After a few more words with Zarnak and a final glance at the symbol, Ben made up his mind. He needed to talk to Elvira.
The mansion on the surface looked unchanged, other than it being cleaned. The debris and scorch marks all gone, but otherwise still the same luxurious mansion carved into grimslate rock.
But the moment Ben stepped across the threshold, everything changed. It was like walking into another world.
The cavern ceiling above had been replaced by a blue sky. The air smelled fresher.
The walls had been reshaped, the rough stone now laced with ivy and flowering vines. The ground beneath his feet was no longer rock, it was grass. A green grass…
Bushes, small trees, even a soft breeze that shouldn't exist underground brushed against his cheek.
Ben raised an eyebrow, letting out a low whistle.
"All this in a day?" he muttered, eyes scanning the vibrant interior. "Her magic's knowledge definitely getting better."
Ben walked further in, looking around with nostalgic gaze. It's been a while since he see this much greenery, and the fresh air certainly refreshing compared to the suffocating feeling from being underground.
The pillars, were covered with Vines, blooming with soft white flowers that glowed just enough to light the room without hurting the eyes.
In the center of the chamber, where rubble used to sit, there was now a pool of clear water.
The surface rippled calmly, reflecting the magical sky. The sound of trickling water give calm and soothing feeling.
To the side, what had been a hallway now opened into a garden space. Small trees grew in perfect rows, their thin trunks white and smooth.
Fruit hung from the branches, one that look very similiar with apple, but colored like a orange. He even heard the soft flutter of wings, birds darting between the branches like they belonged here.
It was peaceful, but more than that, it was alive. Ben stepped into the mansion. And now he feel like he really transported back to earth.
The grass faded beneath his boots, replaced by smooth stone tiles, polished to a mirror-like shine.
Glass panels stretched across parts of the ceiling, showing the illusion of sky above. Soft, floating lights hovered near the walls, glowing with steady warmth.
There were sliding doors, actual sliding doors, with bronze handles. Shelves had been carved into the walls, holding books, scrolls, and strange glass vials filled with softly swirling light.
A set of chairs and a low table sat in one corner of a large room ahead, shaped from a dark material that looked like marble, but lighter and smoother. A pot of tea steamed gently at its center, untouched.
Ben raised an eyebrow.
"Did she do all this… for me?'
He look at the furniture, the layout, the clean design that mirrored comfort over luxury.
'Yeah… knowing her, that checks out. She never cared for chairs with straight backs or polished stone tables.'
A quiet sigh escaped him. With a flick of his hand, he returned to his original form. He didn't waste another second.
Ben followed the path through the clean halls and down into the lower levels of the mansion. He reached the basement, and the door slid open without a sound.
Elvira stood at a long metal table, sleeves rolled up, her hair tied back in a loose braid. She was focused, fingers gently adjusting a glowing shard suspended in midair by a set of rotating magic circles.
"You've really been keeping busy, Elvira."
She turned slowly, eyes lighting up when she saw him. And then she smiled.
It wasn't just any smile, it was the kind that reached her eyes, soft and proud and full of something that hit Ben right in the chest.
His heart skipped a beat, and for half a second, he forgot the ruins, the danger, the city, everything.
"So," she said, her voice smooth, teasing. "What do you think, my beloved?"
Ben raised an eyebrow, walking toward the table with a grin.
"It looks good. Just how you get the time to do all this?"
Elvira laughed and turned back to the table, flicking one of the hovering magic circle with a touch of mana.
"As a mage, I have my way," she said with a playful smirk.
Ben stepped up beside her, eyeing the intricate setup. Magic circle floated around a cracked crystal, suspended in the middle of the table by three humming rings of light.
"And this?" he asked, nodding toward the crystal. "What are you working on now?"
Elvira's smile faded into a more focused expression. Her eyes narrowed as she watched the slow flicker of energy in the air.
"It's an experiment," she said. "I'm trying to create my own type of magic crystal, one that can generate electricity on its own."
Ben raised an eyebrow. "Electricity, huh? Isn't that empyran crystal we found?."
"Yes. I thought it'd be useful," Elvira continued. "In your old world everything is moved using electricity, I think it's more effective than using mana."
She tapped the side of the table lightly. A rune flared, and the crystal crackled with blue light.
Then it fizzled, crackling with electricity. A moment later, it exploded with a soft pop, sending a few harmless sparks across the table. One of the floating rings wobbled and dropped slightly.
"That's the fifth one today," she muttered, brushing ash off her sleeve. "Still can't get the energy to stay stable past ten seconds. The energy balance slips the moment I stop reinforcing it manually."
Ben smirked. "Isn't this dangerous? The amount of energy on empyrean crystal is a lot…."
"Exactly," Elvira said, looking at the crystal with mild frustration. "The energy coming out form this is far higher level than mana, probably even better than Aether"
She tapped her desk creating projection of the crystal, showing energy moving inside liek a circuit.
"Since I cannot find way to use it directly, I'm trying to down grade the energy. This is what the ring for converting it to electricity with high efficiency."
Ben crossed his arms, thinking. "So you're saying since you're downgrading it, this will not explode?"