Aureum wasn't in pain anymore. In fact, she felt fine!

Well, she felt odd, but odd was a great improvement to the feeling of her soul being burned from her.

Ping.

But the ominous sound of cracking took her attention.

Ping.

Aureum focused her eyes to see her sister's horrified face. Felixia's eyelashes fluttered with rapid horror as her hands covered her mouth.

Wow. Did she always look so young? How did she even come here?

Ping. Ping. Ping.

Why is it a familiar sound?

Looking around, her surroundings were the familiar park near her home, on the hillside she'd favored. As kids, Aureum and Felixia had rolled down it. As young adults, they would walk there till they dug out their own paths.

I'm home?

CRaCK.

At that point, the growing pain in her forehead could no longer be ignored.

BANG.

She felt the moment her pearl completely shattered for the second time in her day. Obviously, it was a different day for everyone else.

Her sister couldn't be at Nix's castle. If that wasn't impossible enough, it was more incredible she was standing in the park. Either Spesavia's concoction had worked, these were her last delusional moments, or there were serious holes in her memories.

Was she standing? It felt like she was falling.

"Aureum! AUREUM!"

Felixia's hand grabbed her arm. Aureum opened her eyes to her face over her. She looked so worried. Aureum appreciated that this headache felt like a Nivis to the Caducus headache she had before.

And she got to see her sister's face again.

Then it's all good.

It was getting hard to think.

"Aureum, don't you DARE faint on me—

Aureum's eyes rolled to the back of her head as she went limp.

————————————————————

She slept like a baby. Which means fitfully, but oddly satisfied. Even with the migraine that came upon her drifting in and out of consciousness, she still had only joy. The softest bed. The smoothest sheets. The plumpest pillows. Most importantly, they were all hers.

Her body also felt great. She wasn't weak with hunger, her wrists had no sores, and every breath didn't come with an ache. Although, the pounding head was new. There was much that seemed new.

She had gone back, she knew that much. How far back and what the ultimate consequences on her body were remained in question. There were no easy answers to these things. Especially when it was hard to think.

She shifted herself a little to appreciate the ceiling. It was gorgeous. Even better, she was clean. The nightgown she wore was perfect. Silk that glided across the skin. She was comfortable and safe, so she slept. It felt like this went on for days.

As impossible as it is to stay awake forever, so do dreams come to an end.

"Is she all right?"

A deep voice murmured in concern.

Dad?

It was the first idea that felt solid and didn't twist aside when she looked at it for too long.

"Despite the shock any sorcerer has of losing their pearl, she seems to be doing well. I suppose it is because there wasn't much mana inside it in the first place. Another minor blessing of Malum."

"Yes thank you for insulting her, but can you tell us why?"

Somehow less soft, but higher and far more feminine.

Mom!

The eyelids like stones slowly pried open, but the group of concerned murmurers didn't notice.

Huh, they look good. At least they're still older than me. That's reassuring.

Even if she had gray hair, she was still only a fresh thirty-five. If her life hadn't become so rough, or unsatisfying, or disdainful, she might have looked only a skip away from her parents.

A healthy plump body! Natural bronze skin! The luscious dark hair!

Well, her mother had dirty blond hair so only her father counted for that. Her mother had a pinker skin tone too. Her father still had his own shining pearl upon his brow. The white shine of it contrasted with his dark expression.

Even this admiration satisfied. It wasn't like the past had seen them collapse with sickness, but everything felt like a miracle.

"It is impossible to explain why her pearl exploded."

This man must be the doctor. Formally attired, and nondescript other than a serious demeanor. He stood opposing the loving couple.

"Impossible?" Her mother's sharp voice asked. "Impossible? What kind of quack are you? The 'impossible' you speak of happened! And you can't explain why?"

"Dear."

"Mrs. Zizan!"

Ah, Mom, why are you throwing hands at the doctor?

"E-even an educated man can't know everything! Moreover, I wasn't even there at the time it occurred. Even with what your other daughter told me, she lacks professional insight. She hasn't given me enough information from when it occurred for me to tell what caused it."

"Trying to shift the blame?!"

"Simila."

Calces, Aureum's father, calming voice again went unnoticed by her mother as he spoke her name.

"I am not! I am only a doctor. Still, how can it make sense that someone's pearl exploded for no reason? So there must be something we're all missing. Does that make sense? Do you see sense in that?"

Although he tried to maintain a professional tone, his words expressed his own loss with the situation. Even her mother was suppressed with his words this time. It didn't make sense, right.

If somebody's pearl went around exploding all the time, would the people of Aeternitus even be able to live?

"If she was using a costly spell or incantation," the doctor continued, "perhaps an imperfection or flaw in it might have been taxed." He had to raise his hands to stop her parents from objecting again. "I know your daughter said that wasn't happening. Consider my perspective, that she could have lied to protect her sister. But even those cases result at worst in a crack or two. An imperfect pearl can only make so much force after all. A complete explosion? That's without sense? Really, the best I can say is to wait for her answers when she wakes up. Maybe then some details will arise that point to the real cause."

"She will wake up then?"

The doctor shook his head.

"Although nothing is certain, and the trauma of a pearl breaking is known and dreaded with due cause, she's lucky. The complete and immediate destruction of it helped. As I said.

There were only minor scrapes and bruises, mostly from falling and the explosion, and none of the shards lodged themselves into her head. The flow of mana didn't go backward, it just evaporated.

I cannot see any reason she would not wake up. But her case is an unusual one, I admit it. Nothing is sure."

Calces locked his jaw, and Simila narrowed her eyes.

"Call me if anything changes."

And he made moves towards the door. Fleeing the situation before the confrontation with the Zizans' grew worse.

Doctor, your awakened patient is right here!

Aureum didn't blame him though. It was awfully comfortable to lay there, with a slight ache in her head. Furthermore, she was at a loss about the many questions she might have to answer. She closed her eyes.

It was all Spesavia's potion? I come from the future? Yeah, that's a nice story.

"Thank you, Dr. Nummus."

Her father saw him out, as her mother came closer to coo on her.

"My Treasure! What did she ever do to deserve this? I hoped never to see like this!"

Am I a child? Well, I am still her child.

I can probably just pretend I've fainted again if the questions get too rough right? Or just say I don't know? I mean, what else can I do?

She couldn't sleep forever.

"Mom. I'm up."

A soft voice, as if she was afraid to be loud. Her mother let out an almost silent gasp and tightened her grip around her daughter's hand.

"Aureum," she said softly, "are you feeling better?"

"Alright."

"Did you hear?" Simila said, her mouth becoming a line of concern after she finished speaking.

"About my pearl? Yeah."

I don't care though, it's a small price to pay.

"I'm so sorry."

She couldn't remember seeing her mother's eyes get so shiny before. A tear leaked through. Aureum felt her vision blurring too, but a smile broke out on her face.

"It's all right."

"Oh, Treasure," her mother said. "You don't have to hold it in."

She felt true, ugly sobs began to wrack her now, but she wanted to tell her it was still all right. This was sending the wrong message.

"My treasure!"

"Urrrgggh!"

A sob that sounded like half a growl ripped out of Aureum. Trying to hold it in just made it worse. Truly, ugly sobs broke through. Or maybe it was trying to hold it in for her mother when just seeing her gave her such joy and such pain all at the same time. It was like her heart was breaking. Either way, she was done.

I'm just trying to say I'm fine!

Her mother held her like she was ten, cradling her, as Aureum cried what felt like a decade's worth of tears in an afternoon.