“Can you repeat that again?” demanded Sofia, tightly clenching her fists, falling into a state of readiness.

Solomon, not understanding the cause for the tension, lightly grinned and re-stated his previous words.

“I plan to take your daughter outside, to the mainland so that she can learn magic,” he replied, brushing his chin.

“Denied!” yelled Sofia, walking up to the man and preparing her firsts to strike him.

“Sofia, don’t. He must have a reason behind his words,” replied Anita, barely stopping her actions mid-way.

“This better be good! And you better have a reason for suggesting something so nonsensical,” stated Sofia, lowering her fists and stepping back.

“I do not understand how I have angered you. What is wrong with going to school?” asked Solomon, puzzled and unable to comprehend why he was reprimanded.

“Have you forgotten the current state we are in? What school?! What mainland?! We are in a middle of a war!” shouted Sofia, whose eyes were now bloodshot. “Have you not thought that by your actions you are endangering my child? I can believe your subjugation story. But even so, you are attempting to take my daughter away from me!”

“What?! How!? I just said I would take her to the mainland and teach her magic. I never said you can not come with us? After all, you are her mother. I am inexperienced at raising children,” shrugged Solomon, not being able to understand how Sofia had come to this conclusion.

“Can you please stop provoking her?” asked Anita, who was getting irritated by Solomon’s ignorance and failure to understand the situation. “You are pushing her to the limit. She has only been with her daughter for one year. Not more. I do not think a mother would want to send off a child somewhere else, with someone she barely trusts, especially when the situation is so dire. Besides, how would you get to the mainland?”

“We can easily take the ship from the port of Na’ul before Damas is defeated. Port will still be operational and will not fall. Besides, Janine just mentioned that Vaalmer wants to capture the port for trading, which means that it has to be seized intact. We could go there and take a boat to the mainland.” (Solomon)

“And how do you plan to do that? The road between the forest and the port is blocked by the soldiers of Vaalmer Kingdom. They will recognize your shoulder-pad as did I. Even if you were to get to the port, the city gates are barricaded. If you declare that you are Solomon who somehow survived the slaughter, they will recruit you to battle once more no? And if you just step by the doorstep, what will they do? Kindly open the gates for you and let you in, when the enemies are right under their noses? Or will they slay you as a spy sent by their enemies?” asked Janine, who intervened due to the absurdity of Solomon’s claims.

“I… understand. I apologize madame Sofia for my arrogance and inability to look through the situation. I have failed to take the said words into consideration” replied Solomon with a sincere apology, bowing and cursing himself for failing to analyze the given circumstances and potentially endangering his mistress.

Seeing that Solomon had resigned, Sofia’s expression eased up a little, her shoulders calming down and her ability to reason finally returning to her.

“I do agree with one thing. We do need to figure out what to do with my daughter. I don’t know what will the kingdom look like after Damas falls, but her education is a problem. I doubt that kingdom of Vaalmer will accept someone who has unusual abilities without trying to control them for their gain” said Sofia while glancing over at Janine, who nodded in affirmative. “ She is also too free-spirited and wild by nature; it has been proven time and time again. We are safe in this forest for now, but what about the future? When Alviona properly grows up, how can I, as a mother bind her to me? How can I deny her the growth?!”

As Sofia said this, everyone present fell into deep thought, and silence filled the room once again.

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*Tock, Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock*

Hmm?

Oh, what a pleasant sensation! It is probably my mommy waking me up, thought Alviona as she opened her eyes. However, the scenery presented to her was not what she was used to. Furthermore, it was not her mother tickling her, but a deer.

Hello. Who are you, dear friend? Come here, let me hug you. Alviona extender her hands and gently patted the deer on the head. In return, she was licked once again, sending a tickling sensation throughout her body, causing her to burst into loud laughter.

Deciding to play with the animal, she got up and chased it around for a while. After being satisfied, she looked around to assess her situation, for it did not appear that she was at Anita’s residence.

Did I make Anita angry? What did I do wrong? Wondered Alviona, recalling what had happened earlier and how Anita had shouted at her. She was a bit scary. Uwaah! I must say I am sorry… I did not want to anger her. I really like Anita and Piu.

