After three hours, Morgan finally sealed Rhongomyniad's soul back inside the Holy Lance.
She wiped the sweat from her forehead. Its struggles had been so fierce, and she had been so worried about harming Lia's body, that it had taken longer than she had expected.
After a thousand years of planning, she was back where she had started. Morgan could only lament her bad luck.
She placed Lia's remains back inside the crystal coffin.
She glanced around, made sure no one was nearby, then leaned her head inside and pressed her lips firmly against Lia's.
Perhaps because the battle just now had been so intense, Morgan could still feel a lingering warmth on Lia's lips.
Their lips parted, and Morgan said tenderly, "Lia, wait a little longer. I'll find another way. You have to wait for me."
Once everything was done, Morgan closed the crystal coffin's lid, put away Excalibur and the Holy Lance, and left.
Before leaving, Morgan thought for a moment and took her imitation Holy Grail along as well.
With Lia's soul absent, the ritual had failed. As for where Artoria's soul had actually gone, she had no time to ponder that.
Right now, she needed to get back as quickly as possible to deal with Vortigern. She had no idea what the situation outside was like.
She had confidently promised that she could settle things in two hours, only to run over.
Camelot still had a defense mechanism. Once her barrier could no longer hold, it would activate automatically, and a lone white dragon like Vortigern could never break through it.
But once that defense mechanism activated, it could not be shut down. If possible, it was best not to trigger it at all.
Morgan quickened her pace and stepped out of the portal, then froze