Saibus and Maryanne rest a little from the fight against the elemental for five little minutes, the time to regain the lost stamina and magic and to lose their fatigue.
After this little break, the assassin and the archaeologist go back up the path they came from to arrive at the door that the two earth elementals were guarding. Saibus pushes the big door, which does not emit noise when opened. He opens the massive door enough for one person to pass through but not two. He enters first to protect Maryanne from potential ambushes or traps.
"Beautiful."
Maryanne lets out her feeling at the wonder they are seeing. Saibus, although he doesn't say any word contrary to Maryanne, nods his head, amazed by sight.
In front of the two companions in arms, there is a magnificent and immense tree of light. The light is a bright yellow. It illuminates the room with its brilliance. The tree shines and brings warmth and comfort to Saibus and Maryanne.
(Image Tree)
Both sigh, and a weight lift from their shoulders, a weight they didn't even know they were carrying. Saibus and Maryanne finally saw the room as a whole. Aside from the magnificent tree, the room's floor was fertile earth covered with green grass. Several pure white oaks stand majestically in the room. Resplendent flowers of all colors bloom on the lawn.
The area has no trace of civilization, either elven or magical. Instead, the lush vegetation of the site is enchanting. It mesmerizes Saibus and Maryanne as they walk down the stairs and through the fields of flowers and the avenues of trees leading to the center of the room where the tree of light is located. At the foot of the tree, it seems even more immense and exquisite. As an archaeologist and seeker of knowledge, Maryanne takes a knife and scratches a tiny piece of the tree's bark. However, the knife cuts through, indicating that the tree is genuinely made of light and that its appearance is not the result of an illusion spell.
"Saibus, the tree is not physical...at least I think so." a stunned Maryanne declares to Saibus, who turns his gaze to the latter, where he can see his knife in the tree without coming into contact with what should have been the bark.
Saibus then reaches out to the tree; this causes his hand to pass through the tree. Saibus feels a sensation of softness and warmth spreading through him. This sensation brings him back to his life, to the part of his life when his parents were still alive and his mother hugged him, pushing him in her chest to play with his hair. That feeling of happiness, warmth, and security that he only felt when this woman he gave birth to made him feel emotions and that he has a family love for her.
Slowly, he is caught in a fiery embrace. He feels arms embracing him.
He sees his mother's face. The emerald eyes he inherited from her, her long blonde hair cascading over her shoulders. Her beautiful, sparkling face and long elven ears that he inherited with a tiny tip that is only visible if you pay attention and are up close.
"Mom...How..." murmurs Saibus, dumbfounded and doubtful. Elana breaks into a sunny smile at her beloved son. She pushes Saibus away slightly to put his face in front of her. She takes her son's face in a cup and caresses his left cheek with her right hand. Making small circles on his cheek, she oversees her son.
"Don't try to understand my presence. I am only here with the power of the light of the world tree. It allows you to do a lot of things with its power. I am made of light, allowing me to come and take you in my arms and see the man my sweet little assassin has become." Elana tenderly declares as she sketches a sweet maternal smile.
"Are you real, or an illusion made by the tree?" asks Saibus slowly and with a slightly pained voice.
Elana's soft, maternal smile dissipates slightly.
"I am real and not an illusion from the tree, but it's not here for long. He just allowed me to borrow his power to manifest myself to you. So I'm here for the next twenty-four hours before the world tree stops sending me its power and has to return to where I belong, at your father's side."
Saibus smiled weakly as thin tears trickled down his cheeks and fell onto the grass at the base of the tree of light.
Elana sees her child letting go of the emotions he has been holding back since the death of her husband and takes Saibus in her arms and holds him tightly against her. Saibus immediately takes his mother in his arms and serves her in a bear hug. He has her tightly to him, not wanting her to leave.
"I'm here, baby. Mommy is here. You can let go." Elana gently comforts her child for many minutes.
But all good things must come to an end, and the end of this moment comes with the musical and intrigued voice coming from a beautiful brunette.
"Saibus, who is the woman holding you?"
Saibus and Elana are brought out of their emotional mother-son moments by the voice. Saibus turns his face to the right and Elana to the left to look at Maryanne, surrounded by a soft orange light.
"Hello, my dear, I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself before, but I couldn't help but go see my son, who I haven't seen in several years. My name is Elana Di Vine, mother of this sweet and beautiful man, Saibus Di Vine," states Elana nobly.
Maryanne is stunned by the nobility and appearance of the person who claims to be the mother of her brother-in-arms. Maryanne quickly glances at Saibus, who nods, confirming Elana's words.
"Maryanne, as my mother declared her, she is Elana Di Vine, the woman I love most in the world. Mom, this is Maryanne, an archaeologist assassin on a mission with me." Saibus, who has regained his composure, declares, still holding his mother in his arms.
"Nice to meet my Lady, but can I ask you a question?" asks Maryanne, excited for some unknown reason.
Saibus raises an eyebrow at her classmate's sudden excitement.
Elana smiles at the young woman's excitement.
"Of course. What do you wish to ask me, my treasure?" questions Elana with a small, sweet smile.
"Are you Elana Di Vine, the famous archaeologist who has written many books on the history of the Continent, of Humanity, of the Elves, of the Dwarves, and of the many races that roam this land? Are you the book's author that describes and tells the story of the Conjunction of the Spheres? Are you the earliest archaeologist, the real Elana Di Vine!" Maryanne, without breathing or stopping, asks a series of questions to Elana with a voice that goes up more and more in the high notes.
Maryanne's face turns red as she tries to catch her breath.
Elana smiles at Maryanne. "Indeed, my dear, I am the true and only Elana Di Vine."
"OOOOOOHHHHHH, MY GOD, I AM IN THE PRESENCE OF MY IDOL." The usually serious and quiet Maryanne has transformed into a little girl who has just met her favorite heroine. She begins to hyperventilate and feel dizzy from the sudden and abrupt rise in endorphins.
Elana approaches Maryanne and gradually calms her down after a few minutes. During these few minutes, Saibus' thoughts are in disarray. But one essential thing is in Saibus' mind at this very moment, spending these next twenty-four hours with his mother.