"Arggg!!!" Snapping her eyes open, Shiro felt a wave of pain flood her body immediately as she felt like her soul was about to be ripped out.

Forcing her eyes shut, she tried to remember what had just happened and realised that Isilia had been taken away when Gaia appeared.

Quickly looking around her, she wanted to see Isilia's face, reassuring her that everything was ok.

However, when she looked around, she only saw the wounded figures of Madison, Lisandra and Nan Tian who had been restrained by the watchman when he entered the room.

"Sleep some more. Your body's not recovered yet." Nan Tian forced a small smile.

Opening her mouth, Shiro wanted to ask where Isilia was when she realised her throat had been completely destroyed. Her natural healing had halted and she wasn't able to repair her body passively right now.

"Don't think about anything right now. Just rest up." Nan Tian sighed as Shiro couldn't even move her body right now.

"We'll get Silvia here soon so that she can stabilise your condition."

Glancing to the rest of the party, Nan Tian gestured for them to follow her.

Seeing the three about to leave, Shiro felt a wave of panic in her heart as though something had just pierced it.

"Ahhh!!" Called out for them in a hurry, Shiro tried her best to reach out but wasn't able to move her arm.

'Don't go!' She called out in her mind as she didn't want them to disappear like Isilia. What if the watchman was still around? What if he wanted to get the other's too?

Seeing Shiro's panicked face that was on the verge of tears, Nan Tian smiled softly and sat next to her.

"Don't worry, we're not going far. Just out of this room." Nan Tian smiled but Shiro tried her best to shake her head.

Grabbing his sleeve, she didn't want to let them out of her sight anymore.

Seeing Shiro panic like this, Nan Tian felt his heart being crushed.

Sighing softly, he decided to look towards Madison and Lisandra.

"I guess we can talk here. How should we break the news to Lyrica?" Nan Tian asked as Madison's body tensed up.

Her friend had just gotten her family back but before she could even enjoy it for a day, they were taken away immediately. It was a cruel joke for her. A brief taste of happiness before despair.

"I… I'll tell her. I think it's best that we get Silvia here soon though. With what you had said, Shiro's recovery functions seemed to have been halted. Without her being able to heal herself, it's going to be risky." Madison sighed.

"Mn, how are you feeling Lisandra?" Nan Tian asked as Lisandra's wings had turned grey after Shiro had almost transformed. He wasn't sure what kind of repercussion this could bring but he hoped that it was small.

"I'm feeling fine. It's just that my wings are dyed now. I'm more worried about Lyrica." Lisandra shook her head.

Hearing this, Shiro couldn't help but bite her lips when she remembered Lyrica. She didn't know how to face her after letting her mother and father get taken right in front of them after she reassured with such confidence that space was safe for them.

Plus, Lyrica had wanted to come so they could have at least spent more time with each other.

"I'll be right back ok? I'll go bring Silvia." Nan Tian smiled as he pulled out a teleport node from his inventory.

Furrowing her brows, Shiro shook her head once more and tried her best to keep her grip on his sleeve. But even with her trying her best right now, she could barely exert any strength.

Seeing this, Nan Tian sighed.

"Let's bring her back with us then. There's no more point in us staying here." He suggested as the other two nodded their heads.

Pulling out a normal wheelchair for Shiro, Nan Tian tried to carry her onto it but each movement would cause Shiro's entire body to spasm from the pain.

"Sorry, bear with it ok?"

After placing Shiro on the wheelchair, he opened the portal back to Asharia.

Thankfully, it wasn't far from the med bay so it was easy for them to find Silvia.

"Ah you're ba- !!!" Widening her eyes, Silvia paused in shock.

Shiro was disabled on a wheelchair, which was normal at this point but the problem was her gaze and aura. It seemed weak while her gaze was fearful. For Shiro to have a fearful look in her eyes like a child who was scared of an unfamiliar place, Silvia immediately understood that something was wrong.

