Aqua pushed Valerie down into the flowers, her eyes observing her carefully. This surgery had to succeed, one wrong move would have caused a disaster. One may wonder why? The answer was quite simple: Aqua needed to rely on the Black Flame to put a definite stop to the spread.
However, that wasn't everything, unlike the guardian of the forest or the world tree, Valerie couldn't easily be healed.
She needed to empower the world soul to the best of her ability.
While the Black fire would destroy the rot, Aqua would use her own Aether to heal Valerie. However, the empowerment was a slight issue. Valerie was an embodiment of preservation, while Aqua was the Change and Rebirth.
They were not compatible.
Yet, Sun God had tasked her to make Valerie stronger, and thus she would do so even if her aspect would need to be bent to do so.
She stared at Valerie, who closed her eyes, and her chest moved up and down slowly. Despite her attempts to appear calm, Aqua could sense her fear.
The world soul's eyes opened slightly. "I trust you. No matter how painful, I know you can do it, Aqua."
The way Valerie looked at her made Aqua blush. She quickly shook her head and hovered her hands above Valerie's stomach. "This will hurt a lot."
The World Soul nodded before grasping at the ground. "I am ready. Whatever you do, I will handle it. My love would want me to be strong."
Aqua inhaled sharply and nodded. "I will begin."
After a moment of silence, the Black Flame enveloped Aqua's hand. She narrowed her eyes, looking at her hand. Usually, when she had used the Black Flame, she consumed exactly what was needed, this time, it was different.
The Black Flame had stated its interest in the world soul.
Black Flame, I am keeping my eye on you. Don't you dare consume more than what I allow.
Valerie looked at her hand with caution, but she quickly forced herself to look away.
Aqua smiled. I will try to be as fast as possible.
Her fingers trace the corruption. In an instant, when the contact was made, the rot attempted to escape and hide from the gaze of the cosmic terror, yet there was nowhere to escape.
The flame spread.
It dug into Valerie's rotted flesh, making her scream, the mindscape lost color, and the plants withered while the sun eclipsed.
She thrashed, despite her best attempts to keep herself down, it was impossible. Aqua conjured a faint arcane shackles that bound Valerie's limbs and neck to the ground.
The screams made Aqua's heart sink, yet the world soul needed to endure, for her own good.
For a moment, she separated her hand, scanning the hole in Valerie's body. She placed her hand on Valerie's forehead and smiled warmly. "I know it hurts."
Right after, she continued. The Black Flame ate away the corruption.
Valerie's nails dug into the ground.
The realm shuddered and split open.
Just a little more!
She carefully ate away the rot that consumed most of Valerie's avatar.
What surprised Aqua even more was that despite Valerie's body being completely artificial, she still had created the organs most mortal races had.
It was another quirk that was different from Sun God.
She consumed the parts of the rotted stomach and the heart, then lungs, leaving a hollow shell.
Valerie strained against the shackles. "It hurts!" She screamed, tears rolling down her face.
"I know, just a bit more and rot will be gone!" She reassured her.
The predator chased the rot through Valerie's avatar, leaving nothing but healthy tissue behind.
Aqua then pulled her hand away, letting Valerie catch her breath.
Most of her soul had been taken, but now the rotted parts were consumed. Valerie lay in front of her, her body hollowed out almost completely.
Yet, she could not repair herself with her strength.
Thus, Aqua needed to start on the second part of the surgery.
"Grit your teeth, Valerie. This might hurt even more."
The next thing she needed to do was bend Valerie's aspect.
It was a painful and dangerous procedure, but Valerie's aspect of Stagnation and Preservation was far too weak to combat the rot and was lacking in potential to gather power.
Worst of all, it was incompatible with Aqua's own aspect of Change and Rebirth.
However, Aqua's aspect was uniquely potent when it came to changing the nature of things.
It was a part of the reason she and Sun God were so powerful.
They both were adaptable and capable of changing things to fit them. Yet, Valerie's aspect was, alternatively, a lot less versatile, and thus her potential was stunted.
She closed her eyes and hovered her hands over the hole in Valerie's soul.
The Mindscape crumbled and withered.
I need to be quick before she dies.
