Maria opened her eyes, her heart still racing from the sudden appearance and the near-death experience. Seeing Mira, a mix of emotions flooded through her—relief, anger, love, and a lingering sense of fear.

However, most of all, she was just happy to see her again.

Maria took a deep breath and touched her chest to calm her beating heart before she smiled slightly. “Hey. I got your letter.”

“…”

Mira was still too shocked that Maria had appeared right next to her to say anything. Although in the letter, she said to find her on the Northern Continent if she wanted to talk, she didn’t expect Maria to actually come.

She was busy with her whole ‘Saintess’ thing and taking care of an entire organization. Taking months or years off from her responsibilities could destabilize everything she built!

As if reading her mind, Maria chuckled and explained, “Don’t worry. Sanctum won’t be affected by my departure.”

“…”

Mira still wasn’t sure what to say, so she simply nodded.

However, she suddenly realized that she still had her scythe at the ready, so she hastily put it away, looking a bit awkward doing so.

She could still see, deep within Maria’s eyes, that a part of her was afraid of that very weapon and, by extension, her. And who wouldn’t? She literally died to it, after all.

Turning around, whether it was to avoid looking at Maria’s face or to hide her shame, she started walking away from the castle and destruction. With Rhydian and Vulcan behind her, Maria matched her pace.

“…”

A silence ensued, making Mira feel incredibly uncomfortable, while Maria just trotted along. Normally, she’d prefer this sort of environment, but now she felt as if a boulder was on her back and all the natural sounds around her had disappeared.

Something wasn’t right.

“So… ummm… How are things?” She eventually broke the silence.

“…They’re good,” Maria answered, keeping her subtle smile while looking straight ahead.

“Did you have any trouble getting here?”

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‘…That didn’t answer my question.’ Mira thought but chose not to dwell on it.

“When’d you arrive?”

“Eh, not long ago.”

“I guess it wasn’t hard to find me.”

“Well, you tend to make a lot of noise.” Maria shrugged as they continued to walk.

A few brave men tried to approach them, but Vulcan and Rhydian had already left their side and were circling them, preventing anyone from getting close.

“Why’d you bring Celaine?”

“I just felt like it.”

“I see…” Mira muttered before falling silent as she ran out of questions.

“However, Captain Jorvik sends his regards.” Maria chuckled, remembering the expression he made when she said was Mira’s acquaintance.

“Captain Jorvik?” Mira frowned, having already forgotten that name.

“The guy who took you across the ocean.”

“Ah! That old man!” Mira’s eyes widened slightly. “Did he also take you?”

“Mmhm. He’s quite skilled.”

“Yeah…”

Things became quiet again.

Rhydian and Vulcan, despite being beasts, cringed and shivered on the side. They weren’t well-versed in human manners and conversations, the latter a bit better than the former, but even they felt that this whole situation was… uncanny.

There were no physical signs of discontent, stress, or anything like that. Nor had their voices or expressions any different than normal. Yet, there was an unexplainable pressure–a tension–between the two.

Almost as if a battle to the death could break out at any moment.

‘Wh-What’s going on?’ Rhydian asked Vulcan with her eyes, but he was equally as confused.

‘I’m… not sure. Best just stay away and prevent anyone else from getting close.’

‘Yeah… I agree.’

Neither Mira nor Maria were looking where they were going, they were just walking as if their minds were elsewhere.

“I saw your battle. It seems you haven’t slacked off in your training.”

“Of course not. I don’t want to die.”

“…”

“However, it seems you’ve gotten more talkative. The Mira I knew would’ve already attacked me by now.”

“Well…” Mira scratched her cheek, her insides wrapping up in knots, but the words she wanted to say didn’t come out. Her tails started sashaying, not realizing that Hana was still attached to her; the girl was using the [Hidden World] technique to its fullest, trying to stay silent.

