-I can do that - Iloa said suddenly. - I can monitor her state pretty easily while you concentrate on keeping control.

-That is still dangerous.

-Do you care about her that much?

-I just don’t want to make yet another one?

-Ah… right, there’s that possibility too…

-I know. But I am sort of out of options… - he continued, noticing that I stopped to think.

-Out of curiosity - I replied, after a pause. - What did you try?

-Well… my magical options were somewhat limited, see…

-Oh, that got to be good. What not-magical options were those then?

-Don’t overthink that - he noticed my crooked smile. - Just basics. Tried slapping her awake, pouring water…

-She’s not just some drunk that fell asleep on your doorstep… - I said, stifling a laugh.

-And what exactly would you try, genius?! - he barked, annoyed.

-Dunno. I am glad that I didn’t have to though and you are the one explaining this. Go on. What else?

-And what does it matter?! - he was now clearly angry and embarrassed. - The point is, it didn’t work. That’s why I am asking you. I can’t exactly burn her expecting her to wake up, huh?!

-Yeah, yeah - I waved my hand and tried regaining my composure. - Fine. I will help. That also works for me, I wanted to have a chat about some things…

-You keep saying that… Why won’t YOU tell me then? You kept saying that I was the one avoiding the topic.

-If I don't manage to wake her up, I will. Hell, I will even if she does wake up. But first off, are you aware of what you are asking of me?

-What do you mean?

-Eh… - I sighed and sat down on a stack of the books nearby, trying not to fall down. - I will only explain this once, so listen.

-As you are aware - I started - mana is our life. If something is alive, it has mana. Even inanimate things have mana.

-Obviously. Why are you telling me this?

-Because what you are asking me to do is essentially draining life out of your precious boss - I pointed out. - Sure, yes, that will definitely end this and any spell that she is currently under. But it might not just leave her unconscious, I can outright kill her.

-You…

-Of course - I immediately assured him - I do not intend to do that. I want to avoid that as much as you do.

-Pff. I know. It’s hard to get that handy of a pawn, isn’t it?

-Fair point - I agreed with him - but that’s not what I want to warn you about. The thing is, even if I am to accidentally drain her dry, there are some… options.

-Options? - he was confused. - What in the hell do you mean by that?

-Look at me. How would you categorize me, hm?

-Er… what does that have to do with…

-Just say it.

-A monster…? - he replied, unsure.

-Sure, right, thanks. What kind of monster though?

-Ah. You mean the remnant, right?

-Precisely. And how, pray tell, do you create one of “me”, hm?

-And how the hell would I know that much?

-Oh, you do. And if you don’t let me explain. You take the mana of one person, or the “soul”, and stuff it into an object, a crystal. Which then you shove into another vessel. Do you get me?

-I still don’t understand what does…

-Oh for fuck’s sake… What I am saying is that what you are asking me of is very adjacent to a way to turn For into a crystal remnant!

He paused for a good minute, thinking.

-But… Hm. That’s…

-Unlikely? Who knows. I’ve seen plenty of unlikely things…

-Why are you scaring him so much? - asked Iloa. - You realize that with the two of us it is almost impossible for something like this to happen. Unless… you want to do that intentionally?

-Oh, I am hurt - I replied, pretending to be angry. - How dare you assume such a thing?

-...

-Okay, you don’t need to reply. Yes it sounds this way, but I am just trying to give him something to think about. Last time he took the initiative it had some consequences.

-The consequences that went your way, let me remind you.

-Sure, sure.

-So, did you make your choice? - I asked aloud, pretending that I was not just busy talking with someone else and was giving him time to think.

-I… The stuff about the remnants… is that true?

-Which part?

-That… you know. That they are monsters that lack humanity… that they are just ghosts of themselves…

-And do I look like a ghost to you? I am pretty corporeal. Also, humanity? How do you even check that?

-Well…

-Yeah, yeah. So?

-Yes. Do it. But…

-But what?

-If she is going to be a remnant… can you… make sure that she’ll stay the same way that she was before?

-Like what? - I asked, confused. - I am not changing anybody’s shape, that’s not my forte. I can get you someone if you need, though…

-Mor! - I already started hearing Kon protesting, but I paid him no mind.

-No, no! I mean the mind. Will she be the same?

-Of course. It’s still going to be the exact same person, minus the changed body.

-Okay… good… Do it.

-On it.

-You couldn’t help but tease him even more…

-Of course, how could I even pass that kind of opportunity.

I approached the woman, who was continuously repeating the robotic movements and going through the books in her vicinity.

The tome she was now reading had something about history and magical leylines, a title that I didn’t remember seeing in the main library. Probably from her personal collection, if I was to guess.

