The Dawn of the New World

Only after hearing what Jin Wang had to say did Hao Xuan come to the same conclusion.

"You're right. I completely overlooked her age. The stress of going through something like this would even leave someone our age in bed for weeks, let alone her."

The brief respite Princess Helena got from an otherwise terrible day was over before she could even let out a breath of relief. Her face fell faster than ever before.

"W-What does that mean for her? What can we do now?"

Hao Xuan and Jin Wang exchanged glances, both of them realizing there was not much hope. This time Jin Wang spoke up first.

"There is not much that can be done. Simply restoring her vitality won't do much good, not that it would even be a possibility," he knelt beside the Grand Priestess taking her frail hand in his. It had no weight at all as if even a strong wind was enough to take her away.

"Her body is exhausted beyond measure and it might not take at all. Decades of stress and exhaustion that she had been pushing off using her powers have caught up to her. Her soul is still intact but the body is beyond repair. Every single cell is drained to the limits."

Princess Helena realized the true gravity of the situation. Jin Wang was right, in all her life she had never seen the Grand Priestess take a single day off. She was constantly on the move, doing one thing or another that was beyond their comprehension.

Tears formed in the corner of her eyes as she knelt beside the bed, gently resting her forehead on her grandmother's legs.

"Whenever something went wrong we always looked to you for guidance. You were always there to help no matter the situation. And even if you didn't have the answers yourself you did not rest even when all hope was lost. We...I never thought there would come a day when you wouldn't be around."

Seeing her dainty body Princess Helena finally couldn't hold back anymore and broke down crying.

"Even when you found out that Ama and Aba were gone you didn't shed a single tear. At first I thought you didn't care about them and I hated you for it for so long. Years passed and eventually even I moved on."

"But then one night I happened to be passing by and heard a voice coming from the graveyard. You were there, singing ama's favorite song and drinking aba's favorite mead while cleaning their graves. Kart told me you never stopped visiting them, not even for a single day."

Kart who was standing beside the grand priestess turned away. Despite his ferocious appearance this wolf demihuman couldn't hold back his tears at this moment.

He had loyally served the grand priestess since he was a pup. To him, she was all the family he had ever known.

"I can't imagine how hard it must have been hiding your feelings all this time. But you had to, you are the Grand Priestess, the sole protector of Argham."

Jin Wang let out a deep sigh. As painful as this was it needed to be done. The faster they accepted her fate the faster they could move on.

"Th-"

"Why are you crying so much, it's not like she passed away. As long as she breathes there is a chance. I will find a way to wake her up, THEN say all of this to her."

Jin Wang glared at Hao Xuan while Kart and Princess Helena looked at him with newfound hope.

"Are you serious Lord Hao Xuan?! Do you think there is a chance??"

"There is always a chance, no matter how small. Don't give up just yet. Give me three days and if I still can't find a way then you can mourn her properly. Leave her be for now, she needs to rest."

"Thank you, thank you so much, sir!" even Kart ran up to him gleefully but Hao Xuan was forcefully pulled away before he could reach.

"Come with me for a second. We need to talk," Jin Wang grabbed him by the arm and they both disappeared from the spot, leaving Claudia gawking at the empty space.

They reappeared a moment later outside of the city on the outskirts of some ancient ruins.

"WHY DID YOU SAY THAT?!" Jin Wang roared as soon as Hao Xuan got a grasp of his surroundings.

"Say what? Where is this place? Was that teleportation? It didn't feel like it."

"That there was a chance! You know it's next to impossible for her to recover, you felt the weakness in her body. Even her mind is at its limits. It's a miracle she is still breathing and you what, want to 'restore' her to her former self?"