Chapter 340: Self-Sacrifice

It was already one day since Elysia, Elena, and Lifa worked together to heal Rhea to the point where Lifa could talk to her daughter. They did really use their time carefully and thoroughly from morning to another morning.

Rhea"s curses had not been completely lifted. Part of her body was still wrapped in sealing crystals to keep the curses from spreading.

Nevertheless, Lifa and her daughter could talk via telepathy nonetheless.

"Can you guys leave me alone with my daughter? Please wait downstairs. I"ll call you when we"re done." Lifa looked at Elysia with a request. She wanted a little private time with her daughter only.

"Sure." Elysia nodded and stood up from the wooden seat. She walked closer to Nell and Vanessa, then led them downstairs.

When only Lifa and her daughter remained in the hall, Lifa erected a barrier for fear that Elysia could hear her telepathy with her daughter. After all, she couldn"t understand Elysia"s magic in the slightest.

"Rhea, my daughter, can you hear me well? How are you?" Lifa checked her daughter and started talking.

"Mother, mother, I"m fine. Thank goodness I can still talk to you. I thought I had turned into stardust, hehe." Rhea looked around. She was still in spirit form and trapped in her own soul seal.

"You are still at death"s doorstep, my daughter, and so am I. How are you doing in your soul seal?" Lifa shook her head helplessly. Her daughter could still chuckle in such a critical state. Nevertheless, she also smiled because her daughter was still cheerful as usual.

"It"s cramped here, mother. I can"t move and can only curl up. Wait, what do you mean that you are also in critical condition, mother? How many years has it been since I sealed my spirit and soul?" Rhea suddenly became restless when she realized her mother"s condition, so weak and helpless.

"It"s been around 99 thousand 990 years, my daughter. Are you aware of my current condition?" Lifa glanced at her hand that was holding her daughter"s hand. Well, she couldn"t hide her current state now.

"Mo, mother... Has it been that long? You still have to support my life even though you also suffer from the curses? Please forgive this unfilial daughter, mother. It"s my fault. You should have let me die. I-"

Rhea stuttered and sobbed. She felt entirely responsible for her mother"s plight and suffering.

If she tried to estimate that, the tree of life would die in no more than three years. The tree of life"s life energy was almost exhausted. In other words, her mother would perish because of her.

However, Lifa interrupted her daughter"s self-blaming chatter right away. "Hush, what are you saying, my silly daughter? Since I recognized you as my daughter, of course, I am responsible for you. How can a mother let her daughter die before her eyes?"

"B- But! It is still my fault, and I am the cause of your dire state." Rhea cried and blamed herself in mind.

She had indirectly claimed the lives of two people who cared about her. And, now was the third? Until when did it have to continue just to keep her alive?

As if knowing what her daughter had in mind, Lifa interrupted that exaggerated thought. "No ifs or buts. Please don"t try to blame yourself. It"s my decision. Sooner or later, I will also submit to the curses and die nevertheless."

"I"ve forgotten how long I"ve lived in this world. Maybe it"s millions of years, or maybe billions of years? It"s been so long since I was just a small tree in the middle of the forest. After living that long, I only have one daughter, my real family." Lifa glanced up, smiled at the length of her life in the world.

"No, there must be a solution. Yes, the G.o.ddess who helped you to heal me can definitely help. She is a high-level G.o.ddess with immeasurable power. Perhaps, in par with your peak strength, mother. She also has abundant life energy. Let"s ask her for help. She will definitely help us again." Rhea tried hard to get back into her body.

If possible, she would go downstairs to plead the G.o.ddess in question by herself. Unfortunately, she couldn"t return to her body no matter what she did. She couldn"t even open her eyes yet.

"I already have a deal with her, my daughter. I have given my Nature Realm"s Core to her, and I also intend to give her the whole tree of life. That way, she will have all the treasures I have. She is the perfect host for you to replace me." Lifa glanced back at her daughter with a warm smile.

"No, no, please don"t be like that. It will take a long time for me to recover, or maybe I can"t recover even if I have a new host and master. Please don"t sacrifice yourself to heal my damaged soul and body! There must be another solution, please." Rhea had a bad feeling to see her mother"s expression.

