The tent Aqua and Azure were sent to was nothing impressive, just black and white cloth put over a metallic skeleton with the bare minimum amenities needed to support someone living there.
By all margins it was nothing but a normal tent, meant to be easily disassembled and carried, Aqua slowly opened the flap which served as the entrance letting Azure enter first before following shortly after.
Inside was surprisingly clean and spacious, with the top of the roof open leaving space for smoke from the central fire to safely exit the tent.
2 bedrolls were situated on two opposite sides of the tent with sacks full of clothes already packed and ready to go sitting against the tent's metallic support.
"Feel free to have your pick and change Azure, I won't peek I promise" Aqua teased as she looked over Azure's flushed face.
Azure shuffled for a moment before answering "Lady Aqua, we are both girls, and you already saw me naked!" her cheeks flushed red as she turned her head to hide her embarrassment.
'ADORABLE, I will need to fix her Divine corruption and she will be perfect!' Aqua smiled as she looked at Azure, to her it was like watching a mirror image of her old self.
From her naive demeanor despite her position to the will of the divine implanted in her, it was truly a mirror, although on a lesser scale.
"Well I will need to see you if I am to apply illusion on you and not botch it, so please undress and stand in front of me, you weren't this shy when you teased me back when we first met!" She smirked as she saw Azure shuffling about before nodding.
Azure averted her gaze as she slowly removed her oversized Armor, dropping it aside before removing her makeshift clothes revealing her slender physique not fit for a fighter relying on strength "Please be quick, being without Armor makes me feel vulnerable"
Aqua smiled as she gazed over her, she could get a proper view of her companion, while she looked amazing in Aqua's eyes, it would be true for all elves.
Until now she never had a chance to take a good look at Azure, like she had blue eyes even though they were paler blue even if her right eye was taken by the green glow courtesy of divine, her hair long and so blonde that it bordered white was now stained by her transformation turning it completely white.
What caught Aqua's eye was that the Divine influence spread even more, the green patches of Argusian skin covering slightly more of her elven skin.
'So the influence didn't just grant her a boon, that figures, but what is even more concerning is that it seems to spread even faster than before' Aqua thought about burning away the influence, but making enemies in an unknown world more than she already has would be a disaster.
'I will allow it for now, once I learn which divine parasite granted her this I will make plans, I'll make that parasite regret showing itself!' She chuckled in her mind as she thought about eradicating yet another divinity that threatened her people.
And yet she couldn't act without information, while unlikely, for all she knew the parasite that granted her this blessing would be even more powerful than the supreme deity of her world.
"Lady Aqua please don't stare that much!" Azure was flushed completely red as Aqua was in her thoughts.
"Oh sorry Azure, I was just admiring your look" Aqua responded as bluntly as she could, after all, it wasn't a complete lie.
Azure took a small step back before answering "So you can even cast illusions, I'm impressed Lady Aqua"
Aqua gently placed her hands on Azure's head her hands glowed eerie purple and blue light as Azure's form shifted and changed.
It was a simple spell for a caster of Aqua's skill and power, after all, it was just a means to disguise two girls and trick the senses of others.
It was unfortunate but Aqua wasn't the best at illusion, her proficiency was by her own admission in pure destructive power, but that did not mean she didn't have various other tools at her disposal.
After all what kind of caster would only specialize in one area and neglect everything else, a true master would need to have a deep understanding of the defensive and utility usage of their power.
'If I lacked even one of my defensive spells I would have been killed by the supreme deity so many times' She sighed as she reminisced about the battle of her life and world.
Resurrection, Time manipulation, Space manipulation, all of these were necessary to face someone as powerful as the creator of the entire world.
While Aqua's mastery of Time was not at the highest possible level she could still influence the flow of time to a limited degree.
But for this scenario, she had to use one of her weakest areas, which is illusion.
Aqua let go of Azure looking over her new form, Her hair color turning pitch black, her eyes turning brown the green patches of skin disappearing under the veil of illusion, and her beautiful elven ears turning into human ears.
"Spin around for me Azure" Aqua took a step back letting her make sure that illusion was perfect.
