Elsewhere in the spiritual world, Aeress was hard at work trying to regain herself without any issues. Because the abyssal entity only inhabited her body and was yet to fully acclimatize to it, even if it eventually did, killing its physical body would not kill its soul. It would surely damage the soul, but it would live on. At the moment however, Lodestar had forcefully disassociated the abyssal entity's control from the body and broken its link to it. If it wished to take control again, it would have to reestablish the connection.
For now, Aeress just had to be quick and inhabit her body before it was too late. To do that without any attachment to the abyssal entity, she followed through with her plan.
Utilizing the souls that had been provided, she was able to burn them as energy to facilitate the process, binding her soul to her body perfectly, making it entirely hers.
Being corrupted by the abyssal entity, there was no way for such a powerful being not to leave lasting effects on her, which manifested in part of her own very soul and being corrupted with an inherent darkness.
To counter this and totally separate herself from this darkness, Aeress had planned all along to split her very being into two halves. One half, the one which she bound to her physical body, and the more prevalent one, consisted of her 'light' side, the side of her that contained all her good. The other side separated from her, contained all the darkness and all her negative part.
When she came to, Aeress found herself lying on a devastating battlefield that had seen a great fight.
'I succeeded... This must be the place where the fight took place.' Aeress thought to herself as she sat up.
As her eyes scanned the area calmly, she suddenly came face to face with Aldritch who had been patiently waiting for her to wake up. Lodestar had already left by this time, and Aldritch opted to stay back and wait for Aeress to wake up.
"You must be the man who helped save me. My deepest gratitude, I g-"
"Enough. You certainly do not plan on giving me your thanks alone, do you?" Aldritch said, his voice calm and cold.
The tension eased, if only slightly. Aeress turned away, her thoughts already shifting to her next task. "Thank you so much, you are benevolent. If you'd excuse me, I must check on my children."
As if on cue, a group of figures materialized behind her, emerging almost out of thin air. Her followers had arrived, their expressions a mix of relief and awe at seeing their leader restored. Aeress gave them a brief nod before turning her attention back to Aldritch. Though Aldritch was familiar with them, he decided to leave them be for the time being. If they were sensible, they would contact him before he contacted them. Either way, as long as he was concerned, they were already under him now.
Without another word, Aldritch stepped back into the shadows, his cloak billowing slightly in the wind. The faint metallic tang of blood lingered in the air as he disappeared into the desolate landscape, leaving Aeress and her followers behind. He too had other things to take care of.
As Aldritch left, the shimmering glow of Helga's magic lingered in the air as the battlefield's oppressive silence was replaced by the presence of Aeress's most trusted followers, Helga, Nahia, and Veronica.
Aeress' gaze softened as she regarded the three women before her.
"My children," she said warmly, her voice resonating with an almost maternal authority. "You've come."
Helga stepped forward first, she inclined her head, her voice tinged with relief. "Great Mother, we are here to serve you as always. But..." Her eyes searched Aeress' face, concern flickering within them. "You seem... changed."
Behind her, Nahia, clad in flowing black garments that seemed to meld with the shadows, observed silently. Her piercing gaze swept over Aeress, her lips pressing into a thin line. Veronica, in her fiery crimson attire, crossed her arms, her stance radiating intensity. She tilted her head, eyes narrowing as if trying to discern the exact nature of the shift.
"If it was any other way, I would have suspected the Abyssal entity, but this..." Nahia said.
"Hey, can you not say that? It's obvious that isn't it." Veronica reprimanded.
Seeing their concern, Aeress smiled softly, "quell your worries, I will explain."