Rina, Elisa, Loumil, and Cyrus sat at the dining table with heavy hearts.
Grace was bedridden at the moment.
"We should take her to Divine Priestess," Cyrus said with a severe expression. "Now, only she can find out what is happening to Grace."
"We have no other choice," Elisa nodded. "I'll go talk to her tomorrow."
…
The following day, Grace opened her eyes weakly before they quickly turned moist.
She saw Rina there and sobbed, "I am sorry for troubling you all like this. I-I don't know what is happening to me."
Rina was silent for a few seconds before opening her mouth, "Who was Arkhen to you?"
"Arkhen?" Grace was startled. Remembering Arkhen caused some unknown upheaval in her, but she answered honestly after putting it aside, "He was a friend. Why?"
"Friend? Was there anything going on between you two?" Rina asked with a gentle expression as he put her hand on Grace's forehead, "You don't need to hide it, dear. It's fine."
"No… There was nothing between us," Grace shook her head. "Why did you ask?"
"Well, since I've been here early for the past three days, I always hear you speaking his name," Rina said with a wry smile.
"Oh… I-I don't know. I don't remember my dreams anymore," Grace said while shaking her head. "But really, we were just friends."
"I see. Well, it's fine. Come on, let me help you get up. We are going to see someone today, and she might be able to cure you," Rina said with a smile.
…
Inside the Twilight Tree's trunk, there was a wooden chamber where Twilight Priestess lived.
In every generation, a female of their family was chosen as Twilight Priestess to communicate with Twilight goddess and learn mystical arts that were primarily support types related to helping people of their village fight off the Nightmare Creatures when they regularly go there to stop their advances in the nightmare land behind the mountain range.
Grace sat on a chair in front of Twilight Priestess as she checked Grace's condition with her divine eyes.
After a while, she raised her eyebrows and told Rina, Elisa, Cyrus, and Loumil to go out.
After they left, Twilight Priestess smiled at Grace and said, "Dear, can you close your eyes and empty your mind?"
"Mhmm," Grace nodded as she closed her eyes and tried to empty her mind, thinking of nothing. Pure blackness.
Twilight Priestess then put her hands on Grace's head and closed her eyes.
"Stay in this state until you can't. That blankness in your mind wouldn't last long as someone or something will break it."
Grace kept blankets as she kept a thoughtless state, but her mind started wandering as a face appeared in her mind before she shot her eyes open.
"Who is that boy?" Twilight Priestess asked with a gentle smile in a soothing voice.
"He is Arkhen. A close friend of mine," Grace said. "But he can't be related to this illness. I think he appeared because I miss him a bit."
"Then why didn't your parents appear? Don't you also miss them?" Twilight Priestess asked with a smile.
"T-That…" Grace wryly smiled. "But that doesn't matter to this illness, right? I don't know why I have a fever. My blood and organs are suddenly weakening. So there has to be a cause."
"I know," Priestess smiled and nodded before she called Rina, Cyrus, Elisa, and Loumil inside.
"Priestess, did you find her illness?" Cyrus quickly asked.
"I did. Elisa, take her back for now," Twilight Priestess said as she gestured with her hand.
After Elisa left with Grace, Twilight Priestess sat on the floor mattress and told Cyrus, Rina, and Loumil to sit.
"Her illness…I am not sure, but I said I found her illness in front of her to reassure her and let her think that she is going to be fine."
"Even you too?" Cyrus was surprised and also disappointed.
"I need to test a few things to confirm. First, her body has no trace of any curse or harmful effects. Her core vitals are actually healthy.
"But she is also sick for sure, so the problems likely lie deeper in her unconsciousness mind and soul."
"Oh? What do we test?" Loumil asked.
"I already started the first test," Divine Priestess said. "It was letting her think that I found her illness and that she will be fine. I will also give a medicinal recipe. Feed her that medicine every morning."
"As for the second test, you must call a person here."
"Who?" Cyrus asked curiously.
Rina guessed someone and said, "Arkhen?"
"Yes, Arkhen."
"But his whereabouts are unknown…." Cyrus said with a wry smile.
"Then find him. We have a month to do the 1st test, so wherever he is, I am sure it's possible to find him in a month in various ways."
"Alright, leave it to me," Loumil said with a smile. "I've roamed various places for work, so I should be able to find him."
After that, Priestess wrote a recipe before sending them out.
After returning, they told Elisa everything that Priestess said, making her surprised.
"So the first test is a mind game. That might work, I think," Elisa nodded. "After all, her illness is extraordinary. Her parameters are healthy, but she still gets constant fevers and weakness."
…
While they fed Grace daily medicine, Loumil and Cyrus went to find Arkhen.
They first went to meet Instructor Klein.
"Before he left, he asked me about some places so that he might have gone there," Klein said with a thoughtful expression.
"Which places?"
"Chaotic Sea, Dark Ruins, Origin Nightmare Land, and Corrupt Steam Forest."
Cyrus and Loumil were startled.
"All those places are dangerous for him. Why would he go there?" Cyrus asked in confusion.
"No idea," Klein wryly shook his head. "He also fooled me. I thought he was just curious about those places and their details, but he suddenly left after returning from your place two days later."
"But you should go to Origin Nightmare Land first. He was more curious about that place and asked for many details regarding it."
…
After five days of quick journey on Flying Steam Ship, Cyrus and Loumil started hearing Arkhen's name whenever they stopped at a town on the way to the Origin Nightmare land.
"Radiant rank?! He already reached Radiant Rank?" Cyrus was dumbfounded.
It had only been a bit over two months since Arkhen left!
"It seems that this boy turned out to be an even bigger genius than you," Loumil said as he caressed his beard with curiously.
"He was a rank lower than me, but now he is a rank higher," Cyrus said with a wry smile. "He must have worked hard a lot."
…
After a day, they finally arrived at Origin Nightmare land and asked about Arkhen's whereabouts.
"Arkhen? He is at the 3rd inner camp in the land—the only Radiant among Paragons. The guy is a monster, I say. Haha, you will be surprised when you see him."
"Thanks," Cyrus said before he and Loumil walked to the side.
"I'll call Blightsun Yomen here. He will lead us inside," Loumil said with a grin before taking out a round compass-like thing. It was a communication device.
Blightsun Yomen was the leader of the Blightsun family. They were blessed by Blightsun Goddess and represented her.
Visit freewe𝑏(n)ovel.co(m) for the b𝘦st novel reading experience