She could only faintly observe the outside world using spirit power. Still, she was sure what her mother was planning to do, namely self-sacrifice.

Lifa tried to tell her daughter several times that she was on the verge of death. Her daughter believed that there was still a way out. Her daughter refused to form any contract with the new host and chose to die with her instead.

Because of that, Lifa took another decision because of her daughter"s firm refusal. Her daughter already knew what she was planning to do even though she hadn"t said anything about it. At this rate, she could just cut corners and pa.s.sed it all over to Elysia. That kindhearted girl could not possibly let her daughter suffer.

"I"ve lived for so long, and my time is almost over. I won"t be able to live longer than this. The curses I suffered prevented me from recovering my life energy. There is no other way for me. However, please allow the rest of my life to heal your soul, my daughter." Lifa stroked her daughter"s hair with care. Now, she only hoped for release.

"No, no... Please don"t do that." Rhea felt that her mother would go away forever, leaving her behind. She didn"t want that, not anymore.

"It"s been so long we"ve been together, my daughter. Please listen to my last wishes... Please take good care of yourself and protect your new host well. You must stay alive and protect this world from those curse-bearing monsters. Thank you for being my good daughter." After saying that, she kissed her daughter"s forehead.

She terminated the contract between her and her daughter. After that, she immediately burned her soul and life energy to heal her daughter"s soul.

"No, please don"t do it! Please..." Rhea begged, but her mother didn"t listen to it. She believed there was another way, but her mother didn"t believe it.

At that moment, Elysia was sitting casually on the floor below, leaning against the wooden wall. She and Elena took a short break to relieve their mental fatigue. Yet, Nell was chirping endlessly to ask many things out of curiosity.

"Nee, nee... Can you and your master be able to fuse into one existence? So, you are your own master? Is Elena actually a divine spirit? Eh, wait, then you only have one real body?" Nell flew around Elysia"s head with a series of questions.

Elysia just closed her eyes because she wasn"t ready to answer that. Some of Nell"s a.s.sumptions. .h.i.t the mark correctly.

"Tsk, can"t you shut up, little one? We"re mentally exhausted because we just healed your big sister until she regained consciousness." Elena used her magic and conveyed her irritation via telepathy. She grabbed the little G.o.ddess and threw the chatterbox away.

"Aah! You just threw me!? Did you come out just to throw me, right? Do you want to hurt me, Elena? Can"t you just act a little like Elysia?" Nell stabilized herself in midair with her wings before she crashed into Elysia"s barrier. Then, she flew back with some tantrums. Unfortunately, she couldn"t find Elena anywhere.

"Nell, please be quiet for a moment. Let us rest with peace of mind. You are already aware of a few things, and that is us. Please keep it a secret. We don"t want it to be known by others." Elysia opened her eyes slightly with a brief clarification.

Hearing that, Nell nodded and covered her mouth with both hands. She subconsciously became obedient to Elysia because this kind girl was her protector against Elena"s bullying.

Meanwhile, Vanessa just lay beside her master with some thoughts. She once again found out about her master"s great secret, and her master acknowledged it.

But, she had never said anything about herself to her master. She wasn"t a good contracted beast...

Nevertheless, Vanessa was determined to play openly with no more secrets to her master after this. Her master also needed to know about her true ident.i.ty and background. She and her master were so close, so her secret would be safe in her master"s hands.

At that moment, the ground suddenly shook fiercely, as did the wooden walls. The tree of life trembled as if to signify something.

Elysia immediately opened her eyes to inspect the hall above her with her sacred vision and advanced perception. All she realized was Lifa"s life energy depleted rapidly. That was not in their deal!

"What, what happened? Is Lifa all right? This great earthquake is dangerous for the tree of life!" Nell panicked at once with worry. Lifa was in a weak state, and the tree of life could collapse because of this big earthquake.

"This is bad! Madam Lifa is acting stupid and reckless!" Elysia immediately picked up Vanessa and Nell. She dashed towards the second floor with acceleration magic.