Yeah, whoever made those things was definitely not normal.

I understand giving a fail safety to your experiments, but to make them blow up? Honestly, what was with people and blowing up? Is that their religion or some shit?

I didn’t really have time to ponder that, because I was hit by a shockwave from the explosion.

I honestly wasn’t paying much attention: the magical explosions weren’t really bothering me at all. Sure, they were irritating, but that’s about it. Hell, sometimes they were even helpful: giving me mana to absorb.

But, that was not the case here.

For some reason, the shockwave felt… stronger? I mean, I didn’t feel magic from it, but it had more physical force than I expected.

It also was a lot louder than you’d expect from the size… and it came… with aftershocks…?!

Well, aftershocks is a bad way to put it…

First things first, one was clear: that was not a magical explosion. That was something more mundane.

On top of that, whatever explosives were packed into those things created a rather large shrapnel that shot all around the place, spraying all over me and the whole corridor, including the vast amounts of water that were still there.

And that’s what caused the secondary explosions.

Whenever the scattered insides of sharks touched water, be it a small or large puddle, it would produce a rather substantial secondary explosion.

Then tertiary.

And so on…

A sodium bomb?!

Someone stuffed those things with sodium?!

Well, that seemed like what was the case.

I guess that was one way to avoid the “no technology with magic” restriction… Although that didn’t really explain the beeping and all…

Sure, that could be a magical effect, but who knows… It’s not like that rule had any merit right now anyway… We’ve seen so many things that simply were in complete opposite to what I thought of basic rules of magic…

In any case, those things were deadly. If anyone “fleshy”, so to speak, had been a victim to something like that, it would’ve been bad.

Good thing that I was resistant.

But… What about Il?

I mean… she wasn’t really made out of water, but was definitely wet.

Well, so was I, but let’s say, it’s hard to blow up or burn an Origin Crystal. About “living wood” or whatever thing was her body made out of…

I realized that a bit too late.

She was lying about a few meters down the stairs, completely covered in burns and cracks.

I guess that’s how far her heat resistance went, hm?

-IL!

-Yrhg… I am here…

-I can see that!

-What even was that?

-Sodium. I think.

-Fuck…

-Yeah… How are your… wounds?

-Painful.

Oh.

I didn’t expect that.

She was still able to feel pain? Well, so was I, but I didn’t expect to learn about her that way…

-Can you heal yourself? Can I help?

-I… I am not sure…

I noticed her focus, mana coalescing around her…

But, as soon as it did, so did it vanish.

-What’s going on? It’s not working?

-It doesn’t appear so, no… - she said, shaking her head.

As she did though, I noticed that a few splinters had fallen off of her face, and it started to crack even more. The burn marks were spreading as well…

-That’s not good… - she commented, raising her hand, seeing how it was barely holding on.

-But… her body was supposed to be immortal? - asked For, seeing the crumbling figure through my eyes. - What’s going on?

-Like if I know! - I replied, a bit on edge.

-Is she running out of mana?

Before Kon even said that, I was already on it, pouring my own magic towards her body.

-I… thanks, but I don’t know how that’s going to help me… - she quietly said. - I mean… my own mana is not helping, so how that’s any better.

-You tell me! How can I help then?

-I just need some time. I am sure in due time I can repair myself, just like you…

But, despite what she was saying, her body was telling me a different story.

-I am not taking that risk.

-Risk? Come on, you know that’s not…

-Can’t you fix her just as you did me?

It was Ilma…

Now she decided to speak up?

But then, he has brought up a fantastic point.

-Kon, can you?

-Er…

He was clearly flabbergasted.

The fact that it was so sudden, and not only that, the fact that SHE was the one who came up with the idea, was making him hesitant.

-I don’t know… I mean… I can try…?

-You need the body, right? - I asked, immediately standing up.

-Emm… yes. I need to touch the subject, right…

-I am on my way.

-What are you…

Before she was able to protest, I picked her up.

Or rather, what was remaining of her.

I was being careful, trying to not damage her any more, but that was harder than I thought it would be.

