Before they could face the final trial, the Bone Dragon, they had to fix themselves.

Their supplies were gone. Bodies pushed past their limits.

Rina's death had left a huge hole in their strategy.

Without her, they had no steady source of healing. No way to recover from the wounds the final battle would surely inflict.

Summoning her ghostly form was a temporary fix. Her cold, efficient healing took a constant, heavy toll on Dante's mana.

In a long fight, he would be forced to choose between keeping his healer or commanding his army.

It was an unacceptable tactical weakness.

The ancient maps they had claimed spoke of two legendary sources of power in this final zone.

Hidden in forgotten corners of the floating islands.

A spring of healing. And a well of pure mana.

Finding them was not just a priority. It was their only path to survival.

Dante split the team.

The official reason was to cover more ground. But his true purpose was to separate the most unstable members of his command.

Jin would lead the hunt for the mana well. His arm now fully healed. But his eyes still holding the haunted memory of his near-death.

With him went Talia, his silent shadow. And Lana.

The rest of his spectral army remained with Dante. A silent, ever-present legion.

His team for this mission consisted of himself, Masha, and Erica.

They would search for the healing spring.

Sending Lana away was a calculated risk.

To his surprise, she had agreed with strange lack of argument.

The wild, possessive storm that once raged at the mere suggestion of leaving his side was gone.

Replaced by a quiet, thoughtful nod.

It was a change so deep, so completely out of character, it was more unsettling than her usual chaos.

'What is she planning? Why is she so calm? This isn't like her at all.'

They stood on a cliff of white, fossilized bone. Watching the other team leap across a chasm to a nearby island.

Their forms shrinking into the twilight gloom.

"I don't understand her," Erica said. Voice a low, suspicious whisper at his side.

She was watching Lana's retreating form. Fists clenched.

"Before, she would have burned the world down before leaving your side. Now... she just accepted it. Politely."

"I don't know either," Dante lied. Gaze fixed on the path ahead.

"I've been seeing changes in her for some time. She's acting... strange. It doesn't suit her personality."

Erica's eyes narrowed. "She's planning something. I know it."

"She's a snake, Dante. You can't trust her."

"Oh, you really are dense about these things, aren't you?"

Masha's voice, dry and laced with weary amusement, cut in.

She walked to stand beside them. Arms crossed. Gaze following Dante's.

"Yes, she's changed. Or rather, she's trying her best to change."

Dante turned to her. Faking confusion. "Change? But why?"

Masha let out a short, humorless laugh.

"For you, you idiot," she said. Shaking her head.

The firelight from her S-rank core gave her grey eyes a warm glow.

"She's been watching you. Watching how you command. How you react."

"She's finally realized that her chaotic tantrums aren't going to win your affection."

"They just make her a liability in your eyes."

Erica's eyes widened. "Wait. You mean she's..."

"She's been taking lessons," Masha continued. "From Talia. On how to be in a relationship."

"She's trying to learn how to be a better partner."

"She thinks if she can become the perfect, logical, supportive soldier, you'll finally choose her."

"She's not just obsessed with you, Dante. She's studying you. She wants to become the woman she thinks you want."

'So that's it. She's trying to change herself. To fit what she thinks I need. To win my approval.'

'That's... actually smart. And disturbing.'

"How did I not know this?" Dante said. Playing the part of the unaware leader.

"I'm the commander of this team. And I don't even know what's happening within it."

"First Talia and Jin. Now Lana..."

Erica, who had been listening with growing, horrified stillness, finally broke.

Her fists tightened. Knuckles white.

A low curse escaped her lips. A sound of pure, poisonous jealousy.

"I won't lose to her," she murmured. Voice a low, dangerous growl.

"I won't. I can't."

Masha glanced at her. Then at Dante. A small, knowing smile on her lips.

"You really don't see it, do you?" she said quietly. "What you've done to them."

But she didn't explain. Just turned and started walking.

Their path led them down into a hidden, underground grotto.

A secret world tucked into the heart of one of the largest floating islands.

The air here was warm. Humid. A stark contrast to the thin, cold air above.

A soft, silver-blue light came from moss clinging to the cavern walls.

Casting the entire space in a calm glow.

DRIP. DRIP.

The sound of trickling water echoed from deeper within.

They found the source in the heart of the grotto.

A small, hidden pool. Fed by a gentle waterfall cascading over moss-covered rocks.

The water itself was impossibly clear. Glowing with the same soft, silver-blue light as the moss.

It was not just water. It was life itself.

A concentrated elixir of pure, healing energy.

"It's beautiful," Erica whispered. Voice full of childlike awe.

They stood at the edge of the pool.

The silence of the grotto was a welcome comfort after the constant, howling wind of the world above.

The air was clean. The light was soft.

For the first time in what felt like an eternity, the world did not feel like it was trying to kill them.

"The water," Masha said. Kneeling at the edge. Dipping her fingers in.

"It's warm. And the energy... it's not just healing. It's... relaxing."

"It feels like it's washing away the exhaustion from my soul."

They had brought dozens of empty flasks. Ready to collect the precious liquid.

But as they stood there, battered, scarred, soul-weary, the temptation was too great.

"Before we take what we need," Dante said. Voice softer than he intended.

"We should take what we want."

He began to unstrap the pieces of his battered armor.

Masha and Erica exchanged a look. A mixture of surprise and shy, hesitant agreement.

One by one, they shed the layers of their war-torn existence.

The leather. The metal. The blood-soaked fabrics.

And stepped into the glowing, welcoming water.

SPLASH. SPLASH.

The moment the water touched his skin, a deep sigh of relief escaped Dante's lips.

It was beyond mere healing.

The constant, phantom ache in his severed shoulder vanished.

The deep, bone-deep weariness that had been his companion since the dragon battle dissolved.

Washed away by the gentle, glowing current.

He drifted to the center of the small pool. His back against the smooth, mossy rocks of the waterfall.

And simply let himself exist.

'This is... nice. When was the last time I felt this calm? This peaceful?'

'Has there ever been a time like this?'

Erica was the first to approach.

She moved through the water with shy, hesitant grace.

Her fiery red hair a stark contrast to the silver-blue light.

She didn't speak.

She simply came to his side. Her shoulder brushing against his.

A silent offering of closeness. Of a shared, peaceful moment.

"This is nice," she whispered. "I wish it could last forever."

Then came Masha.

More cautious. Movements deliberate.

She kept a respectful distance. But her gaze was fixed on him.

Her intelligent eyes full of new, unguarded curiosity.

"You know," Masha said quietly. "For someone who claims to only see us as assets, you sure went through a lot to save us back there."

"Maybe Lana's not the only one who's changing."

Dante said nothing. Just closed his eyes.

They floated there in silence.

The water swirled around them. Its healing energy a gentle touch. The silver-blue light a soft blanket.

For a single, fleeting moment, in the heart of a dead god's tomb, surrounded by two women who loved and feared him in equal measure, the impossible dream of a happy end did not feel so far away.

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