"No!!!"

Lawkey's shout was muffled beneath the chaos around him. All he was left with was a heavy heart and an aching pain in his chest.

Almost half of the golden cathedral and its ruins were completely absorbed and devoured. The enormous emerald bubble hovered in the air above the cliff where the building originally stood.

The swordsman could only watch as Riana's body fell into the emerald light, her heartwarming smile quickly disappearing out of sight. At this stage, Lawkey couldn't even see Sana in the middle of the bubble anymore.

The light was too blinding, and he knew exactly what that meant. After all, he had seen this phenomenon play itself out before.

The explosion wasn't too far off.

Should I join them…? For a moment, Lawkey considered letting go himself, and allowing his body to join the two in the bubble.

Perhaps he could help somehow too. However…

"I'll leave the rest here to you…"

That's what he was entrusted with now. Despite the bitter taste in his mouth, he needed to at least do the one thing he was good at.

"?!"

Although the shockwave was pulling him along with everything too, Zoran felt shivers run down his back again. When he looked towards the reason, he was met with two glowing emerald eyes glaring at him.

"Open your eyes, cursed miscreant! The original light is pulling our Signs in too!" The priest stretched the corners of his mouth. "Don't ruin it and enjoy the pressure of her embrace-"

"Shut it."

"!"

Zoran watched as Lawkey stabbed his swords in the ground one at a time, using them like crutches. That allowed him to go against the pressure and take slow, but heavy steps forward.

"This all started because you kidnapped her… You and the Coin Masters…"

Although the swordsman wouldn't be making it to him soon, Zoran felt the need to quickly flee if he could find a way.

"?!"

Then, the priest remembered something crucial.

"That's right! Where are you, little cursed pet?! Come get me already!" Zoran shouted suddenly, seemingly to no one in particular.

"..." Lawkey raised an eyebrow as he more or less figured what was going on and tried to make haste.

"Come on!!"

Despite Zoran's pleas, nothing changed. He received no help, no one showed up, nothing.

"Damn you!! You abandoned Nast and now you abandon me?! The Coin Masters will know about this! You hear me?! You're nothing but their little pet!! A measly cursed mosquito!" Zoran piled up his insults as he got no response whatsoever.

Lawkey could hear him better and better as he got closer.

However…

"?!"

Another shift in the bubble alerted them both. For some reason, it was starting to move.

**👑**

Inside an endless white void.

"Auntie…?" The little girl asked with her eyes wide enough to touch her forehead.

"That's right, I'm here, Sana."

The turquoise-haired siren smiled softly as she pulled her niece in for a hug.

"How…?" Sana muttered before allowing herself to hug her aunt back. "Auntie! I'm sorry! I…"

"Shush now. I'm here. We'll figure something out together." Riana tried to assure her while stroking the short light blue hair of her niece.

"But… we can't go back anymore…" Sana sniffled, "I thought you were… That bad man said he would-"

"I know. I'm sure he'll get what he deserves too. As for us…" The siren trailed off as she took a better look around them. "What even is this place…?"

As wide and far as she could look, there was nothing but empty white void.

"How did we even get here…?" She muttered as she continued to scan the eerie and odd surroundings.

"Auntie! Your wounds are…!"

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"!?"

Sana suddenly stepped away to reveal Riana's completely healed torso.

No, this isn't healing… it was as if the wounds I sustained had never happened in the first place… what is going on? The siren wondered as she traced her previous wounds with her fingers. There weren't even any scars.

"Aghh!!"

"Sana?!"

The little girl suddenly fell to her knees, clasping the sides of her head as tightly as possible.

"My head… auntie… my head is…"

"What is it?! Is it hurting?!" Riana stammered, standing over her niece, she didn't know what she could do to help her.

"Memories… I… this isn't the first time… or is it the future… I don't know… I don't know who I am… who am I… how old am i… auntie…?" The little girl mumbled words neither she, nor the one hearing them could understand or follow.

"?!"

Even her shape and figure began to distort.

One moment she was the five-year old little girl, next moment a teenage woman, or another moment an old granny…

What is going on?! I don't know what to do…! Riana panicked for a second, then decided to simply hold her niece as tightly as she could.

"It's okay, I'm here! Your auntie is here, Sana… That's your name. Sana, a brilliant name for a brilliant little girl like you… you were the shining like for us when you were born, and we wanted you to have a name that suits you…"

Despite the chaos of transformations and reality warping happening between her arms, Riana kept going.

"You are five years old, only five! You have a long life ahead of you, a life full of happiness and joy! You will live for all of us, you will laugh for all of us, you will shine for all of us."

"..."

"Please… Sana…" Before she realized it, Riana's tears were running down her face with no sign of stopping. "Please live for us, laugh for us… shine for us."

"A-auntie…?"

"?!"

"Are you crying, auntie…?" Having somehow fully recovered, Sana pulled her head away from Riana's chest and looked up at her.

