The silence in the room lasted for a long time after Ishighi finished speaking. The idea that the king was somewhere nearby, in a place called the underground business city, made everyone feel a mix of excitement and worry. We were all still sitting on that big, soft couch, and the warm light from the glowing stones on the ceiling made the room feel very cozy. It was hard to believe that just outside the hidden wall, the town was full of noise and people. Here, it felt like time had stopped. Elphyete was still leaning against me, her head resting on my shoulder now. She seemed to have relaxed a bit, but she was still keeping a close eye on everything around her.
Hanashighi was the first one to break the silence. She was still standing near her shelves of books, her eyes darting between all of us with that same restless energy. She suddenly smiled and waved her hands around the room. "You can stay here as long as we try to find the king," Hanashighi suddenly said. It was a very kind offer, and I could see the relief on everyone's faces. The inn was nice, but having a secret base where we could talk freely and plan our next move was much better. Plus, we wouldn't have to worry about anyone eavesdropping on us.
"Really? We can stay in the lab?" Euphyne asked, his eyes widening as he looked at all the strange machines and tubes. I think he was mostly wondering if there was a kitchen nearby where he could store all the snacks he planned to buy.
"Of course! I have plenty of room," Hanashighi chirped. "The couch is big, and I have extra blankets in the back. Just don't touch the tubes with the red liquid. Those are very grumpy today and might make your eyebrows fall off. Other than that, make yourselves at home!"
Once the offer was made, the group started to settle in. The tension from earlier began to fade away as everyone realized they didn't have to go back out into the crowded streets right away. Tokine and Alea, who had been very quiet since we entered the lab, finally started to move around. They were the youngest of our group, and the sight of so many weird and interesting things was too much for them to ignore. Tokine walked over to a stack of soft cushions near the corner and jumped on them, while Alea followed her, giggling.
They began to play a game of tag around the big couch, running back and forth and laughing. It was good to see them acting like kids again. The mission had been so heavy and serious for so long that we often forgot they needed time to just play. Tokine was fast, darting around the wooden legs of the chairs, while Alea tried to catch her, her small feet thudding softly on the wooden floor. They weren't being too loud, but their energy filled the room and made it feel more like a home and less like a cold laboratory.
While they were playing, Celdrich stayed where he was, still holding the book that Hanashighi had written. He looked like he was in a dream. For a researcher and a student of mana like him, meeting the person who wrote the most famous book on the subject was like meeting a hero. He walked over to one of the long wooden tables where Hanashighi was sorting through some glass tubes. She looked up and smiled at him, recognizing the look of wonder on his face.
Celdrich and Hanashighi started talking, their voices low and serious. I couldn't hear everything they were saying at first, but I could see them pointing at different pages in the book and then looking at the glowing liquids on the table. It was clear they were speaking the same language of facts and numbers. Celdrich asked a question, and Hanashighi leaned in close, her glasses sliding down her nose as she started to explain something with a lot of hand gestures.
I watched them for a while, feeling glad that Celdrich had someone to talk to who understood his interests. Elphyete was starting to doze off on my shoulder, the long day of walking and eating finally catching up to her. I shifted slightly to make her more comfortable, and she let out a small, happy hum in her sleep. Ishighi was sitting on a chair nearby, his eyes closed as he rested, though I knew he was still alert and listening to everything.
The conversation between Celdrich and Hanashighi started to get a bit louder as they got more excited. Hanashighi seemed to be explaining a very big idea, something that went way beyond the normal things people knew about magic and the world. She sat down on a stool and looked at Celdrich with a very serious expression. She wasn't acting like a chaotic nerd anymore; she was acting like the master researcher she truly was.
Hanashighi began to talk about how there is something more than the soul. Most people believed that the soul was the most important part of a person, the thing that made them who they were. But Hanashighi said that there was something even deeper and more basic than that. She called them mana atomic particle cores. She explained that these cores are basically far smaller than atoms. They are so tiny that no normal person could ever see them, but they are the building blocks of everything.
