"Please. Will you...take me to the light?"

"Wait, please. Clover, you're draining me too quickly."

Hara fleetingly wondered how she managed to force this plead through her lips. For not so obvious reasons, she felt unable to properly function in any voluntary way; wanting to grab Clover by the shoulders to ease her off, yet, when she decided to move, her fingers could do no more that twitch in response.

She squirmed underneath the woman holding her down...while her gasps consistently touched upon the limits of her lungs. A mysterious feeling muddled all her senses, and unlike what she might've imagined...this feeling stood out alot less discomforting.

Actually, from her own hidden vault of peculiar tastes, this feeling could easily be described as...pleasurable.

The high pitched grunts and moans she struggled to suppress flew over Clover's awareness. Any form of distractions were more than ignored, to Clover, they didn't exist. With this reason, anything Hara did failed to register.

...

To sense for Spiritual Energy, accurately known as Lesser Spirits, Clover learned she had to neglect every common sense she possessed. Because there was another sense, one that portrayed itself to be unknown by those who bare ignorance towards it.

A name for this sense? For now, there is none. Not that Clover knows of anyway.

But the nutshell of it is, as long as Clover has this sense in active use, all other senses would be sipping coconut water on some tropical island for vacation.

So not only does Clover currently lack the innate ability to hear Hara's voice or any other sounds, she will also be unable to feel her body's movements from underneath.

...

With some arbitrary sense of timing, Hara gave up resistance in helpless defeat—her body grew too weary to continue sustaining her movements, including involuntary ones; she had surrendered up too much Spiritual Energy.

This wasn't the worst of all things, what was worse are the cracking sounds she heard from behind. She couldn't see it, not now, even if she wanted to...though of course she knew, it was a matter of time before this bridge she created became nothing more than chunks of ice in a puddle of water.

Clover opened her eyes as her usual state of awareness came to her—at that single breath in time, she realised the ice was still intact...

No, in honesty, although the bridge didn't crumbled when she opened her eyes, it did manage to come cracking down a single blink later.

...

The moment she saw the ice still held some integrity, she casted [Spiritual Pulse]. And for sure, everything came falling in pieces barely a second later. Her spell could not reach the compressive power to bring them up the tower's very top with such a short timespan—not nearly enough time for it to take form even, but she had no worries of doom, because if she still had any mental strength left...then [Spiritual Pulse] will remain versatile.

Hara was still too weak to react on this current dreadful situation. Ice seemed to be her specialty, maybe for that reason...she understood the two main things ice was known for other than being cold:

...one was for being sticky...

...and the other was for being slippery.

Rather unfortunately, this ice now breaking apart took on the dictatorship of the latter; a minor hiccup to grant any note for this fact, Clover slid along the ice's surface before her spell swept her feet in the air.

...

As things went thus far, the fate of her and Hara rested entirely on a simple wager...

...would Clover's mental fortitude hold out, or not?

Just the act of preventing [Spiritual Pulse] from exploding made her head feel like it would explode instead. This time was especially so due to the massive compressive power she needed to keep in check.

Sadly, that wasn't all...

She wasn't finished compressing the spell to the limits of her abilities, and to weigh herself along with Hara on the spell, pour energy to increase it's potency, while preventing it from exploding...made her feel she was about to go from her usual 'I'm crazy, but in a refined way' to 'I'm a full on nutcase and you should watch out.'

But, this is only implying that she doesn't become a mushed-brain vegetable instead.

Thankfully, Clover wasn't a weak-minded whimp who gave up just 'cuz the hill was too steep. Her determination endured long enough to reward her with another round of skydiving...but in reverse.

...

With her spell locked and loaded, it was time to blow a hole in the sky as another yet satisfying explosion boomed in all directions.

Surprisingly, blowing a hole in the sky wasn't an exaggeration...because it happened...as they passed the clouds, the speed and wind they carried on their tail tore a hole in those fluffy white cushions in the sky. When they peeked out of the other side of that fluff, they caught a glimpse of it...

then a look...

then some stares...

...

It showed it's glory, shining, twinkling...

The top of the tower, it's shape was that of a crown...however, it never shone any light produced by its own brilliance, nor did it flicker any intensities of brightness. That honour belonged to something else...

...a veil.

Likewise, according to the aura of it's creator, the veil shineth sky-blue shades of twinkling light.

Out of presumption, Clover expected the veil to be alot bigger than it was. The way it was hidden beyond the clouds from the eyes of creatures below, anyone who discovers it would have expected a gigantic veil which can easily be spotted out. But without apparent reason, the veil came off with the feeling of a lone butterfly in the midst of a vast flower field. In that sense also, the tower was freaking huge...and wide.

...

Two other coordinated [Spiritual Pulses] later and Clover had her feet standing atop the tower. Hara in her hands still had herself in a delirious state—not unconscious...and not aware enough to make sense of anything...

