Didn't Feel Right

Now that Kimora was busy with what Yren had left her with, he walked over to Ginny silently. She must have still been tired because she was curled up with her staff now under the tree.

Yren walked over to her and kneeled down, reaching over to her face, and gently brushing a strand of her hair behind her ear. As he did, Ginny's eyes slowly opened, and she smiled up at him with blurry eyes.

"Did you have a nice little nap?" Yren asked as Ginny rubbed her eyes.

"I am sorry, I guess I was still tired," Ginny said shyly, and Yren helped her stand up.

"Didn't you get much sleep last night?" Yren asked as he bent down to pick up the staff his father had given Ginny.

As he did, his Mana reacted to the massive green jewel at the top of the staff. Yren closed his eyes briefly, and let his mana flow into the staff, activating the Restore Jewel.

"Umm, not really. I was worried that Kimora was going to keep you up, and ended up not being able to sleep," Ginny replied shyly but was staring at her staff that was glowing in Yren's hand.

"Sorry about that," Yren said, but then pointed at the staff, continuing with, "This is a level four Restore Jewel. That means you can innately cast Full Restore Four while holding this staff, but it would most likely use all of your Mana at your Rank. so I don't suggest using it unless it is to save one of our lives."

The green jewel stopped glowing, and Yren handed Ginny back her staff. Ginny was still staring at the curved staff and now unlit jewel in awe.

"Your father really gave this to me?!" Ginny asked in surprise, and Yren clicked his tongue as he turned to the Dungeon entrance.

"I would have thought he would have made you something new, not give you an old single-use bent stick," Yren complained, but Ginny rushed over to his side.

"No, no! This is more than great! I am really happy with it, I just don't have much dungeon experience, so I don't know if I will get good use out of it," Ginny argued, and Yren nodded as they started to walk towards the Dungeon.

"Yeah, but you will still get the boosts from it. I am sure he will be working on something special for you. Everything was pretty short notice, even for him," Yren explained, but then stopped at the Dungeon entrance, turning to Kimora to say, "Keep at it, and we will see you in a couple of hours."

Kimora ignored him and continued to try and control the thick white blue threads of Mana she had manifested. She didn't have time to waste if she wanted to master this.

Yren rolled his eyes but knew that was a good sign. Kimora looked focused, and she would probably have a good grip on the concept when the two returned.

Ginny also called out good luck to her sister but was also ignored. Yren and her smiled at each other and headed into the Dungeon, torches lighting up as they walked.

Once they reached the bottom of the stairs and reached the doorway veiled in darkness, Yren stopped Ginny.

"So, there are a couple things that I want to talk about before we go inside. First is a question. Have you ever been in a Dungeon?" Yren asked, turning to face Ginny.

"Umm, yes, but that was two years ago when I first got my license. I was with my mother, and once we completed two floors, I couldn't go on. Mom said I was weak for caring about the monsters we were killing, but it didn't feel right," Ginny said, and Yren nodded.

He had not told Ginny about this Dungeon yet, but he wanted to hear her out first.

"So what has changed now?" Yren asked, and Ginny looked away embarrassed.

"Umm, Clyde told me that you know a secret about the monsters. I was going to come before that though! I wanted to see if I could overcome my fear with your help because I trust you," Ginny explained, while Yren smiled.

"Good. Your stepfather is right; I do know a way to clear the Dungeons without killing the monsters, but there is more. The monsters in this dungeon can actually talk, and were all once humans at one point," Yren explained, but then looked up at the ceiling, calling out, "Mother! Can you say hello?"

Ginny looked at Yren with a puzzled look, but then both of them jumped back as a silvery mist started to coalesce. The mist pulled together into the shape of a beautiful woman with long flowing hair, and a dress that rippled.

Yren stared in shock as he felt his heart being squeezed as he looked at the image of his mother. This was the first time that he had ever seen her, and he was left without words.

Mira's image turned to Yren and slowly reached up to put a cool hand on the side of his face. As his mother's image stared into his eyes, Yren's eyes started to cloud, and he sucked in a deep breath.

"It is good to finally get to meet you, but this form has almost no substance, so I can't hug you yet. When you reach the end, we will finally meet in person," Mira explained, and Yren wiped his eyes to clear them.

"When I complete this dungeon with my party, I will be bringing you out of here, along with everyone else," Yren said, staring at his mother, and this time it was Mira's turn to look shocked.

"What are you talking about?" Mira asked in confusion.

She knew there was a way for them to all leave, but the requirements were something that was impossible. To unlock a Dungeon required the ones that had locked them inside in the first place, the Demons.