The trip back was by no means without its share of troubles as Leona found herself hunching over the grass on her knees while trying not to put out the food she had eaten a few minutes prior.
"Have mercy on my soul…" She pleaded as she took deep breaths to keep the urge to vomit at bay. "Why is teleportation magic so disorienting…?"
"You get used to it." Robert was standing next to her while stretching his arms out. "Then again, I don't think you'll be able to use teleportation magic too soon."
"I'd rather not… ugh…"
"Now, now…" He kneeled to look at her which prompted her to glance at his eyes. "Are you able to flush out your mana?"
"I… am…"
She closed her eyes and focused on the middle of her chest. A tingling sensation started to fill her body as faint blue strings of mana started to unweave around her wrist and slowly dissipate in the air.
"Hmm.." He observed the lingering mana with curiosity as it disappeared. "Interesting, so you perceive mana like this huh?"
"What… do you mean…?"
"Mana from one's soul is shaped according to the wielder's own perception. You imagine your mana to be strings that construct your spells, that mana will take such shape." He extended his right hand out and a gentle light blue aura began to emanate from his wrist. "Strings are well and good but it would be more beneficial if you could make your mana behave more like a liquid."
Viscous blue mana started to envelop his entire hand before he suddenly clenched his fist and the liquid suddenly hardened.
"How is that even possible…?"
"The mind is a formidable weapon." He opened his hand and the mana dissipated into the air. "The more you train it, the better every single one of your abilities will be."
"I see…"
She was still panting from exertion but at the very least the urge to puke had vanished.
Robert turned around and faced the mountain—with his left hand, he pointed at the ground with his palm open while the other one was preparing to snap his fingers.
'What is he doing…?'
Her eyes traced to where he was pointing at the ground and she noticed traces of mana forming on the grass. His fingers curled while his wrist twisted upwards and a section of the grass was ripped from the ground. Once he snapped his fingers, the chunk of dirt started to float above the small crater it formed.
He stepped on it and turned around with his left hand extended towards her.
"Come, let's head back."
"Huh? You're not thinking about flying us there on… this. Are you?"
"What? Can't trust good ol' Robert?"
"More like, will I be okay?"
"This isn't teleportation magic you know."
"Ugh…"
"You are free to climb the mountain again if you're so unsure."
Leona closed her eyes and frowned at the idea before opening them again and let out a dispirited sigh.
"Fine. I'll do it."
She took his hand and climbed on the floating chunk of dirt. She stumbled at first since balance wasn't exactly her strong suit. Once her two feet were firmly set on the grass, Robert went ahead and started to slowly levitate their makeshift transport.
"My advice, don't look directly down, if you do you'll probably lose balance." He warned. "Instead, look at the mountain or the horizon, it'll help your body to stay still." He glanced at her, but she had her eyes closed. "Or that. That also works."
"It's one thing to pilot an airship that was made to soar through the sky." She spoke while keeping her eyes closed. "But to climb on a flying piece of ground is not exactly reassuring."
"You'll be fine. But since you closed your eyes, I don't need to be reserved about how we get there." He supported Leona's back with his left arm while he pointed his right forward. "Which means we'll go at full speed!"
"Wait!" She suddenly opened her eyes and looked at him with genuine concern in her expression. "That's not what I-" Suddenly the chunk of dirt started to fly through the air towards the mountain. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
The sudden outburst of speed was pushing her hair back thanks to the wind. Her back was being pushed against Robert's arm but despite the high velocity, either of her feet was leaving the patch of grass.
"Don't worry! You got some gravity magic applied to your feet!" He shouted while controlling the makeshift platform through the air. "You aren't going to fall off!"
That being said, it didn't exactly make Leona any less stressed. In fact, the feeling of having both her feet stuck gave a strange sense of security that unsettled her.
The pleasantly chilly wind brushing against her face made her want to open her eyes but she was too afraid to do it, lest she end up panicking from being so high in the air.
"You're missing out, you know." Robert chuckled a bit. "There are a few things in life you can only witness with magic."
She mustered all courage she had and through her trembling eyelids, she took a glimpse of the bright night sky. The full moon was in view amidst the parting clouds, the chilling air rushing past her hair, the night sky filled her eyes with the reflection of sparkling stars as it all came together for a reinvigorating sense of freedom.
