"Uhhm...I...Brother...Shin...What happened..." Ai asked as she finally woke up after resting for a few hours, just in time as the sun began to rise.
The little king and Shin didn't even hear what she was asking as they were too happy to see her wake up perfectly fine without any discomfort.
They could see that some color had returned to her body, her hair no longer had any specks of white hair, and her face no longer had any traces of lost vitality. She seemed healthy and rosy as a rose.
"Ai, you are feeling okay, right?" Shin asked in a worried tone as he held her hand.
Ai rubbed her head as she said with a soft smile, "I never felt better...I no longer feel any kind of pain or heaviness in my body. My ethereal cores...there is only one!" Ai didn't forget to examine her own body and was astonished to see that she only had a single ethereal core, just like every other normal cultivator out there.
This made her smile with overwhelming emotions since she realized that she no longer has to die early but live a long life with the people she loves.
The little king could no longer keep up his unflinching expression and cried like any other child of his age as he hugged his sister in happiness, knowing that he longer had to worry about losing his only family member anymore, "Big sis...I am really glad you are fine now…"
"It's fine...I never planned to leave you...Otherwise, who will look after my little brother?" Ai said as she caressed his head, feeling sad seeing that her brother was hurting this much all this time.
Before she knew it, her brother had matured too much because of her and their parents and also because of the responsibilities he was forced to shoulder.
She felt bad knowing that her brother had been fighting alone all this time since she was too weak to provide him any kind of support and was only a burden to him. So now, she was determined to make her brother as happy as possible no matter what.
The little king knew that if he lost her too, he would be forever alone in this world without anyone to guide him or love him.
He felt that the gods were not as cruel as he thought and felt even gratitude towards Tristen and his friends for saving his sister.
He thought that he and his family owed them too much for saving his sister and was even more determined to grant Godnim's request.
He now believed that there was nothing wrong with fulfilling Godnim's request since it was the least he could do to repay them.
After letting out all their bottled-up emotions, the little king and Shin finally calmed down as Ai asked, "Princess Yuria...and her friends? Where did they all go? I have to thank them...They really helped us a lot," Ai said as she got off the bed effortlessly though she was about to stumble because of how unfamiliar she was with using her own legs.
"Careful! You still haven't walked on your own for all these years," Shin concernedly said as he helped her stand along with the little king's support.
However, the two also wondered where Godnim and the girls went since it had been hours since they left.
They were now, even more, looking forward to thanking and repaying them.
"Maybe I should try and message Tristen," The little king said as he decided to take out his messaging talisman.
"Oh, Your Highness is already awake?"
The three were a bit surprised to see Godnim, Yuria, and Alena coming in just as they were wondering where these three went.
"Godnim, Princess Yuria and Lady Alena! We have been eagerly waiting for you all," The little king said in a spirited tone while Shin bowed upon seeing them.
Yuria nudged Damien from behind, indirectly saying that it was his fault that all three of them disappeared in the middle of the night.
She was glad that nobody came in search of them and shuddered at the thought of somebody seeing them.
Damien cleared his throat and said, "Oh, we are sorry for suddenly disappearing like that. We just didn't want to disturb Ai's rest. But we were really sure that Ai would make it through."
Ai smiled and gave a thankful bow despite her status as she said, "It's fine, really. Thank you, all of you...for saving my family and me."
The little king happily nodded along, "Yes! I have never felt so happy and relieved in a long time. You all have been a godsend, and Godnim, I will definitely fulfill your request and show you the sacred treasure. But I still can't help but ask if my sister would face any complications in the future? Since she had one of her ethereal cores removed, I couldn't help but wonder if there could be any problems since she was born with two," The little king asked since he couldn't bear to see his sister fall sick again.
Damien said in a reassuring tone, "I don't know if you have been able to sense it or not, but I am sure Her Highness knows the condition of her own body or how strong she is now. Even though she had one of her ethereal cores removed, her cultivation is still at the First Level of the Heaven Ethereal Realm!"
Damien's words were like a thunderclap to both the little king and Shin, though only Ai had a calm expression and couldn't help but be a little embarrassed seeing these two's reactions.
Damien himself was inwardly astonished that in the end, Ai was able to come out of this with great benefits, especially when she had such powerful cultivation at the young age of fifteen. Still, her future cultivation progress would depend on her potential and talent.
Still, now he was sure that the Shizar Kingdom may not be weak for long.
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