Eleanor’s followers grow to the point where they’re pretty much a cult.

Hey! Don’t use the c-word—they’re watching the broadcast!

Fine… A religious sect. They proclaim Eleanor as their messiah with the conduits acting as her devout disciples. You have people praying for her in the streets. Missionaries trumpeting her achievements. Camps and waiting areas are constructed in front of the duke’s manor before being removed after Eleanor complains about the noise.

“And don’t shine lights into my windows, it makes me dizzy.”

“I shall relay your command right away, your holiness!”

One conduit bows and leaves the room.

“So, Adrian, what’s your grand scheme in all of this? Are you planning to wrestle believers away from the Temple of Ceram and start a holy war or something.”

“I’m not Adrian, your highness. And I want nothing more than for these people to leave me be.”

“Sure, you do. By the way, we’re scheduled to leave the capital on March 1st. It should take thirteen days to reach Mellow Bay. Are you up for it?”

“Don’t worry, I’m not just going to drop dead.”

“...Are you sure? I mean, which stage of the illness are you in? Is your blood still red or…”

“I’ll be fine, princess. Honest.”

“Sigh… You don’t know the meaning of that world, Adrian.”

Princess Grace takes out a handkerchief to wipe Eleanor’s nosebleed. Her blood has a tinge of silver mixed in.

Doctor, how long do you suppose Eleanor has if she remains untreated?

Normally I’d say six years, but combine her illness with everything else she went through… I believe she has less than four years left.

Yes, according to what we know, Saint Eleanor Ambrose succumbed to her illness three years after enrolling in Umber Tower. She died one week before the cure for Silver Blood was perfected. She would have lived long enough to receive the cure… if it wasn’t for… Adrian Acker.

Do you still insist that monster is our Saint, Julius?! When he was the one who took everything from us!

I… I believe in my mother, Carter, and so should you.

Ridiculous!

Before the day of departure, Dr. Nina gives Eleanor two giant luggage. One containing holy magic tomes and notes written by Nina herself. The other contains herbs and chemical substances.

“Eleanor, I don’t know why you used so much poisons in your experiments but I brought extras just in case.”

“T-thank you, doctor. I’ll use them… responsibly. Heh heh heh…”

“Child… I know I’ve been lacking as a teacher, but I swear on my honor as a woman of science I will come up with a way to cure you one day, so stay healthy until then! Hmm… maybe I can speed up my research if I can ask the illusive Dr. August for help… Now where could he be?”

March 1st, day of departure. Eleanor and the princess travel in a convoy escorted by powerful knights and mages. Duchess Gilda is going with them while Duke Ambrose must return to his territory.

A large crowd gathers to send Eleanor off. Wait, why are they carrying their luggage? Why are they bringing their horses and mules?

“What do you people think you’re doing?”

“We’re following you on your pilgrimage, your holiness! We swear to follow and serve you no matter how treacherous the path may be!”

“Pilgrimage? I’m going to school! I don’t need a bunch of groupies following me!”

Eleanor argues with her followers until they relent and say they’ll tell their relatives in Mellow Bay to serve her as they would. But when it’s time to depart, a number of people still tag along.

“Didn’t I tell you people to leave me be?!”

“I’m sorry, you holiness. But I’m the captain of the guard. The other conduits are composed of knights and royal mages who are tasked with protecting your convoy anyway.”

“Fan-fucking-tastic!”

Eleanor rolls her eyes and closes her carriage’s blinders.

The convoy departs from the city and travels south. Every time they take a pit stop, the locals would gather to spectate the famous young healer and beg for her help. So the conduits come in handy after all.

“This is getting ridiculous!”

“You know you can just say no, right Adrian?”

“If it were that simple… But rules are rules. Three ironclad rules that can’t be broken no matter what.”

“What rules are you talking about?”

“...Forget I said anything.”

Yeah, what are the rules she keeps talking about? Okay, assume “No killing unless in self defense” being one of them, what are the others?

Rules? What rules? I’m the devil. I don’t follow no stupid rules!

Oh give it a rest, girl. It’ll come out eventually… probably.

Constantly stopping to help people slows the convoy by a few days, but they eventually arrive at their destination. Umber Tower is a massive learning institution located on Mellow Bay. A massive tower stands at the center of the school with other smaller towers surrounding it.

“Yeah, I’m not going to walk up those stairs.”

“Don’t worry, Amelia. The school has multiple transport points for easy traveling. We’ll also put one in our house for convenience’s sake.”

“Transport points? As in, there are spells that allow me to travel across large distances instantaneously? Why haven’t we been using that?!”

“Transport points are exclusive to Umber Tower, darling. They don’t work outside of Mellow Bay. As to why that is… it’s better to show it to you later.”

Eleanor and Princess Grace will be living in a private villa rather than the dorm room for safety reasons. After a good night’s rest, Duchess Gilda shows them the magic cycle they’ll use to go to school and how to select the destination.

“Remember, girls, you shouldn’t mess around with the transporter—especially you, Grace. Your father said he’ll personally come take you home if something happens.”

“Boo! Lame.”

The duchess demonstrates the transporter by opening a portal to the Mellow Bay’s main streets. Eleanor looks at the purple energy emitting from the portal in surprise.

“Wait, this is… No, it can’t be…”

“Come on, Eleanor, don’t be afraid.”

Gilda takes Eleanor and Grace across the threshold. Grace looks at the surrounding buildings with a wide smile.

“Wow! This is amazing, auntie! The capital should have it—no, everywhere should have it! It’d be so convenient!”

“I think so too, dear. Transport points are one of Mellow Bay’s greatest charms. The other one is a little tea shop your mother and I used to frequent when we were students here. Come on, I’ll show you.”

“No, no, no, it can’t be… This can’t be here… This realm is too young… too young…”

Eleanor mutters something with shaking pupils. She bites her finger and looks at her mother.

“Eleanor, is something wrong?”

“You said there’s a reason transport points only work in this place, right?!”

“Ah, yes, dear. What about it?”

“A rift! No, no, probably just a crack… hopefully just a crack… Mama, take me to the crack, right now! The thing that’s powering these transporters!”

“The… crack? Oh, you mean the Central Node? It’s located at the heart of Umber Tower, dear. I’ll take you to see it after we take a tour of the town—Wait, Eleanor! What are you doing?!”

Eleanor rushes back to the transport point and uses it to travel to the so-called Central Node. She appears at the bottom floor of the main Umber Tower. Color fades from her face when she lays eyes on a giant purple crack floating in mid-air.

“No, no, no! Why is this here!? How can a realm this young have a dimensional crack of this size?!”