The moment Vinny turned his head, he saw Aesphyra—who had been standing steadily just seconds ago—stagger a few steps before collapsing softly to the ground, the Holy Sword slipping from her hand and landing by her feet.
Her eyes were tightly shut. The collar of her dress was already soaked in blood, the once-immaculate silver hair now streaked with crimson and tangled. Her gown was torn and smeared with blood, her body bearing the marks of severe wounds. The internal damage was obvious. Worse, it seemed that using [Sacred Blessing] earlier had once again inflicted serious harm on her heart, forcing the blood to spill and pushing her body beyond its limits.
“Aesphyra?! White-haired shorty?!” Vinny rushed forward, catching her and propping her up against himself.
He checked her pulse—it was frighteningly weak.
“Damn it!” Out here in the middle of nowhere, how was he supposed to give her emergency treatment?!
His eyes darted around until he spotted the pale-pink potion bottle still clutched in her hand—barely half of the Saintess of Dawn elixir remained.
Without hesitation, he pried it from her fingers, gently pressed open her cherry-like lips, and tried to pour the potion in. But the unconscious Aesphyra wouldn’t swallow—she even clenched her jaw shut to keep him from feeding it to her.
“Please, just drink a little—big sis, I’m begging you here!” Vinny pleaded, wiping the blood from her lips while trying again to get the potion into her.
Even when he managed a few drops, she wouldn’t swallow—just spat them out again. The overflow forced him to hurriedly catch it back in the bottle.
Hell no—this was a lifesaving potion! Wasting it wasn’t an option!
Sweat trickled down his neck. Seeing her hanging by a thread like this sent his heart racing.
She had told him before that using her trump card this way came with a price—severe backlash.
Most likely, that backlash targeted her heart and other vital organs. Combined with the grievous injuries she’d already suffered, it was a double blow. Honestly, if she weren’t the fated heroine with ridiculous plot armor, she’d already be dead.
She must have known the consequences. But to get the two of them out alive, she’d chosen to do it anyway—and now she was paying for it.
“Big sis! Please—just drink a little! Fine, I’ll call you mom if you want!” Vinny was starting to panic. Her throat was bleeding again, and she really only had one breath left in her.
He rubbed his temples. By all rights, the fated heroine’s luck should be absurd—rarely ending up like this, and even if she did, she should meet some destined benefactor and turn the crisis into fortune.
But here in the middle of nowhere... who was going to appear to save her?
Don’t tell him... that benefactor was supposed to be him?!
He had no healing potions of his own. He wasn’t a priest, and he certainly wasn’t a Saintess—
...Wait a minute!
Ah, in his panic, he’d forgotten—he did have the [Saintess] form!
Of course... if he used it, and she woke up in the middle of being healed by him...
But this wasn’t the time for that.
With someone dying right in front of him, how could he hesitate?
Especially when she’d ended up like this saving him. She was hurt because of him, and he owed her far too much already. Leaving her to die wasn’t an option.
Resolute, Vinny looked at the potion dribbling from her lips—he couldn’t delay any longer.
He took a deep breath, pressing his palms together like a devout priest. In the next instant, brilliant cherry-pink radiance flooded his body, unfurling into six wings that merged with him.
A spotless cherry-haired maiden opened her pure heart-shaped eyes. Immaculate white feathers lifted her light frame as a corona of pale-white moonlight crowned her head.
Upon opening her eyes, Wen Nisha immediately released her holy light, casting the most powerful healing she currently possessed—Intermediate Healing Technique and Lesser Healing Orb.
Finding them insufficient, she opened her Virtue panel to check her available upgrades.
Her realm could be raised—at best from a Low-tier Sorcerer to a High-tier Sorcerer.
While doing so, she noticed her Virtue gain from earlier:
[Virtue +500]
[Current Virtue: 10,104]
She spent 2,000 and 4,000 Virtue to raise her realm by two stages, boosting her mana density and capacity.
Then she spent another 3,000 Virtue to purchase a versatile healing magic that didn’t rely heavily on realm level but did depend on Soul-Spell compatibility—[Holy Healing Halo].
[Virtue -9,000]
[Current Virtue: 1,104]
Pressing her palms together, Wen Nisha prayed silently over Aesphyra, then released [Holy Healing Halo]. A woven angelic ring of flowers and circling white doves descended above the unconscious girl, its soft pink glow enveloping her. The wounds on her body began to fade.
According to the spell’s description, targets within the halo received continuous healing and various buffs, including boosted resistance and enhanced recovery.
In other words, even without advanced healing spells, the halo’s amplification made her Intermediate Healing Technique far more effective.
Taking a deep breath, Wen Nisha cast the intermediate heal again. Bathed in holy light, Aesphyra’s grievous wounds began to stabilize, her internal bleeding slowed, and her face regained some color. The halo above acted like an operating table in the sky.