Now then, where am I? She thought while looking around in confusion. It appeared that the location was still a forest; however, the skies were non-existent for it was surrounded by pitch black. And yet, Alviona could see as if it was a clear daytime. Confused, she decided to fly up and find out about her whereabouts.

After flying around for a while, she managed to figure out where this place was. It was no other than Great Forest of Javl; however, something felt a bit off. Not understanding what it was, she decided to check out the residence first but found no one there.

I wonder where everyone went. Mommy? Where are you? She asked as she began moving around the entire tree to find her mother and Anita. Not being able to find anyone at all, she fell into a panic.

Mr. Solomon? Piu? Anyone? I am scared… cried out Alviona, who had her face covered in tears now. Despite her being an 11-year old, she was still a child, an infant; she has only really lived for 1.3 years.

*Sob, Sob*

I am sorry… Please come back. I did not mean to upset any of you, said the child who was in utter dismay and whose pure, beautiful face was now covered in tears of anguish. After searching a little bit further, she decided to move towards the lake area, hoping that her mother and Anita have gone over there to play with water again.

When she arrived, a beautiful humming sound was heard. Getting her hopes up, Alviona slowly began her descent and hid behind the trees to observe. After confirming that it was Anita, the child got relieved. Tears welling up her eyes again, she rushed to embrace her.

“I am s-sorry. I am so sorry! I did not want to a.anger you,” said Alviona as she desperately tried clutching the elf’s robe and trying to embrace her.

Anita, realizing what was going on, turned around and looked at the girl that was crying in despair. Not understanding what was going on, she decided to pat Alviona’s head; gently brushing her crimson hair and calming her down a little.

“It is all right, child. Please don’t cry. I am here. Do not be scared, you have not angered me in any way,” replied Anita gently, her voice carrying a sense of tranquility. Seeing that the child calmed down a little, she decided to embrace her into a warm and a welcoming hug. “Why do you cry my darling?” she asked with a warm smile.

“I came here because I could not find you or mommy inside the residence. I was scared, so I decided to come here and search for you. But now I found you. Miss Anita, where is my mommy?” asked Alviona, relieved that Anita was no longer mad at her.

The elf looked around and brushed her chin, pondering what to answer. After a brief moment’s delay, she patted the child on her head again. “Are you Alviona?” she asked.

The child nodded yet seemed to be confused by the sudden question. Despite this, she did not let go of Anita’s clothes. Finally calming down and analyzing the situation, Alviona looked at Anita again and noticed some oddity. While her face was as beautiful as ever, her age seemed to increase a little and appeared to be more mature. Despite this, it was still Anita, just a little taller.

“Who are you? You look like Anita, but you are not her,” stated Alviona in a confused voice, distancing herself a little for she was getting scared.

Seeing her actions, the woman smiled and laughed. Kneeling down, she slowly grabbed the child and gently moved her closer to her chest, tightly embracing her.

“Hello, Alviona. You have guessed correctly. I am not Anita. The name to me is Mira, and I am Anita’s mother,” she replied with a chuckle while extending her index finger and gently touching Alviona’s nose.

“How do you know of my name?” asked Alviona with a confused expression.

“That is quite easy to answer. I am in a slumber, but I have grown in this forest. I can hear and sense anything that occurs here. As such, I know of everything since the day you and your mother came here,” Mira paused and pondered what else to say, for the child whom she observed for some time now, actually stood in front of her. “You are quite an adventurer are you not?” she continued, never ceasing to smile. “I have heard of your deeds to protect your mother and my daughter. For that, I am very grateful,” she stated firmly, “You really love your family, do you not?”

“Oh yes!” replied Alviona. “I really love my mommy and Anita. But I feel like I have angered them,” she continued with a saddened voice. “Anita yelled at me…”

“Pay it no heed, child. She just got mad because what you did was too sudden. They just can not understand what happened. Even right now, they are arguing over your future, without even realizing that the solution is right in front of their faces.” She paused and decided to ask a question to ease Alviona’s mood. “Would you like to tell me your story?”

Alviona nodded and told the tale of her adventures, from her creation until now, not leaving even a single detail out. Hearing this, Mira would often say “Oh, my,” “is that so?” and “I see.” Once the child finished her miraculous story, Anita’s mother burst out in laughter.

