Meanwhile, Bernar's face was nothing short of awestruck, while Mom held a look of mild concern on hers. It was interesting to see their reactions to it, but I knew whatever Essentia had planned would be ruined if I said anything to either of them.
That, and it was funny to see Bernar's eyes widen to that degree.
"You would do well to remember that, my old friend," she said, leaning down to meet his eyes as he looked up at her from beneath his brow. They held each other's gaze steadily, neither yielding nor showing any sign of weakness.
Honestly, I was impressed at how well Ryfon handled himself in front of her during an abrupt fit of anger. There was, of course, the fact that he had called her an old friend, which made me wonder what sort of friendship these two really had.
A few tense seconds passed before Essentia gave a relenting sigh, prompting the others to finally glance in her direction with utter confusion.
"You should also remember that I am a prankster when I find I have the opportunity to be one, which is rare these days," she said playfully after a few moments, flicking his forehead as she released the mana surrounding her. "Ow!" he exclaimed, rubbing his forehead lightly.
Was that too far? Essentia asked, nearly prompting me to chuckle. No, but you should have seen the look on Bernar's face. Absolutely priceless, I sent back with a grin. Good, she sent back warmly.
"Arise, you three. There is no need for that sort of formality any longer," she said with a gesture, holding out her hands for Mom and Bernar to take and helping them to their feet. "Welcome to the Wraith realm. You may be Wraithborn, but seeing it this viscerally is a little different, wouldn't you agree?" she asked with a bright smile.
"R-Right. Of course. I'd be lying if I said I knew what to expect when Ryfon told us we were going to try to meet you, but this went beyond anything I'd imagined, my lady," Bernar said with a nervous chuckle, getting a raised eyebrow in return.
"Oh? What about you, then?" Essentia asked Mom, turning to face her. "I'd have to agree with my son, my lady. There's nothing I could say that would do any of that justice to what my minimal expectations were," Mom replied, earning her a chuckle that Essentia stifled with the back of her hand.
"Well, I'm glad to hear mine and Thoma's little ruse performed beautifully, short-lived as it was. I cannot keep a straight face around this one for long, after all," she said, jutting her thumb in Ryfon's direction.
"Did you really have to flick me? After all these years, you truly haven't changed at all," he sighed. "Come now, it was just a bit of harmless fun!" she said through a laugh, spreading her arms widely.
"You seem to forget that even a flick of yours to me here is like taking one of Kanarin's punches head-on back in Polarion," Ryfon said tiredly, making her shrug. "As I said, it has been a long time since anyone's visited me, outside of Thoma and Ysevel, of course," she trailed off out of the corner of her mouth.
"But I digress. Perhaps we should take a walk as we discuss why you've come. I'd like you to see this realm for what it truly is," she said, practically floating across the floor toward the door.
What's that supposed to mean? Is she going to give us a private tour? Bernar asked me. You do know I can hear you, right? Essentia interrupted, making him freeze momentarily. "R-Right. I should've considered that," he said nervously, giving me a look that told me he was angry I didn't warn him.
"I thought you, of all people, would know something as simple as that, brother," I sighed and shook my head as I patted him on the shoulder, following her out the door. "Cheeky little…" he trailed off with a punch to my shoulder.
As we stepped outside, I could feel both Mom's and Bernar's awe flowing through our connection, though I hardly needed to focus on that since their faces displayed it clearly.
It was one thing to reach out and draw mana from any of the realms, but it was another entirely to be more deeply present; hearing the sounds of the translucent trees swaying tenderly in the wind, the gentle, earthy scent of Gerbera daisies that permeated the air, or even the enhanced presence of all the others who were connected to the realm.
All of it fell perfectly into place, and I could tell, just by looking at them, that they'd understood that, as well.
I must admit, it brought a smile to my face.
"This is… I-I don't even think I have the words for it," Mom said, looking around as if seeing it for the very first time. "No need. Remember, I can feel everything you do since you first connected with this realm. It makes me glad to know I've done a fair job of my duties," Essentia said with a warm smile as she continued to lead us down the same path she had me take when I first came here.
She led us into a deeper part of the translucent forest, where we came to a small clearing surrounded by Gerbera daisies and other flora that matched the rest of the realm beautifully. With a snap of her fingers, a round, ornamental table formed out of pure mana with enough chairs to match.
"Come, sit with me for a while. There is no need to rush our meeting," she said, gesturing to the chairs provided to us. Another snap of her fingers, and a handful of faceless, translucent figures appeared with what I thought was tea.
A little odd to be serving tea in a place like this, I sent her, earning me a wry grin in response.
They served them promptly and disappeared as quickly as they came, leaving no trace, aside from the food and drinks, that they had been there at all.
"Now, then. There is something I would like to address that I can feel smoldering in the depths of your cores, but first, why don't we begin with you telling me why you're here?" she asked plainly, taking a sip of the tea the faceless servants had provided.