-Ready?

-Sure.

And I placed my hand on her forehead.

The reaction was immediate. I felt the mana flow through me, like countless times before. But, unlike any other time I’ve done this before, hers was… pleasant. It was completely different from the mana I drained from Vendi. To be honest, his was no different from any other tree or fruit I had before.

Her mana was… warm. Yeah, sure, all mana feels hot, like heated air, but hers was fresher. Like it was scented with… leaves…? Grass? I know that is a very awkward way to describe it, but it is what it is.

I honestly didn’t expect this process to feel so different. Was it because of her heritage? That she was an elf? Possibly…

I also noticed that I didn’t even need the assistance from Iloa. While she had a lot of mana to spare, it didn’t even make me glow, it was pleasantly flowing through me.

I would definitely like for that moment to continue for longer, but, alas, it was not possible, because I started noticing how her mana started to visibly diminish. First, it was her movements - they got slower and slower, until she stopped completely and slowly collapsed back onto the couch. Then, I felt it. A core of the spell. In comparison to the nice and peaceful mana she had, it was like a cold shower and completely slapped me awake from that nice and pleasant moment.

I probably was a bit too aggressive and slightly angry because of that rude interruption, and drained the whole spell in one big pull. I even felt that Iloa was about to step in and try interrupting me, but it was unnecessary - I did that myself and feeling as the only remaining mana was of the same pleasant warmth, I stopped myself.

Hell, when they tell the stories about the vampires drinking from people, is that how they feel?

Where the fuck did that come from…

-Done - I announced out loud.

-And? How is she? - asked Jacob, visibly on the edge.

-Don’t worry - I assured him. - It was a great success. She’s not in danger even, I managed to leave her with enough mana so she won’t be in coma. But if you have something to regen her mana, go for it.

-Right! - he jumped up and ran down out of the room.

-Just don’t get anything hard, we don’t need her high and drunk again - I yelled after him.

-That was… almost too easy, don’t you think? - said Iloa after he left.

-Yea… I never expected for her to taste so good…

-Please, don’t say it like that…

-What? You felt it too, didn’t you? I am just speaking my mind. Hell, you are in my mind, I don’t need to tell you that!

-Yes, yes… but still, Kon didn’t need to hear that.

-Oh. Well shit.

I stifled a laugh. I wonder what he thought about that whole process.

-My bad, Kon. I hope I didn’t weird you out.

-Don’t worry - his reply was faster than expected. - In my time I’ve seen and heard many things. That was… not the weirdest one.

-Thanks…?

Trying to avoid that topic, I instead focused on the books For was reading until not so long ago.

None of them looked like they were from the library on the lower floor, I was pretty sure about that. Besides the fact that they looked older than those tomes, I knew most of the ones available there thanks to my earlier stay here.

The ones that were closest to her were about elves. “Elvish history”, “Appearance of the elves”, “First contact”, “Modern magic via elvish incantations” and so on. Definitely interesting reads, if I was to get my hands on those before, I would’ve definitely read them by now.

-I see they keep the spicy stuff hidden…

-Yeah. Come on, let’s have a look.

-You don’t have to tell me twice.

I grabbed the first one that was open and started reading.

It was the one titled “First contact”.

First recorded appearances took place in the northern part of the Wildnorth, although most of the written evidence has been destroyed by the elves themselves. They appeared to come from the Outer Sea, using magic to cross the waters. While the first contacts were met with lack of understanding and language barrier, proving that they were indeed outsiders to the mainland, there is no evidence of where their homeland actually is, or was.

None of the elves has ever provided an explanation of why and where they came from. There have been attempts to force the information out of them via use of various magic, even using their own blood magic, but those were always unsuccessful, besides one.

It was an attempt made by a child of one of the arrivals: he wanted to force his own father to give up the secret of his homeland. In his theory, since he was sharing the blood of the first arrivals, he would be able to connect to the memory of his father and see with his own eyes where he came from. He attempted to absorb the whole essence of his father, draining him of all his mana, but neither of them did survive the attempt. Before dying though, he managed to write a note with just three words: “cataclysm, survivors, barrier”.

Thanks to his efforts we assume that elves are the arrivals from a destroyed world, similarly to some other races living among us. We do not know what “barrier” is supposed to mean though, and there have been no successful attempts made to repeat the experiment, because of lack of compatible subjects: the blood connection is apparently needed to be able to see the other person’s memories, as confirmed by another experiment.

-That’s some information…

-Yeah… multiple races that were “survivors of the broken worlds”? What does that mean?

-Hm… I know of three races: elves, dwarves and humans. I have not seen dwarves and until now I just thought that people here were just making fun of me, but after reading this… are there even more? Like what? Cat-people?