Azure nodded before spinning slowly.
"Good, this should fool almost everyone we come across" She smiled as she confirmed a successful spell on Azure.
Azure picked up a clean uniform from the sack before slowly sliding it over herself while comparing it to the sensation of wearing Armor, for her this was something to wear only on official visits and celebrations and yet she knew that she couldn't complain.
'Greatest feat I'm able to do is a full-body illusion, and by the usage of [Beyond the Veil] which would combine Space manipulation, illusion, and elemental power hide from sight from even the creator of the world for a while' She chuckled as she undressed, her clothes and ruby placed in pocket dimension only Aqua herself could reach.
Aqua didn't even register Azure's surprised expression as she continued her thought 'Master Umbra even while only being human had such mastery of illusion that she could construct fake worlds, indistinguishable from reality' Aqua remembered how hopeless she was when she started training.
'Your senses would be useless after all only reason I was able to be unnoticed so long by Supreme Deity was because of her illusion covering the entire country where I resided, and unlike mine, her illusion was permanent and nigh unbreakable' She smiled as she thought of her master's power before her face gained a sad look. 'But in the end humans, no matter how powerful can live forever'.
She picked up the uniform from one of the sacks which contained most spare clothes and uniforms before placing it on the nearby bedroll, letting herself take in Azure's reactions while her companion was trying to avert her gaze.
Aqua chuckled as her own form changed under purple and blue haze, her form changed to a similar form to Azure's but she took a form closer to Umbra, her former master, her hair slightly shorter than Azure's, and instead of brown eyes, they turned green.
'These forms are close to Umbra's' She smiled as she checked herself before asking "Hey Azure, could you check if everything looks good?"
She did a spin, letting Azure look her over for a while 'She looks so embarrassed' Aqua let out a slight chuckle as she gazed at her companion's blushed face.
Azure closed her eyes as Aqua turned around and slowly put on her Golden Rose Uniform.
"Lady Aqua, I have some questions if you don't mind," Azure asked while averting her gaze.
Aqua raised her brow before answering "Go ahead, you deserve to know if we are to travel together on this rescue mission"
Azure took a moment to think before crossing her arms and asking "What kind of magic do you use?"
Aqua understood where this question was coming from but she couldn't understand what exactly Azure was asking "What do you mean?"
"When your form shimmered earlier and now when you threw your clothes into some kind of portal, it didn't look like you used any of the known casting methods" Azure replied.
She took a moment to pick her words before continuing "And not only that, your mastery of both physical prowess from what I experienced and combined with magical mastery is abnormal"
Aqua was taken aback by the statement for a moment "Abnormal? What do you mean?"
Azure took a moment to explain the 4 known casting methods, surprise visible on her face as the mage before her didn't understand.
Aqua scratched her chin as she thought for a moment before bluntly answering "No, These methods are inefficient and primitive, no self-respecting caster should use them"
Azure was taken aback by the answer, after her entire life she was taught that only 4 ways of magic casting were possible.
"Then lady Aqua, how do you use your power, It is known that only these 4 methods are possible when it comes to magic casting, and yet your spells are instantaneous without either catalyst, body movement, chants, or prayer" Azure's new face was completely washed in shock and disbelief, she wasn't that knowledgeable about magic but she knew enough to see the absurdity in Aqua's words.
'Hmm, seems this world's understanding of Aether Energy is limited' Aqua thought for a moment before answering "Do you know about the connection of Aether Energy and Mana?"
Azure's face betrayed confusion before asking "I know about mana, but what do you mean by Aether Energy lady Aqua?"
Aqua leaned back, taking a moment to think before casually replying while crossing her arms "To explain the Aether Energy is quite difficult, but it is a building block of mana, you can think of it as a raw ore which you can refine into mana ingots"
As she noticed a puzzled look on Azure's face she reached into a space pocket and retrieved parchment and mystic pen.
"Azure, look closely as I draw, The methods you mentioned are well known to me, but they all have one thing In common" She slowly drew 4 stick figures describing casting methods.
Aqua glanced for a moment, seeing Azure was attentive she smiled as she continued.
