"Myriam?" asked Krysha, her voice filled with hesitation. "Is it really you?"

"It's me," I replied, overjoyed to hear her addressing me. "Adel, I've been trying to talk to you for quite some time. All I seemed to be able to do was make the topaz shine or cast spells when you were in danger."

He didn't say a word at first. Nobody did. I suppose everyone was waiting for him to respond. Hearing him acknowledge me was an enormous relief. After all this time, it was finally happening.

"I… How?" were the first words he managed. "Are you some kind of remnant of her? Her memories?"

"Adel," Seika replied, before I was able to explain. "It really is her."

"I don't understand," Adel said. "I saw you… I held your body."

"Emergency teleportation wasn't the last enchantment I put in the blue topaz orb," I replied, "or at least it wasn't only that. That spell was supposed to protect you in case you were hurt badly."

"What do you mean, Myriam?" Krysha asked. "Adel was teleported away, but was unharmed. And your body stayed behind with Kai."

"My body didn't stay in the forest. The enchantment was a failsafe," I started, looking at him again. "Adel, if you were hurt or killed, the enchantment would draw your body and soul into the topaz orb and the shield would be teleported back to a safe place—the place we met. There, I would be able to find you in the shield and heal your body before merging it with your soul again."

I took a moment to breathe and calm myself before continuing.

"But I needed to feed the enchantment with our bond," I resumed. "Only then would I be able to make the topaz pull you in. However… it seems the enchantment works both ways."

"You mean you're really in the orb right now?" Adel asked, shocked.

"I am," I replied. "I managed to heal my body and was able to merge my soul back into it."

"So, you're living in there?" Seika asked.

"The orb also holds a few magical items to provide me with food and water," I answered her. "I didn't know how long it might take to put together a body and soul again. It's magically enlarged to hold a bed as well."

"This is incredible!" said Krysha. "Can you hear us all of the time?"

"I can see you too," I replied, and leaned closer to the transparent surface in front of me. "It's like standing behind a thick glass. You all look huge though."

When I said this, they all leaned forward and took a closer look at the orb. I knew they couldn't see me but it was amazing to be able to look at them so closely again, even if I couldn't reach out and touch them.

"Your hair looks great, Kard," I joked with him. "It's so nice to see you. All of you."

"Thanks," Kard replied awkwardly. "Can we see you?"

I noticed Adel's eyes open wide at Kard's suggestion and I rushed to reply before he could get his hopes up.

"No, you can't," I said hastily. "An orb needs to be indestructible in order to hold a soul. If it ever came to Adel's soul being pulled inside it, I would have been the only one able to break it open."

"Well, it worked the other way round," Adel said, his eyes filled with hope. "You were pulled into the orb instead of me because of our connection. That means I should be able to break it, right?"

"The spell I used to capture memories was so that the orb would pull the soul in," I explained, sorry that I had to let him down. "Making the topaz unbreakable is a completely different subject."

"Where did you learn to create spells like these, Myriam?" Seika asked, surprise still visible on her face.

"I didn't exactly create a new spell," I admitted, "but rather I combined a soul-binding spell with a spell to create an extra-dimensional space within the topaz."

Archon Gideon's face came into my view behind them. He was examining me with an expression that looked more pleased than surprised.

"I have to congratulate you, Saint Myriam," he said, and I couldn’t help but smile at the reminder of what Adel had done to preserve my memory. "Only a few spellcasters have ever achieved what you have here."

"You mean this has been done before?" Adel asked, sounding hopeful again.

"Indeed, it has," the archon replied. "However, the practice was forbidden and Myriam probably now understands why."

"I do," I replied, and turned my face downward, not wanting to look at their disappointed faces once they heard the next part.

"Why was it forbidden, damn it?" Adel snapped, looking at the archon with growing impatience.

"A soul needs a very strong gem to hold it," Archon Gideon began to explain. "Since the gem is so strong, it hosts the soul for as long as it remains unbroken. Thus, most souls bound to items see all their loved ones die. Perhaps, the gem, or item holding the gem, will be passed on to their offspring one day."

Even without looking at them, I could hear their disappointment as they realized what the archon was saying.

"However," he continued, "at some point, the item will fall into the wrong hands and will be used for terrible deeds. Or perhaps the soul will simply go mad over time, and the whole item will eventually become an evil artifact as the soul turns—"

"There has to be a way to get you out of there," Adel interrupted. "Tell me how, and I'll do it. Whatever it takes."

"There is no way, Adel," I admitted. "None that I know of."

"This is an unbreakable orb," the archon added, "and only the caster who made it so in the first place can break it. Bringing the body into the gem was a great elaboration on the original spell that counters perfectly the problem of reuniting body and soul… but the fact is that the soul inside cannot break free."

"No!" Adel exclaimed. "I refuse to accept it. Myriam, will it hurt you if we try to break the orb?"

"I don't feel pain from anything happening outside of the orb," I said honestly.

I knew he would want to try and break the orb. I also knew there would be absolutely no way to do it, but they all needed to try. Adel, especially, needed to try.

So, I just stood there and let them. Watched them.