“I see, so that is what happened. I can not blame anyone for getting a little bit upset then. Anita is inexperienced and has not seen much in life. Your mother is also very young, and for her specifically, it would be very hard. Your thought process is at a different level altogether, due to you being created by higher deities, therefore inheriting their database of knowledge. So tell me one thing, as I am curious. How old are you in reality?” asked Mira to the child, that she believed was older than herself.

Alviona fell into thought. After careful consideration, she finally gathered the resolve to answer.

“If we measure my age from the day of my birth until now, then the correct answer is 1.3 years. My body was accelerated by 10 years to reach maximum allowance presented by . Based on the report, I think that the people that wanted to hurt my mommy are what triggered my growth, for their end would mean mine. So despite my body being 11.3-years-old, I do not understand or know much aside what I knew before that, through inheritance. So I am still 1.3-years-old.” (Alviona)

“Sounds good” replied Mira, who firmly believed that Alviona’s real age was at least 100 times more than her own. But since the child had answered, she had absolutely no intentions of ruining that perception, for Alviona was correct. Her physical body was irrelevant as it was a result of her defensive mechanism. Her actual age remained unchanged. Both Sofia and Anita seemed to overlook this.

Mira had been listening to the debates that were occurring on the second floor for the 47th hour now and was somewhat disturbed by their indecisiveness. Keeping her on this island was dangerous, she agreed with that. Sofia’s point was also on the mark. This child was still learning and had high intellect. What would happen if she flew outside of the forest and got captured by soldiers who wanted to use her in the war? This is why Alviona had to travel to the mainland. Not because conflicts there would be less or avoided, but because she would gain an opportunity to learn how to live. Of course, Anita and Sofia could go with her, but it would be better to give these two lovebirds a time to breathe. Neither of them seemed to be honest about their feelings right now, and this irritated her to no ends. She wanted her daughter, Anita, to be happy. Furthermore, she wanted the mother of Alviona, who had gone through a lot, to finally take a break and relax.

“If only I could awake. I would beat some sense into both girls,” said Mira with a saddened voice.

“What do you mean?” asked Alviona confused.

“Ah, sorry child. I just was thinking about something” replied Mira, with a smile. The truth was that she had no idea how to escape her current state. Mira had caught fought a plague fifteen years ago but somehow ended up getting ill. After some years passed, she began getting weaker and five years ago, fell into a deep slumber, unable to wake up.

“Maybe I can help? Please tell me what is it?” asked Alviona, curiosity overflowing her. After all, she was talking to Anita’s mother.

“Very well. It’s just that I can not wake up.” Stated Mira firmly. “No matter how hard I try, I am unable to wake up from this dream. I love this forest, but I have been stuck here for five years, and now it is rather unnerving.”

“Oh, are you by chance referring to the mana clog?” asked Alviona, thinking back to when she and her mother were sheltered for the first time; remembering what Anita had told her about Mira being in slumber.

“Mana clog?” asked Mira in surprise, moving her hand towards her chin, falling into thought.

“Yes, the mana clog. The way your mana flows is distorted. You can fix this situation by getting rid of foreign objects that do not belong here. Things that are unnatural” stated Alviona with a warm giggle and a smile, which seemed to warm Mira’s heart.

Looking around and falling into thought, Mira analyzed what could these objects be. Nothing seemed to be out of place.

“Child, I know this forest inside and out. I do not see anything at all that is out of place here.” (Mira)

“Hmm, I thought that the skies were strange because they were not the normal color but ok. Perhaps we can find something somewhere else? Maybe in your residence?”

“…” A brick had fallen straight onto Mira’s head. Why did she not think of this before?

“Child, you are indeed something. You just enlightened me. All this time, I thought that the skies were of that color because I was in a slumber. But thinking about what you just said, if this was my dream world, why would the skies be non-existent?!” chuckled Mira, who extended her hand and chanted the [Whirlpool of Fire] skill, which took 10 seconds to wholly cast. As the ability activated, the entire sky began being covered in fire, destroying and shattering the accumulated darkness. She repeated this process two more times, and when the heavens were finally cleansed, Alviona’s image faded out, and Mira woke up.