"Why are you crying? Hurry up, let's go!"
The god had departed, but everyone at the table was still lost in the feast they had just witnessed.
Only Luvia, in an exceptionally foul mood, spoke to Siris in an almost scolding tone. Then she quickly left her seat, grabbed her hand, and ran toward the woods at the edge of the clearing.
Of course, even though the god had already departed, no one had recovered from their loss of reason enough to notice them.
"Where's Shade?"
The aftermath of the Chosen One Ritual had restored the strength and spirit of the others in the forest, who had endured an entire night of war. The Life Force seeping from the earth itself was causing nearly everyone's wounds to squirm shut at a visible rate.
The Witches gathered together. When they saw Luvia and Siris return, Miss Galina asked in a voice so breathless she could barely speak:
"Doesn't a God Summoner avoid destroying himself? Where is Shade? Where did he go?"
"Don't worry. Wait a moment."
Only the grim-faced Luvia remained calm. She was not worried that Shade would fail to return; she was worried about something else.
Sure enough, as the diviner's words fell, silver specks of light slowly gathered.
"Oh, Shade!"
Within the faint glow, Shade's figure indeed appeared. Luvia hurriedly caught the unconscious Shade. Disregarding how disheveled she looked, she sat directly on the ground and let him lie against her chest, while the Witches and Siris hurriedly gathered around.
"He's..."
Miss Benanis no longer knew what to say. It was certainly good that Shade still existed after the divine descent ended, but anyone could see that he was in very bad condition.
"He swallowed the source of the earth's distortion!"
Siris said through tears, covering her mouth.