Swirling images flew by. Stars were being sucked into an ever-growing void. Spiraling and spiraling until collapsing into a silvery sphere. The sphere exploded into a burst of iridescent light.

"Guh!" Lily exhaled as she bolted upright.

Then she began coughing. Her throat felt absolutely parched, and as she fumbled around weakly, she noticed someone had left a pitcher and glass of water on her bedside table. She didn't remember going to bed, but she was so thirsty at this point she didn't care.

Her arms felt like noodles as she hesitantly picked up the glass with both hands gripping tightly. She was immediately grateful that someone had already filled the glass, as she didn't feel she had the strength to lift the pitcher.

She drank and drank, only stopping when the cup was empty and letting out a gasp.

"Rose must have brought me back… I wonder how long I've been asleep?" Lily whispered to herself.

She gingerly touched the right side of her chest. She could feel a faint warmth pulsing within, akin to a heartbeat.

"It was… A success?" Lily asked rhetorically; she felt tears running down her face.

She wanted to bolt out of bed and talk to both Arakil and Rose immediately, but it seemed impossible. Her wishes were interrupted by her stomach letting out a starved gurgle.

Thankfully, Rose or one of the staff members was expecting her to wake up hungry, as she noticed a small plate sitting behind the pitcher. It looked like it contained crackers, hard cheese, and a few fruits and nuts.

Her stomach gurgled again at the sight, and she shifted and fumbled so she was close enough to drag the plate toward her before desperately chowing down. She felt absolutely ravenous. She had always been a relatively light eater, but now her body was demanding sustenance.

The cheese and crackers disappeared first, which she practically shoveled into her mouth as she struggled to grip them individually with her shaky fingers.

Feeling somewhat better, she moved on to the fruit. She gasped upon seeing her favorite—strawberries! Her small and delicate hands promptly reached out and grabbed the first strawberry.

As she held a strawberry, it wiggled in her grasp, slipping and sliding between her fingers. She carefully brought it up to her mouth, but her weak grip and excited anticipation caused the berry to tumble just before reaching her lips, leaving a little red smear across her cheek.

She would have succeeded if she had just tossed it into her mouth, but that would've been a waste as she enjoyed slowly nibbling strawberries from the bottom, savoring each tiny bite.

With a soft giggle, she tried again, her lips pursing in concentration as she struggled to hold the red deliciousness still. Her fingers squished the fruit a bit too hard this time, causing juice to drip down her fingers, adding to the mess. Despite the struggle, there was an adorable determination in her eyes as she savored the strawberry's sweet taste with a big, triumphant smile.

"So good!" Lily said with a delightfully happy squeal.

When she was done, she discarded the green chaff on the plate and licked her messy fingers and mouth clean before moving on to the rest of the food, ensuring she saved at least one strawberry for the finale.

When Lily emptied her plate, she felt much more energized. The warmth in her right chest pulsated with a soothing sensation throughout her body.

"Did I not have enough nutrition for my Mana Core?" She whispered to herself in question.

Her fingers no longer felt like jelly, and she felt strong enough to pour herself a glass of water from the pitcher. She greedily drank another two full glasses of water before finally feeling satiated.

She tried to climb out of bed but was hesitant because she was still not at full strength. She desperately wished she had someone to talk to or something to do, as she didn't feel tired at all.

She began wondering about her Mana Core: Could she use it, how big was it, and could she cast spells now? As her active mind kept bouncing between topics, she recalled that Arakil said she would use the same meditation method after her Mana Core was formed.

Lily nodded with a grin and began clumsily arranging herself until she was sitting in a meditative posture. Then she took in a deep breath and started trying to focus her mind.

Instantly, she could tell that this was no longer the same pointless meditation, although it was not as spectacular as the event that had transpired that moonlit night. If she concentrated her thoughts inwards, she could see her tiny silvery orb floating inside the dark recesses of her mind.

She chanted the mantra, and tiny, minuscule specs gathered toward her orb. If the backdrop of this inner world was not pitch black, she would not have noticed the tiny sparkling specs floating in the spiral toward her Mana Core.

Is this what Arakil is always complaining about? He said that the ambient Mana had dropped so dramatically that he almost couldn't believe it. But… How can I nurture my Core properly if there is no ambient Mana? Is there another way? Could I ingest Fairymoss like Arakil?

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from NovelBin; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Lily halted her meditation. The thought of ingesting something spurred her memory of that night. She gingerly touched her lips and frowned.

"Rose made me drink something…" Lily wondered.

She wrestled with her mind, trying to think of what she had drunk. It tasted utterly foul, and even the memory made Lily want to retch. At first, she thought Rose might have made her drink one of the Fairymoss solutions, but they had spent all of them as far as she could remember, and it didn't explain the scalding temperature.

"It kind of reminds me of what happened when we were making glyph ink with Rose…" Lily suddenly thought aloud.

Lily shut her mouth and began to extrapolate on that stray thought. She came to a conclusion, and she wanted to vomit.

Did Rose feed me her blood!? Lily thought in horror.

It was the only thing that made sense; it explained the metallic tang that polluted her tongue, the thick viscosity, the hot temperature, and the absurd amount of Mana.

Not to mention, the Mana was crimson-red!

Lily felt sick, and it took all of her willpower not to vomit the meal she had just eaten.

"Rose has some explaining to do…" Lily muttered angrily before rushing to get herself another glass of water. She felt a desperate need to rinse her mouth out.

