The text pulsed in the air like a living thing. Thankfully, Lyssandra could not sense it even with all her power. But every single enhancement… every new skill… they were gifts from her. And the price for this kind of gift… could I truly afford it?

"You like it? Can you feel the power coursing through your veins? That sweet power you could drown in if you simply followed me…" Her voice curled around me like smoke. "Ahh… Beatrice. You are playing hard to get."

She lifted her finger and ran her tongue along it with slow, suggestive delight. Then she pressed it against my lips. I turned my head sharply away, refusing to let her savor that reaction.

"Are we done here? I would like to go now…" My voice trembled only slightly, but not from fear anymore. I was buzzing with strength, fully recovered, overflowing with energy I had not felt in months.

A strange warmth had settled in my chest, resting beside the cold like a second heartbeat.

"Not quite. There is one more little thing. Treat it as a gift from me personally, with no need to ever repay." Her finger tapped lightly against my forehead. In that instant, my soul felt as if it slipped free from my body. I became weightless, wrapped in a warmth like a heavy blanket during the coldest winter night. It felt too good, almost perfect. My eyes closed on their own, and I felt them spin beneath my lids. Colors danced in the darkness behind them, swirling faster and brighter until the sensation pulled a soft breath from me.

When I opened my eyes again, I saw a golden light coiling around Lyssandra. It wrapped her like a soft glove, shimmering with quiet power. I lowered my gaze to my own body and found a dull grey glow encircling my hands. It clung to me like fog, faint and uncertain.

"W-what is this?"

"This is the Eyes of the God. It allows you to see the aura of every living being. The brighter the gold, the greater the power they hold. As for you…" She let her voice trail into a gentle hum. "You have a long road ahead of you, my precious."

She stepped back once, then again, never breaking eye contact. She looked almost pleased, as if she were admiring a piece of art she had personally sculpted. When she reached about ten steps away, she lifted her hand and snapped her fingers.

The world around me spun so quickly my vision shattered into fragments. My knees buckled under the sudden shift, and the last thing I heard before darkness swallowed everything was her voice, soft and certain.

"One year later, if you do not shine silver, I will come to collect you. And once you face several opponents, you will understand exactly how powerful silver truly is."

The ground vanished beneath us, and my stomach lurched as if the world had been ripped open. A sharp scream cut through the air beside me. When I turned my head, I caught sight of Elira plummeting with Beelzebub clutched tightly in her arms. Her eyes were wide and watery from the rushing wind. We locked gazes for a heartbeat, both of us filled with the same confusion and helpless uncertainty.

After what felt like a twenty-story drop, the fall ended in a sudden, jarring thump. My body met the earth face first, the soft dirt swallowing my breath.

I pushed myself up with a groan and spat the dirt from my mouth. "What the… I swear, I'll kill her. I'll kill her the moment I'm strong enough…" I muttered, anger curling around every word and giving them weight.

"Beatrice, what happened?" Elira pushed herself upright, her face streaked with dirt and grass, hair sticking out in every possible direction.

"Weee!" Beelzebub squeaked somewhere beneath her, his tiny voice muffled as if he had been flattened under her full weight.

The sound loosened something in my chest. My shoulders finally dropped, and despite everything that just happened, a laugh threatened to slip out. Honestly, with these two around me, was anything in my life ever going to stay serious for long?

"Let's just say… we got off lightly this time." I sighed, a small smile tugging at my lips now that it was all over. For now, at least.

"I– I'm sorry…" Elira lowered herself to the ground, tugging at the grass with trembling fingers. She hadn't even bothered wiping the dirt from her face. "I didn't know she was someone dangerous. I should've been more careful. What if something happened to you because of me? I wouldn't be able to—"

Her voice broke, panic rushing through every word.

I shifted closer, gently taking her hand and drawing her into my arms. I held her against my shoulder, patting her hair while my fingers brushed the dirt from her cheeks as best I could.

"Now, now, don't cry. I'm alright. And you did nothing wrong." My voice softened as I smoothed her tangled hair. "It happens. And that person… she's a master at deceiving people. I'm just glad you and Beelzebub are safe. Right?"

I glanced toward the little hamster on the ground. He was already washing his face with both paws as if none of this chaos had ever happened.

"Wee!"

He let out a happy scree, stretching his tiny arms forward before plopping onto his butt, acting as if he had been the one fighting a life-and-death battle and now deserved a full afternoon of pampering. The little show made a quiet laugh slip from my throat.

We stayed like that for a while, Elira pressed against me, her arms wound around my waist as she cried and told me everything she'd felt while I was gone. I held her close and listened, letting her voice steady itself against my shoulder. The forest around us was unfamiliar, but peaceful. No monsters, no soldiers, no threats lurking between the trees.

Just quiet. Just us...

A place where, for the first time in what felt like forever, we could finally breathe.

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