Aquamarine was quiet in the way only abandoned underwater cities could be. Bioluminescent fish drifted past collapsed towers, completely uninterested in the three Divines sprawled on the wet stone plaza like they had just survived a small apocalypse.
Which honestly, they had.
Narisva lay flat on her back. Adelasta was on one knee with one hand pressed to the ground. Crimson embers flickered weakly along her fingers. Elyonari had fully given up and was on the ground.
Somewhere in front of them, massive, translucent and faintly glowing tentacles hovered just a little too close for comfort. Adelasta lifted her head immediately. Her crimson flames appeared on her arm despite her exhaustion.
"Don't."
The tentacles paused.
Isabel's upper form emerged from the darkness. Her expression was amused, tired and faintly impressed all at once. She raised her hands in surrender.
"Relax. Time's up."
All three of them froze.
"What?"
She sighed dramatically.
"You escaped from me for six months. I did not touch you with my tentacles nor did you suffer from my hallucination infusion. There was no mental collapse either. Which means I lost the hide-and-seek game."
Narisva asked in slow breaths:
"You're telling me that this nightmare… is over?"
"Yes, unfortunately."
Adelasta dropped her flames instantly and collapsed forward onto her hands.
"Oh thank the Primordials. I was two days away from biting a tentacle out of spite."
Elyonari lifted one trembling hand. "I'm too tired to even blink."
Narisva turned her head slightly.
"My body hurts. I think my spine hates me. My legs hate me. My soul is filing a formal complaint."
Isabel watched them for a moment, then sighed again.
"Alright, you've earned it."
She flicked one finger. A sphere of water formed around the three of them instantly, lifting them off the ground and suspending them in midair. The water shimmered with faint crystalline light. Aqualyes was infused so densely it was almost visible. Warmth spread through their bodies. The pain drained away. Fatigue vanished like it had never existed. By the time the sphere dissolved and gently lowered them back onto the stone, it was like the last six months hadn't crushed them at all.
Elyonari inhaled sharply. "Oh. That's illegal. That should be illegal. Not even Body Reconstruction works like that."
Narisva flexed her fingers. "I can feel my bones again."
Adelasta rolled her shoulders once and stood fully upright. "You could have done that earlier."
"Where's the character development in that?"
They stared at her.
"Fair," Narisva admitted. "Where's Lady Lysameria?"
"She's occupied. Something important came up."
"That sounds ominous."
"It usually is, but your training is complete regardless."
She gestured around the ruined city.
"I chased you for six months and you adapted. You coordinated. You learned how to think as a unit under constant psychological pressure. You're stronger now. All three of you."
Narisva's gaze drifted to the direction of her staff. It was embedded deep into the stone plaza. Ancient runes were carved along its length by Lysameria. She pushed herself to her feet.
"I'm going to try something."
Adelasta and Elyonari looked at her.
"Narisva—"
"I know, Ely. But I need to know."
Her eyes flared faintly as she activated her Sight Teleportation. She vanished and reappeared right in front of the staff. She knelt as she wrapped her fingers around the shaft. The moment she touched it, pressure slammed down around her.
Adelasta and Elyonari arrived a second later, skidding to a halt as they felt it too.
"Come on, come on…"
The runes along the staff began to crack. Her arms shook violently..Adelasta stepped closer when she saw her struggling.
"You don't have to—"
"I do! I... have... to!"
With a scream, she pulled one last time and the staff came free. For a second, gravity vanished before it came back, releasing a wave or Spatial Energy.
Narisva stood there with the staff in hand before she started laughing.
"I did it. I actually did it..."
Adelasta was on her instantly, grabbing her shoulders.
"You did it!"
Elyonari crashed into them both a second later. Hw arms wrapped around the pair.
"You did it, Nari. You actually did it!"
Narisva laughed, then cried, then laughed again, clinging to them like if she let go the moment would disappear.
"I thought I was going to be stuck here forever... I thought she would make me lift it another six months."
