The palace was incredibly tranquil, its interior pristine despite the massive temporal storm wreaking havoc outside the castle.
This place seemed to be the only part of the mindscape that was not completely shrouded by chaotic storms.
Step after step, Aqua made her way deeper inside what she could only assume was Sheira's childhood home. Many mindscapes use the places of their birth as the most stable sanctuary.
A palace safe from the storm, stable and pristine. It was bizarre behavior, but perhaps it was only a final fortress to fall.
With guidance from her instinct, she entered what looked like a throne room, and yet it was empty, for a throne room, the entire place was empty, with white walls, the floor was undecorated, the walls were plain white, and the windows were painted white.
The memory was incomplete; a telltale sign that the mind was losing its memory.
Her goal wouldn't be found in an incomplete memory; Aqua needed to find the most comforting and stable memory possible.
She closed the throne room door as she followed the castle halls, carefully observing to ensure she followed a more complete path.
The path led her to what seemed to be sleeping quarters, with stable and vibrant hallways, indicating that it was part of the mind sanctuary.
Aqua opened door after door, each room empty and painted white as the throne room was. Aqua checked each room carefully before finally reaching the final room.
The theory of why the rooms were white led to only one thought: Poor girl is losing her memories... Aqua's expression soured.
Instead of the room, she found herself in the middle of a courtyard, various exotic flowers and herbs decorating the entire yard. A well-crafted fountain was in the center, and a gravel road streaked through tamed nature.
By far this was the most well-established memory, and it showed that the details upon details could be seen on each centimeter of this courtyard, giving a sense of calm to this place.
Aqua was on the right track, and she was sure of it.
While Sheira was not here, just the sheer stability of the place made it clear that she was getting very close to Sheira's most stable memory.
Aqua slowed her stride as she enjoyed the view. Sheira must have enjoyed spending time in this garden, surrounded by flowers and nature.
It was a very calming memory, but Aqua couldn't spend time admiring it.
She made her way past the fountain toward the exit, slowly opening the door, she found herself inside what looked like a royal room.
Calling it royal was an understatement; opulence and excess were better ways to describe it.
Massive banners hung from the walls, serving as curtains. A large royal bed stood in the center of the room, with a study station next to the window.
A mahogany dresser was situated against a wall, and the opposite wall was taken by a large bookshelf, containing many books, with most of the space being empty.
While the layout was simple by royal standards, gold and silver trimmings on every item inside the room added a sense of opulence.
"Why do royals always prefer such tacky designs..." Aqua muttered to herself as she looked around.
The most striking feature of the room was an elven princess, completely chained in dark chains, bronze shimmering being the only thing betraying their temporal nature.
A large shard was the apparent source of this darkness. Sheira was in a fetal position, her mind fully unconscious as the shard was used to dominate her completely.
Bronze cracks covered her form, a bronze color well-versed caster could recognize as the effect of time-related spells.
This was the method of dominating nonhumans, using a shard of time to break their mind, leaving them mere husks that Rolan and likely the Inquisitor of Mind use as empty vessels and slaves.
Within those chains, a fiery essence acted like a glue, an opposing force to the shard of time.
An image of a phoenix struggling against corruption, and yet it proved to be only enough to hold back the chains and darkness that threatened to shatter Sheira.
While Heart of the Phoenix could easily overpower smaller shards, it seemed that larger shards like this one were beyond its power.
While the heart was locked in the struggle, Aqua had a thought.
Perhaps this is the best time, as any, to see exactly how they are using these shards to brainwash people... Aqua slowly approached the battlefield that was occurring within the dark chains.
Her steps did not make any difference as the Phoenix struggled against the shard of time.
While it was not losing, it was not winning either; the shard and phoenix would be locked in an eternal battle for control, one force to shatter and one to repair Sheira.
It was unacceptable; she needed to know exactly how Red Dawn used these shards, and once she knew that, she would figure something out to free Sheira without damaging her.
Or at least she hoped to.
