Stepping out of the Misty Lands, Ulric gently lowered Lyra onto the ground before giving her another careful inspection.
The incoherent mumbling slipping from her lips gradually subsided as her eyelids fluttered rapidly before finally opening.
He watched as the bone-white sheen clouding her eyes slowly receded, revealing the familiar striking purple irises beneath.
To anyone else, it would have appeared as though she had simply regained consciousness.
But Ulric saw something more.
A faint ball of white mist drifted from Lyra's body before silently floating back into the Misty Lands, disappearing into the endless fog as though returning to where it belonged.
"Hmm..." Ulric mused, a thoughtful expression settling across his face.
Did this mean the effects of the Misty Lands were reversible?
Or was it simply because she hadn't remained within them for very long?
The possibility intrigued him.
Yet after pondering it for only a brief moment, he quietly pushed the thought aside.
