She ignored Neo and turned to check Elizabeth's condition.
The Void corrupting Elizabeth's soul and body was weak.
But too much time had passed, and the corruption had reached too deep.
Zera could remove the corruption. However, she doubted it would be enough to save Elizabeth.
Currently, Elizabeth's situation could be compared to a patient whose body was destroyed by a virus. Zera could eliminate the virus. Though doing so did not heal Elizabeth.
"You can't heal her?" Neo asked from the side.
"I can't," Zera said, pulling out the Void corruption from Elizabeth with a simple tug. "What about you? You were trying to hurry and take her out from the nightmares. You must have a way to heal her, no?"
He did have a way—Everwitch Violet.
He brought out the flower from his Shadow Space.
Zera's eyes widened slightly.
"Where did you find something so precious? That flower is so hard to find that everyone believes it only exists in stories."
"I had an acquaintance give it to me."
His answer made it clear he didn't want to share its origin.
Zera followed his lead and changed the topic.
"Are you hesitating because you don't want to make her Immortal?"
"Something like that," Neo replied. "I'll enter her subconsciousness and ask for her permission to use the flower."
He walked up to Elizabeth's bed and sat next to her, grabbing her palm.
Zera stared at him with a complicated expression. Reading her intent, Neo realized she was confused why he was asking for Elizabeth's permission.
"Do you really need someone's permission to save them? I don't think they will blame you if you use the cure without their permission," Zera asked.
Neo noticed the weird nuance behind her words.
It was almost as if she was talking about someone else, not Elizabeth.
He remained silent, using it to answer her.
Zera stood up. She didn't understand his choice, but she decided to help him.
Her hand, working hand, held Elizabeth's other hand, and she closed her eyes, chanting.
Infinitely small magic circles appeared around Elizabeth's head.
Neo sensed Elizabeth's mental defense weakening and realized what Zera was doing.
"Thanks," he said and entered Elizabeth's mind.
Unlike last time, there was no barrier protecting Elizabeth's consciousness. Zera's magic had made his job easy.
His body became limp, and his head fell on the bed.
Despite that, he held Elizabeth's hand tightly.
"Save her, Neo. We need her," Zera muttered.
She stared at Elizabeth's face. It was so similar to 'hers'. There was no way the similar appearance was a coincidence.
Elizabeth must be related to 'her'.
Zera closed her eyes, trying to calm her trembling heart.
She decided to do something else and divert her thoughts before her emotions overflowed.
She blinked, and her iris changed to silvery-white.
"No matter how many times I see this, I can't believe someone like her exists.
"Her raw talent is the highest I've ever seen."
Her eyes returned to their previous state.
The silvery eyes were her unique ability.
"With her raw talent, she should already be as strong as us Dragon Clan Leaders, if not stronger. Why is she only an Exalted?"
Questions overflowed.
Did she not have time to train? Or was she not given resources to train?
That had to be impossible. Anyone would squander countless resources to nurture someone as talented as Elizabeth and have her on their side.
In her long life, Zera had not seen anyone as talented as Elizabeth.
Zera was someone who came to Tartarus a few hundred years ago. She had traveled the cosmos, met many people, conquered countless dangers.
She could confidently say no one—absolutely no one—could compare to Elizabeth's raw talent.
So why was she so weak?
Thirty years for someone like her was enough for them to reach Stage 3 God, or Fabled-rank Awakener.
"Was…. she lazy and didn't train?"
Zera found that hard to believe.
One's body said a lot about them. Elizabeth had tiny scars, almost imperceptible, all over her arms, back, and legs. Her palms were slightly rough.
For awakeners, their bodies improved every time they ranked up. Their physical appearances would keep on improving, and they would be healed. It was said ranking up was better medicine than all Life and Holy magic.
Having scars, even if small and almost invisible, and rough hands showed Elizabeth had fought so much and been injured so much that even ranking up couldn't heal all her injuries.
"We need someone like her.
"It's already clear why the previous Dragon Clan Leaders couldn't defeat Tartarus.
"There is a high chance Tartarus has more tricks up its sleeves.
"If she can be healed, we might have a powerful hidden ace ourselves."
It was absurd that she had to depend on improvised plans.
But the truth about the Abyss of Nightmares had hit too hard and destroyed all their previous plans.
"Save her, Neo. We don't have the luxury to fail, or Tartarus will devour us all."
Elizabeth's Consciousness
He looked around and saw the lush green prairie, the clear sky, and the bright sunshine.
He couldn't help but chuckle seeing his condition. His body was no different than before, a flickering mass of light.
"Zera weakened Elizabeth's mental defense, but she is still so strong that I can't manifest here properly."
He noticed Elizabeth sleeping peacefully on his 'lap pillow'.
She had a serene expression on her face.
Neo combed his hands through her hair tenderly.
A smile appeared on his face.
"Her mental world isn't as dark as before. Stopping her nightmares seems to have improved her mental condition by a lot."
As he spoke to himself, Elizabeth moved slightly, and her eyebrows fluttered open.
"Miss Guardian Fairy?"
Neo almost laughed when he saw Elizabeth saying those words with an innocent expression. It was a surprise to see her making a face that was not cold.
"Ahem… yes, my child."
"I came to meet you and complete our promise."
As he spoke, he consciously kept combing his hand through her hair tenderly.