"Frankly, my lady, we came here under Ryfon's direction to seek your blessing," Mom began with no small amount of humility, which strangely elicited a light chuckle from Essentia in response. "Drink your tea, Siraye. That goes for you two as well," she said with a wink as she sipped her own. The three of them did as instructed, while I followed along as well.
The moment the first sip touched my lips, I immediately understood why she hadn't given Mom a proper response.
Holy fuck. This is pure mana, I realized, feeling a sense of pure, unadulterated power rapidly flow through me.
"Whoa. I don't think I've felt anything like that since Erumon gave us those pearls," Bernar said with visible surprise. "Yeah, but this is way more concentrated," I noted before finishing my cup.
"True on both accounts, but does anyone else feel… strange?" Mom said, staring at us with widened eyes. "Now that you mention it, I do feel weird. It's like I stepped into what I thought was a shallow puddle of mana that turned out to be a bottomless lake," Bernar noted as he took another sip.
"Ah, yes. I forgot to explain. What you're feeling now is my blessing," Essentia said with a warm smile, prompting Mom and Bernar to look at her in confusion. "W-What do you mean? I thought there would be some sort of verbal pact; a vow or something along those lines, my lady," Bernar said, trying to wrap his mind around what he'd just heard.
"That usually is part of it, but since I've already looked into your cores entirely upon your arrival, I didn't feel the need to go through that boring formality," Essentia replied, causing Ryfon to chuckle. "I thought that might have been the case. Thank you, Essentia," he said, earning a slow nod.
"Of course. No need to thank me," she raised a hand placatingly. "In any case, while I was looking into your cores, I noticed there was a question that all of you held deep within," she continued, pausing for a moment to observe our expressions as she let her words hang.
"Why does Thoma have innate Authority?" she asked the question aloud, using a small amount of Word and prompting the rest of us to immediately halt, though Mom's eyes were, by far, the widest out of all of us.
It was at that moment that a deep, hidden fear of Mom's rose to the surface of our connection.
"Mom, are you alright?" I asked, reaching my hand out to squeeze hers gently. "Y-Yeah. It's just something I haven't thought about in a long time," she said, a flicker of a false smile on her face.
"You do not have to hide it any longer, Siraye. I will explain if you're comfortable with my doing so," Essentia said in an almost motherly tone. "N-No, I can do it. I'm fine," Mom said, taking a moment to gather her thoughts through the torrent of emotions.
"We're right here with you, Mom. Always. No matter what it is," I said with a nod, hoping that would give her some added courage.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and I noticed Essentia's motherly feelings begin to flow through our recently enhanced connection. "It's alright, Siraye," Ryfon said comfortingly with a nod.
She replied with one of her own, but that only caused the tear in her eye to fall onto the scarlet table, while Bernar took her other hand and squeezed it gently. He gave her a nod; an unspoken confirmation between them that it was all right for her to share whatever it was she needed to say.
"W-When… When I discovered I was pregnant with you, I grew increasingly worried as time went on that something had gone wrong," she began, struggling to piece her thoughts together. "I couldn't explain it if I tried, but I suppose we could chalk that up to a mother's intuition," she continued with a scoff.
"However, nothing happened until the ninth month, when a sudden sense of fear overcame me. It was as though I'd somehow known you were going to…" she halted, wiping a tear from her cheek with the back of her hand.
Essentia handed her a handkerchief, which she took and promptly wiped away a few stray tears. "Sorry. It's just difficult to say," she said, trying to force a smile to make us feel more at ease.
The emotions flowing through our connection, naturally, didn't help in that endeavor.
"It was as if I'd somehow known you were going to be stillborn," she said breathlessly, causing my stomach to plummet. "Y-You did?" I asked, but all I got was a tear-filled nod in response.
"My heart was broken at the thought of losing a child whose name I'd never be able to call, or whose laugh I'd never be able to hear; a sinking feeling that I couldn't ignore in those final weeks," she said, making my heart drop to a depth I didn't know it could.
"Mom…" I trailed off, squeezing her hand a little more tightly, giving her tear-streaked features a nod of reassurance. "I'm sorry, I never told you. Truly, I am. But there was a reason I hadn't said anything all these years, and now, it seems I've found the source of that reason," she said, turning her gaze to Essentia, who nodded solemnly.
Ryfon closed his eyes and nodded, as if a final piece of a puzzle he was trying to complete had fallen into place. Bernar, on the other hand, held a dark expression, one I'd only ever seen him wear once. It was only through our connection that I could tell he was recalling the first time Mom had told him this story.
Sorry. I couldn't bring myself to tell you, either, he sent me with a hint of regret. You've got nothing to apologize for. I understand it couldn't have been easy to harbor this kind of secret, I sent back promptly, lightening the expression he wore just a little. Thanks, shit-bird, he sent with a weak smile.
Much to my surprise, Essentia took over the conversation.