The battlefield was eerily quiet once the storm of power settled. Smoke and dust hung heavy in the air, and the ground still pulsed faintly with the aftershocks of Kana's final act.

No one dared move at first—every warrior, priest, and soldier left behind could only stare at the ruined horizon where their world had been reshaped.

The memory of the blinding light was seared into their vision, and the absence that followed it was worse.

Kana was gone.

Lysera's breath came in short bursts, her hands trembling as she tried to comprehend what had just happened.

Iriele's lips pressed into a thin line, her eyes darting desperately around the battlefield as if Kana might still appear from behind the smoke.

High Priestess Jenna's face remained calm on the surface, but even her hand clenched tightly against her staff betrayed the tremor of unease running through her.

"No. She's not gone. I don't believe it. She wouldn't just leave us like that."

Lysera whispered, shaking her head violently.

Iriele nodded sharply, her jaw tight.

"Kana is still here. Somewhere. We have to bring her back."

The soldiers around them shifted uneasily, whispering, their voices weaving between disbelief and awe.

But Ruby was the one who stepped forward, her eyes shadowed with something heavier than grief.

"You don't understand…"

She said, her voice low but cutting through the murmur.

"Kana didn't just disappear. She's trapped. Her power reshaped reality itself, and now she's locked away in her own inner world. If you go to her… there's no guarantee you'll return."

The warning did nothing to sway them. Lysera's eyes burned with determination. Iriele's fingers curled into fists.

Even Jenna, the voice of reason in most cases, said nothing against it.

"Then we'll go. No matter the cost. We'll bring her back."

Lysera declared.

Ruby studied them for a long moment, then closed her eyes, as though surrendering to the inevitable.

"So be it. But understand this—your bodies may not survive the journey. And even if they do… Kana herself may not remember you."

Those words hung heavy, but no one faltered.

Ruby raised her hands and began the chant, her voice weaving ancient syllables into the still air.

Light sparked around them, threads of magic spiraling outward, tugging against the boundaries of their existence.

The spell was unstable, straining to hold itself together.

The trio felt their bodies tearing apart, piece by piece, until only their souls seemed to remain, suspended in Ruby's conjured light.

But it wasn't enough.

Ruby's forehead dripped with sweat, her voice faltering as cracks split through the magical weave. The spell wavered like a dying flame.

And then, a shadow fell over them.

The wolf goddess—her body battered and broken, breaths ragged—stumbled forward.

Her once-proud figure was nearly unrecognizable, blood matting her fur and power leaking like smoke from a dying ember. Her eyes, sharp to the last, fixed on Ruby.

Without a word, she pressed her hand into the spell.

Power surged violently, the circle stabilizing with a painful brightness. The wolf goddess's lips curled into a faint smile.

"Go. If she reshaped this world… then it is only right she has someone to anchor her back."

She whispered hoarsely.

The last of her strength bled into the spell. And with that, the wolf goddess collapsed, her life flickering out like a candle extinguished by the wind.

The magic roared, and the world shattered.

Lysera, Iriele, and Jenna felt themselves dragged violently through a void, their senses torn apart and rearranged. Then, abruptly, the nothingness ended.

They stood in silence.

Around them stretched an endless plain, shimmering with strange hues of light and shadow.

It wasn't a world as they knew it but a reflection—a space caught between dream and memory, molded by Kana's will.

The ground glimmered faintly like glass, and the horizon bent in unnatural arcs.

"This is…Kana's world."

Iriele whispered, awe lacing her voice.

Jenna steadied her staff and looked around, her expression tight.

"Then we must find her before this world collapses in on itself. She's here, somewhere."

They moved cautiously, calling her name, their voices echoing strangely through the warped landscape.

For a long while, there was no response—only the distant hum of power that seemed to come from everywhere at once.

And then they saw her.

Kana.

She stood a short distance away, her figure almost glowing with a faint radiance that wasn't human.

She looked calm, too calm, her eyes scanning the strange world as if searching for something invisible.

When she noticed them, her body stiffened, and she took an instinctive step back.

Lysera's breath caught. Relief and joy burst through her chest, and she surged forward.

"Kana! It's us—we came to bring you back!"

But Kana's expression hardened. Her eyes narrowed, wary, her posture guarded like a cornered animal.

"Who… are you?"

She asked quietly, her voice carrying an unfamiliar chill.

Lysera froze mid-step, her heart dropping. Iriele's hand shot out to stop her from going further. Even Jenna looked visibly shaken, her lips parting but no words escaping.

Kana's gaze swept across the three of them, and she took another step back, power unconsciously stirring around her.

"I don't know you. Stay away."

The air grew tense, silence pressing in around them. The Kana before them was the same in form, but her heart—the memories, the bond they had fought so hard for—was missing.

And as the light of her world rippled faintly, the dreadful realization struck them all at once.

Kana truly didn't recognize them.

Lysera's chest tightened painfully, but she forced herself to lift her hand, her voice trembling yet steady.

"Kana… it's me. It's Lysera. We've fought together, laughed together—don't you remember?"

Kana's brows furrowed slightly, a flicker of confusion breaking through her guarded gaze, but it vanished just as quickly.

Iriele stepped forward, her eyes glassy.

"Even if you don't remember us now, we'll remind you. We'll stay by your side until you know us again."

Kana remained still, uncertain, her power wavering faintly as if caught between rejecting and reaching toward them.

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