Seeing her stop coughing blood, Wen Nisha finally exhaled in relief—the holy light had pulled her back from the brink.
With the damage to her organs now under control, the worst had passed. Ordinary priests with only basic healing might not have been able to stop the bleeding at all.
She really was lucky to be alive.
Next, Wen Nisha didn’t continue with more healing magic. Instead, she sat behind Aesphyra, resting the girl’s head in her lap, and gently pried open her lips.
“Good girl~” she murmured, her other hand stroking Aesphyra’s cheek to give her warmth and a sense of safety.
For reasons unknown, in Wen Nisha’s presence, the unconscious Aesphyra couldn’t muster any wariness. Her tightly clenched lips slowly parted on their own.
“That’s it, good girl, well done,” Wen Nisha coaxed softly, like a mother praising a mischievous child who finally agreed to take their medicine.
This time, the elixir went down smoothly. Even without awareness, Aesphyra instinctively accepted her and swallowed it.
Wen Nisha let out a quiet breath.
The scene reminded her of the last time—when she’d been drained after being possessed by her ancestor, and it was Aesphyra who’d found her, cared for her, and covered for her.
Now it was reversed—her turn to look after Aesphyra.
Fate truly was fickle—who would’ve thought the fated heroine would one day crash this hard, and the one tending her would be her sworn enemy from a past life?
She brushed Aesphyra’s forehead gently, recalling that the girl was also an orphan.
Though the Galathus family had found her and raised her as their own—cherished as the last surviving heir of the ancient imperial line—in truth, her birth parents were almost certainly gone. In that way, they were alike, though Aesphyra had been far luckier.
The thought stirred an odd tenderness in Wen Nisha. Using her lap as a pillow, she carefully smoothed the stray strands from Aesphyra’s forehead.
Aesphyra was now out of immediate danger. In this form, Wen Nisha’s senses told her clearly—the elixir still carried her ancestor’s blood.
This was no ordinary potion—infused with Consecrated Angel’s Blood. With that, her life was no longer at risk. Along with the earlier emergency treatment, she’d be fine after a period of rest.
And wasn’t it the perfect timing? They had a holiday—plenty of time for her to recuperate.
While soothing Aesphyra, Wen Nisha scrolled through her Virtue panel for anything else that might help.
She found an auxiliary spell called [Sleep], a proper Saintess magic—not some shady hypnosis. It could only be used when the target already had strong drowsiness or was unconscious, and was designed to treat insomnia.
It only cost 100 Virtue.
Her eyes lit up—it was exactly what she needed. She bought it immediately.
[Virtue -100]
[Current Virtue: 1,004]
Once she learned its principles, Wen Nisha cast it on Aesphyra, letting countless dreamlike sigils drift from her palms.
Did it work?
Looking at her hand, she felt Aesphyra was still unconscious—no visible change.
Well, patients needed rest. Let her sleep longer.
――――――――――
Aesphyra felt herself adrift in a broken world, one without time or space—chaotic as the dawn of creation.
She drifted on its currents, caught between endless rifts, like a small boat in a storm, unsure when the waves would smash her to pieces.
She was so cold, as if sinking into an icy abyss, her whole body frozen.
Until a warm flame ignited within her. Somewhere in the darkness, someone was calling her. She didn’t know who, only that the voice was warm.
The warmth spread through her, melting the ice within her, as though she were basking in the spring sun.
That person stroked her forehead, whispering gently, calling her name.
Under a blooming cherry blossom tree, a girl of surpassing beauty touched her brow, peach-blossom eyes so soft they could drip water. Wherever her gaze passed, wounds vanished without a trace.
But her eyelids were too heavy to lift. Or maybe the falling petals hid the girl’s face, keeping her from seeing it clearly.
She only knew that the warm light was healing her, thawing the frost in her veins, and easing her tense body.
Her world regained sunlight and color. The gentle radiance bathed her, loosening her weary nerves until she drifted into deep sleep.
When she next awoke, she was lying in an unfamiliar wooden cabin. As her vision cleared, she saw the furnishings were simple and strange—she had no memory of ever being here.
Thinking back, she remembered the moment before she fainted—using [Sacred Blessing] without the Emperor’s Crest, stopping time to get herself and Vinny out.
But the teleport location had been random...
And forcing [Sacred Blessing] like that had inflicted irreversible damage on her heart.
On top of the beating she’d taken from Jiu Lixue, she should have been on death’s door—if not already dead.
Testing her mana flow, she was shocked to find it normal. Aside from exhaustion, she felt... fine.
The stabbing pain in her heart was gone.
What was going on?
Thump, thump, thump... Footsteps sounded outside, approaching the cabin.
She tried to move, but couldn’t—not even a finger.
Had she overextended herself? Slept too long?
While she pondered, the door # Nоvеlight # swung open.