Lily's whole body felt stiff as she woke up on the cold stone floor. Across from her, Clara groaned as her own consciousness returned. After confirming that the priestess was okay, Lily stood up and looked for Mia, but there was no sign of her in the room.
"Where's Mia?" Lily asked the Head Priestess, who was still observing from her spot at the altar.
"Few hours into the ritual, she complained about not feeling well and retired to your quarters, Your Grace," Emilia explained.
"What do you mean 'few hours'? My conversation with the goddess did not last anywhere that long," a confused Lily said as she started getting dressed.
"I am afraid you are mistaken, Your Grace. The ritual took most of the day," Emilia said, pointing at the small window above. "See for yourself, it's dark outside."
Lily looked up, and she saw that the night's sky had replaced the sun. Her mind raced, looking for an explanation, and she turned to Clara.
"How long do you think the ritual lasted?" she asked the priestess.
"I am afraid I have no idea. Last thing I remember is grabbing your hand and reciting the ritual. Sorry," the confused Clara answered, shrugging.
It's possible time doesn't work the same way in Dahlia's realm, Lily thought as she finished getting dressed. In any case, I need to find Mia, and make sure she is okay.
"For now, all you need to know is that the ritual was a success. We will discuss it more tomorrow, but now I need to speak to my girlfriend," Lily told the Head Priestess as she left the chamber in a hurry.
She made her way through the torch-lit hallways of the main temple building until she reached the exit which led to the small square. She could hear the rain falling outside, but she had no intention of waiting for it to pass. Not when Mia was potentially sick, and needed her. She made her way across the open space quicker, not caring that she got soaked in the process. There was no sign of her girlfriend on the first floor, so she rushed up the stairs, to the bedroom.
She opened the door slowly, not wanting to scare Mia, and saw her girlfriend laying in bed. Her face was deathly pale, and for a moment, Lily panicked as she thought the worst had happened. Luckily, Mia was still breathing, albeit slowly, and Lily sighed in relief.
"Are you okay, what happened?" Lily asked as she slowly approached the bed.
It seemed like her words shook Mia out of her slumber, and her eyes snapped open.
"Lily, you're back!" she said, her weak voice unable to express the joy she felt.
"Of course I am back, why wouldn't I be?" Lily responded as she hopped onto the bed.
"As the ritual started, I felt your soul drifting away. When it didn't return after a few hours, I thought something had gone wrong," the raven haired girl said as she cuddled against Lily. "And then when I started feeling ill due to the effects of Soul Link, I assumed the worst."
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"And what was that?" Lily asked as she hugged the smaller girl tightly.
"I thought Dahlia was angry at me for using the skill on you in the first place, and was punishing me by holding back your soul so Soul Link would kill me" Mia answered, turning away so Lily would not see the tears in her eyes. " I didn't want to suffer in public, so I hid here."
As Mia finished speaking, Lily gently grabbed her by the chin and turned her so they came face to face.
"I thought we went over this once already. I made you a promise, and nobody, not even a god, can make me abandon you," Lily said firmly. Her eyes blazed as she spoke and Mia nodded slowly.
"I know you did, and I am sorry for doubting you. It's just that seeing your motionless body sit there for hours made me think something had gone wrong," she explained. "And then I started feeling ill."
"How are you feeling now, should we call for a healer?" a concerned Lily asked.
"Now that you and your soul are back next to me, I am already feeling better. A couple of hours of cuddling is all the healing I need," she said, and smiled. "A horrible treatment, I know, but one I will have to endure."
"My heart bleeds for you," Lily responded, glad that Mia was able to crack jokes again.
"You could make the treatment more bearable by telling me what you and the goddess spoke about for hours," Mia asked, and gave Lily a pleading look. "Unless it's some sort of secret only Avatars are allowed to know."
"That's the thing though, the ritual did not last that long for me. I did talk to Dahlia, but our conversation was not long. Sure, I spent some time recounting my life on Teras, but not hours," Lily explained. "Time might work differently in her realm though."
"I see. But that doesn't answer my question fully. What did she tell you?"
Lily recounted the conversation she had with Dahlia, telling Mia about the barrier which detected outside interference on Teras.
"Fascinating. The scholars writing about the Five have long speculated about their exact intentions, but with all five Avatars dead, the truth remained lost," Mia said, her eyes full of excitement.
She really is a big nerd, Lily thought with a chuckle before she continued.
The part about getting stronger and forming a party was no surprise, and Mia already had suggestions.
"If you want to get first class teammates, we'll have to venture out of Lundin. The capital, Adea, is much larger and has significant dungeon activity nearby. That's our best bet," she explained.
"That would mean leaving your family behind," Lily said, and her girlfriend nodded.
"I always wanted to be an adventurer, remember? Can't do that from the safety of your home, so I always knew that day would come," Mia said with determination. "Besides, I grew up in Adea, it's hardly a huge deal to move back there."
"Still, it feels like I am uprooting your life completely," Lily said with a sigh. "Tell you what, we are going back to the estate tomorrow. I know we aren't leaving straight away, but you should spend time with your parents before we do. Besides, I have to continue my training outside the temple to master my skill completely."
"Sure, and my father can help to organize the trip. He can handle that while I get us a slot in the small dungeon here just so we aren't complete novices when we start looking for teammates. Once word of your Avatar status spreads, people will be flocking to join your party," Mia said.
"We should look to find suitable candidates before that, on our own terms. We certainly need a healer. Those used to be much rarer before the Sundering, by the way, but there's plenty of them these days, so that shouldn't be a problem. For the last member I am thinking that we should look for another damage dealer, preferably…"
Lily listened in silence as Mia went on and on, talking about potential teammates. The joy of having Lily back had cleared away the malaise which had afflicted her, and her enthusiasm for the task ahead was infectious. By the time they fell asleep, Lily too couldn't wait to become a true adventurer.