"Anyone else has a trick up their sleeves?" I desperately asked.

Rando shook his head.

"I don't know any spells that can produce light," Sigrid said.

I turned to Lia, "Is there any kind of potion that can s.h.i.+ne?"

"I think so, but I don't know the recipe."

"What about magic?"

Her eyes lit up, "I can try!" She hovered her palms nearby together and channeled her magic. A ball of light suddenly appeared, merely as big pea at first, growing slowly in luminance. We all stared at it with hope in our eyes. But shortly after, it dissipated without a trace, causing her eyes widened in disbelief.

"No good, huh?" Rando commented disappointingly.

"There's something wrong with the way magic works around here," Sigrid commented.

Lia tried mustering her magic and tried summoning a light again only for it to fade away once it got to a size of a candlelight.

"I… I have a hard time maintaining its form once it leaves my body. It's as if… something is constantly draining it away from me," Lia elaborated.

My soulblade flickered once more and quickly began to dim at an alarming rate. The Miords slowly marched closer, ready to pounce on us with their slimy limbs.

Constantly draining? Could it be… That's it! Her words struck me with a sudden realization. How did I not notice this before? I jumped to Lia and held her hand, "Pour everything you got unto me!" The lights went out and the Miords charged at us, losing their individual forms and combining into a voluminous slime to digest us whole.

But the expected carnage did not arrive. I felt a tingling sensation in my stomach as light instantaneously exploded from every inch of my body. I didn't, I can't see anything. The entire world was white. My eyes were blinded and my ears were filled with nothing but the sound of high-pitched shrieks, presumably from the Miords. And then the world was silent.

I felt the grip on my hand loosened and heard a low thump. Darkness soon returned and I slowly regained my vision, albeit still blurry. Lia had pa.s.sed out. Kneeling on the ground whilst leaning on my me. I breathed in the air and choked. The entire area was covered in charred smoke that carried the smell of burning hair. I lifted Lia and moved her to a relatively clean ground and put her lying down. Sigrid approached and performed a quick check. "She's fine, just unconscious."

A surge of relief flooded me upon hearing that.

"What… are you?" Rando finally inquired.

I walked right up to him and threw a punch on his face. He fell on his b.u.t.t and looked at me, stupefied.

"You had it coming the moment you neglected to mention the Miords," I scoffed.

I knew I couldn't exactly blame Rando for not telling me about the Miords, since it's party my fault for not announcing what tried to kill the night before. Maybe thing could've went differently if I did. Sure, I was angry because he didn't tell me about the Miords. But most of all, I was angry at myself since my ignorance nearly costed Lia's life. Anyway, the damage had been done and it's great that we all made it out alive.

I scanned across the area. All the Miords were eradicated by the intense radiance. The only thing left from them were marbles on the ground that still emitted a faint glow of light similar to my own. I went to pick one up and studied it. The marbles seemed to be made out of some kind of semi transparent mineral. I don't really understand why it didn't burn out with the Miords, but I can obviously sense fragments of my power embedded within it. My eyes glittered and an idea lit up in my mind. I borrowed a knapsack from Sigrid and promptly went to collect them all. I wasn't sure about my theory yet, but maybe I can conduct some experiments to test out its feasibility later.

After spending about half-an-hour, back-breakingly picking them all up, I went to check on Lia and found her awake. I put down the heavy knapsack and asked, "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine. Just a bit tired," she said groggily as fingers of light peeked through the trees, revealing her resplendent smile. Dawn had arrived.