Essentia Animus

79-Harmonious Resolution

Even with the arrival of the morning sun, Sryine and Vwyx were left with Riyxia's sleeping body, waiting. Riyxia's spectre had yet to return, and the two of them were starting to worry.

What had not helped at all was the feeling of Riyxia's body growing far too cold, like the sleep she was currently enduring was a state in fact far worse than simple slumber. Being deprived of a heat such as the flame, of course her body would get colder.. but this still seemed to be worse than even a normal person. It was Sryine who was the first to figure it out, that the distance of the spectre.. of the essence.. would leave the body in a state that the essence could no longer influence. A person devoid of their body was then in a state of death. Sryine had started to panic at the idea, but Vwyx wasn't just going to give up, even knowing that. Riyxia's spectre had demonstrated its ability to defy death already before, Vwyx was certain that even a brush with death wasn't going to be enough to stop Riyxia. However, that would in turn leave her body as a lifeless husk that would need to be somehow still kept ready for the return of her essence. Vwyx applied her own gift to ensure the body left to them kept going, artificially tending to her body by effectively constantly crafting it into normal operation. It's blood needed to circulate, to remain fresh, while its lungs had to move.. to keep air circulating. The ingredients for life were the harmony of the elements.

Watching Vwyx work with such determination, the most challenging craft ever presented to her set before her, Sryine couldn't help but be motivated to lend a hand. Vwyx had the material elements in her control, she was the best at making use of the energy elements. Tending Riyxia with consideration for the quality of air, the quality of water.. and especially the quality of flame. Riyxia was growing cold, but warmth was one thing the flame was really good at. Sryine however was surprised, even before she could find a way to slice her arm again for another good sample of the flame to work with, Vwyx was instead holding out her own, already cut and bleeding by a blade of her own crafting. The blood dripped from Vwyx, a known offering for Sryine to work with, it didn't even resist her gift in the process. Sryine smiled wryly, having been too slow this time to act. Then again, she had done this plenty of times already, Vwyx was simply taking her own turn this time, making use of her own ability to resist pain productively. Sryine made use of such an offering, applying it with the flame from the fragment she still carried, sowing warmth into the otherwise lifeless husk. Exactly as Riyxia had expected, her body was being tended by her closest of friends, successfully keeping it in a state prepared to return to life once again.

However, simulating the process of life demanded everything either girl had, a fact which denied them the attention to notice the flow of shimmers from the tiny exit of the vent. The vent itself had gone quiet and still once again as well, at peace and relaxed. Neither girl even noticed the water become slightly brighter, the wash of purple already being obscured by the purple glow they were already emitting. What caught their attention was the realization that tending to Riyxia's fallen form was becoming suddenly easier and easier, improving by itself within the span of moments. Still not completely understanding, both girls were suddenly surprised when Riyxia herself started coughing, her own will taking command over her body once again. Riyxia however was still trying to take accounts of what had even happened, the lack of her thoughts and memory making everything sort of obscure. Her mind felt like a haze too, Sryine not even having realized that her actions had been attempting to sustain Riyxia's mind in the process, an inspiration of processing caused by subtle illusions. This left Riyxia feeling like she had suddenly woken up from a dream, which was also an experience she had no memory of ever having.. making it really hard to understand. The thoughts of such vague illusions remained fleeting for her, she couldn't recall any of the details at all, but they did still serve to cloud her thoughts further.

Looking around, Riyxia recognized the terms of her location. This was just outside the vent below the lake, Sryine having sustained their air supply the entire time in addition to everything else that had been going on. She then recalled why they were here, because Liyuzhe had descended into the vent.. and things had gone really wrong. She then remembered going after them.. but her memories ended with that. Had she succeeded, was everything fine? Her mind was filled with unanswered questions.. and yet she felt relaxed. In fact, she felt as if everything was done, all without records within her memory. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes, searching herself for answers her mind had no record of. From that came a subtle certainty of resolve, feelings that tried to answer beyond the logical scape of the mind. Things.. really were done, the threat was gone. The great flame from beyond had been exiled once again, though the remnants of it had been collected by.. herself? She looked down at herself once again, her body glowing with a purple like it had before.. but this flame was way beyond what she had contained before. This was no Celesi flame, this was embers from the source itself, a flame of incredible intensity. Her glow was less than either of the others, but the strength of her flame had exceeded well beyond what either would be capable of. This sort of flame would not simply be used up and vanish over days.. it instead might take her entire lifetime.