After returning to the room, Orion carried Saria in a bridal style, cradling her head close to his chest as he followed the two healers. While he hadn’t yet asked for their names, he decided it would be courteous to introduce himself, just to start on a good note.

“My name is Orion,” he suddenly mentioned from behind the two women, catching their attention as they turned to look at him.

Madam Seraphina regarded the young man with the unconscious woman in his arms, noting his earnest expression. She nodded in understanding and introduced herself, “I am Madam Seraphina, the head of the Prismerian healers council.”

After hearing Madam Seraphina’s introduction, Orion turned his attention to the other woman as she spoke, “I am Mrs. Merisela, the third councilwoman of the Prismerian Healer Council.”

Orion nodded in acknowledgement and replied, “Alright. It’s a pleasure to meet you both.”

The two women nodded back at him. Mrs. Merisela even had a smile on her face as they continued walking together, guiding him toward the garden.

Orion was content with the outcome, noticing that their demeanour around him had significantly relaxed. He took note of his surroundings as they made their way forward.

The walk didn’t take more than fifteen minutes before they reached a massive, rounded stone door guarded by two guards stationed on either side of the imposing entrance.

Orion could discern from the towering crystals above that they were now outdoors. However, whether they were still within the castle’s boundaries or outside it remained a mystery, as the palace appeared exceptionally vast from what he had observed.

“The queen herself has granted us access,” Madam Seraphina said, prompting the guards to exchange glances before they both returned their attention forward.

With a resounding tap of their spears on the ground, the stone wall before them began to bulge, and one of the guards stepped aside, allowing the massive stone door to roll open before coming to a stop.

“You may pass,” the guard stated. Without hesitation, Madam Seraphina and Mrs. Merisela walked in, gesturing for Orion to follow.

He entered the dark cave promptly, and the stone door closed behind him. Glancing back, he noticed that the guards remained outside.

As he moved forward, a distant, radiant light caught his attention. Within a minute, Orion reached the end of the cave, and he couldn’t help but marvel at the beauty of this place, surpassing even the farm back in the village.

Stepping onto the soft grass, he gazed upward at the sky, where thousands, if not millions, of dazzling crystals, hung from the cave’s ceiling, emitting a brilliant, blinding light that momentarily overwhelmed him, forcing him to refocus his gaze on his surroundings.

Looking around, Orion couldn’t find the right words to express his amazement as he gazed at the various trees adorned with gems. He even spotted gems of various colours peeking out from the grass, as if they had sprouted from the ground.

He could also see the rather unusual trees with radiant, multicoloured leaves. Some appeared quite ordinary, except for the watermelon-shaped fruits dangling from their branches.

Surveying the vastness of the garden, Orion couldn’t determine if it was larger or smaller than the farm, as its boundaries seemed to extend beyond his sight.

The clear sound of Madam Seraphina clearing her throat snapped Orion’s attention back. She extended her hand toward him, signalling that he could proceed with his plans.

Taking a deep breath, Orion exhaled slowly as he approached the trees ahead. Something peculiar caught his attention. Saria’s body began to grow translucent as he neared a tree adorned with gems.

Curious, Orion turned to face another tree lacking such gems, and while Saria’s form became less transparent, she still didn’t regain her full vitality. Under his breath, Orion muttered, “I hope I’m not making a mistake.”

Turning back to the gem-covered tree, he extended his hands toward it. Each gem began to illuminate one by one as Saria’s barely visible body was pulled into the tree by a powerful force, slipping from Orion’s grasp.

While Orion harboured some worry about what might occur, he managed to maintain his composure.

His gaze remained fixed on the tree as he settled onto the soft, emerald grass, bracing for what would come next.

“I really hope this works,” Orion quietly muttered once more, as he knew it was his actions that had placed Saria in this unstable state.

……….…

With the surrounding mountains

The Village

Reverting to his human form, the Village Chief swiftly descended into a gathering of tree nymphs, where a small group of warriors had encircled them.

“Chief,” several of the warriors greeted him respectfully upon his arrival, while others remained fixated on the sickly tree, their expressions marked by concern.

“What happened? I’ve just received the news, and I’m still struggling to understand,” the Village Chief interjected, his voice trembling slightly as his gaze fell upon the scene before him. “Is this…?” He trailed off.

“Yes, Chief. According to the tree nymphs, this is Saria’s tree, and for her tree to begin to wither, then it would only mean that she has passed away. The tree nymphs are here to mourn her death, although more would have come if not for Overseer Anara’s condition, which has taken hold of their attention,” explained one of the warriors.

The Village Chief clenched his teeth in frustration. “Does that mean Orion is also dead?” he asked in a hushed tone, his confidence visibly wavering in the face of their grim circumstances.

The warrior shook his head and responded, “I’m not certain, Chief. But given the current situation, I believe it wouldn’t be unreasonable for us to consider it as a possibility.”

He chose his words carefully, aware of the intense emotions etched across the Village Chief’s face.

Frustrated by the warrior’s words, his teeth clenched harder in anger, and he turned away. “Is Orion’s sky ready?” he asked.

Orion’s sky was the name they had given to the flying contraption that Orion had constructed.

Although it had taken them some time to replicate it, the pressure of the current situation, coupled with the abundance of examples from the contraptions Orion had used to deliver the babies and gifts to the village, had allowed them to achieve their goal.