The three ran up the stairs and headed to Aliyah’s room. There they saw Kheifa with her back facing them and infront of her stood a woman they have never seen. Her long black hair swayed with the wind coming from the balcony, the ample light of the night sky shone upon her face, and along with her extraordinary demeanor, she looked like an ethereal being.

“Where's Aliyah? Where's my granddaughter?” Kheifa was surprised to see an unknown woman in Aliyah’s room. Her eye’s searched around but she couldn’t find her granddaughter anywhere. “What did you do to her?” Kheifa became agitated.

“Please calm down, I mean no harm. Your granddaughter is safe.” the lady suddenly transformed into Aliyah for a few moments then turned back to her ethereal appearance. This act left Kheifa, Cleigh-an, Zhef, and Nyk flabbergasted.

“You- you…”

“I borrowed her body for a while. To be exact, a fragment of my soul has been with her since her birth, but her magic essence was unable to sustain my existence at that time so I was asleep the whole time.” The lady explained.

“Who are you?” Zhef spoke. He didn’t feel any ill intent from the ethereal-looking lady so he knew that she was speaking the truth.

“You may call me Eri. When I was alive, I lived in a place called Celestial Great Forest.”

“Why did you borrow my sister’s body?” Nyk asked Eri. He could see that the lady was very polite and formal when speaking to them, she must be someone of high rank from where she came from.

Eri showed a melancholic smile as she stared at the moon, “The soul of your sister is the soul of my greatest friend. Before I died, I vowed that I would always be by her side and help her accomplish what she needs to do no matter what.” She turned her gaze to the four people inside the room. “She’s about to awaken her powers and I know that you have noticed it.”

“Yes, she’s showing signs of awakening.” Kheifa stated.

“It will not be a normal awakening.” Eri sighed. “It will be a very dangerous one, and it might take her life.” Eri clenched her fist.

“What do you mean? My daughter is in danger?” Cleigh-an became extremely worried. They knew that it wouldn’t be a normal awakening because she already passed the normal age of awakening. But they didn’t expect it to be an extremely dangerous one.

“Her soul is not of mortal nor that of a Nephylarian as you all are.” With Eri’s statement, they were all shocked.

“How do you know about us being Nephylarians?” Cleigh-an asked.

“Based from your souls.” Eri replied.

“How can you see souls? Are you a death god?” Nyk curiously asked he couldn’t believe that an ethereal looking lady could be a death god.

Eri lightly smiled, “I am surprised that you’d think of me as a death god. But you are right for one thing. I mentioned that I once lived in the Celestial Great Forest, along with my best friend. There we were known as Holy Maidens, or for a more familiar term, we were called ‘Goddesses’.”

Kheifa suddenly remembered the origin story of all Nephylarians, “Celestial Great Forest… You couldn’t possibly be from the…” Kheifa’s eyes were open wide as she stared at Eri “…the Celestial Kingdom?”

Eri nodded, “So you know about it. Yes I am, and so is your granddaughter, Aliyah.” Then she turned to look at Cleigh-an, “That is why I said it will be very dangerous once her powers awaken. She holds a goddess’ power but right now, she only has a mortal body. Her powers might burst out and take her life.”

Cleigh-an gasped as her knees suddenly weakened, Zhef held her so that she wouldn’t fall. “Is there a way to help my daughter?” she asked as tears started to well up in her eyes.

“There is, but she wouldn’t be able to live a normal life from then on as you have hoped she would. She’ll have to live as a Halfling.”

“What’s a Halfling?” Zhef inquired.

“Halflings are beings contracted to Holy Maidens. Through the contract, they receive an ethereal body but they have to abide by their master’s biddings no matter what is it. If I form a contract with Aliyah now, she’ll be a Halfling and she will safely undergo her awakening.” Eri explained.

“How will we know you won’t bring harm to her instead?” Kheifa stared at Eri. Of course, she would do anything for her granddaughter’s safety but letting her become contracted to obey somebody else’s biddings was a little too much to bear.

Eri waved her hand and a ball of light condensed on her hand. Gradually that ball of light transformed into a silhouette that looked like Eri. “This is my soul, as you can see it’s almost transparent now. That means I won’t be able to last much longer. Once I form the contract with Aliyah, I can only ask one vow and I will disappear. Each vow would require us to impart a part of our essence to a Halfling, but since I don’t have magic essence anymore, I can only use my soul essence. And that one last vow would be… to ‘end’ the cursed immortal.”

“The cursed immortal!?” Kheifa shouted in surprise.

The three turned to look at Kheifa, “Who’s the cursed immortal grandma?” Nyk asked.

“The cursed immortal is the reason why Faria died.” Kheifa’s voice croaked as tears poured down her face. The cursed immortal was a

being who lived for thousands of years. Nobody knew where he came from but one thing is for certain, he caused too many deaths that Nephylarians can feel the aura of death from him.

“That unforgivable bastard!” Cleigh-an clenched her fist.

“I can see that you bear grudges against him, but all of you can’t do anything to him. Only an ethereal being can ‘end’ him.” Eri then looked at Kheifa, “Aliyah can become an ethereal being through the contract and it will save her on her awakening. You have to make a decision fast because any moment now, she would undergo her awakening.”

“It can’t be…” Zhef could feel that Cleigh-an tightened her hold on him, he also tightened his hold on her when he felt her tremble as she cried, “My daughter…” Zhef had known her wife’s personality well. She’s a strong and brave woman infront of her enemies, but when it concerned her family, she would show her weakness and vulnerability.

“Please save our daughter.” Zhef gazed at Eri with determination. As the father, he knew that right now, he’s the one who could make the decision for the welfare of his daughter.

“Don’t worry, she’s my most precious friend. I won’t do anything to harm her.” Eri then closed her eyes as she chanted, various symbols surrounded her while a wall of light began to condense around her. After a few moments, they saw Eri’s soul fly out of Aliyah’s body as it turned to look at them. Then they suddenly heard her voice, “I am grateful to all of you. I feel assured leaving her because I know you love her as much as I do.” Eri then looked at Aliyah, “It is time for me to say goodbye now.” I hope you find your happiness in this life, this would be the last thing I can do for you.

Gradually, Eri’s soul dispersed into tiny sparks of light until it vanished.