"They are more complicated than the soul," Hanashighi said, her voice full of conviction. She explained that while the soul is a big, complex thing, the mana atomic particle cores are the very foundation. They are like the tiny threads that make up a giant piece of cloth. Even if the cloth gets torn or burned, the threads are still there. She said that even if we die, we would still have this. The cores do not go away when a person's body stops working or when their life ends. They are permanent.
Celdrich was listening with his mouth slightly open, his eyes fixed on Hanashighi as she spoke. This was clearly something he had never heard before, a theory that changed everything he thought he knew about life and death.
Hanashighi continued, saying that these cores are the reason on why we can get revived by revive magic. When a healer or a mage uses magic to bring someone back to life, they aren't just fixing the body or pulling the soul back. They are working with the mana atomic particle cores. Because the cores stay behind after death, they act like a map or a blueprint. The magic uses that blueprint to rebuild what was lost. Without those cores, revival would be impossible.
"And that's how the god of creation created us," Hanashighi added, her voice dropping to a whisper. She said that the god of creation didn't just make bodies and souls. The god started with these tiny mana atomic particle cores. They were the very first things ever made, and everything else was built on top of them. It was a very old and very deep secret, one that she had spent years researching in this hidden lab.
She leaned even closer to Celdrich, her eyes wide and intense. She said that if we die and got our soul destroyed, we can still get revived because of mana atomic particle cores. This was the most shocking part of her explanation. Most people thought that if the soul was destroyed, that was the absolute end. There would be nothing left to save. But Hanashighi was saying that as long as the cores remained, there was still a chance. The soul could be rebuilt from the cores, just like the body could. It was a terrifying and amazing thought at the same time.
Celdrich just stared at her, unable to find the words to respond. He looked down at the book in his hands, realizing that the things he had read were only the very beginning of what Hanashighi knew. The room was quiet again, except for the distant sound of Tokine and Alea laughing as they played their game. The contrast between the simple joy of the children and the heavy, deep secrets being shared at the table was very strange.
I sat there on the couch, thinking about what she had said. The idea of mana atomic particle cores was hard to wrap my head around. It made the world feel much bigger and much more mysterious than I had ever imagined. We were all just walking around with these tiny, indestructible cores inside us, the very same things the god of creation had used to build the world. It was a lot to think about, especially after a long day of eating meat pies and almost getting blown up by a box.
Elphyete shifted again, her silver hair tickling my neck. I looked down at her and wondered if she had any idea about these cores. She probably didn't, but in a way, it didn't matter. Whether we knew about them or not, they were there, keeping us connected to the world and to each other.
Hanashighi finally finished her explanation and let out a long breath. She looked back at us and her energetic personality seemed to snap back into place. "Anyway!" she shouted, making Celdrich jump. "That's enough science for one morning! My brain is starting to get hungry again, and I bet yours is too! We have plenty of snacks, and I think I have some tea hidden somewhere under this pile of papers!"
The heavy mood lifted as quickly as it had arrived. Tokine and Alea stopped their game and ran over to see if there were any cookies. Even Ishighi opened his eyes and stood up, looking ready for whatever came next. We were all together in this hidden lab, safe for the moment, and we had a plan. We were going to find the king, and we were going to find that elixir.
As I looked around at my friends, I felt a sense of peace. The journey ahead was still going to be dangerous and difficult, but we had the best possible help. We had Ishighi's strength, we had our own determination, and now we had the genius of Hanashighi on our side. The underground business city was waiting for us, and the king was somewhere inside it. We were ready.
Hanashighi started rummaging through a wooden cabinet, tossing bags of crackers and dried fruit onto the table. "Eat up, everyone! We have a lot of work to do if we're going to sneak into the underground city! It's not the kind of place you go on an empty stomach!"
I smiled and reached for a bag of crackers. The quest for the king was finally getting somewhere, and for the first time in a long time, I felt like we might actually succeed. We were going to find the king, and we were going to save everyone. But for now, we were going to enjoy the safety of the lab and the company of our new, very chaotic friend.