On that cue, the clapping and clupping of footsteps started resounding in the area.

Clover rose her head forward, in time to see the very first details of a woman's head while she appeared to be walking from within the tower to its very top by way of stairs leading up to that path.

Clover frowned after witnessing Circe emerge from those stairs. She carried a sword in hand; gripping it enough to convey her intent of use. Before anything else, she addressed Clover...

"Where is she?...The spirit that accompanies you."

Practically in no time, Clover understood who Circe referred to. She wouldn't be glad with Clover's reply on the matter, her timing couldn't be more off point for what she wanted.

'I would ask her myself why this woman has it out for her, but I doubt she'll make an appearance anytime soon.' Clover thought before saying. "If it's Nevma you want, I'm sorry to say...she won't be able to join us for a while."

Circe lowered her head. The air around her might've known why she showed such a dissatisfied expression. Even still, her spirit had yet to die down.

"I suppose you'd have to do." she said with her head held up. "I shall soothe my spirit by beating you until I grow too tired to stand."

It wasn't to Circe's advantage that she openly declared this Infront of Clover. Because what the latter had in mind existed to be contrary to what the former wanted.

A single [Spiritual Pulse] did the trick. Hidden behind Clover, she released its compressive energy as it flung her in the veil's direction.

Circe remained stoic despite her target aiming to escape, she came with a plan to grant Nevma the same beatdown she gave her sisters. So now since there wasn't any chance of that happening anytime soon...she could at least see her Goddess's guests off with a special token: special because it held physical and emotional value.

Faster than Clover, Circe dashed towards the veil the former was about to enter for the delivery of her token. It came in the form of a high-kick to the head which would increase their travel speed to the veil. Yet for this point in time, Clover's luck rose a few points as a Spiritual arm extended from her shoulders to stop the blow...while still recieving the boost in speed.

They traveled through the veil...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

On the other side of the veil, Clover first attended to Hara.

Beyond what she expected, Hara didn't have a single scratch on her. Although when she looked at her, one thing was of mild concern—the way she talked and mumbled like someone would in their sleep.

"Clover...I-I promised I'd protect you but..."

Hara still hadn't recovered from her delirium.

'I feel this is my fault.' Clover thought. 'If it weren't for me, she wouldn't be in this vulnerable state.'

This sense of guilt quickly subsided once she realised that if it weren't for her also, she'd either be dead...or still stuck in Voris' realm without ever finding a way out.

All that had to be set aside now, they were out of Voris' realm...which meant they were back in the Gi Template. And last time Clover checked, the Template was under attack.

...

Booming cannon sounds echoed from the western gate entrance of the academy, a large incandescent light shone itself over from that way too.

'I won't be able to move efficiently if I'm carrying Hara all over the place.'

Clover had originally planned to grab and run; that strategy was rendered useless the moment Lafriel dragged Scarlett off to the frontline. Her conscience wouldn't allow her to leave without that woman...and now, there came a second reason she couldn't just make a run for it.

To make note, Clover found that Voris' veil transported her and Hara back outside the Northern Veil Guardian's temple. This was a good thing...because it meant Clover now has a clear immediate goal.

'For now, I'd like to be somewhere Voris would be less likely to appear.' Her first idea, was to get the hell away from that sister-snatcher.

A good place already came to her mind; where no one ever goes, usually quiet enough to not draw suspicion, and most importantly...it was free from all Veil Guardians, except probably Edward.

Still, it took her almost half an hour to reach there, and that was without taking any breaks to catch her breath.

"Here will be safe, at least for a little while."

She wasted no time as she propped Hara to lay on a table. It went without saying that Clover had absolutely no idea what she was supposed to do. But also, more than anything else, she wasn't a fool. This meant that at the very least, she understood the situation she had herself in...and what circumstances led up to those situations.

That's why...

'Hara went all gaa gaa after I absorbed her Spiritual Energy. I think I must've gone overboard and absorbed too much.' she thought. 'Makes sense when I think about it, even I feel like I'm about to loose consciousness when I exhaust most of my Spiritual Energy.'

Luckily, during the time Clover was draining Hara like a lunatic, she also understood better how to transfer Spiritual Energy between others...and herself.

So capitalising on this chance, Clover absorbed a fresh dose of Spiritual Energy in order to have enough to share with Hara.

But before all that, she cancelled all her Soul Spells as her eyes and hair reverted colours.

She sat there, on a chair beside Hara. Closing her eyes to start searching for Spiritual Energy.

Her perception of time was also a sense, so after she opened her eyes, there was little to no clue to her of how much time had pass.

Then she saw through the window, it was still dark and the booming of cannons kept blasting from afar. She was glad to hear those cannons, even more to see Hara's face that she was still there...

...still alright.

...

At that moment she rested her palms on Hara's head, then forced all the Spiritual Energy in her body, to Hara's...any amount she could manage.