"Luckily for Solus, between my presence and the mana geyser it shouldn't take long before she regains her strength." Lith said.
"Then you should let your body fade, dear. It's of no use for you as it is." Elina said while pointing at the clothes laying on the floor.
Only then did Solus realize that she was stark naked and that the moment her form stabilized, she wouldn't be just a blurred figure anymore.
She turned into a beet red wisp of light the moment before Salaark Warped in.
"You gave me a scare, Featherling. For a moment I thought that someone had found a way to attack my palace from the inside." She said.
"Grandma, can you help her?" Lith asked after Abyssal Gaze failed to restore both his and Solus's strength.
"No. It's better not to mess with the tower while it's at its weakest. You are in no danger here and Solus just needs a bit of time. Recovering four floors at once put a great burden on the power core and on your mana cores.
"Any external help might make things worse rather than better." The Guardian said.
"Four?" Lith and Solus said in unison.
The adrenaline rush made them feel great for almost one second before the effort to stand up almost made them faint.
"Two above and two below." Salaark evened the sand level that sustained the palace and raised its columns, making space for the tower's third and fourth floor.
"I'd take a nap if I were you. Turning so many common materials into enchanted stone and then rearranging the matter inside the tower's rooms so that they become an extension of the power core will take a while.
"The mana geyser is providing you all the world energy you need, but the process requires finesse more than raw power."
The tower rumbled one more time as if it was agreeing with the Guardian.
"Do you want some company, dear?" Elina asked.
"For a nap? No, thanks. I'll call you as soon as I wake up." Lith replied, losing consciousness the moment he closed his eyes.
When a few hours later he opened them up, Lith noticed that the tower had not only grown taller, but also wider and more powerful.
The lobby was twice as large as he remembered it and each one of the rectangular stones in the walls had such a powerful mana flow that it made the hair on the back of his neck stand up.
"Solus?" Lith could have used more rest, but curiosity took the better of him.
"I'm right here." Her voice sounded utterly disappointed. "I hoped that once I got a deep blue core, I would also get my real body back, but I was wrong! The tower may have grown stronger but nothing changed for me."
She had now regained her energy body and it was solid enough to wear clothes, yet there was no improvement. She looked the same as before the breakthrough.
"I'm sorry, Solus." Lith would have liked to tell her that maybe she just needed a bit more time.
That maybe her lack of progress was due to the huge strain that her mana core and the tower having a breakthrough at the same time had put on Solus, but he didn't want to give her false hope.
"Don't worry, I'm fine. Really." She replied with a deep sigh.
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