CHAPTER 25: CONTACTING THE OUTSIDE WORLD

"What are we supposed to do with those things?" Roscoe asked after they got back into the mess hall. They all have seen the countless lotus spider eggs inside the attic. They have also found the charging station, but there were no traces of joy in their faces. They sat down on the altar right beneath the feet of the statue of Amaya as they gathered their heads to think of what to do next. Regardless, Mavi still needed to do the spell to contact Mairin.

"First, then, let me try and contact Mairin first," Mavi said after a while, "as for the eggs, judging by their state, it will still be a little while before they hatch, so we can buy some time by fortifying the barrier outside the attic and try to seal any holes that they can use. As for killing them…" he turned to Allerick with unease.

Allerick understood Mavi's concern. No matter how dangerous they were, and whomever bred them, and for whatever purpose, the Lotus Spider was still a creature of nature. They had their place and purpose as well as their role in the great chain of life.

"As long as we contain them in the attic, we'll be fine," Allerick reassured Mavi, "and we'll figure out what to do with them after we contact the outside world, yes?" he asked, patting Mavi's head gently so the younger man was appeased.

Mavi finally nodded his head, still feeling slightly worried. However, there were still more pressing matters to do, so, instead of getting carried away worrying about the spiders, he instead stood up and turned to Rigel.

"I only need one person, a magic user, to accompany me in the room, the rest of you stay here with Allerick," he told Rigel.

"Jana can come with you," Rigel nodded towards Jana who readily accepted the task.

Mavi turned to Jana who looked slightly nervous. He gave her a smile, "you don't have to do anything complicated. You just have to replace the crystal I have exhausted with a new one every time it's needed," Mavi explained to her.

"Understood," Jana nodded. She sighed inwardly. No matter how high her own magic level was, in front of Mavi, it must have been looking like a child's play. She couldn't help but to feel a little self-conscious every time he looked her way.

"Then I'll go do the spell," he said to Allerick. He opened his mouth, about to say something else, but then decided against it, "I'll see you later," he said, pecking Allerick's lips quickly before heading to the room they found for him to do the spell with Jana.

"You, go along with them, make sure they are undisturbed," Allerick turned to Yara after giving it some thought.

They were indeed currently safe inside the temple. However, the spell Mavi was about to perform required him to detach his soul from his body, Therefore, it was very important that he was not disturbed, let alone be put in danger, lest his soul couldn't go back to his body.

Yara nodded and hurried away to catch up to Mavi and Jana while Allerick went back to talk to his other subordinates and check the entire place once again lest they missed another catastrophe-to-be such as the spiders. Allerick had them in pairs and told them to turn every single stone and check in every single corner for anything worth noting. They were also cleaning up some places to be used to sleep and cook. Chet, the one with the most decent cooking skill, was tasked to prepare a simple dish for them, along with Seho who helped.

Meanwhile, in the room prepared for him, Mavi was neatly lining the stones in a circle while Yara and Jana watched on with some nervousness. They have never worked this close with the warlock before. They have only ever seen him, and Allerick, from afar and mostly, from books. Tales of their feats and of their adventures and of their contribution to the world, magic and otherwise.

With little butterflies in their stomachs, they watched on as Mavi finished arranging the crystals and then sat on his knees in the middle of the room, surrounded by the crystals. They stood by the door, close enough to assist whenever needed, but far enough to not disturb Mavi's concentration.

Mavi, on the other hand, was completely calm despite having not performed this spell in centuries. But he knew his soul was strong. Not to mention Mairin's own soul. That kid was pure magic, so any kind of resonance coming from Mavi would be easily perceived by Mairin no matter how far apart they were.

Mavi sat, relaxing his body, and closed his eyes. He gathered all the energy from the crystal and condensed them into his soul core. He recited the spell slowly. Calmly. And pictured the face of the child of magic. The Medium, as they called him.

Slowly, Mavi could feel his soul detaching from his body and entered the space of light, as he called it. It was nowhere in either realms. The space was, just as Mavi called it, a space with nothing but white lights all around. It was connected to his and Mairin's soul after the first time they learned of this spell. Each space was different depending on whose souls it was connected to. The white lights, instead of them being blinding, were comforting to Mavi and Mairin. They gave off the kind of warmth just like their magic did.

