For a moment, nothing happened. Then the female let out a low, resonant hum. The sound was deep and mournful, a command, a plea, a warning all in one. The males froze mid-motion. Their eyes darted between her and Nova.

But one, the scarred leader, refused to yield. It snarled, blood dripping from its foreleg, and launched itself at Nova again, fury unrestrained. Nova barely had time to raise his baton before the creature slammed into him, claws tearing through his jacket.

Pain seared across his side, the dampener overloading with a pop of burned circuitry. He was thrown backward into a tree, gasping for air. Lunaris leaped onto the GrimeFlayer's back, claws and teeth flashing, raking against the creature's neck. It screeched, twisting violently, trying to shake the cat loose.

Nova forced himself up, blood dripping down his arm. His baton sputtered, nearly dead, but it would have to do. He charged, aiming not for brute strength but for precision. As the GrimeFlayer turned, Nova drove the baton deep into the side of its throat.

The shock detonated through the creature's body, its wings locking mid-flap before collapsing in a heap of twitching muscle and smoke. The air stilled.

Silence followed; it was thick, fragile, and almost felt sacred. The other males stepped back, their aggression evaporating into wary respect. The female lowered her barrier, watching Nova with something close to understanding.

Nova knelt, panting, one hand gripping his bleeding side. "We're done," he whispered.

And for the first time since entering the clearing, the GrimeFlayers didn't move to strike. They only watched as Nova and Lunaris retreated into the forest's shadows. As they fled, one of the males screeched louder and louder, and the other males joined in on the screeching, as if in agreement.

The female screeched in retaliation, but no one listened to her. As Nova grabbed Lunaris, holding the cat like an American Football, he ran as fast as he could, going beyond Mach fifty, but the creatures quickly caught up. Nova felt irked, but knew that this battle was far from over.

The female and another male were the only ones who stayed behind. The female protects the eggs, and the male protects the female. The two creatures seemed to be cuddling, putting their beaks together, feeling a sense of romance.

"Tsk," Nova felt the GrimeFlayers' breath at the back of his neck. "Man, this fucking realm,"

Lunaris mewoed in agreement. The GrimeFlayers caught up to him, one of them knocking him down to the ground jaggedly. He accidentally threw Lunaris in the air, which one of the GrimFlayers caught, dragging the Harlequin Cat away.

"Lunaris!" Nova exclaimed. This time in a more crying manner. One of the GrimeFlayers stood over Nova, making him gasp for air. "Get off of me, you damn creature!"

The GrimeFlayer screeched violently in a jagged tone, which finally made Nova cover his ears, bursting his eardrums, as his eyes widened, his mouth twitching abnormally, his muscles convulsing erratically in a joyless hymn.

He felt as if his death was coming sooner than he had anticipated. Then his body gave out, under all the pressure from the weight of the GrimeFlayer, nearly five tons. The creatures sang in a violent harmony, just as Nova saw Lunaris get thrown high in the air, to land to its death.

Nova closed his eyes, his consciousness fading into darkness. But then, a light emerged. A beautiful, fragrant light, and on the other side of it was a person he thought he had lost: Freya.

"Freya?" Nova's voice cracked in disbelief.

The light surrounded her, soft and golden, cascading through her hair like morning sun over crystal water. She smiled, the same way she always had, calm, knowing, impossibly gentle. She shimmered with a beautiful twilight delight, her skin silky and smooth.

"You always find trouble, don't you?" she said, her tone teasing but her eyes glistening.

Nova tried to move, but his body felt weightless, like a whisper in the void. "You're... no. You can't be here. You-"

"I'm not," Freya interrupted softly, stepping closer. Her fingers brushed against his chest, warm, real, grounding. "But I am where you need me to be. You're not finished, Nova. You've still got something left to do."

He shook his head weakly. "I failed. Lunaris... they took him. And I couldn't stop it. I couldn't save anyone. Not again."

Freya's expression dimmed, but her hand stayed firm against his chest. "You think saving is only about surviving? You think it ends when you fall? You've never understood, your strength isn't the weapon you carry. It's the will that refuses to die."

Her light brightened, the warmth pressing against him, seeping into every broken bone, every bruised thought. The pain dulled, the air thick with something ancient, like forgiveness.

"I can't go back," Nova whispered. "It hurts too much."

"You can," she said, voice unwavering. "Because pain means you're still alive. Because Lunaris still needs you. And because somewhere, deep in that shattered heart of yours, you still care enough to fight."

Her words cut through him sharper than any blade. The world around her began to waver, colors dimming, the golden light thinning to silver mist. Freya stepped back, fading with it.

"Wait, Freya!" he called, desperation cracking through his voice.

She smiled one last time. "Then get up, Nova. For once, don't run from the hurt. Use it."

Her hand pressed to his forehead, and the light exploded, searing, pure. Nova gasped. Air rushed back into his lungs, sharp and heavy. His body convulsed beneath the massive weight of the GrimeFlayer, but something inside him ignited.

The world came back in fragments: the screeching, the forest, the smoke. His eyes snapped open, his red iris darkening, as his ability activated, giving him his strength back.

Now that he knew he had something to fight for, he pushed himself up. "Not yet," he growled through the blood and grit, pushing upward. "I'm not done. I'm not done yet."

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