Solar Mage

Chapter 31: Prayer

Is the light in front of me getting brighter? I feel it getting warmer but I haven\'t even started praying yet?

I open my eyes and see her entire body as well as Han\'s body covered in an orange light.

I guess Pyro\'s blessing does work even without me having to pray, but just to kneel in a praying position.

The light surrounding Tin\'s legs is especially dark.

Abruptly, the light dissipates as Rachel finishes praying.

"Ugh– how long was I praying this time?"

That was quick, do injuries as severe as that normally heal that quickly?

"Uh, about a minute has passed, why do you ask?"

"And there\'s no more healing potions?"

"No."

"It can only mean one thing when a prayer ends quickly while healing an injury as severe as this. It means it failed and Tin will die.

She moves her hand down Tin\'s face and closes her eyes.

"I\'m sorry for being unable to save you Tin. May you spend the rest of eternity peacefully treading through the plains of Balan."

Didn\'t her healing prayer work, enhanced by Pyro\'s blessing?

Then she turns to me with red watery eyes– full of anger, yet not a single tear falls.

"I\'m sorry for not being able to save him Nameless, if only my faith was stronger! Lets not waste this opportunity that Tin sacrificed his life for. You can inform me of the situation as we get out of this terrible place."

She really has gotten mature from this event. But she seems to be misunderstanding something...

From behind her, Tin opens his eyes and yawns.

I knew he was alive!

Rachel doesn\'t seem to notice his movements, but does notice me staring in his direction.

"What are you doing? Even though we are kids, there are no adults around so we must take responsibility! I know you\'re sad, and want to mourn– I do too, but we can\'t waste any more time. We have to get out of here as fast as possible! There may be no resources around here and there could be dangerous unknown creatures lurking."

Tin gets up and walks closer to Rachel yet she still doesn\'t notice until he puts his hand on her shoulder.

"Hey there kids, body and legs feel especially sore right now. I guess my old age really is getting to me haha."

"AAAAAHH!!! An undead! Purification! Purification! Purification!"

The room is lit by a quick blinding light three times before Rachel runs out of mana and stops casting.

"Hey, thanks for that Rachel, I feel a little better now."

"Huff– huff– huff– are you really alive Tin? Thank you Pyro for this miracle!"

Tin scratches his smooth head in confusion.

"What do you mean? Did something happen? Where are Han and Sara?"

"Do you really not remember anything Tin?"

He becomes serious as he becomes aware of the situation.

"I don\'t but I had this really realistic dream where I was clashing with Han, actually all of you were in it. You know those dreams where you fall and then immediately wake up?"

Yeah, those are really annoying. Those dreams just ruin my sleep for the day.

We both nod.

"Well, the dream ended like that. But it really was realistic! I felt all the pain of the fall."

So he does remember...

"Wow, that really does sound like a realistic dream! I had a dream just like that before I woke up as well!"

What is she saying... nevermind, she fell unconscious during the fall as well. I should just clear up the confusion before the misunderstandings get worse.

"Those weren\'t dreams. All of that happened."

Tin becomes agitated.

"What do you mean? Are you saying we fought Han and survived a drop as deep as that? My legs are fine and both yours and Rachel\'s are fine as well and neither of you are even swordsmen!"

Damn he\'s right, I need to come up with an excuse quickly.

"Don\'t believe me? Look up."

I point upwards, at the seemingly endlessly high ceiling above us lit well by magic lamps.

"Then, how are you fine?"

I hold up my amulet.

"Because of this artifact."

I say with confidence.

That should be believable enough right?

"I thought that artifact enhances your magic."

Why is he so nosy?

"I–uh– this artifact has many uses..."

He examines my face thoroughly.

"Alright, I know nothing about artifacts anyway. I\'ll take your word for it. That\'s a really useful artifact."

Then Tin looks down at his bloody legs and seems to be in deep concentration.

"So, Han and Sara are dead then?"

"Yeah."

I respond in a low voice.

"I see, they weren\'t good people but they were like my younger siblings."

Then, he turns to Rachel.