It was as if the accumulated stress and tension was all washed away after witnessing such a beautiful landscape.
"Woah…"
"Stunning isn't it?" He chuckled. "My daughters often asked me to fly them high in the sky so they could gaze upon the horizon."
The moonlight reflected off the surface of the ocean to her left and right. The grandeur of the land was breathtaking as it all culminated to the middle of a set of mountain ranges that expanded seemingly endlessly to the horizon.
"It's… amazing…"
The gentle blue moonlight sheen reflected off the snow covered mountain tops in the distance. Merely looking at such a calming scenery was enough to make her momentarily forget she was a few hundred meters in the air on top of a chunk of dirt.
"This is just a sliver of what this world has to offer."
He smiled bittersweetly as he slowly started to descend. Leona felt her chest tighten as she closed her eyes and was reminiscent of the memories Avalon had shown her.
The end of the world was brought by her hands on another timeline. A beautiful world lost to ruin through revenge and retribution. That was a path she was determined to avoid at all costs, but even through her steel resolve, a lingering sensation of doubt constantly gnawed at the back of her mind.
'What if… what if I'm not strong enough…?'
The lives that were sacrificed in order for her to come this far, would she be able to honor them? Her mouth curled up as she clenched her teeth. Doubt was by no means a bad thing and she knew that. Doubting oneself is, at most, to keep themselves from committing to more than they can handle. However at that point in time, things like ego or doubt needed to be cast away—she had no options other than to move forward, to grow stronger, to live up to the expectations of those who made the ultimate sacrifice for her to keep moving.
"Did you know? Anxiety is often the emotion that kills a mage." He made the chunk of dirt slowly dissipate as they reached the entrance to the mountain, he still held his hand until both of her feet touched the ground. "It can make your mana go haywire just like any other intense emotion."
"Huh? How did you-"
"Just how you can train enough to 'see' the currents of ambient magic, you can also become able to gauge another mage's mana fluctuation if you observe them closely. And yours, are emanating in an erratic way." He let go of her hand and placed his closed left hand in the middle of his chest. "Watch carefully and you too should be able to see it."
At first nothing seemed to happen, but given a few seconds, the air around Robert started to distort akin to a haze amidst a really hot day. The distortion of the shimmering air was equally mesmerizing as it was unnerving as she took half a step back to look at his entire frame.
However, it was different from the aether burst he had shown earlier. Though she could physically feel the pressure of mana emanating from him, it was nowhere near aether's potency.
"Hmm…" She grunted in slight discomfort as she angled her face to avoid the heat coming off him head on. "How exactly am I supposed to 'see' this?"
"All mana stems from the soul, which is generally located in the very center of any living being. You'll be able to see a person's soul alongside their overall mana capacity." He chuckled. "That being said, you must be aware of its existence for it to become visible to you."
"Soul… huh…?" Leona uttered as she looked at him, albeit without any noticeable changes which prompted her to ask. "What is the soul?"
"I'm glad that you have asked." He smiled. "Soul is the manifestation of consciousness, which can be also called a person's spirit. The reason why you cannot 'see' my soul is because my entire existence 'is' my soul."
"Huh?"
"Your mind will not be able to comprehend it unless you yourself have experienced what is to have your soul ripped out of your physical body." He relaxed his stance and the intense shimmering haze ceased to be. "However, your soul is not yet ready for this."
"Huh? Why not?"
"Remember I told you before that a soul's resilience is tied to how much mana it can hold? If I were to take your soul out of your body, it would most likely dissipate into the ambient mana. Leaving your body being nothing more than an empty husk."
She flinched back at the idea of becoming a mindless zombie.
"I would rather want to avoid that…"
"For now, the only path left for you is training. Train like there is no tomorrow and I'll be able to help you as well."
She glanced at the ground before turning to him and firmly nodding.
"I understand." He gave a satisfied nod before heading inside the cave. In the meantime, she realized the dreadful anxiety she felt had greatly subsided. She took a deep breath before exhaling slowly and gazing over her shoulder to the horizon overlooking the coastal city. "There is no other way but forward. Please, everyone, keep watching over me. I will honor this life you have saved."