High above the kingdom—

Celeste accelerated through the atmosphere like a streak of fractured violet light, Yamui dragging behind her through the air.

Then she stopped.

Miles above the burning capital.

The sky cracked softly around her.

Celeste raised Yamui slowly.

Refraction spiraled down the blade in violent streams.

The pressure building around the weapon distorted the clouds themselves.

Then—

she swung.

The slash erupted outward instantly.

Not a wave.

Not ordinary sword energy.

A compressed rupture of stabilized force that screamed across the sky toward Valemore faster than sound itself.

BOOOOOOOOOOM—

The heavens split in its wake.

Far ahead—

Lilith’s group was already nearing the outer fields surrounding Valemore.

The distant city lights barely shimmered across the horizon now beneath the fractured night sky.

Seraphina’s breathing had grown uneven from blood loss.

Kael remained completely unconscious over Lilith’s shoulder, blood still trailing faintly from his ruined hands.

Then—

multiple sonic booms echoed behind them.

Lilith turned first.

Her expression immediately darkened.

“…No.”

Seraphina looked back.

The color drained from her face instantly.

Far behind them—

a massive violet rupture tore across the sky directly toward them.

“…What is that…?”

Lilith’s voice lowered immediately.

“…Celeste.”

Seraphina’s remaining eye widened.

“…No…”

The slash closed distance impossibly fast.

“…How…?”

Then Lilith screamed.

“WATCH OUT!”

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM—

The rupture exploded beside them in the sky.

The blast violently swallowed the air around the group as compressed force detonated outward across the atmosphere itself.

Seraphina lost control instantly.

Lilith was thrown sideways through spiraling shockwaves.

Kael nearly slipped from her shoulder completely.

Elysia remained clutched tightly against Seraphina’s chest as the explosion sent all of them hurtling downward out of the sky.

Toward the open fields outside Valemore.

The ground rushed upward violently beneath them.

BOOOOOOOOOOM—

The group crashed into the fields outside Valemore like falling stars.

Earth erupted upward in massive waves as Seraphina struck first, twisting desperately at the last second to shield Elysia with her own body.

The impact carved a deep trench through the grasslands.

Lilith crashed moments later farther across the field, skidding violently through dirt and shattered stone while still keeping hold of Kael’s unconscious body.

The shockwave rolled outward across the plains hard enough to shake the outer walls of Valemore in the distance.

Silence followed.

Then coughing.

Seraphina forced herself upward first.

Barely.

Blood ran down her shoulder and across her side from the earlier wound Celeste had inflicted, her breathing now visibly unstable.

But Elysia remained unharmed in her arms.

Seraphina immediately checked her anyway.

“…Good…”

Lilith shoved herself out of the dirt nearby with a grimace, still dragging Kael partially over her shoulder.

“…Everybody alive?”

Seraphina looked at her like the question itself was offensive.

“…Barely.”

Lilith glanced down at Kael.

No movement.

His breathing remained shallow.

Too shallow.

The burns across his hands had spread further up his arms now, blackened mana fractures faintly visible beneath torn skin.

Lilith’s expression tightened immediately.

“…Damn it.”

Then—

the air shifted.

Both women froze instantly.

Far above the fields, violet light flickered faintly behind the clouds.

Seraphina’s remaining eye widened.

“…No…”

Lilith looked upward slowly.

“…She’s still coming.”

The pressure hadn’t reached them yet.

But they could feel it approaching.

Closer.

Steadier.

Like something wounded but unstoppable was forcing itself forward anyway.

In the distance, the outer walls of Valemore stood beneath the moonlight—massive black stone fortifications stretching across the horizon with thousands of lights glowing beyond them.

Civilization.

Safety.

Almost.

Lilith immediately adjusted Kael higher over her shoulder and grabbed Dahu tighter.

“Move.”

Seraphina forced herself upright again.

Her legs nearly gave out instantly.

Lilith noticed.

“…Can you still fly?”

“…No.”

That answer came fast.

Honest.

Seraphina tightened her grip around Elysia instead.

“…Not with her.”

Lilith clicked her tongue.

“…Then we run.”

Behind them—

another distant BOOOOOOM echoed across the night sky.

Closer this time.

And the violet fractures above the clouds deepened.

Another BOOOOOOM rolled across the plains behind them.

Closer.

The grasslands outside Valemore bent violently beneath the pressure wave as violet fractures flickered through the clouds overhead.

Then—

Celeste appeared.

Not descending from the sky this time.

Walking.

Slowly.

Across the torn field toward them.

Blood still ran faintly from the corner of her mouth.

More trailed down from the wound near her shoulder where Dahu had pierced her earlier, staining the pale fabric around the injury despite Refraction’s attempts to seal it.

Her breathing was controlled.

But no longer perfect.

The galaxies within her eyes still rotated faintly beneath the moonlight.

Locked.

Focused.

Unfinished.

Seraphina stared in disbelief.

“…She crossed that distance already…?”

Lilith’s expression hardened immediately.

Because she noticed something worse.

Celeste’s body was trembling slightly beneath the surface.

Not weakness.

Force.

Like Refraction was dragging her forward even while her body itself struggled to continue functioning.

Yet she kept walking anyway.

One step.

Then another.

The pressure around the field deepened with every movement.

Kael remained unconscious over Lilith’s shoulder.

Elysia stayed silent in Seraphina’s arms.

Watching Celeste approach.

Lilith slowly shifted Dahu in her grip.