"Rachel. I know they tried to harm you, but could you pray for them to be better people in their next life?"

"Of course, I wanted to pray for them as well."

Rachel turns to me.

Why is she looking at me? Wait– she must have thought I was still angry at them which is why she didn\'t pray for them earlier!

"You can pray for them."

Me and Tin gather their bodies into the front of the room and Rachel stands over their bodies with her hands stretched out as if she\'s about to embrace someone.

Why isn\'t she isn\'t praying for them in the church\'s proper praying position?

"Oh Great Goddess Pyro, please cleanse these dirty sinners\' souls and forgive them. Reincarnate them so that they will be better people who will do your work in their next life and repay you for the grace that you have shown them."

All non-corrupt members of the church that I\'ve met like Dustin are incredibly huge fanatics of Pyro... she is the goddess of the sun, not afterlife or reincarnation. If only they knew her true nature... actually, it might be better if they didn\'t. But for her to plead to Pyro about reincarnation... that\'s something only those at the rank of bishop or higher can do. Perhaps she\'s hiding something as well.

Then, an angelic pillar of light shines down from the ceiling.

Impossible! This entire dungeon is underground, how can sunlight reach all the way down here? But for the prayer to actually have worked– she truly is hiding a lot from me.

"Goodbye Sara..."

Rachel softly whispered as a single tear flows down from ber face before it supernaturally quickly dissipates

It seems her relationship with Sara was real though. She should be given time to mourn. Even though she has been acting mature, she\'s also a child.

Unexpectedly, Sara is the first to speak up.

"Let\'s go now."

She exceeds my expectations every time.

We walk away, leaving Han\'s sword and Sara\'s daggers stuck in the ground acting as a gravestone.

We walk quickly with our newfound motivation and charge toward the corridor as Rachel leads the way.

She almost goes into the corridor, but I grab her by the collar and pull her back before she steps.

"What are you doing, Nameless?"

She says impatiently.

"There are traps so we should be careful where we step."

She snaps back.

"Well, if you keep being so concerned about everywhere we step, how long will it be before we die of starvation? We don\'t know how long this hidden dungeon room will take to escape!"

I ignore her and walk straight, on the right side of the entrance.

"Didn\'t you just tell me not to walk anywhere?"

Lets see, one, two, there. Here it is. The message on the wall told me to press it really hard.

I hold a strong stance before imbuing my arms with aura and push.

"Hrrghh"

One more!

"Hrrrrrgghhhh"

"What are you doing, Nameless? Have you lost your mind already?"

"Don\'t worry, I haven\'t lost it just yet. But, Zinc was right, this definitely takes a whole lot of force to activate it."

"Activate what!?! And who is Zinc!?!"

Hmm I had thought that maybe she was a little restless because she had to act mature even in the situation we\'re in right now. But maybe she\'s gone crazy? But from what?

"Why aren\'t you answering me Nameless?"

Okay, I\'ve had enough.

I use Swift Wind and quickly move behind her, and chop the back of her neck, knocking her unconscious."

"You understand why I did that right, Tin?"

"I will admit, I tried understanding it but she was acting quite a lot differently."

"It\'s nice to have someone smart to talk to."

"With age comes wisdom."

What is he saying?

"I know how to avoid all the traps."

He is unfazed.

"I\'ve known since I\'ve met you, that you were special. And if you want to hide things from me, that\'s fine. I just need to trust you, and we will be able to get out of here."

"Tin– thank you... now I need to deactivate the traps myself, so can you carry her?"

We both look down at Rachel\'s unconscious body.

"Ah– sure."

I quickly appear back to the third stone with Swift Steps and use everything at my disposal.

Aura, mana, Pyro\'s blessing, Heightened Senses, Iron Body.

All around one fist, and punch with all my might.

That punch felt solid, I think I did it!

When the dust cloud dissipates, I see the stone unbroken, and unmoved.

How???

Then, it makes a clicking sound and presses itself in.

How anticlimactic... whatever, a win is a win.

We walk through the corridor confidently as Tin, carrying Rachel, follows behind me and we enter the next room.