Eliza was quiet for a moment before she nodded and threw her arms around my neck. "Thank you, Galio," she said as she hugged me tightly.

I hugged her back before standing up and ruffling her hair. "You're welcome, Eliza," I said before taking her hand and continuing on our way.

It didn't take long for us to reach the edge of the city. This would be where we erected the thing if we could get it to work.

I was trying to make a barrier that could stop negative energy, but with magic, which it nullified. That simple fact made this whole thing nearly impossible.

I had thought about using light magic, but that had too many holes in it. I could use dark magic, but that was too unstable. There was just no way to make a perfect barrier, but I had to try.

"Okay, so this is where it needs to go," I said as I stopped and looked around. There was a clearing that was big enough, and it was close enough to the city that we could keep an eye on it.

"Alright," Tallia said as she nodded before taking a step back. "I will start working on the barrier."

"I will help too!" Eliza said as she stepped forward.

"No, Eliza, you need to stay back," I said as I shook my head. "It's too dangerous."

"I can help!" Eliza protested. "I am not a hindrance, I promise."

I was about to say no again, but Tallia spoke up. "It's alright, Galio," she said. "I can use all the help that I can get."

p I hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Alright, but you need to be careful, understand?" I said as I looked at Eliza.

"I understand," Eliza said as she nodded before following Tallia into the clearing.

I stayed back and watched as they started to work. It was slow going at first, but they soon found a rhythm and started making good progress.

I was impressed with how well they were working together, and I could tell that Eliza was a quick learner. She was able to pick up on things quickly and was a big help.

It took a few hours, but they finally had the barrier erected. It wasn't perfect, but it would do for now.

"Okay, now we just need to test it," I said as I stepped forward.

"How are we going to do that?" Tallia asked as she looked at me.

"I will test it, but I want you two to get out of here while I do it. I am sure you sensed it before, Tallia. Because Nemoria is my mother, I can also control the Negative Energy. I will see how it does with a direct hit from an Entropic Beam, and then I will call you two back," I explained, but Tallia gave me a worried look.

"Galio, I don't think that is a good idea," she said. "What if something happens?"

"I will be fine," I said as I shook my head. "I promise."

"Galio..." Tallia started to say, but I cut her off.

"I promise, Tallia," I said before turning to look at Eliza. "You too, Eliza. I need you to go with Tallia and wait for me."

"Okay," Eliza said as she nodded before taking Tallia's hand and following her out of the clearing.

I waited until they were gone before I turned to the barrier. I focused my thoughts on the Negative Energy and willed it to come to me.

It took a few seconds, but soon a black tendril of energy was snaking its way toward me. I focused my thoughts on it and willed it to grow larger.

The tendril grew until it was about the size of my arm, and then I released it. It hit the barrier and was immediately absorbed.

I was impressed; it seemed to be working. I focused my thoughts again and willed the Negative Energy to come to me, but this time I willed it to be more powerful.

The tendril that came towards me was twice the size of the last one, and I released it. It hit the barrier and was once again absorbed.

I did this a few more times, each time making the tendril more powerful, but the barrier held. It seemed to be working, but I needed to be sure.

I focused my thoughts one last time and willed the Negative Energy to come to me. This time, I willed it to be as powerful as I could make it.

The tendril that came towards me was easily the size of a tree, but this time I gathered it inside of me. The dark energy poured into me, and I could feel the darkness try to swallow me, but I held firm. Both Tallia and Eliza are in my thoughts, holding me in place.

The Beam grew in strength until I could hold it back no more, and I screamed an Otherworldly scream. The red beam hit the barrier and was immediately absorbed.

I let out a sigh of relief; the barrier was working. It wouldn't be able to hold forever, but it would be able to hold for now.

I focused my thoughts on Tallia and Eliza and willed them to come to me. A few seconds later, a portal appeared in front of me.

"How did it go?" Tallia asked as she looked at me.

"It worked," I said as I nodded. "But it won't hold forever. Still, it should be more than enough to hold for today. In the future, we are going to have to learn more about this, but I am impressed with you today, Eliza. How did you learn about barriers?"

"You told me that I should get better at something, and you were talking about barriers, so I got Breya to help me learn about them. I am still a long way away from doing something like Tallia, but I was glad that I was able to help!" Eliza exclaimed as she hugged my side, and I leaned down to kiss the top of her head.

"Thank you, Eliza," I said as I ruffled her hair. "You were a big help."