"Do you have any proof?" Evelyn asked absentmindedly. The first thought that came to her being to defend herself.

However, her mind was still a bit muddled from just having woken back up, and she had spoken without really thinking things through.

Of course, her demand for evidence of her crime only enraged the vestige of the Verdant Warlord further.

A powerful aura of magical energy started to rise up around him, causing alarm bells to ring in Evelyn's head.

She had not felt any intent to attack before, but that had suddenly changed.

The keeper of the domain she had pilfered from looked ready to wipe her from existence.

"Wait! We already discussed what to do before she woke up. Evelyn's just delirious right now from being in a coma for so long. Just give her a minute and then we can figure this out. If you kill all of us, you'll never be able to fulfill your true purpose."

Lucia interjecting herself between Evelyn and the vestige. Taking up a defensive stance to protect her companion if that's what it came down to.

Thankfully, the manger of the Verdant Warlord's domain calmed down and his threatening aura retreated.

Still, there was a deep scowl on his face, and it was obvious that he was highly upset with whatever the Aethersphere had done.

"Fine, I will listen. But do know this. The domain here was supposed to be able to last for several millennia. Now I'll be lucky if I'm able to maintain it for another century before it destabilizes from lack of magical energy."

While that might have sounded like a lot of time, in the grand scheme of things, it really was not.

In this world of magic, all creatures could live far longer than before by absorbing magical energy and advancing through the ranks.

As she was now, even if she completely stagnated, Evelyn could likely live around another seven hundred to eight hundred years.

"Okay, let me apologize first. I didn't intend to drain the magical energy from this place. The divine artifact inside of me did it without my input. I had no idea that this would happen."

Evelyn's genuine admittance of what she had done helped to lessen the vestige of the Verdant Warlord's anger towards her.

He was able to tell that she was telling the truth.

She had no knowledge that her divine item would act as it did. Making her crimes towards the domain more of an accident than anything else.

"I acknowledge that what occurred was out of your hands. Still, the damage has been dealt, and I require compensation for it. You'll either need to return the energy to me or assist me in completing the true function that my creator made me for." The vestige said, not a hint of compromise in his gaze.

Evelyn winced at the demand for the return of the magical energy that she had taken.

Whether it was possible or not, she really did not want to give it back.

The Aethersphere seemed like it was truly starting to repair itself now.

While the percent it estimated it could fix was not high, the powerful artifact had many functions beyond what Evelyn knew or understood.

Even just the little bits here and there she had been able to use had given her a huge edge in this world. There was no telling what it would be capable of when it was finally fully restored. Stopping the process now would be counterproductive to her growth.

'Not that I think I can force it to return the magical energy anyway. I guess I'll just have to help the vestige out with whatever it's purpose is. Though, I think that I've already got a good idea.'

Glancing at her companions, Evelyn saw that none of them seemed surprised by the current developments.

No doubt once the Aethersphere had finished siphoning the energy it could before its connect was cut off the domain's overseer had appeared and discussed things with them already.

"I'm sure that you've already concluded that retuning the energy is impossible. I promise to help you instead. That shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"Yes, that will be fine. I've been patient since there was plenty of time before, but that no longer holds true. I must pass on the inheritance of the Verdant Warlord as quickly as possible now."

Evelyn remembered that when their group had first arrived in the domain, that the vestige had scanned all of them.

The main reason for doing sow as to assess their magical affinities.

As a practitioner of nature magic, the Verdant Warlord had been looking for someone with the same talents to pass on his knowledge and techniques to.

Of course, a man that had conquered the entire continent in the past had naturally collected a great deal of items he did not need but would be invaluable to future generations which was why anyone with the correct qualifications could enter.

Nevertheless, the ultimate purpose of the place was to find a successor for the Verdant Warlord who had long ago ascended beyond this realm.

"The humans that have been periodically entering over the centuries only brought in someone with a nature affinity once. After I made the offer to give her the true inheritance of this realm, she never returned again after going to discuss it with her nation's leaders. Ever since, not a single individual with a nature affinity has enter this realm." The Verdant Warlord's Vestige said with a sigh.

What he asked Evelyn and her companions to do as recompense for stealing the domain's magical energy was to find a suitable successor.

"It can not just be anyone with a nature affinity of course. I require someone talented and at least at the third rank. Though preferably higher if possible."

"That's a difficult request for us to accomplish right now, though not impossible in the future. How long will we have?" Lucia asked, speaking up again.

"I shall give you forty years. If you have not found someone by then…"

The vestige of the Verdant Warlord waved his hand, and a wave of foreign magical energy entered the bodies of everyone present.

A few moments later a glowing green rune appeared on each of their chests.

"The spell I have placed on all of you will activate. If you do not wish for it to damage your beast cores and leave you all crippled, you'll make sure to not break your promise and pay back the debt that is owed."

Evelyn could feel the pressure of the now bound pact.

It was slightly heavy when she focused on it. A reminder of the duty she owed to the caretaker of the Verdant Warlord's domain.

Fortunately, it vanished from sight after just a few seconds, and only when she consciously thought about it was the weight there.

'I think that a powerful inscriptionist might be able to remove it, or if I reach the peak of the sovereign beast rank, I could endure the attack. But it will just be easier to find a nature magic specialist. Forty years should be plenty of time.' Evelyn thought, ruminating on the new objective she needed to complete.