Quickly standing up, she walked over to them.

"What happened? Tell me everything." She said seriously as Nan Tian nodded.

"I will. Can you first stabilise Shiro's condition? It seems like her natural healing factor had been halted." Nan Tian nodded as Silvia furrowed her brows.

Activating a tier 5 magic circle, she did a quick scan on Shiro's body and stepped back in disbelief.

It wasn't that her healing factor was stopped, it was that there was too much damage being caused to her body that the healing seemed stagnant. Her body was a complete mess and if you combine it with the fact that her soul's injured, she was essentially hanging on by a single thread. Should that thread break, she'll die!

To make matters worse, her links have been completely fried. Until the body is completely healed, it would be a miracle for her to access mana at all. For a spirit, it must be suffocating for Shiro right now.

"I… There isn't much I can do. Most of her wounds seemed to be resistant to healing spells. I can boost her life force but that's it." Silvia frowned as Nan Tian nodded his head.

"That's good enough. It's better than nothing."

Setting Shiro on one of the beds, Silvia tried her best to boost Shiro's life force but the effects were minimal.

Secretly sending a text to Silvia, Nan Tian wanted her to cast a spell so that Shiro would be forcefully put to sleep for now. He didn't want to have a meeting in the med bay while Shiro was recovering.

Glancing at him with a frown, Silvia decided to not question it for now since there was something wrong with Shiro's mental state right now.

As fatigue washed through her body, Shiro's gaze faltered as she realised what they must have done.

Closing her eyes, she drifted off to sleep.

Leaving the med bay, Silvia had a serious face while looking at Shiro who slept silently on the bed.

Even when she was sleeping, Shiro seemed restless.

"Can you tell me what happened now? Why isn't Isilia and Edvimar with you?" Silvia asked.

She could guess what had happened but she wanted to hear for herself.

Explaining everything that had happened, Silvia took a deep breath and sighed heavily.

"I think Shiro might develop a trauma from this. Her will power is usually strong but with everything she's gone through, this might be a breaking point. If you think about it, this is the second time Isilia has 'died' in front of her if you include what happened in Aria." Silvia said as she remembered the fearful look in Shiro's eyes.

"For her to have obtained such power but not being able to do anything, it would be more surprising if it didn't break her mentally."

Turning around, Silvia looked at Nan Tian.

"There are spells to heal physical injuries but mental shocks are something else. I can calm her down at best but it'll lose effectiveness over time. Plus, we can't keep making her run away from her fears. If we want Shiro to stand back up, we'll need her to face it head on. It's… tough but it has to be done sooner or later."

"I know. But maybe we should let some time pass first before wanting her to face her fears." Nan Tian replied.

"Mn. We can't force it though which is the problem since forceful methods might just break her even more. We have to encourage her and support her from behind. This might take months or even years for her to make a full recovery. There's also the chance that she might never recover." Silvia said as Nan Tian stood in silence.

"It doesn't matter how long it takes, I'll support her regardless. But I think we'll have to halt some of our plans when it comes to Queens. Thankfully, I can manage the things that happen in Asharia for now so things won't stagnate." Nan Tian furrowed his brows while looking at Shiro.

"Mn, I'll see if I can find a solution to fixing all of her injuries in the meantime. Good luck." Silvia patted Nan Tian's shoulder as she made her way back to the Healer's Guild.

###

Walking through the corridors, Madison's heart ached as she saw Lyrica making her way back to the command room.

"Oh Madi, you're back. Did everything work out well?" Lyrica asked with a smile as Madison took a deep breath.

"Lyrica. I want you to listen to me calmly." Madison said as she took a deep breath.

"Ok? Why so serious?" Lyrica furrowed her brows in confusion.

Seeing the pain in Madison's eyes, a bad feeling emerged in her heart.

"Your parents were taken away by the watchman."

Dropping the tablet in her hand, Lyrica's body tensed up as tears started to fall.

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