Riana fell to her knees as she tried to wipe away her tears.

"I'm glad… I'm glad you're okay…"

"It's okay, auntie…" Being on eye level now, Sana suddenly held both sides of Riana's face, forcing her to keep her hands away for now. "I'm here… I'll protect auntie now…"

"!"

Before her aunt could say anything, Sana brought her forehead closer and touched Riana's, immediately igniting an emerald-colored flame around her entire body.

"What is this…?"

"A rising tide to wash away all the troubles."

"?!"

As Sana stepped back while saying one of Undine Clan's sayings, Riana felt a surge of images flash in front of her eyes as if what her niece had said were simply the trigger words.

The siren was experiencing scenes she had never seen before.

Memories of a life she hadn't lived.

Ancient knowledge she hadn't learned.

It was too odd to be described in words, she felt her entire being collapse and get reconstructed again.

She experienced history in a matter of seconds.

Past, present and future.

What does this mean…? Why…?

Who am I…? Where am I…?

PAT!

"It's okay auntie. You are my auntie, but also not. From now on, you are much more." Sana, the one speaking in a manner unbefitting of a young girl, patted her aunt on the head to break her out of her daze.

"What…?"

"We are out of time now."

"!"

"Go back, auntie. You have fulfilled part of your promise, your oath."

"Sana…?"

"It's still me. Just a different me. A different Sana." The little girl said with a soft smile. "Go back now, and fulfill the rest of your promise."

Riana began to understand, to gain control over everything that had entered her mind.

She started to piece things together.

"What about you…?"

"I have my own promises to keep now…"

"?!"

As Sana said that, she stepped away from her aunt and turned her back. As she walked away, her figure distorted once more and grew bigger in an instant.

"Thank you for everything, auntie…"

Riana watched as the now teenage Sana with long and flowing blue hair turned to face her, the gift she had received still in her hair.

"One last thing…"

As Riana fell through the pure white floor, she barely heard the last muffled words her niece left her.

"!"

In the distance, she could swear she saw a figure approaching.

Based on the appearance, she quickly realized who it was.

She smiled softly before losing sight of everything around her.

At the very least, she was glad her niece would be in much safer hands now.

Before long, she would be responsible for her own safety.

That thought alone, made Riana as proud as any aunt, as any mother, would be.

And then, everything turned black.

Then emerald.

**👑**

BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!!!!!

"?!"

An explosion unlike they had ever seen before overtook the sea, causing giant waves to tower over the island itself.

Lawkey and Zoran had watched as the bubble moved away from the cathedral, from the cliff, and flew over the sea in the distance before exploding as it did.

The waves threatening the island suddenly broke upon themselves and descended in a heavy rain instead.

That heavy rain hit the stunned swordsman like a boulder crushing his heart into tiny pieces.

He had known, of course he had known.

Neither Riana, nor Sana would make it out of the bubble unscathed.

But he also knew for sure now, there was no way any human or siren would survive that explosion.

It was simply impossible.

With the shockwaves completely gone, Lawkey simply stood there holding his swords under the pouring rain.

His gaze was low, and his eyes naturally reached the new created puddle of rainwater.

And in it, he began to see scenes he would have much rather preferred not to remember.

It was just like the Sword Purifying Ceremony, except this time, it did not feel good.

On the contrary, Lawkey felt something break within him.

All this time, he had tried to hold it back.

They had told him to hold it back, to smile through it all.

Death was just another part of life.

But right now, in front of him, he saw it all playback.

Jay's last radiant smile.

Sasaki's last cheeky grin.

The Shadowy Woman's soft smirk.

The nightmares that constantly came for him.

The nightmares taking away Jun and Munisai.

The nightmares even strangling the Shadow Queen Taiga.

Sana's beaming face.

Riana's heartwarming expression.

Each of the brothers he had lost.

The Phantom Rogues he could never see again.

"..."

I can't take it anymore…

How am I supposed to do it…?

How could I smile in this situation…?

I'm done…

I've had enough of holding the chains back.

This rage… it demands I loosen my grip on them…

To let it out…

WHOOOSHHH!!

"?!"

Zoran who had still been recovering was suddenly taken aback by an explosion of shadows on the side.

As he looked closer, he saw the same guy as usual.

Both his emerald eyes and emblem shone as always.

The shadows he was releasing didn't seem much different than the time he went all out either.

So why…? Why am I feeling… scared?! Me?!

As Zoran realized it, he noticed his vision blur in front of him.

Everything around seemed of little consequence as both his eyes could only focus on the figure walking towards him.

The figure with shadows exploding from behind him nonstop, only to come together in the form of a raging beast above.

The pressure alone held the priest in place, unable to move an inch.

"Go on." Lawkey said. "Pray to your goddess to come save you."

"?"

"I'll kill her too."

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