They sank to the ground together, still holding each other and crying.
Isabel watched quietly. For six months, she had chased them. For six months, she had tested their minds, instincts and bonds. And for six months, she had watched them grow at a pace that was close on absurd. Any normal Divine would have snapped, gone mad or died.
She cleared her throat.
"Lady Lysameria left a message."
All three of them looked up instantly.
"She said.that she approves you as her future daughters-in-law."
"WHAT?" Narisva shouted.
Adelasta froze. "She what?"
Elyonari blinked. "I— I don't even know how to respond to that."
"You'll be resting on an isolated island. You can't exactly head back to civilization with that dense energy on you."
Narisva shot to her feet, raising the staff triumphantly.
"WE SURVIVED!"
Elyonari laughed, wiping her eyes. "We actually survived."
Adelasta agreed. "Six months of hell and she approves."
°°°°°°°
One second they were standing in the damp ruins of Aquamarine and the next they were gently lowered onto warm sand inside a translucent water bubble which dissolved the moment their feet touched the shore. The sun was just beginning to rise from the horizon.
For a few seconds, none of them spoke. Narisva stepped forward first. She planted the butt of her staff into the sand. The moment it touched the warm sand, a quiet pulse rippled outward. Spatial Energy spread across the island.
"We're alone. There are a few creatures, avians and aquatic life. We're the only people here."
Elyonari let out a long breath she didn't realize she had been holding.
"So we're actually alone. Huh..."
Adelasta immediately looked down at herself, grabbed the edge of her sleeve, and sniffed.
"Oh shit. I stink."
Elyonari leaned in, sniffed once, and immediately backed away.
"By the Primordials Adela, you smell like concentrated seawater and salt."
Adelasta crossed her arms defensively. "Excuse you, you smell exactly the same."
Elyonari sniffed herself.
"Yeah, that's fair."
Narisva tilted her head slightly. "When was the last time any of us showered?"
There was a long pause. Adelasta squinted, mentally counting.
"I think it was before Isabel decided chasing us for half a year for character development?"
Elyonari groaned. "I haven't blinked properly in three days. I think my body forgot what hygiene is."
Narisva pointed inland. "There's a waterfall—"
Adelasta's eyes lit up. "You had me at waterfall."
As they started walking inland, Elyonari glanced sideways.
"Hey… how's Darling?"
Adelasta didn't hesitate. She closed her eyes briefly and sensed the Sapphire Bond with him.
"He's fine. The Sapphire Bond's stronger than before, actually. Six months ago, when it snapped… I really thought we lost him."
Narisva nodded. "I know."
"I remember. You didn't sleep for days."
"No need to point that out Ely. But, thankfully, it came back stronger. That's Darling for you."
Narisva frowned slightly. "Phaenora still isn't responding."
"Different realm, caught in a battle, trapped somewhere, could be anything. As long as they're alive, that's enough."
Elyonari glanced at Narisva. "You've changed."
Narisva looked genuinely confused. "How?"
"You're… calmer."
Elyonari nodded. "And less panicked."
"I just… trust him."
They stopped walking for a moment.
"He died once for my sake. He won't die again. I believe that. If he did I would actually find his reincarnated ass and groom him to be mine."
"You really grew up."
Narisva rolled her eyes. "You're both acting like you didn't change too, especially you, Adela."
Elyonari laughed softly. "That is true. You talk more now."
"I've always talked."
"Yeah but not as much as before. Now you actually… talk."
"Okay, maybe. I don't feel out of place anymore."
"You never were."
Elyonari added immediately, "You're literally the easiest one to talk to."
Adelasta snorted. "You say that like you weren't clinging to me the first month."
"That was strategic clinging. Now let's go take a shower. As a High Priestess, this is unbecoming of me. Wait. What's that?"
Elyonari pointed up. Above the skies, hundreds of massive red holograms appeared almost immediately. Their eyes widened when they saw the words written on them.
"Shit..."
Narisva couldn't finish before they were all teleported away.