Then looked toward Seraphina.

“…Take him.”

Seraphina blinked.

“What?”

Lilith shoved Kael toward her while forcing Dahu into her free hand.

“Take Kael. Take Dahu. Run to Valemore.”

Seraphina’s remaining eye widened instantly.

“…Lilith.”

“That wasn’t a suggestion.”

Celeste continued walking toward them silently through the torn field.

Blood touched the grass beneath her feet now.

But she never slowed.

Lilith stepped forward once.

Positioning herself between Celeste and the others again.

Seraphina tightened her grip on Dahu immediately.

“…You can’t hold her here alone.”

Lilith didn’t look back.

“…I don’t need to hold her.”

The wind around the plains intensified.

Violet pressure rolled outward from Celeste again in unstable pulses.

Lilith lowered herself slightly into stance.

“…I just need to buy enough time for you to reach the walls.”

Seraphina stared at her for several seconds.

Then toward Valemore in the distance.

Then back at Celeste.

The realization hit immediately.

“…You think she’ll stop chasing once Elysia reaches the city.”

Lilith’s expression darkened slightly.

“…No.”

That answer came instantly.

“…I think Valemore has a better chance of surviving her than we do out here.”

Silence.

Another step.

Celeste was getting closer now.

Close enough for the blood on her mouth to be clearly visible beneath the moonlight.

Seraphina slowly adjusted Kael over her shoulder while gripping Dahu tightly.

“…You better not die.”

Lilith smirked faintly.

Tired.

Bloody.

Still standing.

“…Get moving before I change my mind.”

Then Seraphina turned—

and began running toward the distant walls of Valemore with Elysia, Kael, and Dahu.

Leaving Lilith alone in the field.

Facing Celeste beneath the fractured sky.

The fields outside Valemore had gone silent.

Only the wind remained.

Cold air rolled through the torn grasslands beneath the fractured heavens while Seraphina disappeared farther into the distance carrying Elysia, Kael, and Dahu toward the massive walls of Valemore.

Lilith stayed where she was.

Alone.

Facing Celeste.

Neither moved immediately.

Celeste simply continued walking forward slowly through the field, blood still slipping faintly from her mouth and shoulder while unstable Refraction pulsed beneath her skin.

Lilith watched carefully.

“…You really don’t know when to stop, do you?”

Celeste gave no response.

Another step.

Then—

the sky split open.

BOOOOOOOOOOM—

Golden light ruptured downward across the plains so violently the earth beneath Lilith’s feet shattered outward instantly.

The pressure change was immediate.

Absolute.

Even Celeste stopped walking.

A massive circular seal unfolded high above the battlefield, layered with endless rotating script as light poured downward through the heavens like judgment descending from another world.

Then Aethra appeared.

She stepped through the light effortlessly.

Radiant.

Untouched.

Beautiful in the same way natural disasters were beautiful.

Lilith’s expression darkened immediately.

“…You.”

Celeste lowered her gaze slightly.

Not fear.

Recognition.

Aethra descended slowly through the golden light until she stood above the field itself, staring down at Celeste in silence for several long seconds.

Then she smiled.

Disappointed.

“…Worthless.”

The word struck harder than the pressure itself.

Celeste remained motionless.

Aethra stepped closer.

“…I gave you a single directive.”

Her voice remained calm.

Which somehow made it worse.

“…One.”

The golden pressure around the plains deepened violently.

“…And yet you allowed her to escape.”

Celeste stayed silent.

Blood still touched the ground beneath her.

Aethra’s gaze shifted toward the wound in Celeste’s shoulder.

Then narrowed.

“…Injured.”

The disappointment in her voice sharpened instantly.

“…By a human.”

Lilith’s eyes narrowed.

Aethra circled slowly around Celeste now like an artist inspecting damaged work.

“…How utterly embarrassing.”

Celeste’s hand tightened slightly near the wound.

Aethra noticed immediately.

“…And now you tremble.”

Another step.

“…You destabilized an entire kingdom.”

Another.

“…Failed the directive.”

Another.

“…And allowed yourself to be reduced to this.”

Lilith’s expression darkened further with every word.

But Celeste—

said nothing.

Did nothing.

Simply endured it.

Aethra finally stopped directly in front of her.

“…Tell me, Celeste…”

The galaxies in Celeste’s eyes flickered once at the name.

“…What exactly is the purpose of a failed creation?”

Silence consumed the plains.

Then Aethra’s attention shifted.

Toward Lilith.

“…And you.”

The pressure hit Lilith instantly.

Like mountains pressing against her lungs.

But she didn’t kneel.

Didn’t lower her eyes.

Aethra tilted her head slightly.

“…Still standing after all this.”

Lilith spat blood into the grass.

“…Disappointed?”

Aethra smiled faintly.

“…No.”

Her gaze drifted toward Valemore in the distance.

“…You’ve already given up.”

Lilith’s jaw tightened slightly.

But she didn’t answer.

Because part of her knew Aethra was right.

She wasn’t trying to win anymore.

She was buying time.

Aethra looked back toward her.

“…humans are fascinating creatures.”

Another smile.

Smaller this time.

“…You continue struggling long after hope has abandoned you.”

Lilith gripped the dirt beneath her feet harder.

“…I don’t need hope.”

The golden light around Aethra intensified slightly.

“…No,” she agreed softly.

“…That is precisely why your kind breaks so easily.”

Then—

another voice interrupted.

“…That’s enough.”