The moment I lifted her up from the ground, I realized that I was only holding a torso now. Both her hands and feet were still on the floor… or rather what was remaining of those.

Black piles of soot and ash.

-That’s not good - she mumbled. - Okay, I admit, I might be less resistant than I thought I was…

-No shit. Please, focus. Try to keep it together…

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-I’ll try.

But, the fact was that we had a problem. A major one.

How the hell was I going to bring her back through the flooded corridors?

She had a hard time moving through those the first time, and now, when she was basically falling apart?

That was not going to happen. The moment she was going to touch the water, I was pretty sure she was going to dissolve.

As if to confirm my fears, a bit more of her turned to ash and dropped onto the floor, dirtying the water that was still very present in the corridor.

-Hrm… I assume you can’t come here, right?

-Well…

What I was talking about. Of course he couldn’t.

While the corridor wasn’t really much of a problem for him, I am sure having to operate on her while trying to also concentrate on getting air from some other spell would be problematic for him.

I mean, probably I could be the one who was keeping him breathing myself, who knows what else I would have to…

Wait.

I could…

-Kon. Stay where you are and do not move. Let me focus.

-What are you doing?

-Preparing myself. You better also be. I need you to try and fix her as soon as we appear next to you.

-Appear…? What are you….

But I was not listening. I was focusing on something else.

Portals.

How to make them?

Since I’ve come here, I constantly have been trying to grasp the concept. While multiple times I thought I was already well versed in that, I never actually had the need to do that.

But, this time was different.

If this was any regular portal, there probably wouldn’t be a problem. But, I didn’t have anything to use as a regular anchor… so I just had to use myself.

Be it my hand, my whole being, anything should be fine. Any single one of those would be sufficient: after all, all the targets that could be connected to that would definitely be just ones I needed right now.

So, there was no time to hesitate.

-Open.

I didn’t bother with anything. I didn’t care any more. Just wanted to cast it as fast as possible, as simple as possible.

Was it inefficient?

Probably. Especially since that was the first time I used actual English to cast a spell in a very, very long time. I didn’t even use the cipher.

But that was more than enough.

A simple, circular doorway appeared right in front of me.

It didn’t even need a wall or a door. It was just there, hanging in the middle of the space next to me.

I didn’t really care at that point, but that was an achievement in itself.

Without hesitation, I stepped through, carrying Il with me.

On the other side, the rest were definitely not expecting that kind of show.

I mean, who can blame them?

Besides me suddenly being able to open a portal and open it so cleanly mid-air… There was a lot there

-How the hell did you…

It was Ilma. She definitely was the most surprised out of all of them.

Probably because she had the best idea about what just happened. Not like it mattered at this point.

-Kon. Get to work.

That snapped him out of the daze.

-Right! Please, put her somewhere…

I found a driest spot on the ground and carefully placed her… well, remains of her body.

Meanwhile, while she was still conscious, I am not sure if she was aware of her surroundings. I could tell she was trying to say something, but I just silenced her.

-Don’t. Just give us a minute.

Kon was already preparing the ritual.

I am not sure what he needed, but whatever he was doing, it looked a bit different from the time when he operated on Ilma’s body.

While her mother was definitely different, the principle should be the same, right?

-What do you need? Material? Mana? - I asked, seeing as he was ready, mana flowing in a strange pattern around him.

-Usually I need mana.

-Take mine. As much as you like.

I started pouring it into an orb, to let him use it as he wanted, just like the last time.

He didn’t say a word, just nodded, and got to work.

I felt his mana connect to both my orb and her charred torso.

It was like a triangle of energy, one feeding of another, in a strange loop.

Wait, loop?

Yeah, it seemed so.

While I understand him feeding off me and then the body of Il feeding off him, I don’t get why I was getting energy back from her.

Was it the Origin Crystal being annoying again?

I wanted to stop it and try to cut it off, only for the connection to be established again… but this time, I understood what I was feeling.

It was not mana getting to me.

It was Il trying to communicate with me.

I wasn’t going to cut her off this time, instead invited the presence and waited for what she wanted to do.

At first, there was nothing.

