For the rest of the day, Elvia had me practising using the magic she gave me, which I simply called thorn conjuration magic. Apparently, it gave me the ability to conjure thorn tendrils and then manipulate those. I didn't really make any progress. By the time she told me that we should stop it was already night and little fireflies that had a golden-blue glow, a colour that was somehow describable and indescribable at the same time.

Together the two of us returned to a little overgrown part of her grove that was darker than the others, had a small pond in it, which seemed to be a theme, and generally looked very clustered but comfortable. It wasn't the place where I had woken up after getting my magic from her, she said that this one was a lot more special.

Before I could do anything she grabbed me and then lay down so she could press me against the part of her body that resembled a deer. She was warm and the sensation of her fur against my bare back was quite nice, although I would have liked it if she didn't destroy my only shirt. The wind began blowing through the leaves and narrow gaps between trees. This time they carried voices that I hadn't quite heard before, voices that were... new, not new in the sense that I hadn't heard them before but new in the sense that the wind had never carried them before.

"Kill all the heretics!"

"The hunters came back!"

The voices on the wind suddenly grew calmer and quieter.

"I love you Alt."

"I won't make it."

"Alt, please..."

"I'm sure this one will be better."

"No matter how many lives you live, always hold onto hope." The last word was too quiet for me to hear and I couldn't even remember what that word had been...

"You should learn to hide that book of yours better."

"I'm sorry."

"Live a good life, don't let your..."

The voice had grown so faint that I couldn't even hear it anymore... but I knew exactly what the voice had said, who the voice was mimicking. I began crying, I had no control, the tears just began rolling down my cheeks and dropping onto the ground. My entire body was shaking. And I became angry, I wanted to take revenge now.

"Are you alright?" Elvia asked me, sounding quite worried.

I didn't answer, instead, I pushed myself away from her just moments before I couldn't contain it anymore. Mana burst forth from my body and I let out a loud scream as I drove my fist into the nearest tree I could find, some of the bark splintered off and I left behind a hole in the wood.

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"What are you doing!" Elvia said loudly.

"I..."

Before I could say anything else she had already gotten up and slapped me. I felt like I was about to fly straight through the trees and land on the other side of the world. There was no force at all behind it, but she didn't need even any to make it obvious that she was superior to anything in this entire forest.

"Don't you dare young man! Don't you dare get angry and take it out on my grove!" she said loudly and firmly.

Her voice was commanding and dominating as if every other sound was afraid to interrupt her voice so they all just stopped. I swallowed and nodded. My anger was gone in an instant. I just fell to the ground, sobbing, tears rolling down my cheeks. Elvia leaned down and hugged me.

"Come, sleeping will help you calm down," she said calmly.

I didn't reply, I couldn't... so she just picked me up and pushed me against her so I would be warm, which I was. It took me hours to finally fall asleep and calm down. When I woke up the next morning I had the feeling that fixing my short outburst like that might have repercussions that wouldn't end well for me.

When I woke up the next day Elvia was still there, caressing my head. I quickly apologized for my behaviour yesterday, not wanting her to be mad at me or something like that since I was quite sure that something like her being mad at me would not end well for me. Over the course of the day I learned that she was very attached to me all of a sudden, she would not let me be alone for more than a few minutes at a time, which would probably prove... frustrating.

Over the course of the day, she simply watched me train with the new magic I had acquired. I still couldn't do much. It was difficult enough to conjure the thorn tendrils but actually do something with them seemed impossible. By the end of the day, I had finally managed to make one of the thorn tendrils move a little. I immediately fell to the ground, exhausted and almost out of mana. It looked like it didn't quite matter that I had far too much mana for my own good because my efficiency was as good as... something with bad efficiency.

When we went to bed that night the wind picked up once again and I could hear the voices again, this time they were voices from my old world again like I was used to. My body began shaking and I turned and turned, alarming Elvia who simply pulled me closer. At first, I thought that it was good that she did that but... I quickly learned, over the course of the next few days, that it wasn't the case. She simply seemed to think that it was the way to deal with my troubles. When I tried to confront her she dismissed me and said that I should simply hug her or something like that. Of course I, as her obedient little son, just nodded.

The nights were though, at first I had the thought that having a mother again would help, but she wasn't that kind of mother. As supportive as she was with most other matters, she still failed to help me in the slightest. Her approach seemed much closer to: Put a band-aid on it and it's going to be fine when talking about a broken leg. It all just made me realize how I had wasted the opportunities I had before. How I had wasted time that I could have spent with my actual mother in this world. Instead, I had seen it as natural... all because of that spell. In those nights I found my only regret, taking my mother for granted...

Elvia would also lash out at me when I got angry or laughed a little too maniacal when the voices got to me. And lashing out with her meant a little screaming followed by a slap. It made me afraid every time I caught myself laughing a little too maniacal.

The years passed slowly and I had the feeling that my mental state declined more and more every day.