Two weeks after Lux returned to Solais…
A green cocoon pulsating at the root of the world tree slowly opened, revealing a Half-Elf wearing nothing but his birthday suit.
The young man's eyes fluttered before opening slowly. Half a minute later, he slowly propped himself up from the ground and looked around his surroundings.
'Where am I?' Lux thought.
Just as he was pondering the answer to this question, a faint breeze blew past him, carrying a familiar voice that made him turn to his right side.
"I'm glad that you're finally awake."
One of the most beautiful women he had seen in all his lives combined appeared in front of him. Lux couldn't help but smile as his Grandmaster, Hereswith, walked toward him with a mischievous expression on her face.
"Grandmaster," Lux greeted as he stood up from the ground.
Hereswith scanned him from head to foot, but her gaze went up a little and stopped at Lux's middle region.
"Is it just me, or has it grown a little bigger than before?" Hereswith muttered.
The Half-Elf followed his Master's gaze to see what she was looking at, only to find Little Lux standing tall and proud as if asking Hereswith to fight him for two hundred rounds.
He tried to summon a few clothes from his storage ring, but nothing happened. It was at that moment that he realized that his storage rings weren't in his possession, making him frown.
"Looking for these?" Hereswith showed her fingers that wore one ring each. "I took them from you for safekeeping. The World Tree rejects anything that wasn't born from nature.
"Because of its disposition, I had to remove these rings from your body. Only then did the World Tree cover you up in a cocoon, speeding up your recovery. So, how do you feel?"
Lux closed his eyes in order to check whether there were any changes in his body. A moment later, his eyes opened wide, and he looked at his Grandmaster in disbelief.
"I-I am now a Saint," Lux said in disbelief. "How is this possible?"
"The World Tree made it possible," Hereswith replied. "You are a Half-Elf, so that means that you have Elven Blood running through your veins. Because of this, the World Tree acknowledged you as one of its children, granting you a portion of its strength."
Hereswith looked at the World Tree which had aided Lux to break through to the Saint Rank.
She knew that the Tree of the Elves felt that the world was facing a threat that could potentially destroy its entirety. Because of this, it decided to sacrifice a quarter of its life force to allow Lux to become a Saint.
It hoped that the red-headed teenager would be able to use his newfound strength to help the Elysians overcome the calamity that was hanging over their heads.
Hereswith inched closer to Lux and started to lightly pat all over his body, making sure that everything was normal.
"Looks good," Hereswith nodded her head in satisfaction. "Here, you can take them back."
She handed the Half-Elf his storage rings. The latter immediately took out a set of clothes and got dressed, making him sigh in relief.
Although he didn't mind his Grandmaster seeing him butt naked, he still felt uncomfortable due to the mischievous smile that was plastered on her face as she looked at Little Lux.
"Before you go anywhere, let me first tell you the status of the Abyssal invasion," Hereswith said in a serious tone.
Her earlier playful demeanor disappeared without a trace, replaced by a solemness that made Lux serious as well.
"Several Kingdoms and Empires have fallen into the hands of Abyssal Lords," Hereswith stated. "The Powerhouses of Elysium are stretched thin, so they can't go to every nook and cranny that needs saving.
"Currently, the faceoff against the Abyssal Lords is in a stalemate, but our scouts have reported that they are starting to gather once again. We believed that they were about to launch an attack on one of the weakest links in our defenses.
"Fortunately, Maeve's clairvoyance has helped us from time to time, allowing us to counter their plans when they least expect it."
Lux breathed a sigh of relief after hearing his Grandmaster's report about the Oracle of Light. Maeve had personally asked for his permission to return to the Divine Army to fight in the upcoming war.
Since she was originally part of that faction, Lux agreed to her request. There were two reasons for this.
The first one was to gain up-to-date information about the battle between the Abyssal Monsters and the Divine Army of Light.
Second, it also allowed Lux to have a middleman who could relay his words to the Divine Army, even if he was in Solais, protecting the Six Kingdoms.
At least, that was the original plan.
Unfortunately, what happened was Lux almost died at Daniel's hands.
If it weren't for Keoza, Eriol, and Max working together to save him, the Half-Elf might have already ceased to exist, not even getting the chance to enter the Cycle of Reincarnation.
"There is also one thing that you need to know," Hereswith stated. "This is just as important as the Abyssal Invasion. This is something that has a greater impact on you as a whole, so brace yourself for what I am about to say."
The beautiful Elf's words sounded ominous, making Lux feel as if she was going to say something really bad.
"Almost everyone in Elysium and Solais forgot about you, including your lovers," Hereswith said. "I'm just letting you know in advance, so you can prepare your heart before seeing them."
Her eyes were filled with worry as she looked at her Grand Disciple, who was looking back at her in disbelief.
"T-They forgot about me?" Lux asked. "All of them?"
"Not all of them," Hereswith replied in an attempt to calm her Grand Disciple, whose face had become as pale as a candle. "Aina, Aurora, Ari, and Aurelia, haven't forgotten about you."
It was at that moment that Maeve's cryptic words flashed inside his mind.
"Master, you ceased to exist."
Those were the words that Maeve told him when he had the premonition of the Abyssal Invasion.
At first, he didn't think much about it, but the words of an Oracle weren't something that could be brushed off so easily.
He had shared his worries with Aurora when the two of them had made love for the first time. Perhaps, it was his way of telling her a possibility that neither of them wanted to happen.
"Master, I have to go," Lux said with a determined look on his face. "I need to go back to Solais."
Hereswith sighed in her heart, but she still nodded her head. She knew that, with or without her permission, Lux would return to his home world to see his family members, who had likely forgotten his existence.
"Lux, remember this," Hereswith said as she gave the Half-Elf a gentle hug. "I'll always be here if you need me. So, don't face things alone, okay?"
"Yes, Master." Lux nodded.
After saying those words, the Half-Elf turned into particles of light that shot toward the sky.
Although his heart was filled with worry, he knew that he had to go back no matter what.
Iris, Cai, Vera, Alexander, and Alicia were several of the people whom he cared for the most.
Deep inside, he was scared to meet them.
He was afraid that all of them would look at him like he was some stranger whom they were seeing for the first time in their lives.
