Normally, every time Eleonora lost a candidate, it would only take a couple of years until she was found by a new one.

At first, it was very painful, but with time and thanks to Eirlys' advice, Eleonora got used to this occurrence.

But it still hurt.

That's why the technique Eleonora used most to pass the time until she was found was simple.

Meditation.

Without powers, without a physical body, it was the smartest thing she could do to calm her emotions while waiting for the arrival of the new candidate.

[134 years, 11 months, and 28 days]

Eleonora meditated without having a single internal dialogue with herself during all this time.

Her routine consisted of meditating and sleeping when she felt too tired to avoid unnecessary thoughts.

That was all she had to do until a human found her.

It was what repeated over and over when questions arose.

She just had to wait. And that's what she did for a long time, as she was accustomed to this routine.

As the years kept passing, Eleonora began to notice something different.

She had overlooked a very important detail because she was doing this in such an automatic way, and it wasn't her fault. This was such a common process for her that she did it without thinking too much.

At first, of course, it was hard for her to do something like this since it was painful to part with a candidate forever, but this was normal in the cycle of life.

Or so she repeated to herself to maintain her sanity.

Over the years, Eleonora started experiencing something she hadn't experienced before.

The thoughts that used to come and go like clouds during her meditation... now they didn't go away.

The thoughts observed her.

She tried to observe them silently while accepting any feelings of guilt or inadequacy, but those clouds grew larger to the point of unsettling her, causing her to lose her concentration.

Of course, she would return and try to meditate, but each time she succeeded for shorter periods.

At first, Eleonora believed it was because she was tired, so she went to sleep when it started happening.

But over time, no matter how much she slept, when she tried to meditate... she failed.

Why?

Of course, it's normal to make mistakes while meditating, such as being carried away by certain thoughts, getting distracted, or letting an emotion consume you excessively.

But this was a new point she wasn't used to.

Now, she couldn't stop thinking.

Why couldn't she focus?

Eleonora asked herself that question more and more frequently.

At first, meditating was almost like walking, but over time, she did it worse.

Why?

Unknowingly, Eleonora began talking to herself more often.

She no longer had that absolute calmness that her sisters sometimes admired.

She was becoming impatient, or maybe she was becoming anxious?

[138 years, 3 months, and 4 days]

No matter how hard she tried to go back to basics, Eleonora couldn't meditate.

Her mind couldn't stand the idea of her not thinking about anything!

The thoughts in her mind were becoming more aggressive, and she started feeling guilty.

Was she becoming useless?

Why couldn't she do something so basic anymore?

Probably, only about 20 or 30 years had passed, and she was just overreacting!

A part of Eleonora told her that more time had passed, but she didn't want to believe that!

Someone would find her soon, and everything would probably go back to normal.

She just needed to wait for a candidate... and keep her sanity as best as possible to help her candidate in the best way.

[143 years, 3 months, and 1 day]

Eleonora opened her eyes more and more frequently to see her surroundings.

Her view was limited as she lay on the ground, but she could still appreciate that she was still in that annoying place.

The reason for her growing discomfort with the cold was that more and more snow-covered her, hindering her vision and giving an unpleasant sensation to her physical body.

Luckily, the sun always rose every morning and melted all that snow, but...

What if that stopped happening?

No!

It was impossible; the sun had fulfilled its role for years, keeping the snow at bay, so it couldn't stop doing it.

Eleonora had abandoned the idea of meditating and spent a great deal of time answering her vague questions while being distracted by what little she could see thanks to her vision.

The trees remained just as lifeless.

The fauna was almost non-existent, but it was amusing to watch the prey escape from their predators.

Distracting herself wasn't such a bad idea after all!

[148 years, 11 months, and 22 days]

The damn snow had done it!

It wouldn't go away!

She couldn't see anything anymore!

Exactly 5 years had passed, and she knew it very well because she had counted them in detail.

She had nothing to do, so she thought it was a good idea to do something like that to pass the time.

She wanted to keep her mind busy.

Eleonora's anger began to grow, and she wished she could transform into a human to blow up all the snow in the place, and the whole world too!

Why did the snow have to be so annoying?

Why did this have to happen to her?

She couldn't even watch those amusing chases in the afternoon anymore!

It seemed like the world only wanted to make her suffer.

Why?

Is it because she can't die?

Immortals also have feelings! Feelings that don't like being below 0 degrees temperature!

Even though Eleonora wasn't in her physical body, she could feel her whole being trembling from the cold!

Could she not even generate her own warmth anymore?

This had to be a joke!

Eleonora struggled to activate some of the spells she knew, but it was futile.

Nothing worked.

Nothing!

Why?

She knew the answer.

She couldn't do anything because she didn't have a candidate.

[150 years, 5 months, and 17 days]

The vague idea of dying crossed Eleonora's mind.

She had never had this thought before, but... what if it was possible for her?

Recalling her memories, Eleonora began to remember how she shattered other ego swords in the middle of battles.

Of course, this was something normal in fights.

Something very common!

But... why did her body tremble more when thinking about that idea?

She was unbreakable.

And the same thought went through her rivals' minds before facing her...

No matter how much she tried to push that idea out of her head, it always returned and became her main thought.

Thinking about delicious and crispy food that sounds like the sound of swords shattering in the middle of combat?

Who would think of something like that!?

She just wanted to rest on a giant and comfortable bed, one that could support her weight... without breaking in half.

All of Eleonora's thoughts ended with something breaking, and that... frightened her.

She would never break into a situation like this, neither mentally... nor physically...

Right?