-I have no clue.

-Kon, you have an idea?

-No… but… is this book even real? I also never heard of more than three races, and while I don’t know much about dwarves…

-Yeah, the wording is strange… - I agreed. - What, do humans here also are “survivors”...?

-Well, if you think about it, we sort of are… - pointed out Iloa.

True. But did that book also take into consideration someone like us? How old was this thing anyway?

What was more intriguing though was the fact that the elves were trying to destroy the evidence of their past. That definitely seemed suspicious.

-Let’s not overthink this - said Iloa, noticing what was brewing in my brain. - Besides, soon we’ll have a live elf to ask the questions anyway.

-Like that’s going to help. She had to read about this to learn…

-You think that was the information she tried to find out while using that weird meditation-thing? - asked Kon, who apparently picked up even on that part of our discussion.

-Don’t think so. But the fact that she had found her way towards this direction means that Axelrod has something to do with that.

-He does seem to be very interested in elves - agreed Iloa. - Mostly in killing them, though…

-He also thinks that your husbands other wife is his family somehow, so who the fuck knows what’s in his head…

-I still can’t wrap my mind around that piece of info… how in the hell…

Our brainstorm was interrupted by Jacob. He stormed back into the room carrying a full plate of mana fruit along with a jar of something that looked very similar to the weird salve that Eise treated me with. I could now tell that it was absolutely full of mana.

-Oh, you’re back… - I said, stepping away from the desk and For, making room for him. - You’re pretty fast.

-Fast? I had to run all the way downstairs to the kitchens just to get this stuff…

-Yeah, yeah. Do your thing.

He approached the woman and put the plate away next to the window and uncorked the jar.

The room got instantly flooded with a scent of salty air mixed with… ginger?

-I see Eise is doing well… - I said, stepping away even further away from the jar.

-Huh? Ah yes, she’s still here, one of the little people that are still left….

-I guess Axelrod doesn’t think highly about alchemists…

-She’s more a cook than an alchemist - he replied, taking some of the ointment and slowly rubbing it into her forehead.

-Careful with that thing - I warned him. - We don’t need her “undisposed” again.

-Yeah, yeah, I am well aware…

Despite what he said, I was not inclined to believe him. Even though he took a bit from the jar, I could tell that his own mana was already fluctuating and getting dangerously high. If not for For then he would soon be high out of his mind.

-You can always drain him… - pointed out Iloa.

-Yeah, sure, you keep mentioning that. But I am not an infinite mana battery…

-I wonder about that… recently it actually seems that way.

That made me stop for a moment.

She was right.

Recently I have been absorbing a lot of mana and not using a lot. Sure, I wasted some on that stone-melding and all, but now with For… Did somehow my capacity increase? Is that even possible with this kind of body?

-I don’t know either - said Iloa before I even managed to ask the question - but I’ve been thinking… maybe we’re not just sharing thoughts, you know…?

Even though he didn’t say anything, I felt a sudden burst of emotions from Kon.

-Well, we definitely share a bunch of things but…

That would also explain why I was feeling a bit more in control recently.

-...the question is not if we share more, it’s how much we share?

-I have an even better one. We are sure that we are connected via the Origin Crystal… but are we sure if the process has been completed?

-Wait, wait, wait! - interrupted Kon. - What process? What does that mean!?

-I am afraid we’ll have to pick this up later, because…

-She’s waking up.

Meanwhile, Jacob was in the process of slowly restoring her mana with that weird creation of Eise. Honestly, I was surprised. She had to perfect the recipe or modify it somehow, because it seemed like it was working well and with no issues. For’s presence was getting steadily stronger and even though it was also working on Jacob, it seemed like he was able to handle it pretty decently.

As Kon was asking his question I noticed that her eyelids started moving and a moment later she opened her eyes.

-What… what’s going on…?

-For! For, how do you feel? - he sounded relieved.

-Jacob…? Err… actually, pretty good.

She realized that he was sitting next to her and noticed the salve.

-The hell are you doing? What’s that…?

-Good morning, boss - I said, stepping out from behind the books and bowing in a ridiculous manner. - Have you been sleeping well?

If the salve was not enough to wake her, that definitely was.

-AAH! WHAT? WHO? What is going on!?

-Calm down! - Jack immediately started explaining. - I requested for him to help us.

-Him?! Who’s that…

-Oh, come on, not this shit again, do I have to refresh your memory - I said pointing to a mark on her neck.

For a second she was confused but then the realization dawned on her.

-MOR?! What the hell are you doing here? Why do you look like this?! And, most importantly, why was I knocked out!?

At least she was not tossing spells at me this time.

-Let me explain…