Now that she was back up and the immediate issue that had cropped up was dealt with, Evelyn had some things that she was desperate to find out. The first of which was how long she had been asleep.

"It’s not easy for me to say but hiding it won’t do you any good. It’s been nearly five years now since we arrived here. I’m still not sure exactly what it is that you did to recover but that’s how long it took." Lucia said, a mix of emotions in her eyes as she relayed the information to Evelyn.

Hearing that she had been out for five years hit her hard.

This was not the first time that she had gone through an experience like this, but it was the longest.

A few months would not have been too difficult. Heck, she would have accepted even a couple of years.

However, losing nearly half a decade of time was not an easy pill to swallow.

While she had been trapped within herself and the Aethersphere, the rest of the world had continued to move on without her.

Something that was plainly evident by the advancement of her companions.

’I suppose my progress has not been entirely stagnant. Both of my cores seem to be only a single push away from breaking through to the mid-tier.’ Evelyn thought, sensing the slight progress she had made even while unconscious.

Though most of the magical energy she had been saturated with had gone towards the Aethersphere, a small portion of it had naturally been absorbed by her cores at a diminished rate from normal.

With how long she had been out for and the quantity of magical energy she had been absorbing, it was no surprise that she had made some small advancements.

Still, she was now behind the others.

Lucia had always had a lead, but now she had gone up the next major realm and was far more powerful than before.

As for Aralee and Bylur, both of them were solidly in the high tier of the tyrant rank. Putting them quite a bit ahead of Evelyn despite them having been at equal levels before she forced into her long sleep to recover.

’Honestly, their progress is astounding. Only five years to go up two minor realms in the fourth rank is immersive. I know that they’re both talented, but all of them must have been really driven to improve.’

A slight smile formed on Evelyn’s lips since she knew that it was likely their desperation to help her that had pushed them forward.

Most of the world was cruel and brutal, but the bonds that she had made with those closest to her were strong. Like them, it was what kept Evelyn going.

"Well, I don’t want a pity party thrown for me, so let’s just move on. Five years might feel like a long time right now, but in a few decades it won’t really matter." Evelyn said, slapping her cheeks and jumping out of the bed she had been lying in.

Her muscles felt a bit weak compared to before, but it was not something that a lot of food and some exercise could not fix. Her body was absurdly tough after having reached the tyrant rank.

"So, where’s Rehni? She’s the only one that’s missing?"

Evelyn did not think for a second that Rehni had died or anything like that. She was the one among them with the best head on her shoulders and the most cautious.

"Rehni’s out gathering resources right now. Keeping you in a stable required constantly burning magic crystals and funneling the energy into your body. Well, at least until a week ago when you started draining magical energy directly from the domain. Watching the space around you warping was something incredible. Although we did all worry that the entire place would collapse and we’d die." Bylur explained.

"You also forgot someone else." Aralee chimed in.

At first Evelyn wondered if Verrader had come back at some point and that was who she was talking about.

Except, she was pretty sure someone would have mentioned something already if their brother had returned.

’Oh, wait! It must be Maeve. I totally forgot about her. Honestly, I thought that they would just dump her somewhere considering everything going on.’

While Evelyn remembered Lucia talking about turning the unfortunate girl into an ally, that had been before the catastrophic battle between their group and the member of the Deamhain Sect.

Truthfully, Evelyn figured that they probably would have abandoned Meave during their escape.

However, if she was still with them and alive, Lucia had probably managed to convince her to join them.

Evylen was still somewhat hesitant to allow a human into their group, but she had complicated emotions towards Maeve.

She did not hate the poor girl; though she was unsure if she liked her either.

’I’ll just trust everyone else’s judgment. I know that Lucia, Bylur, and Rehni don’t have as strong as feelings as I do against humans.’

Once Evelyn had realized it was Meave that Aralee was talking about, she asked about their newest companion.

"She’s been working hard. Lucia promised her that we would help her takeover her family and get revenge against the Deamhain Sect. In return, she’s going to assist us in any way that we need. Including using her family’s influence once we put her on top." Aralee said.

Surprisingly, she learned that Meave had recently broken through to the arcanist rank. Apparently, she had managed to find several valuable treasures and manuals that had helped to enhance and grow her magic while exploring the Verdant Warlord’s Domain.

Among them she was still the weakest, but at least now she would be able to keep up.

"Speaking of Maeve, what about the Miris Sect and the Tyrannis Union? I’m sure that after five years, whatever was brewing when we left has already gone down by now."

"You’re certainly right about that. The small seeds of chaos that we planted have grown far more than I could have anticipated. It’s been around eight months since any of us have left to gather intel, so our information is not up to date. Still, I’ll tell you what I learned the last time I ventured out." Lucia said, a serious look in her eyes.