Shortly after the entire area began to dissolve in front of her eyes, the solemn features of the figures in front of her began to fade. With one last look at her mother she tried to reach out to her but her hands slipped through her figure as if it was nothing but air. With her mother's last parting words, tears began to flow down her face like twin rivers. "You will find me again my daughter, I am just a memory so do not cry for me. I will always love you." With that they faded away and the world in front of her became pitch black once again.
All of a sudden, a powerful force struck her heart and she jolted, as she was attempting to contemplate what was happening to her, it hit again but this time it spread throughout her body like a burning flame.
"Ahhh!"
She screamed out loud and her body began to tremble all over. She looked up and just as she pulled her face upwards her body was thrown and she slammed into something solid. When she opened her eyes again she was surrounded by a purple fog and energy was flowing inside of her body yet she couldn't move any part of her except her eyes. Her entire body was glowing with a radiant light and her eyes shone like twin candles casting an ethereal glow about her.
After waiting for an unknown amount of time her body began to slowly descend to the ground below her, as she was set down the cocoon that was wrapping her body slowly dissolved and what emerged was something beyond compare. Her hair flowed to her ankles, her air around her seemed to flow with royal majesty, her body changed entirely.
With one wave of her hand and a thought in her mind she was able to create a stairway going up into the cave and creating an exit for her. This stairway was made of crystal and glowed in the darkness of the cave. She walked up the stairs one at a time, slowly ascending out of the cave. After walking for over an hour she finally began to see daylight ahead.
Excitement bubbled within her heart at the thought of seeing Varick and her friends again. She truly thought she was dead this time and would never be able to see them again. The changes she received were more than just physical, she received the knowledge of her people and the history spanning generations. The sadness, pain, happiness, and love all mixed within her.
Though her head still ached she focused on getting out of the cave not knowing how long she had been gone or if her friends were ok. As she stepped into the light she sat in a lotus position and extended her magic out into the entire area. She probed to find her friends, but the soul she locked onto unconsciously was Varick's.
Just the thought of him made her heart quiver. She probed for a long time and could not find them, just as she was about to give up she felt him. She locked onto it and stood up walking in the direction of his soul.
***
Within the cavern
'Boom!'
With another wave Varick crashed into the beasts in front of him removing their insides and watching them slump pitifully to the ground. Wiping his forehead once again he glanced behind him at his companions who were still battling with other beasts and he rushed back to their side with another slam of energy he stunned the beasts. Slicing down his sword moved with a graceful ferocity which took the lives of one beast after another.
The gleam in his eyes of determination and longing was not missed by his counterparts, a tear would fall occasionally as he mercilessly took down the enemies that had once surrounded them as if he were a god of death and destruction. But they all knew the reason, he was grief stricken and also filled with a small hint of hope that she would be ok.
At one point Ruishi had to grab his shoulder to pull him out of the madness he was slipping into. He never seen the boy lose his calm like this before, it was heart wrenching. They never thought she meant so much to him, it was expected as they rarely had time alone nor known each other for long so why the change?
"Varick, my friend please calm your soul this will only harm you not help her what are you thinking? Please return to yourself before it is too late. The energy you are emitting is beginning to change!" Xiezhi called out to him with worry as he knew this boy was pure before but there was something changing within him that he couldn't explain and to be honest it scared him.
If this went on he would no longer be the pure and powerful youth he met not long ago but something none of them could contain. He reached out and grabbed the boy's shoulder and as Varick whipped his head around about to attack, Xiezhi saw something he would never expect in his eyes. A deep seeded sadness, his eyes glowed with a dangerous light and as he was about to attack Xiezhi he stopped. All of the hatred, sadness, and longing disappeared in an instant and was replaced by a gentleness that could never be rivaled. He walked past Xiezhi slowly at first then sprinted past the beasts, his companions, and was gone in a flash.
Looking at each other utterly confused they abandoned the beasts and ran after him unsure of what he was about to do. Throughout the winding paths they lost sight of him and just as they caught up to the boy they all stood rooted to their places.
What welcomed them was something they could never fathom, shocked gasps resounded from their mouths as they watched as a young man walked slowly with disbelief in his steps, dropping his sword to the floor with a 'clang'. He almost appeared to be in a trance as he walked forward with tears trailing down from his eyes.
"Could it be?"