But soon, I started feeling her words… at first just some singular sentences, that started devolving into just images and indistinguishable shapes.

Mor.

Ilma.

Mike.

Careful.

It’s not…

-It’s not working - said Kon suddenly.

-Then think of something.

-I already did - he instantly said, surprising me. - While we do have enough mana… we don’t have enough material

-Material? You want me to grow a tree… - picked up Ilma, almost immediately casting a spell. - Wisfe wowu.

A strange root suddenly sprouted from a sheer rock that had to split just to make room for the plant to grow.

It was unsurprising that she was capable of creating something like this, but I did not expect for her to be that proactive… Did she finally accept what we told her as truth…? Who knows…

Kon nodded and grabbed onto the plant.

-Continue growing this… It’ll be her new…

The root suddenly split into many branches and vines, starting to wrap itself around his whole arm.

For, seeing this, was suddenly on edge.

Can’t blame her, it did look like he was getting trapped for a good moment there, but soon the plant was redirected towards Iloa’s body.

But, as soon as it reached her head, it started wilting.

It looked like the magical properties of her body were interfering with the attempts to rebuild it.

-Give it a bit more.

As instructed, Il grabbed onto her creation and started pouring more mana into it, speeding up the growth process.

The roots got thicker, but that didn’t really help.

-It’s draining it… we need someone to protect the root…

-Mor, don’t you know some protection spells? Can that help? - asked Ilma, a bit frantically.

-I do. I can…

-Don’t - stopped me Kon. - If you start focusing on another spell, the one you’re fueling now is going to fail. - You no longer have access to multiple minds, remember?

-Wha…

-Don’t. Let For do it.

That was a bit strange… I mean, there were still more of us, but he was right, For could do it as well.

-But I don’t know anything like that…

-Just use his name as a spell.

-What?

-What?!

How did he know that? I mean, that was true… There was a spell that was named after me, a protection from harm, but how could he know that?

I guess he had access to a lot more memories of mine than I thought.

There was no point in deliberating right now.

-Do it - I said. - He is correct. You know how visualization techniques work. Focus and speak.

-But…

She took a deep breath.

-Fine.

For a second, she just sat there in silence, and I was about to hurry her, but she finally started gathering mana.

I am not sure why, but it felt like she had a bit harder time than usual with that, or maybe she was just hesitating.

That did fade after a moment, and she finally spoke up.

-Nus.

That confused me even more.

When did she pick up on the cipher? Did she understand how my spell worked…? Like all spells worked?

I… there were a lot of things to unpack there, but in the heat of the moment I only assumed that it was thanks to my own memories and the Origin Crystal. Or maybe it was from Kon… he seemed to know a lot more than he should…

For a moment, it did feel like nothing had changed.

But just for a moment.

Suddenly, the whole plant that Ilma conjured started growing leaves, and the part that was covering Iloa was no longer wilting, turning into a very vibrant green.

Although the mana amounts did not change, it looked promising.

We might not have been recovering her body, but at least we managed to patch it together so it wasn’t falling apart any more.

Doesn’t mean that was supposed to be the end of the progress.

-So far so good - said Ilma. - What next?

-We keep at it.

-Keep at it? It’s not like we can hold this for a very long time - mumbled For.

-But we have to.

-I don’t have an infinite supply of mana, you know. Neither you do - she said. - Sooner or later…

-If you are lacking mana, just get some from me - I said, pointing towards the orb that I was constantly keeping large and fed. - If needed, I can just recover from somewhere else if you’re not good at it yet.

-Good at it yet?

-Come on, you are a remnant. It’s not like you can’t absorb mana.

-Yeah, but not in…

-That’s why I said: get it from me. I can multitask. Ilma probably can too, if she allows me to…

-No - she interrupted me immediately. - You stay quiet. I mean…

-Yes, yes, me not me.

She nodded.

But that was bringing up an interesting point.

Sure, we already agreed that the body would be in her control, but for the other me to be silent for that long…

I couldn’t help but be intrigued…

And maybe a bit worried.

But, I just told myself that there will be time for that later, for now we had to stabilize her better, not just let her be on essentially life support.