With a gentle touch, she felt the pulsation of the shard, its chains more like living and breathing tendrils of a deep-sea monstrosity than an inanimate object.
With a deep breath, she pushed against the resistance, grabbed the chain, and stopped its rotation. With a squeeze, she pushed her magic through it, not in a way to destroy but to investigate.
Her mana coursed through the Shard, reaching every inch, every link, and the shard itself.
"So that is how you do this, you clever bastards!" Aqua chuckled as her magic revealed what was unknown before.
The shards worked by anchoring [Mind Control] and [Psychic Binding] to the victim, placing their mind within these chains. Afterward, the shard of time would lock the two spells in an infinite loop, forcing the victim to remain trapped until their mind shattered, leaving nothing except the shard.
"That is why the process of rewriting takes a week. And Sheira was on the verge of breaking only due to the size of the shard. They wanted her as a vessel as soon as possible, huh." Aqua finally understood that their technique, while evil, was ingenious.
The usage of time was too dangerous, and yet these humans used it to create a technique that would only harm the victim while they remained safe.
Aqua smiled, despite all these humans did; she could respect the audacity, and yet she couldn't forgive the technique being used on her kin.
Her fist clenched around the chain, cracking it but making sure not to break it.
This large shard was too close to the mind of the princess; Aqua needed to find a way to free her of the influence without destroying what was basically a part of her.
I should not remove it, perhaps she could use this shard herself... Aqua thought to herself.
While time was dangerous, if she learned to control the shard's power, she would be able to fend for herself against almost all entities she encountered until now, besides Rolan.
Aqua nodded as she shattered the chains, the shard still partially integrated within Sheira. Aqua placed her hand, and the Heart of the Phoenix circled around them both, understanding its purpose. Instead of dark chains, a phoenix made its home within the shard.
The darkness of the shard was replaced by warm crimson flames, flames that now gained a bronze shimmer as they would burn forever. The heart would take the burden of the shard, while Sheira would utilize the power of the Shard and Phoenix.
The cracks that once were visible all over Sheira were now long gone, the loop of dark spells not broken, but changed and concentrated within Shard instead of Sheira, its nature representing Flame and Time, in a similar way, Aqua's own nature was.
"Aspect of Change and Rebirth, just like me," Aqua whispered.
"Rise now, Sheira. Slave to none, you are now Phoenix reborn. Wake from your nightmare and follow my guidance." Aqua commanded, her power empowering the young phoenix more than Sheira could even think possible.
For a moment, the chained avatar opened her eyes. Fear flickered there, then confusion, then warmth as the phoenix wrapped around her.
Sheira's once platinum hair was burning, its color changing into pitch black, her eyes turning bright red as primal fire merged with her very being.
She will need a lot of guidance, Aqua thought as she witnessed the ascension, Sheira's holy blood would make it easier to control her new powers, but that did not mean she wouldn't be in dire need of guidance.
After all, Aqua could not allow the inexperienced elf to deal with the control of primal time and the ferocity of fire by herself.
While the shard was incredibly powerful, its influence was not enough to affect the flow of time itself; its power only manifested within the mindscape and the victim itself.
It did not matter; she would offer her guidance, and Aqua would be her guiding hand and protector until Sheira was safe from the destructive effects of the shard.
As the ascension concluded, Sheira was released from her suspended state and fell into Aqua's embrace.
***
Aqua gently laid Sheira down on the bed. While the princess was caught in many unfortunate events, she would gain something from this whole thing: the power to defend herself.
A primal power of flame, similar and yet so different from Aqua's own.
How would it differ when Aqua's aether energy would control the shard of time Sheira now carried within her?
Now, Sheira had three pillars of power within her: the Heart of the Phoenix, Holy Blood, and Shard of Time.
Pillars that would feed her divine blood, pillars that would provide a path to ascension for the elven princess.
Pillars that would be cornerstones of her newfound strength. And yet Aqua couldn't leave the princess without supervision.
The moment she was reborn, the faint divine light within her flared; it was almost like the sun itself descended onto the world.