On the other side of the world, deep in the jungle of Brazil, Mairin was drifting off as sleepiness suddenly overcame him. Payton, who was caught off guard, managed to catch Mairin before he slammed himself onto the ground.

Blinking his eyes to adjust to the bright lights, Mairin looked around and found Mavi sitting crossed-legged on the floor. Mairin tilted his head and approached the older man who stood up to receive him. With a gentle tug, Mavi hugged Mairin who was far smaller than him.

"Something must have happened for you to be using this spell," Mairin stated after Mavi released him from his embrace.

Mavi took a deep breath, trying to gather his wits and thoughts before he started explaining the situation on his side to Mairin carefully. As Mavi's recollection progressed, Mairin's face got darker and darker.

"We have not encountered such a predicament on our side," Mairin said after a while, "I will inform the others, as well as the council and request for reinforcement after I leave here," he said.

His stoic face revealed none of his worry and anxiety. However, Mavi knew him perfectly well and knew that the boy was indeed worried and anxious for them.

"But Amaya also ran into a problem. She called earlier and said that she was going to perform a small cleansing ritual over there," Mairin informed Mavi who in turn looked even more distraught.

"You should assist her," Mavi said after a while. No matter what they encountered, Amaya would always be top priority.

"What about you and the King, then?" Mairin was also torn. On the other side, his goddess was encountering a problem, and on the other side, his King and his mentor as well as saviors were also in a very dangerous situation.

"We will make do with the reinforcement," Mavi tried to appease Mairin's worry. "Amaya will need you there if she were to perform the ritual. Your magic soothes hers more than mine does," Mavi reminded Mairin.

"I understand," Mairin said after hearing that. He nodded and looked at Mavi before reciting the protection spell for him. Mavi smiled seeing the boy looked solemn as he was reciting. Mavi couldn't help but to pat the boy's head. In turn, Mairin let out a sigh and gave Mavi an eye roll.

"Go now," Mavi said between his chuckles. "Be safe, and give my love to Payton," Mavi said after kissing the top of Mairin's head before closing his eyes and letting the strings of magic pull him back into his body.

When Mavi opened his eyes, he was greeted by the worried look of his two subordinates who were in the room with him. He gave them a small smile before getting up. The crystals were all exhausted of their energy. Clearly, doing the spell took a lot of magic.

Yara and Jana let out a sigh of relief when Mavi gave them the smile and they opened the door for him. Outside, Mavi was greeted by Allerick's worried face and the subordinates' anxious faces. With a gentle smile on his face, Mavi plunged into Allerick's embrace. He could feel Allerick's strong heartbeat as well as the relief sigh of the older man when Mavi hugged him.

"I've relayed everything to Mairin," Mavi said, detaching himself from Allerick and said to the entire team. "He will contact the other immortals as well as the council for reinforcement."

"That's good," Allerick once again sighed in relief as he sat down beside him inside the mass hall. They had made their beds on the altar and the food was ready on the side. Allerick helped Mavi clean his face and hands before handing him a plate of their very late dinner.

As they were eating, he relayed everything he talked about with Mairin, including the news of Amaya which led them to feel anxious for her. Mavi also told them Mairin's plan as well as the promise of reinforcement.

"Then, we are just going to stay here waiting for reinforcement to come?" Chet asked, making sure. He was agitated, for sure, just like the rest of them.

"It's our best bet," Mavi said, "they shouldn't take long," he said almost to himself with a lot of hope put into those words.

"Will the barrier hold, though?" Roscoe asked almost inaudibly.

"It should hold," Mavi reassured him, "it could be breached, of course, but even then, it would take them a long time to do so and with a lot of fire power. We will be good as long as we stay here and reinforce the barrier in the morning," Mavi told them.

"Fine, then," Allerick said, turning to his subordinate who straightened their backs, ready to listen to their King. "We will rest for now. It is late and we need to preserve our strength should we have to battle them. Morning will come shortly, but however short of a rest we can get, we should get it," Allerick told them.

"Understood," they all readily complied and dispersed one by one to their stations to take turns resting and getting some sleep.