Lyria eventually asked quietly, "Did they suffer?"
Atheline hesitated.
"There were those that had courage, but some were afraid." He didn’t lie. "And some didn’t want to do it."
Lyria closed her eyes.
"But they still did it."
"Yes."
"Because they believed everyone else would die without them."
Lyria closed her eyes.
"But they still did it."
"Yes."
"Because they believed everyone else would die without them."
Lyria slowly opened her eyes.
"Then we will remember them."
She held the book against her chest.
"Every name and every sacrifice, no one will be forgotten again."
Atheline smiled.
"That’s probably what they would have wanted."
The conversation continued for some time. They explained how the barrier had separated the sanctuary from ordinary space and why outsiders could become trapped within the surrounding forest.
Lyria listened carefully, then her expression became more serious.
"Is the barrier still functioning?"
Atheline and Lilith exchanged another glance.
"Mostly."
"Mostly?"
Lyria immediately noticed the uncertainty.
Atheline nodded.
"The barrier is still there. But I don’t think it is exactly the same as it was."
"What happened?"
"The cave."
He explained that they had encountered several strange phenomena during their journey.
He did not tell them that the orb had entered his body; instead, he simply explained that an ancient mechanism within the cave had been activated.
"After that happened," he continued, "the barrier felt different."
Lyria’s expression became concerned.
"Could it disappear?"
"We don’t know," Atheline answered honestly. "It might."
The room immediately became quiet.
"But that’s not certain," Lilith added. "We believe the sanctuary is still protected. However, something has changed."
Lyria looked toward the elders.
"How soon?"
Atheline shook his head.
"We can’t say; it could remain for centuries or could weaken much sooner. The only thing we can say with certainty is that you should be prepared."
Lyria absorbed the warning. The sanctuary had been hidden for thousands of years; the possibility that outsiders could one day discover it was frightening.
Yet Lyria didn’t panic; she simply nodded.
"Then we will prepare."
Atheline respected her response. There was no hysteria or desperate demand that they repair the barrier, only acceptance.
The fairies had survived the Cataclysm. They had survived for thousands of years inside this sanctuary. They would adapt again if necessary.
After the discussion about the barrier settled down, Atheline finally brought up another subject.
"There is something else we discovered."
Lyria looked at him.
"We found mineral deposits beneath the cave."
"Minerals?"
"Moon Stones."
Several fairies immediately looked surprised.
"And Solar Stones."
This time, even the elders reacted strongly.
"Solar Stones?"
One of them stepped forward.
"Here?"
Atheline nodded.
"Deep inside the cave."
He explained where they had found them and how extensive the deposits appeared to be.
Lyria looked genuinely confused.
"But how?"
"That’s the interesting part."
Lilith answered.
"They appear to have formed naturally."
"Both types?"
"Yes."
The room fell silent again. The fairies knew enough about magic to understand how unusual that was. Finding both naturally occurring together was extraordinarily rare, and finding them beneath the sanctuary was even stranger.
Atheline explained his theory.
"The ancient battle may have changed the environment; the Aether left behind by the Sovereigns could have saturated the cave for thousands of years, which may have allowed the stones to form."
Lyria slowly nodded.
"It would explain the strange energy we sometimes felt beneath the island."
"You felt it?"
"Only faintly."
She looked thoughtful.
"We always assumed it was part of the barrier."
"It might have been."
Atheline didn’t rule it out. The two phenomena could have been connected. Perhaps the entire sanctuary had been transformed by the forces unleashed during the Cataclysm.
They still didn’t know, and they didn’t intend to pretend otherwise.
"We aren’t going to mine them immediately," Lilith said.
Lyria looked surprised.
"Why? We have no use for them ourselves; it should be able to mine them, right?"
"Because the cave is dangerous."
Atheline answered.
"We’ve already encountered several powerful creatures, and the deeper chambers may contain more. More importantly, we don’t know what effect removing the minerals might have on the sanctuary."
Lyria nodded.
"Then you should be careful."
"We intend to return."
Atheline smiled.
"In two days."
Lyria raised an eyebrow.
"You’re actually going back?"
"Of course."
He looked at Lilith.
"We came here for a reason." Lilith smiled. "And now we have another reason to stay a little longer."
Lyria gave a quiet laugh.
"I suppose I should have expected that."
The mood finally became lighter. The younger fairies began asking questions about the outside world.
Atheline and Lilith answered what they could.
Lyria smiled when Atheline praised their barriers, even though.
Lyria looked down at the ancient book.
"Then perhaps the barrier has fulfilled its purpose."
Atheline didn’t answer immediately, maybe, or perhaps the barrier had simply lasted far longer than anyone expected. Either way, the fairies had survived, and that was what mattered.
The evening eventually deepened. The crystals around the village became brighter as darkness settled over the forest.
Lyria carefully closed the ancient book.
"We will preserve this."
She looked at Atheline and Lilith.
"Thank you."
"You don’t have to thank us." Atheline shook his head. "We only happened to find it."
"You chose to bring it back." Lyria smiled. "That was enough."
They eventually said their goodnights. Atheline and Lilith returned to the small residence that had been prepared for them.
Once inside, they sat together in silence for several minutes. The day had been exhausting, yet neither felt ready to sleep immediately.
Lilith looked toward him.
"Two days."
Atheline nodded.
"We rest tomorrow, and we’ll mine the day after?"
She smiled.
"And then?"
Atheline looked toward the dark window.
"We can go home and celebrate."
The Goddess had only given them vague directions, and they had managed to find it plus a whole new species on top of that.
They also now possessed something they hadn’t before: a stronger body, newly unlocked power, ancient knowledge, and perhaps the first real understanding of what had happened to the world before the Cataclysm.
Atheline leaned back.
"For now..." he closed his eyes. "...we sleep; I’ve missed a comfortable sleeping place"
Lilith nodded.