A crimson circle appeared above and below Valerie. She went silent for a moment, focusing on weaving a spell.
She locked onto Valerie's aether, pulling it toward her spell.
The circle turned pale blue, then luminous white.
While the Aether was a product of the soul, it still shared a great connection to the engine itself. Thus, she traced it toward Valerie.
She pushed the raw aether into Valerie.
Valerie's tears pooled beneath her head, her back arching and screams shattering the mindscape, reaching even the physical world.
"Just endure a bit more, I believe in you!"
She pushed her hands down, the circles entering World soul's avatar.
Aqua reached toward Valerie's soul, gently caressing it.
It was so heavily damaged, not only by rot but by time itself.
The magical circles created a set of rings around it.
The Hand of the End, and the Twilight Rot. You poor thing.
After this was over, she would have needed to find that artifact, no matter what. It was far too dangerous to be left in anyone's hands, especially when the gods could get their filthy hands on it.
Her eyes squinted. She could not afford to be distracted now. Valerie's life was hanging by a thread.
Her mind weaved and stitched.
The circles contracted before being absorbed by the soul. In an instant, a massive chain reaction within Valerie started.
Her soul became unstable, and the mindscape turned into a void.
Aqua created another spell, using her own aether to guide Valerie's mind.
Valerie kept thrashing, desperately trying to escape the restraints.
Her soul changed, gently thumming, and its color grew brighter. Aqua's aether twisted Valerie's aspect.
Umu, great! The gentle thump encouraged Aqua to continue pushing.
The aspect of stagnation was shattered and turned into growth, and the preservation twisted into adaptation.
Her soul's color changed into a gentle green.
With one final push, Aqua funneled immense amounts of Aether, denting even her momentary production. The power to shatter the stars rushed into Valerie, feeding her new nature.
Aqua opened her eyes and fell onto her back.
"Done!" She exclaimed.
Valerie, still restrained, breathed heavily, her eyes stuck toward the sky.
The formerly withering Mindscape repaired itself, becoming far more vibrant and pleasant than before.
The rot was nowhere to be sensed.
Aqua jumped back on her feet before approaching barely conscious Valerie. She looked down at the hollow body. While she had twisted her aspect and empowered her as much as she could, the damage to the soul was not easy to repair.
While right now she was not vulnerable to the rot, she was far from her peak.
Her mind raced, even her soul lacked a way to instantly repair the hollowed soul like Valerie's. While the new aspect would have healed her over time, it would take centuries.
However, the time was precisely why she could help her.
She deserves this. She deliberated within her mind for a moment before shaking her head. "I can't let you be hollow for so long."
A bronze spectral clock appeared behind Aqua. [Altered Time - Forward]
In mere seconds, centuries passed for Valerie's soul.
The shackles shattered, releasing the world soul.
The cavity where rot once reigned was gone, replaced by purity. Now she can fight against the rot. Aqua's gaze panned over the mindscape, which was full of new, unknown plants. It was a place where she would love to enjoy her time, yet she could not remain here forever.
She leaned over Valerie. "We are all done," She said, smiling while offering her a hand.
Valerie wiped her drool and tears before grabbing Aqua's hand, letting herself get pulled up. "That hurt… a lot."
"I know, but you were a brave girl. I am sure the Empress would be proud of you."
A small blush appeared on Valerie's face. "I hope so. I created this body just for her. I wanted to make her happy."
Is that why she imitates a mortal body, just for her lover? It was rather interesting to Aqua that a world soul would do anything like that; she dismissed her curiosity.
Valerie twirled, looking over her repaired soul and body. "I feel better than ever before. Thank you, champion. Please offer my thanks to Sun God."
Aqua chuckled. "You will be able to thank him yourself soon enough, but I should be leaving your mindscape. I am unsure how many days passed in the physical world while we were here, people are waiting for me."
Valerie chuckled. "Of course, champ… no, Aqua. I will never forget what you have done for me. If you ever need my support, call upon me. I will never ignore a call from my savior."
"I will hold you on that~" Aqua teased, her vision spinning and soon plunging into the void.
After a moment, her eyes fluttered open toward the open sky.