me?" Myriam asked.

"Fetch a chair, please. I have a few things I wish to discuss with you."

In an instant, Myriam's posture transitioned into a deep bow. "As you wish, mistress."

Myriam fetched a wooden chair from a nearby desk within Alza's bedroom, positioning it before Alza's bedside. Then, with professional poise, she seated herself. "I am ready to answer any questions you may have, mistress."

Alza nodded. "Thank you. First things first, how is Menon and is Faye safe?"

"The city is fine, mistress. The demons suddenly left at one point, and Lady Faye is safe. I managed to bring her outside of the city as per your instructions and she is taking a nap at the moment."

Alza breathed out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness."

Suddenly, Myriam’s eyes seemed to light up. "Oh, I assume you are also curious about the state of the adventurers guild, mistress?"

At the mention of the adventurer’s guild, Her shoulders tensed involuntarily, and a thin sheen of sweat formed on her forehead. Her mind forced to remember that harrowing scene, when Amuria took Elysia with her, and Alza was unable to do anything to stop her sister.

"Mistress, are you alright?" Myriam asked.

Alza shook her head rapidly. "I-I’m fine, I was just…spacing out for a moment."

"That is understandable given your condition, mistress. You were in critical condition when the adventurers found you."

"I see, and then eventually I was moved here?"

"Correct. Though you had been asleep for over three days, mistress."

"I-I see."

"Regarding the adventurer’s guild itself, ever since the disappearance of Guildmaster Elysia, a new Guildmaster has been appointed already."

"I’m going to assume that it’s Nia?"

"Precisely, mistress. And speaking of which, the new Guildmaster has requested that you meet with her once you have recovered."

"I’ll make sure to meet her as soon as I can."

***

The streets of Menon were still rather quiet. The usual throngs of people had dwindled to a handful of brave souls venturing outdoors. Many shopfronts remained tightly shuttered, their windows boarded up or covered in metal grilles. Debris littered the streets, crunching beneath the footsteps of the few who still walked outside. Amuria's and Anzu's attack on the city had taken its toll. Though, given what she knew about her siblings, Alza was partially relieved that the damage wasn’t worse.

Despite this, Alza carried on and made her way to the adventurer's guild. Her footsteps echoed in the empty adventurer's guild as she made her way to the reception desk. There, she was greeted by a familiar elf man with a cordial smile.

"Hello, Alza," Ardenn said. "It's good to see you."

Alza offered a polite smile in return. "Good to see you too, Ardenn."

Ardenn laughed lightly and stroked the back of his head. "Honestly, I wasn't sure how I survived the demonic incursion," he said. "But I suppose the fates haven't given up on me yet."

But suddenly, Alza's expression darkened. "Speaking of fate..."

Ardenn sighed. "I know about Guildmaster Elysia, it's a terrible loss. She was second to none."

Alza nodded solemnly. "Indeed she was."

A tear welled up in Alza's eye and spilled over, rolling down her cheek. "Part of it's my fault," she said, her voice breaking. "I should have-"

"Alza, it's alright," Ardenn interrupted gently. "I'm sure Guildmaster Elysia wouldn't blame you either."

Ardenn reached out and placed a comforting hand on Alza's shoulder. She squeezed his hand tightly, grateful for his support.

"That does sound like her," Alza said, a faint smile flickering across her lips. "Hopefully we can find a way to bring her back sooner rather than later."

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"Speaking of which, I almost forgot," Ardenn said, shaking his head. "Guildmaster Nia wishes to see you in her office."

Alza nodded. "I'm aware, I was planning on heading there myself."

Alza then bid farewell to Ardenn and went to the guildmaster’s office. She was surprised to find Shion waiting in front of the doors.

"Shion? What are you doing here?" Alza asked.

Shion offered a friendly wave. "Waiting for you, actually. Nia wanted to speak to both of us, it seems."

Alza chuckled lightly. "I hope I didn’t make you wait too long."

"Not at all, let’s go."

As the two entered the guildmaster’s office, they saw Nia, now sat behind the same desk Elysia once used.

"Welcome Shion, Alza. Please, sit down." Nia offered with a courteous smile.

Alza and Shion nodded and took their seats just in front of Nia’s desk. The wildborn mage still seemed a bit tense.

"So, have you adjusted to being a guildmaster yet, Nia?" Alza asked.

Nia shook her head and breathed out a sigh, a tear leaving one of her eyes. "Honestly, I’m not. This is going to take some time to get used to, Guildmaster Elysia leaves some big shoes to fill.”

"Hey, I'm sure you're going to do fine. Elysia trusted you after all." Alza said.

"It's just that…she was always there for so long. It's hard to go on without her." Nia replied.

"Don't worry, I promise you I'll find Elysia and bring her back."

"Thank you, I appreciate it."

"And here I thought you were going to forget the rest of us once you became Guildmaster." Shion joked, trying to ease some of the tension.

"As if." Nia replied with a light chuckle, wiping away a tear from her eye. "At any rate, I’m glad to see that you two are fine, especially you Alza."

Alza pointed towards herself. "Especially me?"

"Isn’t it obvious? We both know that you engaged the demon princes yourself." Shion said.

Nia nodded. "Exactly, I honestly find it hard to believe that you survived. Those demon princes are something else it seems."

"They are indeed very powerful." Alza agreed.

Shion leaned back against his chair. "That’s putting it lightly. While I was escorting some civilians, I saw this massive sphere of dirt and debris above the colosseum. I didn’t know that demons could conjure something like that."

"I caught a glimpse of that too, it was pulling in objects towards itself as well." Nia chimed in.

Cold sweat beaded from Alza’s forehead. "How much did you two see?"