“Well,” Maria continued, breaking the silence, “I suppose we all change, don’t we? I’ve had my fair share of growth since our last… encounter.”

Mira nodded, her expression softening slightly. “So it seems.”

“I also did a lot of thinking.” Maria suddenly said.

Mira almost flinched at that but managed to keep her expression stoic. Thinking? What else could Maria be thinking about except…

“How would you react upon our next visit? What would you say? What should I say?”

“…” Mira kept quiet, listening intently.

“I worked and worked and worked, trying to take my mind away from what happened. I didn’t sleep or eat and hardly meditated, only taking pills and elixirs to supplement my cultivation. All to forget about that feeling, the feeling of… o-of… well, you know.”

“…”

“My body still trembled from the pain, you know?” She brought her hand up, and Mira glanced to the side, seeing it shivering.

“No matter what I do. No matter how hard I try to forget… Even if my mind accepts it, my body won’t.”

“…!” Mira’s body tensed up, but her legs kept moving, almost like she was trying to run away. However, Maria kept up, ensuring that she couldn’t.

“…I feel like I lost a part of myself in that endless void.” Maria clenched her fist before slowly putting it back to her side. “So this is what dying is like. Yet, somehow, I’m alive.”

Tilting her head up, Maria stared at the sky. As most of the blizzards and clouds in the surrounding area were blown away in the previous fight, all that was left was a clear, blue sky.

“I hate it.”

She directed her attention to the clouds and storms ahead. “I hate it.”

“It almost feels like nothing’s real, like I’m in a state of limbo. However, the pain reminds me that I’m alive, that this is reality.”

“I guess this is how you always feel, huh?” Maria suddenly directed her attention to Mira, an uncanny smile on her face. “You said you’ve died before, right? More than once, in fact. Is this what you see? Is this how you feel?”

“Maria…” Mira muttered, seeing crystalline tears form in the corner of her eyes.

“Because if it’s like this, I almost wish that I actually died back there. At least then, I wouldn’t have to deal with this pain.” Her eyes glowed a bright golden as they stared into Mira’s. “…the pain that you caused.”

“…Maria.”

“You know, a part of me even came to terms with the fact that I died. I mean, how couldn’t I? I’m a cultivator. I’ve been trained by you. Pain is a very natural part of life. However, even knowing that, I still couldn’t overcome it.

Do you want to know why?”

“…” Mira’s eyes shook. She could already guess the reason, and to say it was the last thing she wanted to hear was an understatement.

“…It’s because the one who committed such an act… the one who ripped me in half… the one who put a permanent scar on my soul was you, Mira. The woman I love.”

The world paused for a moment.

‘…..Fuck…’ Mira’s eyes darted around, trying to find anything that could distract, but all she could see was Maria’s smiling, crying face. The way Maria was looking at her was like she was staring at death itself. ‘What… What the fuck did I do?’

“If it was someone I hated, or who hated me that did this… I think I could live without many issues. At least I’d be able to pursue revenge, right? At least I’d know that it was simply my fault for being too weak. But…”

“…”

“B-But I’m just not sure what I’m supposed to do.” Tears started rolling down Maria’s cheeks as she said that, yet her smile remained. “I mean, even if I wanted to kill you, it’s impossible, right?”

‘Damn…!’ Mira bit her lip. Every word that came out of her mouth was like a needle piercing her icy heart–the damage was minimal, but cracks were beginning to show.

“So, I resolved myself that I would just carry on with my life–that someday I’d either get strong enough to resolve this on my own, or I’d die trying. However, that’s when Celaine showed up at my doorstep. And you know what she said?”

“She said that I need to confront you, to show you that I’m a person too. That I’ve become strong.” She raised her hands as her smile grew. “But now that I’m here, I don’t think that’s quite right.”

Her aura started to grow as a blinding light engulfed the area. Mira’s danger senses were ringing, signaling her to move away, but she stood still.

“Do your best not to die, my love.”

BOOOOOOM!

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