Chapter 20 - The Light of the World (2/2)
“Let’s go inside, I’ll make some tea, there have been a batch of very nice leaves in the shi+pment this time”
The right way of brewing tea was one of the few re secrets that Nisha tried to learn from the old elf, whose skills and keenness in that domain almost bordered the realm of art
“You can wait upstairs, you ht”
Fighting is the last thing I want to do I just don’t want to be pitied
Left alone without the intruder in their interaction, a heavy silence settled itself between the girls
On the one hand, all of them still loved each other as dearly as sisters, they had played tricks on each other before their quarrel, danced with each other and had been having girl talk when the elf wasn’t around
On the other side, the argument made Nisha feel insecure on how to treat the older woed between them, if she had ruined their relationshi+p, and ould she do if the two of them didn’t want to be around her anymore
Standing on edge the whole tiirl considerably, and the grave stillness a the three of theether in the armchairs
Due to her blindness, Nisha couldn’t see the way Lydia and Annabelle were acting, but they closely ers and twitching on their seats Unable to bear the pressure any how lonely she would be if they refused to talk to her
Her outcry ht of her as a strong-h she couldn’t see without ever co or throw a tantrum
Rushi+ng over to her side, the sisters tried to console her, hugging her and patting her head
“What happened? Please don’t cry, we’re here Tell us, what’s wrong?”
The frantic undertone in Anna’s voice betrayed her agitation, she clearly cared very er sister, and was also very tensed
Please don’t hate me, please don’t hate me, please don’t hate me
“I don’t want to fight with you I knoas in the wrong, so please forgivereminded about my blindness by Mister Hayze bothered me … I took it out on you
Please don’t hate me”
Forcing out short sentences in between her long sobs, she clutched tightly onto her two dear friends, crying on Lydia’s shoulder
The tohtened their e on their faces, their little sister was still a young girl with unstable eer than she was
“You’re so silly We would never hate you because of a small quarrel, ere like you and just didn’t kno to approach the situation
But I’h this, I should have come to talk to you earlier
You are our younger sister, and ill always love you as such, no matter what you do That’s what a family is for, isn’t it?”
Tearing up over her own declaration, Annabelle started bawling too, which also pushed Lydia over the edge
When the old elf made his way up with the tray on which rested four sets of tea cups and some towels, he found a htly together in one long group hug
“Now, I see that I don’t need to mediate much after all Here, take so your char faces”
Soothing the downcast teenagers, the elderly elf could not hide his s hands and feeling reluctant to let go of each other, because they had just went through an eether
“It is not a bad thing to fight froree with his friends all the tiht over a ridiculously small matter But it’s important to kno to coht doesn’t turn into so this until the departure of our … company
Nonetheless, from what I have seen Nisha has been unsatisfied with the ere treating her regarding her injury, feeling worth less than she actually is
Personally I feel like I auilty of that, and I will try my best to not do it anymore in the future
However, you could have also told us about it, instead of bottling up your feelings, dear We are your fas that bother you with us
Now, Lydia and Anna
I know the two of you went through soht to be wary of strangers Still, you treated Nisha and h the last , you are also free to talk about it, just avoiding the issues will only lead to tension
Do not feel too bad about it, you are young and still unfamiliar with all of this, so it’s normal to make some mistakes and hit a slump sometimes
Just learn froht?”
The long sermon had turned into an advice, and Nisha and her two older sisters took the guidance from their wise elder to heart
“Alright grandpa”
The lowa bout of giggles as soon as they realized they had the same response
“How about some tea now?”
Pouring each of them a cup, Eldrin enjoyed a scene of a lively family he had missed dearly
After another long conversation, about each other’s insecurities and concerns, the three woreed to discuss more openly in the future, both sides had held their opinions back in fear of hurting each other’s feelings yet it had only resulted in tears
This included sharing their worries with Eldrin, who offered to listen to their problereat help to resolve their quarrels and add soestions
A long and touching day had tired the the only one who hadn’t cried He only watched with a bittersweet so to bed early
The folloeek slowly allowed the cottage to catch up on their usual schedule of lessons and training, and the at her feelings and insecurities with both Eldrin and the two sisters, and it provided her with a huge mental support
During one of herof elements came so close to her skin that they were visible to aeven further inside her
As soon as the last speck of light was absorbed under her skin, the world suddenly went up in fire
Her eternal darkness changed in a heartbeat, breaking into ments, and veins of vivid colours appeared
Every possible colour walzed around, lighting up Nisha’s world suddenly, and the abrupt stimulus knocked her out cold, the shock was too much for her to bear
Awakening in the nexthad evolved in her closed eyes, she was still clinging to Eldrin’s arm who didn’t notice the episode when she had drifted from meditation to sleep the previous day
Still feeling a bit nu her head and wondering why there was no headache acco the unexpected seizure
Checking her condition, Nisha noticed the biggest difference very quickly
She was no longer sitting in a black sea Everything inside the roo off soft hues in the shades of different elements
I , this can’t be
Her heart pounded violently, she couldn’t quite believe it She was able to perceive so with her eyes It wasn’t like before, when she had been able to see, the current picture lacked details and pight, this was incomparably better
Continuing to search for the things that had been irl completely focused her attention on her inner self
Another big transformation had occurred in her soul space Three spheres of distinct glow hovered around four smaller orbs
Therey, and a jet black darkness
Green stored the se as the three big ones, in a general chaotic movement pattern
A third realization hit her almost as hard as the first one
Nisha had access to her soul space again, causing a shi+ver to run through her spine
“Eldrin, please lend ain, I want to test my rank”
The elf was already getting dressed and looked with concern at the girl, she had not reacted when he had called out to her earlier, displaying an incredulous expression on her face
“Sure, here you go But I thought you didn’t like-”
Unable to finish the re, like Nisha
A single blue star, the sht, signifying the she had reached the first mana rank
To other people thisof the path to cultivation idely recognized as the easiest step
However, to the aged elf who kne hard his granddaughter had been working, and for the girl in question, who dreaded falling behind her sisters and dragon siblings, this single star brought huge joy
I did it I finally did it
“How did you know, Nisha?”
Speaking quietly to appreciate the le question at her
“Because I can see the light of the world once again”