The entire mindscape was enveloped in brilliant light, so brilliant that even air itself would burn, light burned away the storms, and the mindscape itself was scorched, the city was reduced to ashes, and the land became glass.
And yet it did not last, as the light retreated entire mindscape changed and rearranged itself.
Forests rose from the ashes, followed by majestic elven buildings, before finally, even the entire castle was rebuilt beneath Aqua's feet.
The chaos was no more, the entire mindscape returned to what it was supposed to be, and yet differences could be felt in each corner.
The sheer amount of divinity Sheira's mind produced was overwhelming, or at least it would have been overwhelming for anyone else.
For Aqua, it was something else; it was a shock. Only a single thought bounced through her head. Did I just create a new goddess?!
For a mere moment, Aqua conjured the black flame, her gaze filled with hatred which dissipated in an instant.
This ascension wasn't something Aqua was willing to stop; after all, it was the only way to prevent the complete ruination of Sheira's mind. And in a way, this new goddess was her child. Not someone to destroy but someone to nurture.
Aqua shook her head as she dispelled her intrusive thoughts; she might have hated the divine, but this one did nothing to her or anyone else. On the contrary, she was one who suffered more than most mortals by just being treated like cattle for her blood.
She was a newborn, a powerless mortal who ascended to godhood by no fault of her own.
She couldn't bring herself to hate her. When she first saw her glow, she did not realize what it meant, but now it was crystal clear.
Holy Blood was a seed of divinity, a seed that only needed support to grow.
A seed that by itself was completely meaningless, but with a proper power source, much like watering a plant, would sprout into a beacon of divinity.
And Shard of Time, with the help of [Heart of the Phoenix], would act as a catalyst and power source for her.
Phoenix, instead of resurrection, provided power for ascension. While the shard acted as a catalyst.
Sheira was now a fledgling goddess of Fire and Time, an aspect of Change and Rebirth.
"She will most certainly struggle to control the newfound power..." Aqua looked over the new goddess.
"I will not abandon you; you will not be alone in this path of power." Aqua squeezed Sheira's hand before she was transported outside the mindscape.
She found herself next to unconscious Sheira, she lifted her hands with a sigh.
"I guess she will need some clothes."
Aqua opened a pocket dimension as before, this time retrieving an elegant crimson dress, its golden embroidery showcasing the majesty of the Phoenix.
It seemed fitting to pass it to someone who, whether Aqua liked it or not, had now become her responsibility.
Wind around Aqua and Sheira coalesced, its gentle tendrils lifting Sheira, allowing Aqua to dress the elven princess without disturbing her rest, the fabric rearranging and fitting itself to the perfect size for an elven princess.
Aqua looked over Sheira while nodding.
"This will be fine. I can't let her go barefoot either..."
With a statement, she reached back into the void. She needed to find a pair of shoes for Sheira to wear, after all, Aqua couldn't let her new daughter suffer even if she was supposed to be a god.
Her hand disappeared into the void once again, searching for something Sheira would be able to wear.
The dress would cover up most of the footwear, but it did not matter; she pulled out a pair of heels, black as night, and yet the golden tinge gave it an ethereal shine.
"I hated wearing these..." She slowly slipped them onto Sheira's feet, and their magical nature fitted them to size almost immediately, similar to how the dress did.
Her gaze washed over the princess. Aqua nodded to herself before wind tendrils gently placed her back on the table.
Aqua did not know how long it would take for Sheira to awake, but she was sure she would wake sooner than others.
But in any circumstance, she couldn't stay here with Sheira; it was only a matter of time before Inquisitors would show their ugly faces, which would force her to burn the entire city to the ground.
Her hands slid beneath Sheira, picking her up in a princess carry. Her eyes glanced over her before the space before them tore open, creating a rift between the lab and the place where the battle with Golden Fang had happened.
"I hope Sun God did not run into any issues..." Aqua smiled as she carried Sheira before her.
