Shade's prayer had yielded nothing, and neither had Daniste's. But since Shade already had a plan, she did not say anything more:
"After breakfast, rest for a while. Then let's visit the big city to the north."
About a hundred miles north of Kalas Mountain stood a fairly sizable city. Neither Shade nor Daniste had ever been there, so after resting in the tent until ten o'clock, they flew directly there.
Naturally, nothing happened during their entire day of sightseeing and dating in the city. Shade even bought some gifts to take back for Doctor Schneider and the others.
When Night Curtain fell, the two returned to Kalas Mountain. They had already eaten dinner in the city. Shade temporarily handed the unwilling Little Mia over to Daniste, then took out the Philosopher's Stone and turned the [Elixir of Longevity Ring]:
"Thaumaturgy—[Breath of Time]."
The Philosopher's Stone merged into his body and soul, helping Shade cast with maximum effect. He arrived before the ruins of the high tower. As he took a fierce breath in, dense gray fog surged from the abandoned tower foundation.
The gray fog rapidly enveloped the foundation, then swallowed the entire cliff. It was rare for Shade, in his ordinary state, to use Thaumaturgy so forcefully to reverse the time of such a massive object. Fortunately, with the Philosopher's Stone assisting him, he felt only a little pressure.
Daniste, standing behind Shade, could not see through the gray fog that represented a temporal anomaly, but she could hear stones colliding and grinding together, and could feel the mountain beneath her feet vibrating.
Shade cast the spell quite quickly. Half a minute later, the gray fog dispersed, and the intact high tower already stood at the cliff's edge. While Shade raised his head to compare the tower before