CHAPTER V: My First Core

~Arriah's POV~

"Did you forget me...little Lillian?" That was the words that came out from my mouth. I smile meaningfully to her as showing my intention of making her remember of our few memories together. The three of them was confused and too stunned to talk. I heavily sighed and speak again. "I know. It was a sudden question and it makes you confused. So, I will make you remember. Everything." I calmly said to her.

I immediately close my eyes and concentrated on the magic system inside me that is connected to my soul, body and spatial body. When I'm done grasping all the connections the magic system inside me, I open my eyes and looked at her with a calm expression on my face. The three of them are observing of what I am doing next. I show Lillian my right hand and open my palm for her to see what I am trying to show her. It was my first core, when I was in this world 600 years ago.

"What is that ball-shaped with a colorful shade?" She said while looking at me intently and then looked again at the small ball shaped (its like a marble both shape and size). "I-It's... beautiful. Like it was like the night sky with full of stars. It was like a galaxy." She said like admiring of what she saw yet confused.  "But...what is it?" She added as her eyes was full of questions.

"This is my core—my life force, my magic core, my spatial core." I said calmly while emphasizing every word. "Now, I want you to say something." I added.

~Lillian's POV~

"S-Say... something?" I ask to make her repeat and explain further the incomprehensible phrases that she said. She just smiled. A smile that was meaningful yet I can't fathom of what does it mean. I can hear my heartbeat, like a drum beating in my ears.

"Say...May my core be my life force, my source of magic, my another me, be awake and tell me... where's your origin." Lady Arriah said continuously, fortunately I listened carefully.

As I repeated what she said for me to follow. I suddenly felt a passing electricity in my veins. It was like they called goosebumps yet it was worst than that. It was like literally been electrocuted by a thin needle. I stared back at Arriah who was looking at me intently and waiting for me to say anything. In a few minutes, I felt like fainting. I began on feeling nauseous, dizzy and weak. It was a worst feeling. I barely hold on the table for me not to lose balance, even though I am sitting on the chair.

I felt someone touch both of my shoulders like assisting me not to fall from my seat. I heard...Adrian say something but my ears now was like clogged drainage that I couldn't hear anything from my surroundings. I felt my tears continuously flowed. My skin was cold, but my blood was like boiling water from a kettle.

~Adrian's POV~

"My Lady! Are you okay?!" I said anxiously while holding her tight by her shoulders. Assisting her fully as to avoid her from falling from her seat. It was a sudden scenario for me where the Lady earlier was healthy, sitting and talking with our guests with a healthy complexion. I stared at Lady Arriah with a questioning look and at the same time with an angry facial expression. "What did you do?! Why?! Why did you—" I was cut off when Arriah replied.

"You're overreacting. Just wait for a little bit. It will be done soon." She said calmly but it was painful for me to see, to the point of getting mad at the situation of Lady Lillian. "And...done." she added after almost 5 minutes of waiting in agony.

I felt the Lady's stable breathing and she was trying to seat properly after the commotion earlier done by Arriah. I felt a little bit relieved yet I can't promise to trust the words from Arriah's mouth.

"What the hell was that?! Are you trying to kill the Lady?! You're insane!" I angrily said and seated at the vacant seat beside the Lady Lillian. I heavily sighed and hide my face in frustration, covering it through my two palms. I gripped my hair and looked like a madman at Arriah who was calm and was staring at Lady Lillian while arms crossed above her chest.

"Lady Lillian, how was it? Do you remember something?" Arriah said plainly.

"I...I felt like drowning and was like suffocated in the other space. Space somewhere the sea of stars was. I...I remember someone calling me Little Lillian. B-But my vision while looking at her was a bit blurry." Lady Lillian said while her head was bowed down staring on the table. "But two things I remember from that figure. She had her long ash-gray hair. She had the eyes of...like the color of the core you had shown me earlier." The lady said as if she had a nostalgic feeling reminiscing someone from her memories.

I can't understand the whole situation but there is only one thing that came to my mind, these guests do not belong to this world.

It could be why I can feel such enormous aura from them. Specifically, an immeasurable magical force.

~Alice's POV~

It was such a small predicament we had earlier. I felt shocked, panicked,and totally amazed to my friend's magical capacity. Even though I know the basic info about her both in two worlds.

I just remain silent the entire time as it was also to avoid blocking the way of Arriah. That was the last thing I would do. Pissing off Arriah.

Of course, all of it are new to me. All of it was not a normal thing to believe in as it was my first time here in another world—where magic and clashing of swords exists.

~Third Person's POV~

Arriah smiled at Lillian, genuinely. She was quite happy that Lillian did not remember her past self and past appearance she had, 600 years ago. Why should Arriah be happy, when someone didn't remember her though she was a significant person for Lillian?

For Arriah, it was a good thing— for it was one way for Lillian not to linger her memories on someone who was planning on leaving the world that was still in chaos.