To her surprise, Lily found that most of her body responded correctly after that short meditation session. She happily bounced out of bed, but the sudden rush of blood to her lower extremities gave her another urgent need.

"Bathroom!" Lily cried as she frantically opened her door and rushed outside.

***

Rose was in a terrible mood; Lily had still not woken up that morning, and Margit insisted on getting a doctor to see her. She'd even taken out her anger by grabbing the book and tossing it against the wall, which only accomplished shutting it closed and leaving a dent in the wall.

Stupid book! This is all your fault!

Anyone else in the passage gave her a wide berth as she was actively growling and looked ready to bite someone's head off.

Rose ignored all of that and headed to Lily's room. She reached to unlock the door, only to find it unlocked. Puzzled, she opened the door to find an empty room absent of its bunny occupant.

"Lily!?" Rose shouted with concern.

She began searching the room. She noticed the food and most of the water were missing. She looked for the book, which was under the mattress and still sealed shut since her morning outburst.

"Did she get up? Did they take her away?" Rose asked, trying to understand what had happened

Her investigation revealed a few tiny red stains near the edge of the bed next to the nightstand. Rose began to panic; something had happened. She rushed to the door, slamming it open and nearly toppling someone over.

"Out of my way!" Rose snarled.

"R-Rose?" A tiny voice squeaked out.

Rose snapped her head in the direction and saw a tiny little bunny girl rubbing her backside and wincing in pain.

"Lily!" Rose shouted, rushing over and lifting her up into the air and into a crushing hug.

Lily began frantically squirming, trying to escape, but with no success.

"Are you okay? I've been worried sick! You wouldn't wake up!" Rose said in a verbal barrage.

The smothering prevented Lily from responding, and Rose eventually realized that fact. She gently placed the tiny girl down and gave a relieved sigh.

"Inside…" Lily finally whispered and pointed to her room.

Rose nodded, and they both went in.

Lily frowned when she saw the state of her room.

"Sorry… I came to check on you, and you were gone. I thought something bad had happened," Rose explained with a look of clear embarrassment.

"I had to go to the bathroom," Lily explained. "And then I took a quick shower afterward… I was feeling absolutely grimy. How long was I asleep for?"

"It's been almost two days since we left," Rose answered. "You were still like a corpse, I was worried sick. Your breathing, heartbeat, and that glow were the only things I had to know you were still alive…"

"Two days… I wonder why it was that long?" Lily wondered.

"I have no idea… I tried asking that stupid book, but he wouldn't respond," Rose explained. "I had to lie to Margit. She was worried and now is quite suspicious. She said a doctor would see you first thing in the morning."

Lily shuddered. "I hate doctors…"

Rose gave an apologetic smile, now understanding why a little more after that conversation with Margit.

Lily reached under her bed and pulled out the closed book. She tilted her head in question and looked at Rose.

"Did something happen?" Lily asked. "I don't remember closing the book."

Rose grumbled and pointed to the wall; there was a very visible dent in the wall.

"Oh…" Lily muttered in understanding.

"I was really worried! And then I lost my temper!" Rose pleaded.

"No… I understand. I'm sorry for troubling you," Lily said as she grasped Rose's hand.

"So, did it work? Do you have Mana now?" Rose asked, trying to change the subject to a more positive one.

"Yes!" Lily said excitedly. "When I meditate, I can see my Mana Core, and it's letting off this soothing feeling throughout my body. When I first woke up, I thought I was starving. But then I ate some food and water, and after a short meditation, I felt good as new!"

Rose touched her chest and let out a relieved sigh. "Thank the gods…"

"It's so beautiful, I wish you could see it. It's like I have a tiny full moon inside myself; it's so silvery and majestic!" Lily said excitedly.

"So, can you cast spells now?" Rose asked.

Lily shrugged. "Probably, but I have no idea how to. Arakil focused on reaching the destination, not what we would do afterward. But when I meditated, I gathered tiny sparkles of Mana."

"Huh… I don't do any of that, though?" Rose questioned. "From what I was told, our bodies generate Mana from the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink. It happens over time as our body metabolizes."

"I think mine does that too…" Lily said, especially if she recalled how she had felt starved when she first woke up. "But I think I can increase it by meditating. Like… We both have bottles that fill up every day, but I can also increase my bottle's size."

"Oh… That sounds pretty convenient. Does that mean you'll eventually have more Mana than even me?" Rose questioned.

"Maybe… But I think at the moment it's tiny, so I have a lot of catching up to do!" Lily answered.

Rose puffed out her chest. "Of course, I wouldn't be the big sister for nothing if you didn't need to catch up!"

"The only issue is that there's so little ambient Mana," Lily sighed before brightening up. "But! I'm sure Arakil has thought of ways to increase it even without ambient Mana."

"Like eating Fairymoss or something?" Rose questioned.

"Or something…" Lily muttered, then pointed an accusatory finger straight at Rose. "Like what you did to me!"

Rose stumbled backward a little from the shock of the accusation. "I… I didn't do anything!" She fibbed.

"You stuffed a potion in my mouth!" Lily retorted.

"I… Uh…" Rose stuttered.

"With blood in it…" Lily whispered angrily, not wanting to shout the word out loud.

"It was all that stupid book's idea!" Rose deflected.

Lily looked down at the book in her hands, her fingers tightening across the binding.

"Really now?" Lily questioned.