I spent the entire night drawing in mana, and while I did, I kept wondering why I had to experience that loop of dying before I finally woke up.

It was a horrifying experience that I hope to never repeat, and the more I thought about it, the more unsettled I became.

I couldn't tell why it had happened this time.

Was that a hidden drawback of using Chrysalis?

I thought about it, but I wasn't convinced that was the case. This was the first time I had experienced that loop, even though this wasn't the first time I had died.

Then a more concerning thought crossed my mind.

Could it be because of the soul damage I received from Yami?

Hmm…

I couldn't be sure about that, either.

Speaking of soul damage, I could only hope that my soul would heal with time, the same way my body eventually did.

…I was lost in my own world until the first light of dawn broke over the horizon.

Celeste was the first to wake. She lifted herself from the floor, and when her eyes settled on me, a large smile immediately formed on her lips.

"Hey," I greeted her with a smile.

I had barely spoken, though, when she scrambled over and threw her arms around me in a tight, desperate hug.

This was something I was now used to, so I just let her be.

"Yesterday, the raven of decay told us not to worry, that you would be back before morning today," Celeste muttered as she slowly let go of me. She wiped a bit of sleep from her eyes, looking more relieved than she had a moment ago. Then she continued tiredly, "When we asked her why you died, although she didn't say much, she did tell us a bit about that bastard, Yami."

"Oh…?"

I looked away from her to Aika who was still sleeping peacefully on my lap.

"Even though you did it to save us, I don't like the way you died, brother," Celeste yawned, covering her mouth. As she brought her hand down, she smashed a fist into her palm and added fiercely, "I swear, I was so pissed. I wanted to go to the afterlife, drag that bastard's soul out, and give him a serious beating."

I chuckled, reaching out to ruffle her hair. "Come on, I wasn't the only one who died in the fight against him. You died too. Many times, even."

Celeste pouted, crossing her arms and leaning into the touch even as I ruffled her hair. "It's not the same."

A few more seconds passed and Celeste stiffened, as if recalling something important. She raised her eyes to mine. "By the way, that guy is really scary, brother. The person who had it the roughest fighting him was Dion. We found out yesterday that one of Yami's puppets was Dion's brother, Bryan."

"Huh, really?" I blurted in surprise as the lighthearted mood vanished instantly.

Celeste nodded. Then, she began to stroke her ferret as she continued. "Apparently, he had to fight his brother, and due to the nature of Bryan's ability, he had no choice but to kill him in order to survive." She sighed. "Honestly, I felt really bad for him."

Hearing that, even I felt a hollow ache in my chest. I couldn't imagine how Dion must have felt at that moment.

Celeste lowered her voice, her expression turning somber. "I heard he even pleaded with the Raven of Decay to bring his brother back, since you have an ability that deals with resurrection."

When I looked questioningly at Celeste, she added, "But then she told him she couldn't. Something about his soul being too damaged to be brought back, or something like that."

'Hm? Chrysalis didn't work?'

At that moment, I recalled the warning I received from my Gamer privileges after the Soul Eater grazed my side.

I touched the spot where the hand had grazed me, suddenly filled with dread at what would have happened if my soul had been consumed at that time.

Many other questions also ran through my mind, including the nature of my bonded ability, and why it would fail if the soul was damaged. And so, I looked to the side where a notification popped up for me:

[Chrysalis works in a three-fold process. It grants complete restoration of the body while simultaneously retrieving the soul and reuniting it with the flesh, before finally instilling a new spark of life. If there is any interference with this process, Chrysalis will fail.]

After reading the message, a lot of things were finally clear to me. The soul, after all, was the vessel of the self. It held the memories, the personality, and the essence of who we were, and so without the soul, even if the body was perfectly reconstructed and a spark of life was instilled, the person being resurrected would not actually be that person.

I sighed and looked back up, shifting my gaze toward the distance where Dion still lay asleep with Ino.

Then Celeste spoke up, her voice softening as she noticed where I was looking. "That's where we buried the bodies of the hollow dominants. Dion buried his brother there too."

It was quiet for a moment, and we both turned to face each other. Celeste then added, "Dion has been there ever since."

She paused, looking down and trying to find the right words before continuing. "He really looks up to you. Maybe you could stop by the grave to cheer him up a bit."

I looked at Celeste for a bit without saying anything, before finally looking back towards the grave once more.

***

Some time later, the sun finally began to peek over the jagged peaks of the mountains, casting long, pale shadows across the clearing and onto the desert.

According to Celeste, the others had decided to leave for the Puppeteer's Grove sometime today after I woke up, as the journey was no longer far.

Since I was now awake, I decided that we would leave after breakfast.

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