While Lucian was immersed in his research, Cossay City itself was far from tranquil.
Each day, the city gates were guarded by pairs of second-tier wizard apprentices, who also operated enchantments to keep the encroaching mist from penetrating the city. Cossay was a fortified outpost established by Greybone Academy, built with defensive wards by a master of arrays. Though limited by resources, the city's defences could hold out against even a formal wizard for a time, especially with a third-tier wizard apprentice in charge, assisted by lesser apprentices.
Blocking the mist, then, was trivial work.
"Stop!" one of the gate guards barked, eyeing a faint shadow emerging from the mist with caution.
Just then, a sharp wooden spear flew from within the mist at alarming speed, so fast that it left an afterimage. The guard, reacting quickly, summoned the city's defensive magic, creating a thick screen of water in front of him.
Thud.
The spear's momentum waned against the barrier, ultimately dropping to the ground. The half-fae responsible for the attack slipped back into the mist.
Lilia arrived from within the city, her expression cold as she addressed the guard at her side. "Damn it, they got away again."
The guard lowered his head in silence, unwilling to meet her gaze.
Lilia glared into the thick mist surrounding Cossay City but ultimately refrained from leaving the protection of the array to pursue. Her hand instinctively moved to the crude doll, Edlyn, at her waist, and a flicker of pale flames danced in her eyes—subtle embers that tugged at her emotions.
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"Another successful batch." Lucian carefully placed a dried and singed clam (Mermaid's Tear) back into its tank, then held up a vial containing a newly brewed dose of Moonlight Praise, admiring the honey-like fluid's lustrous glow.
"Beautiful," he murmured before tilting the vial and letting a viscous drop fall into his mouth. Closing his eyes, Lucian could almost hear a haunting melody as his mental sea was suffused in silver light, drawing him into a strange, ethereal vision.
The scene was familiar—moonlight, an elegant ball, and a barefooted girl twirling gracefully under the silvery light.
As the effects of the potion took hold, Lucian felt his mental energy surge. What he didn't realise, though, was that traces of the silver radiance that enveloped him were drifting toward Carrie, who lay nearby in a deep slumber. Subtle streams of moonlight energy flowed from him, drawn by her body's natural pull, and she absorbed them eagerly.
"Huh, this seems… weaker than last time," Lucian noted when he finally awoke from the vision. Assessing his mindscape, he frowned in slight disappointment—this dose of Moonlight Praise had definitely yielded a lesser effect.
Something was off. Normally, after consuming Moonlight Praise, a wizard's mental whirlpool would take on a vibrant silver hue that could last for weeks, enhancing the rate of meditation. But this time, Lucian's mental vortex held only a faint silver tint, which was rapidly dissipating.
"Strange…" He traced the source of the discrepancy and found himself looking toward Carrie, still asleep on the cot beside him.
Rather than feeling anger, Lucian chuckled. Carrie's body was drawing on the potion's residual effects instinctively as if compelled by a deep-seated need for its essence.
"Moon-fae blood, Moonlight Praise... an ancestral return..." Lucian murmured, beginning to piece together the likely cause of Carrie's unusual reaction. Curious, he cast another analysis spell on her.
"Just as I thought." A smile spread across his face as he reviewed the results.
Carrie's transformation had sped up, shortening her hibernation by nearly fifteen hours, and the concentration of her moon-fae blood had risen slightly as well, now measuring at 14.1%.
"Lucky, aren't we?" Lucian chuckled, gazing at the peaceful expression on Carrie's face.
"All right, Carrie—let's see just how far your potential can reach." With that, he pulled another set of Moonlight Praise ingredients from his dimensional ring, diving back into his alchemical work.
The days slipped by as he brewed. It took four more tries before Lucian succeeded in concocting another dose, the thick silver drop catching the moonlight as he poured it directly into Carrie's mouth, then sat back to await her transformation.
"Mm…" Carrie shifted slightly as the potion's effects settled over her, her small nose wrinkling as if dreaming. Soon her restlessness quieted, and a faint shimmer of moonlight wrapped around her, resonating with the light of the actual moon outside.
Lucian noticed that a stream of moonlight was pouring in through the window, filling the laboratory with a silver glow as it congregated around Carrie. His mental whirlpool, too, accelerated in response, its movement akin to a lesser version of the Moonlight Praise effect.
But Lucian was too focused to meditate; his gaze stayed on Carrie, who was now completely enveloped in radiant light. Her hair once flecked with silver, had transformed entirely, gleaming in the same shade as the moonlight itself.
Then, a single tear slipped from Carrie's eye, and the moonlight in the room rushed into her body in a torrent. In the next moment, she opened her eyes.