She was sure Sun God wouldn't fail to protect Azure and Laura, and if anyone were powerful enough to try, this entire city would have been ashes by now.
Aqua looked back at the lab once again, still not fully sure of what the enemy had in mind. But she would do her best to discover what they needed Sheira for, after all, why would you need a divine seed to merely make a powerful vessel?
***
Aqua stepped through a swirling portal, carrying an unconscious Sheira in her embrace. Her gaze swept over the room, piles of ashes everywhere, while Sun God was sitting in his phoenix form, clearly just finished with eradicating pests.
"I see you took care of issues, Sun God." Aqua couldn't help but smile.
"Like I would not take the opportunity to reduce some worms to ash," the bird flared.
The Phoenix Eggs were about to break; they would surely have so many questions once their resurrection was completed.
"What will you do now, Aqua?" Sun God's voice crackled as it spoke.
"Once they awaken, I wish to visit Sheira's Kingdom. It would be nice to see how my kin lives in this world." Aqua couldn't help but smile at the possibility; she had not seen a country where her kin lived freely in so long.
It took moments before Sheira's eyes fluttered open, and with a groan, she looked around, seeing herself carried by an elven woman.
"Who are you?" Sheira spoke, clearly panicking, and yet too weak to fight back.
"I am a friend of Azure, dear Sheira. My name is Aqua." Aqua's words put her at ease.
Sheira was still groggy from the whole ordeal; however, she felt like she had known the woman in front of her all her life, and she felt she could trust her. Sheira relaxed in Aqua's arms before the Phoenix Eggs cracked and shattered, releasing two women.
"Welcome back, Azure and Laura!" Aqua smiled at the scene. Two women were confused and clearly disoriented. After all, not many people would die and then return to life.
"I… am alive… How?" Laura spoke with confusion.
"Like I would let my companions die, even if our relationship was that of convenience." Aqua approached, still holding barely conscious Sheira in her hands.
"Is that her…" Azure frantically shot up, not caring why she was alive.
"Yes, it's Sheira; however, she is different than what you remember." Aqua gently put down Sheira, still supporting her up.
"Aqua… Thank you…" Azure did not question as much as Aqua expected; instead, she charged at her and the elven princess, threatening to crush them both with a hug.
"Azure… I thought you were dead…" Sheira spoke, her voice still weak.
"No, I would be if it were not for Aqua…" Tears of happiness welled up in Azure's eyes.
Sheira finally sobered up, her strength slowly returning as she embraced her friend.
Laura did not spend time admiring her resurrection as she noticed Golden Fang, unconscious but alive.
"You even saved him… Thank you…" Laura whispered.
She rushed as fast as she could to him.
"I recommend we leave soon. Your reunions can wait. The inquisitors will surely arrive soon enough, and I am not sure if I will be able to hold back with them." Aqua stated bluntly that she wanted to grant them a moment to speak and ask questions, but she could not afford to do so in the middle of enemy territory.
"You can put me down. I think I can walk." Sheira sheepishly asked to be put down, still supporting herself on Aqua's shoulder.
"Azure, please hold onto Sheira," Aqua asked Azure, to which Azure obliged.
"I will teleport us to the Ebon Forest; from there, we can figure out how to get to the Elven Kingdom. Laura, Golden Rose is coming with us; you, too, are the enemy of Red Dawn now." Aqua stated before distancing from everyone.
"Sun God, you coming too?"
"What do you think? Of course I am. I can stay without hurting this world for at least three more days before I should return to my shell. I will consider this my vacation." The phoenix crackled and flared in approval.
Aqua couldn't create a portal to places she hadn't seen before; however, a portal that led close to where the Golden Rose encampment was would work well enough.
I just need to get them away from Red Dawn's reach. Aqua raised her arms, and a magic circle spread across the floor before everyone sank into it.
The scenery changed, and they found themselves in the abandoned camp.
Behind them, the Red Dawn still stood. They still breathed. Rolan and the inquisitors still waited somewhere in the shadows.
But Sheira was free.
For now, that was enough.