"Please, Aslan... Please fix Laura..."

"···."

Irene was crying rivers, clutching my arm, and begging. In that pitiful state, I briefly wondered if this was really the Irene I knew. Even Silvia, who was usually calm, seemed to be so bewildered that she let go of her sword and stood frozen.

‘When Irene broke down in the hidden world, she didn’t act like this...’

Back then, Irene was simply a shell of a person, lost and mentally broken. She wasn’t bawling and throwing herself into such a pitiful state. But now, it seemed as though she had completely forgotten what shame was, her eye makeup smeared with tears as she cried uncontrollably.

She was someone who could easily crush my arm into minced meat if she wanted, but now she looked like a fragile and delicate woman.

‘I’m not a godly healer, I don’t know how to fix this...’

I didn’t know anything about the deity’s avatar, nor the cause of its ailment or how to cure it. But I couldn’t bring myself to say that out loud.

Irene must have known that I didn’t have the ability to help, but she came to me anyway. She had nowhere else to turn, no one else to confide in.

Of course, I knew it would be futile. But still, she had come to me, clinging to the last thread of hope. I couldn’t just send her away.

"Let me see it."

"Huh? What?"

"Give it to me. I need to take a look before I can make a diagnosis."

"Aah. Okay..."

[The god, 'Kali', is impressed by your mercy in caring for even a weak deity’s avatar.]

Irene, who had been unable to hide her confusion, widened her eyes and awkwardly fumbled as she handed over Laura’s avatar to me. It was clear she hadn’t expected me to accept it.

"How should I diagnose it?"

"How should I know? I’m just going to try anything."

"Aah, okay..."

I decided not to give any false hope. I would do my best, but I couldn’t promise the outcome.

At that moment, Irene wiped her nose with a sniff and stopped crying. She followed me closely.

‘I don’t know much about a god's avatar, but Kali would know.’

I wasn’t entirely without confidence. I had Kali at my side, after all. Kali was the expert on deities and their avatars. Surely, if I looked at it, Kali would tell me what was wrong.

I hurriedly moved to the laboratory and placed Laura’s avatar on the table under the bright light.

"Hmm..."

As soon as I let go, Laura’s avatar collapsed weakly. The last time I saw it, it floated slightly above the ground, levitating as it moved. Now, it was completely grounded, unable to rise.

Its eyes were closed. Even when I prodded it, there was almost no reaction. The only sound was occasional faint groans.

So, what was the problem?

Now, it was Kali’s turn.

[The god, 'Kali', shows signs of confusion about what is happening.]

"···."

If you don’t know, then who does?

I was momentarily speechless in disbelief. Who else would know except for you?

[The god, 'Kali', explains that they aren’t an expert on avatars because they, being a powerful god themselves, don’t need to use avatars.]

Kali, who hadn’t said anything yet, began rapidly explaining themselves as if they were embarrassed.

How shameless.

But, I had benefitted from Kali’s help in the past, so I wasn’t overly disappointed that Kali couldn’t assist me this time. Still, their explanation was frustrating.

‘We’re totally in the dark here.’

Irene was watching me eagerly with eyes full of hope, her hands clasped tightly. I couldn’t just give up at this point; it would seem too careless.

I started feeling the avatar in my hands, examining it. It was soft and gelatinous, almost like jelly, smooth but squishy. When I squeezed it, I could feel a remarkable density.

It felt like I was holding a liquid monster the size of a pencil case... though I had no idea what a liquid monster would actually feel like.

It was smooth and squishy, and when squeezed or pulled, it would compress or stretch, but it had strong elasticity, and beyond a certain point, it wouldn’t stretch any further. It was oddly addictive to touch, so I decided to stop.

‘Does it like me?’

When I tried to stop touching it, Laura’s avatar pulled my hand in with its little arms and wouldn’t let go.

Though it seemed unconscious, it was instinctively drawn to me. I realized that being adored by a deity wasn’t as glamorous as it seemed.

Wait a minute...

‘This feels... similar to Hukhuk.’

Suddenly, I had a realization. Hukhuk was originally a spiritual being, without a physical body. But through Yulia’s spirit magic, it had obtained a body, which could be seen as an avatar of sorts.

If that’s the case, maybe Hukhuk might know something about this?

[The god, 'Kali', angrily yells, but is interrupted by the summoning of Hukhuk.]

Immediately, I called Hukhuk. As Hukhuk and the others came into the lab, they peeked through the door before slowly entering after I gestured for them to come in.

"Why are you standing there like that? You can come in."

"Oh, it’s okay now!"

"I thought we shouldn’t come in because the god was sick..."

Though I was pretending to treat this as a medical issue, it wasn’t really a hospital, so I wasn’t too concerned.

[Hukhuk grumbles as it climbs onto the table and examines Laura’s avatar with a serious expression.]

Hukhuk seemed to stare intently at the avatar for a while.

‘This is the person who saved me when I was in trouble... I’ll definitely fix this!’

"Do you think you know what’s going on, Hukhuk?"

‘Hmm. I think I need an apple pie to figure it out...’

"Guys, take Hukhuk out for a walk."

[Hukhuk growls, but insists on continuing to examine the avatar.]

I was ready to give up and drag Hukhuk away when it started to act seriously again.

‘The avatar seems to be alive but weak... Ah! I know now!’

"What is it, Hukhuk? What do you know?"

‘It’s definitely hungry!’

"···."

I couldn’t help but laugh at Hukhuk’s overconfidence. Still, given how much it ate every day, maybe there was something to its theory.

"Ugh. This is the chocolate I was saving for later..."

Wiping her tears, Charlotte pulled out a small piece of chocolate from her pocket. I took it and put it near the avatar’s mouth.

Could this really work...?

"Did it eat it?"

"···!?"

Just as I was skeptical, Laura’s avatar suddenly reached out and ate the chocolate. It started chewing it, making small noises.

Was that it? Was it going to wake up now?

Irene’s eyes sparkled with hope, but then the avatar made a little burp and went limp again.

‘Not again...’

"Maybe it’s just sleeping?"

"Sleeping?"

‘Ah, I understand now! Sometimes, when mana builds up too much, it goes into a deep sleep to process it. Humans call it 'mana sleep.'”

"Mana sleep...!"

I remembered reading about it in a book on spirits. But could this phenomenon apply to a deity’s avatar too?

I wasn’t sure, but I placed the avatar back on my hand. If it was indeed caused by too much mana, I just needed to disperse it.

‘Skill: Dark Magic.’

I used the skill, and a dark haze began to swirl around my palm. Irene grabbed my arm in shock, but I continued to cast the dark magic.

As a significant amount of mana evaporated from Laura’s avatar, it began to stir.

‘...!?"

"Laura! Are you okay?"

‘...!!’

With a small groan, Laura’s avatar blinked its eyes and began to rise, floating into the air as though it had just woken up from a deep sleep. Irene, overwhelmed with emotion, hugged the avatar tightly, tears streaming down her face.

It wasn’t as bad as I thought.

Just as I let out a sigh of relief, the atmosphere in the room suddenly became cold. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up.

"Aslan..."

"···!? What?"

"About today... If you tell anyone..."

[The god, 'Kali', trembles in fear at the threatening atmosphere.]

Irene, who had been crying, looked up at me. Her face, flushed with embarrassment, glared at me with trembling pupils.

Ah, she’s angry now.