It was early morning. The sun was rising, and the clouds had barely stirred.. The realm of Hyperion rested in a strange peace, the wind whispering softly between the towers of light.

After the invasion, after the slaughter, Hyperion was... peaceful.

A day had passed since the fateful Illuminus meeting. We had rested in the palace, savoring our last day in Hyperion before our inevitable exile. Stella showed us every corner of the palace, we took one last walk, visited our old homes in the Lesser Cloud, and finally, we stood before the celestial border.

But Stella's words from the night before still echoed in my mind.

"You know what hurts the most, Neiva? Sacrificing so much for nothing..."

She wasn't just sad; she was deeply disappointed. They say the weight of the crown should only be borne by the queen. Perhaps living in that palace had taught Stella to bear the weight of loneliness in silence... and we were simply blind to it. What kind of friends had we been?

"Neiva?" Yae shook my shoulder, pulling me from my thoughts. "You okay?"

"Ah, yeah... sorry. Got lost in thought for a second," I replied, trying to hide it.

"The border is about to open," she warned, taking my hand.

We lined up before the abyss. No ceremony, no celebration, no compassion in this farewell. Where was our honor? Our recognition?

"Did no one come to say goodbye?" Ahria asked, looking around sadly.

"They probably don't even know we're leaving," Yae noted, her tone mercilessly cold.

Stella stood slightly apart from the group. She stared at the border with a vacant look. She seemed lost, drifting, but she stubbornly fought to maintain her imposing, elegant posture. It was like looking at a majestic fortress that, on the inside, was already in ruins.

Arendelle and Ellednera waited with us by the threshold. The other Primordials were restless, talking nervously among themselves; it seemed most of them already knew each other by sight.

"It's going to be okay," Yae assured, smiling at me.

"How do you feel about the pressure of saving Hyperion resting on your shoulders?" Ahria asked, apprehensive.

"They say manipulating Essence in Primitia is much harder and scarce. It's going to make invoking and expressing magic incredibly difficult," Yae warned, ever pragmatic.

"We can do this," I stated, offering a smile that came out less than encouraging.

Right then, none of us needed more worries or warnings. We just needed comfort to face our fate. Even though I looked calm on the outside, my hands were shaking, coursing with chills that weren't from the cold, but from pure terror.

An older god—who we used to call the "Lord of the Hell Barge"—approached the group with a slow, rhythmic walk. He wore simple rags that, strangely enough, gave him a wise and far more welcoming air than the tutors' robes.

"The border is ready to be opened," he announced to Arendelle and Ellednera.

Arendelle approached the edge. The wind suddenly turned fierce, whipping our clothes and sending our hair thrashing wildly. The celestial clouds began to swirl like a colossal whirlpool until a massive hole opened in the white sea. It was the border. A terrifying dimensional abyss looking straight down onto the land of Primitia.

"It's your time, girls," Ellednera declared, staring at all of us solemnly.

Tenebris stepped out of the shadows, approaching the group with a slow, predatory walk that caught everyone's attention. She moved provocatively on purpose, just to test the palace gods' patience.

"Remember! Above your will is the absolute will of Hyperion! You do not fight for Primitia, nor do you fight for yourselves. You fight to represent our will! You are our messengers! Our blessings sent to save that uncertain world!" Ellednera declared, throwing her arms wide amidst the furious wind.

The sunlight seemed to sing along with the inflamed speech. As if waiting for that exact cue, several gods began to emerge from all directions, gathering just to witness our heroic exile. They cheered, celebrated, and chanted our names.

"Primordials! Primordials!" they chanted in unison.

My heart raced, beating with a hard, continuous squeeze. We were remembered, I thought, feeling an inexplicable pride warm my chest. Even with all the bureaucratic terms and oppressive rules the mission demanded, we wouldn't descend to Primitia for their sake. We would be in Primitia for those who truly needed us. It wasn't that our lives didn't matter, but the lives of those who couldn't defend themselves from the dragon massacre mattered even more.

In the distance, the immense silhouette of Hyperion's palace itself seemed to bid us farewell. The Elder and Full Gods came out to the high balconies; even distant and expressionless, they were there watching. The sound of the entities chanting our names, the divine children shouting with pride, it was... unique. After all, our existence mattered.

I looked at Stella. She hid her tears beneath an incredibly haughty smile. Her spirit was still broken from being betrayed, but she seemed to have found, amidst that cheering, a new purpose and her true motivation. She no longer just wanted to go down to save Primitia; she wanted to prove her worth to everyone and return home in glory.

As the seconds ticked by, the gale from the open border grew stronger, sucking us toward the drop.

"You must cross now," Ellednera ordered, pointing to the abyss with an imperative glare.

I stepped closer to Ahria, Yae, and Stella. We linked hands and intertwined our fingers, forming an unbreakable chain. I smiled, a bundle of nerves for what was to come, but immensely proud of what we were about to face together. My hands weren't shaking anymore; honestly, they were just sweating from pure adrenaline.

"Ready?" I asked, forcing my best smile.

"As soon as you take the first step," Ahria encouraged.

"Always," Stella replied, lifting her chin.

"When you're ready, I am too," Yae promised, squeezing my hand back.

I took one last look behind me, trying to memorize every face present at our farewell. I tried to lock the golden colors of Hyperion in the most precious vault of my mind, so I'd never forget the beauty of our home. The other Primordials had already started throwing themselves into the abyss without hesitation, and we were delaying our moment more and more.

"Here we go," I finalized.

I took the first step forward, but my heart accelerated so fast that my body instinctively pulled back. It was high... too high. Through the border's opening, all you could see was a miles-long freefall; a dizzying dive toward death, until we collided with the hard, merciless crust of Primitia.

Stella looked at me impatiently. Without warning, she leaped vigorously forward, dragging the three of us along with her into the absolute void.

"Stella!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as we plummeted.

The force of the wind tore through the silence and swallowed my scream, completely disorienting me. I thrashed around, tangled in my own dress, my blue hair lashing my face like a wild whip, desperately fighting to keep our chain of hands intact. The blinding speed of the fall robbed all the air from my lungs, leaving me unable to even breathe. The drop was so vast it felt infinite. As the green and brown ground of Primitia began rushing up to meet us at a terrifying speed, I realized we needed to find a way to brake, urgently, or we'd be crushed to death.

Stella squeezed my hand tightly and summoned her massive wings of light on her back. The friction of the light-wings violently snapping open against terminal velocity was so sudden that the inertia forced me to let go of her hand. It was an inevitable domino effect. In seconds, the G-force ripped us apart. I found myself spinning in freefall, completely alone, at the mercy of a world with real physics.