"Can you tell me what they have in common, Azure?" She put down the parchment before her.
Azure took a long look over 4 stick figures, first showing a figure standing in a pose with multiple lines around it while channeling a spell, second showing a figure holding a staff, third showing a figure standing over a rune circle, and last showing the figure in prayer.
"Uhh, they all have external components, but I don't understand why that matters" Azure answered with a puzzled look.
Aqua giggled for a moment before answering "Partially correct, these methods use World's Mana, not the user's"
Aqua made a small pause letting Azure process the information before continuing.
Azure nodded her head.
"If casters use the world's mana how come they can suffer from mana exhaustion"
Aqua scratched her head for a moment before continuing "Because World's mana burdens the soul, there is no such thing as mana exhaustion…"
Azure didn't let Aqua finish before interjecting "How is that possible, I have personally witnessed casters fall unconscious because of them running out of mana"
"To understand that, you must know more about the soul" Aqua replied casually, before drawing a more complex figure, with lines contained inside and very closely to the figure.
"The soul is basically a super-powered generator, from where all beings get their power including divinity" She continued her explanation while generating soft glowing orbs from her right hand.
Azure gazed at Aqua with a confused look.
Aqua sighted for a moment before continuing.
"See, the Aether Energy isn't mana by itself, one needs to convert it by herself into whatever is needed" Aqua explained before crushing the glowing orb in her hand.
"You aren't a caster, so you might not understand. But what you need to remember is that the 4 methods you describe, steal that same energy from the World's Soul"
Azure shook her head for a moment "But Lady Aqua, that doesn't explain why mages suffer from mana exhaustion"
"Mana you are used to is a mere residue of World Soul's natural generation, and it's not your own!" Aqua explained bluntly
"What casters do is that they absorb that residue or already created product, and only after that would they shape it with exception of prayer"
"But think of it like a full mug that is constantly getting filled by a faucet above it" Aqua smiled as she looked at Azure, her face finally showing understanding.
Azure raised her hand before speaking "So you want to tell me, that all our teaching is wrong?"
"Only partially, you still use mana same as me, but your casters lack knowledge of the soul so they aren't able to utilize pure Aether energy which is a crucial first step! Leaving them to only be able to use World Soul Mana"
Aqua took a moment to get her breath before asking "What do you think would happen when you add more liquid into an already full mug?"
Azure gazed back with a confused look once again before stating "It would spill"
Aqua gave a small applause before continuing "Indeed, it is similar to the thing that happens to the soul!"
"Your soul generates a near infinite amount of Aether Energy, and instead of using that ocean of power, your casters do what?" Aqua asked Azure with a small smirk visible on her face
"They… add even more power" Azure answered.
"Indeed, you as a warrior might not notice it as you never had to add that much power but depending on the caster some can't even take in a small amount of World's Mana before their soul gets overwhelmed… the condition you fittingly call Mana Exhaustion"
Aqua crossed her arms as she explained the cause of mana exhaustion.
"But do not get me wrong, not many people can utilize Aether Energy to its full potential, but ALL living things can utilize it to some level and convert it into mana to such quantity that stealing World's Mana can't compare." Aqua slowly opened the same black portal before putting in the parchment and the pen back.
"And an additional advantage is that it does not require movement, prayer, or catalyst or a rune" Aqua smiled warmly as her new friend understood her.
"The only different method is prayer, prayer borrows the mana from the divine instead of the World, but problems are the same as the already filled mug gets overfilled"
Azure was left speechless, with her mouth agape for a moment before asking "How do YOU have this knowledge lady Aqua, if using Aether Energy to convert to mana is that much more powerful, someone in the royal court would know about it?"
Aqua shook her head "That, I do not know, Azure.''
''But I will explain more once we rescue your friend" Aqua smiled as she approached Azure and gave her a hand.
Azure smiled as she grabbed Aqua's hand "I will hold you to that lady Aqua, Sheira will most certainly have questions for you too."
Aqua casually replied, "I'm sure she will, let's go I think our escort is almost ready."
Two girls nodded to each other before turning to the exit and leaving the tent while wearing uniforms of their enemy and different faces.