"If you see her now, what will you do?" Arriah asks calmly and with a plain expression on her face.

"Maybe... No. I will ask her of where did she go when I woke up. I will ask her of why...why did she save me." Lillian said in a sad voice. She looked at Arriah with her teary eyes. She was looking for answers.

"Lady Lillian, I hope you'll get your answers for that." Arriah said plainly but afterwards she smiled at Lillian who was still in her sad looking expression. Arriah stood from her seat and said an important information before she leave. "You felt that earlier...as it was an indicator that you also had that type of magic core. You have a greater capacity for your magic force compared to a great sage. Greater than the magic capacity of Sir Adrian." Arriah said and smiled genuinely. "Now, we will leave you with that." She said but then she paused from walking and stand near the entrance of the tent. "Oh, I almost forgot. Don't tell other lands or even the kingdom of what really happened on the battle. Please think of excuse about it. I will be back...before you know it. Bye, for now. Please be safe." And there she goes and leave from the camp with Alice.

Lillian stood up immediately from what she heard from Arriah. It was a shocking information for her. She couldn't understand of what should she feel about it. She was like a standing statue after Arriah and Alice left her hanging from all of that.

She almost out-balanced herself while standing, it was fortunate that Adrian was there to help her seated back comfortably.

Adrian was also shocked and couldn't figure out the right words to say something about what Arriah said. All the questions that he thought and formulated earlier was all gone, vanished like thin air passing by.

~Lillian's POV~

I felt my knees get weak. My hands are trembling. I clasped it together and settled it on the table and leaned my back on the chair's slat. I looked up at the ceiling of the tent and didn't notice that I fall on thinking deeply.

There are many questions that are raging inside my head. There were lots of questions that I need an immediate answer. But I was too coward to ask bravely. It was like I need some answers yet the answers didn't want me to find them. Now, it leaves me hanging on a clif. It was...

"...lady? Lady Lillian?"

I was cut off from my deep thoughts when I heard Sir Adrian was already saying my name for a few times? I think. I sat straight and looked at him, tilting my head for a bit.

"Oh, yes. Yes, Sir Adrian?" Was the only words I could say.

"My lady. I was calling you for a minute, before you responded and came back to your senses. Please pull yourself from your deep thoughts. Sir Casimir will be mad at me if your acting like your not in yourself." He said and sighed heavily of relief that I came back to may senses or could be starting to be paranoid. "Anyway, I think...we should start on thinking a made-up story..." He said while emphasizing the word made-up and cleared his throat before he continued to talk. "about the thing that Lady Arriah said about the one-sided battle earlier." He said and he stood up from his seat and came back with a  new set of tea cups with hot tea. "I can't believe that we are now formulating lies for us to tell the kingdom and to the other lands. I should just stayed in the Pyxis and live like a hermit crab." He said anxiously and obviously paranoid. He is the type of person who was too paranoid and overreacts to small things.

He sipped from his tea while keeping his anxious face. I sipped from my tea too and sighed lightly and calmly.

"We cannot tell them the truth. It would also difficult for us to control those nobles who want to take advantage of it. We will be eventually flooded by requests for aid." I explained while emphasizing a tone of discouraging him from telling the truth. "I know. I mean, I really know that it is a great crime on telling false information specifically towards the kingdom and to the empire. But... let's trust the words of Lady Arriah. She had her reasons. The only thing I realized about it was, they are concealing themselves for now." I added and sigh lightly, and sipped on my tea.

"Concealing? You mean they are hiding themselves from the reach of both the kingdom and empire? But why?" Adrian said while deeply thought about his own questions. He then suddenly act like having the "light bulb" above his head thing. "Right! To avoid the Great Square of Pegasus. As one of their sacred texts said that... whoever declared themselves as the origin of magic system shall be purge and condemned. For those who declared themselves are an act of blasphemy towards the magic system itself. They shall be called...taboo of this world." Adrian said in a low voice, that only the two of us could hear.

We felt both silent for a few minutes. Both of us felt the silence that pierce our ears. But, the silence broke when Adrian added from his speech earlier.

"This is...this is insane, my lady. This is such a complicated predicament. The thing that we have to make a false information to the kingdom and to the empire, now...we can't access an immediate ways for us to communicate with Lady Arriah and Lady Alice. This is...killing me." He said and he gripped her hair and banged her forehead on the table. I felt the table vibrated thus thankfully the table was still standing on its own feet undamaged.

"Sir Adrian. About the sacred texts that you said earlier, I think...it is not applicable for Lady Arriah and Lady Alice, right? I can't even remember that Lady Arriah say that she was the one who made the magic system. The only clue we had about them was that, they do not belong to this world." I said calmly as long as I can. But deep inside me I was starting on being anxious and overthinking the things that might happen if Lady Arriah will not be there, if things get problematic.

Lady Arriah...please come back soon.

I said internally, hoping for that ray of hope to come.