"Enough to know that Menon wouldn’t have stood a chance if it weren’t for you, Alza. I couldn’t imagine fighting someone who could use magic that crazy." Nia said with a light chuckle.

"I know right? Imagine making a planetoid like that in the middle of nowhere, a demon like that must be devastatingly powerful." Shion said.

Alza chuckled nervously. "Right…does anyone else know that I fought the demon princes?"

Nia shook her head. "Not yet, the guild had mostly been busy with tallying the lost and dead, as well as figuring out compensation for injured adventurers."

"That’s good to hear, I think it’s best if we keep my encounter with the demon princes as vague as possible."

Shion shot a glance towards Alza. "Are you afraid that the people would panic?"

"Yes, I- "

"But won’t they be more at ease if they did know you saved them, Alza? People need hope in times like this." Nia interrupted.

Alza breathed out a sigh. "I’m sorry if this comes off as selfish, but I’d like to refrain from being put under the limelight."

"I suppose that’s understandable, I’ll try to come up with another narrative then and publish that through the guild press." Nia said.

"Thank you, perhaps you could even say it was a combined effort to make the adventurer’s guild look better." Alza suggested.

Shion smiled at the suggestion. "Doesn’t sound bad at all, we could always use some more funding."

"If that’s settled, then I’d like to discuss why I bought the two of you here." Nia said. The wildborn mage then reached under her desk and pulled out a map. She then stretched it out throughout the desk.

Nia then grabbed a pencil and made a circle over the map. "So, Guildmaster Elysia was supposed to meet with the King of Selgrad, located there."

"What was she planning to do there?" Alza asked.

"She was going to acquire a philosopher stone." Nia explained. "It was going to be a rather high profile purchase, so Guildmaster Elysia wanted to go there herself."

Alza raised her eyebrow. "What is this so-called ‘philosopher stone?"

Shion shot Alza an incredulous look. "You…don’t know what a philosopher stone is?"

"Never heard of it before." Alza shrugged.

"It’s a powerful artifact that can empower all manner of magic, they are very hard to make and as such, are highly rare and exorbitantly expensive." Nia explained.

"I see, and why did Elysia want this stone?" Alza asked.

Nia’s brows furrowed "I’m not sure, perhaps she just wanted something to bolster the guild?"

Alza crossed her arms. "Hold on, you mentioned that this philosopher stone can bolster magic, right?"

Nia nodded. "Yes, why do you ask?"

"How does it work exactly?"

"From what I know, all someone needs to do is to hold it while conducting a ritual or while casting a spell. The stone will then automatically activate and improve whatever the caster is trying to do."

"And this…philosopher stone, are they usually small, round in shape, and greenish in color?"

"They are." Nia muttered."Why are you asking these questions?"

"I have now just learned that these philosopher stones must be another name for soul stones." Alza replied.

Shion scratched the back of his head. "What’s a soul stone?"

"A soul stone is exactly what you two think a philosopher stone is, an item that can bolster magical powers."

"And you are mentioning this, why?" Nia asked.

"Do you two not know how soul sto- I mean, philosopher stones are made?" Alza asked.

Both Nia and Shion shook their heads. Neither one knew.

"Only a handful of countries know the exact way of making a soul stone, neither Shion or I are privy to how one is made exactly."

Alza relaxed her arms again. "They’re made by a ritual that condenses souls into a material object, in other words, you need to kill a lot of people to make even one philosopher stone."

"B-but why would Guildmaster Elysia want something like that?" Nia stuttered.

"Perhaps exactly for the situation we are in right now." Alza suggested.

"But…what if Guildmaster Elysia didn’t know about how the stones were made?" Shion said.

Alza shook her head. "Elysia knows how they’re made. My theory is that she wanted access to one just in case she needed to enter Pandemonia."

"You mean the realm of the demons?" Nia asked.

"Precisely. I’ve known Elysia for a long time, I doubt she would get a philosopher's stone without a good reason."

"Wait, does that mean that if we have the philosopher stone, then we might be able to bring back Guildmaster Elysia?" Shion asked.

"We could, yes. Though that would likely mean having to fight through the demon princes." Alza said.

Nia rubbed at her temples. "This is a lot to take in."

"I’m sure it is." Alza said with a light chuckle. "But don’t worry too much, if I can get my hands on that stone, then I can go to Pandemonia and bring back Elysia."

"See, that’s the problem. In addition to Guildmaster Elysia being missing, the King of Selgrad has also fallen gravely ill, alongside most of the kingdom."

"Were they struck by a plague of some kind?" Shion asked.

Nia shook her head. "Not just any plague. It’s one that reanimates anyone or anything that it kills, a blight of undeath."

"What you described sounds to me like it was the work of a necromancer." Alza said.

"You are certain of this?" Nia asked.

"I would be more surprised if it wasn’t the work of a necromancer." Alza shrugged. "Long ago I created a spell for the purpose of destroying kingdoms without having to fight a conventional war. And eventually, I came up with the Plague Song."

Shion raised an eyebrow. "The Plague Song?"

"I wrote it down in the advanced section of the Necronomicon. It’s a complex ritual that summons a magical plague that can infect people through a magically enchanted melody."

"Does that mean you can deal with the plague, Alza?" Nia asked.

"It’s not that simple. I can cure the ones who haven’t died yet. But the ones who have already died and become reanimated are lost causes. Additionally, the people I do cure can still be affected by the Plague Song again. It would be best if I could find the necromancer that cast the Plague Song in the first place." Alza explained.

"Alright, I suppose that makes our objective more clear then. Shion, Alza. I want both of you to head to Selgrad and deal with the rogue necromancer as well as retrieve the philosopher's stone."

"Sounds like a plan." Shion said.

"Alright, when do we have to leave?" Alza asked.

"Preferably? Tomorrow."