The attack continued far beyond her, ripping through several city blocks before detonating against the outer structures of the capital.

BOOOOOOOOOOM—

The impact shook the entire kingdom.

Knights were thrown violently from their feet.

The cathedral bells rang from the force alone.

Kael caught Seraphina before she collapsed.

“Oh gods—Sera!”

Seraphina grabbed her face immediately.

Blood poured between her fingers.

“I—I’m okay…”

“You are NOT okay!”

She forced healing magic toward the wound instinctively.

Golden mana flickered weakly against the slash.

Then failed.

Her remaining eye widened in horror.

“…Why isn’t it healing?”

Lilith stared at the wound silently.

Because the attack hadn’t merely cut flesh.

It had damaged the reality surrounding the injury itself.

Celeste staggered backward violently.

Still clutching her head.

“No… stop…”

Reality continued fracturing around her body in unstable bursts.

The knights had stopped advancing entirely now.

Fear overtook discipline.

One knight whispered shakily,

“That thing isn’t a demon…”

Another slowly backed away.

The captain forced himself upright again.

“All units retreat another line!”

“Captain?!”

“That was not a request!”

Even he sounded afraid now.

Kael held Seraphina upright while she struggled to keep pressure against her wound.

“I swear,” he breathed shakily, “every single thing about today has been awful…”

Seraphina actually laughed weakly through the pain.

Then immediately regretted it.

Elysia cried again.

The sound cut through the chaos instantly.

Celeste froze.

The unstable aura surrounding her weakened.

Her breathing slowed slightly.

Slowly, she looked toward Elysia again. Recognition returned to her eyes—not fully, but enough. 

Enough to understand Seraphina was bleeding because of her.

Enough to realize she was losing herself.

Celeste trembled softly.

“…No…”

Her voice cracked.

“…I won’t let her see this…”

The district fell strangely quiet after that.

Even the knights stopped speaking.

Because for the first time since the battle began—

Celeste sounded afraid.

Not for herself.

For Elysia.

Celeste hesitated before extending Elysia toward Lilith.

For a heartbeat, neither of them moved.

“Here…”

“You’re giving her to me?” Lilith asked confusedly.

“She’s safer with you than me.”

Lilith stepped forward and gently took Elysia into her arms. 

Elysia cries for Celeste, reaching for her.

“You’re so beautiful, darling…. it's going to be ok, you’re in good hands…you’re gonna be strong because…”

The child stared at her from Lilith’s arms without fear.

Without hesitation.

Just curiosity.

Celeste looked toward her slowly.

Those galaxy-filled eyes softened.

“…Observation,” she whispered weakly, “is the greatest power one can possess.”

Kael looked confused.

“What does that even mean…?”

Seraphina lowered her hand slightly from her bleeding face.

“…She’s remembering something.”

Celeste continued staring at Elysia.

“But it is also the cruelest.”

A pause.

“Because once you truly see the world…”

Another fracture spread across the heavens above Caelrith.

“…you can never look away again.”

Elysia reached toward her again from Lilith’s arms.

Tiny fingers grasping at empty air.

Celeste stared at the gesture silently.

Then smiled.

Small.

Broken.

Real.

“Don’t let them make you forget who you are.”

Lilith’s expression shifted slightly at those words.

Because for the first time since meeting Celeste—

She sounded less like a monster.

And more like someone saying goodbye.

Celeste slowly closed her eyes.

Then reached inward.

Not emotionally this time.

Deliberately.

Consciously.

The change was immediate.

The unstable aura around her body shifted completely.

Before, it had erupted wildly.

Now—

It moved with terrifying precision.

The galaxies within her eyes began spinning faster.

Perfectly synchronized.

She drew one slow breath.

The hesitation vanished from her expression.

Whatever remained of the frightened woman disappeared behind absolute resolve.

Seraphina’s face paled instantly.

“…No…”

Kael looked toward her quickly.

“What?”

“She’s activating it herself.”

The moment the words left her mouth—

BOOOOOOOOOOM—

Aura exploded outward in a perfect sphere.

The entire district flattened instantly.

Buildings were shattered.

The ground collapsed.

The sky above Caelrith split open completely with enormous fractures of violet light stretching across the heavens.

Every Celestial Knight in the district was forced to one knee immediately.

Some couldn’t even breathe beneath the pressure.

The captain slammed his sword into the ground just to remain standing.

“My… lord…”

Celeste floated upward slowly.

Hair drifting unnaturally around her.

Wings spread fully behind her.

The galaxies within her eyes expanded until they resembled entire universes spinning endlessly in darkness.

Then her voice echoed across the ruined capital.

Cold.

Layered.

Inhuman.

“Manua Refraction.”