Cana took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.
Her shoulders trembled slightly, like leaves shivering in the cold wind, but her gaze grew increasingly resolute.
She clutched Gildarts's hand tightly, as if drawing endless strength from it: "Dad, it's time to say goodbye."
Gildarts's hands gripped Cana's shoulders firmly, his gaze steady as he looked into her eyes, and said: "Child, face it bravely; you will always be my pride."
A hint of determination appeared in Cana's eyes, a resolve for the future, and her voice trembled slightly: "Dad, goodbye. Although I'm very reluctant, I know this is necessary. I look forward to reuniting with you in the real world, and I hope that one day you can say these warm words to me in person. I believe that day will surely come."
Tears streamed down Gildarts's face, tracing his weathered cheeks and falling to the ground.
His voice was choked, yet full of hope and blessings: "It will, my precious daughter. Dad will wait for you in reality, waiting for your safe return."
Cana slowly closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, feeling the warmth of her last embrace with her father, feeling that illusory yet incredibly real paternal love.
The howling wind and snow outside the cave ceased, and time itself seemed to stop at this moment.
The cracking sound of a mirror shattering echoed... When she opened her eyes again, the scene before her began to blur, like a painting smudged by water.
Gildarts's figure gradually disappeared into the haze, and that warm embrace slowly lost its real touch, as if it had never existed.
A pang of pain shot through Cana's heart, but she bit her lip, forcing herself not to cry out.
The illusion, like a broken mirror, peeled away and dissipated piece by piece.
Before Cana appeared the valley where she had just fought the Frost Spirit; heavy snow fell, mercilessly covering everything within sight.
There was no cozy cave, no loving Gildarts, only the howling cold wind carrying icy white snow, roaring wantonly across the land.
Everything that had just happened was, in fact, an illusion.
The card bearing the Evil Crow King lay isolated in the snow; the Evil Crow King, due to severe injuries, had reverted to its card form.
Meanwhile, the previously shattered Frost Spirit had barely managed to re-coalesce into its original eyeball form, lying motionless in the snow in front of Cana.
The Frost Spirit had cast an illusion spell when it was defeated by Cana, attempting to trap Cana and recover its body to turn the tide of battle.
It had not expected Cana to awaken so quickly.
Now, having barely re-coalesced its body fragments and returned to its original eyeball form, it had no combat power whatsoever; it would shatter with a single touch.
"Good thing I woke up quickly; if I had been any later, I might have frozen to death." Cana felt her body was almost frozen stiff; at such extremely low temperatures, even with magical protection, a person would surely die in no more than two hours.
Struggling to move her body, she stood up from the snow, first collecting the Evil Crow King's card, then pulling out a shield card and throwing it.
An orange-red spherical shield appeared, enveloping Cana.
The magic shield blocked the low temperature, Cana let out a long breath, moved her limbs in place a couple of times, and then took two steps to the side of the now weakened Frost Spirit.
With a flick of her hand, Cana held a blank card between her fingers.
Cana squatted down, her gaze like a torch, fixed intently on the weakened Frost Spirit before her.
The Frost Spirit's originally crystal-clear eyeball, filled with mysterious power, was now dim, filled with human-like fear and helplessness.
Elemental spirits are highly intelligent life forms; even a newborn's intelligence is similar to that of a human child.
The Frost Spirit was now filled with fear of the fate it was about to face.
Cana took a deep breath, letting the cold air fill her lungs, trying to make herself calmer and more focused.
She murmured incantations, her voice low and rhythmic, and the blank card in her hand began to emit a faint, soft glow.
The light, like a living spirit, slowly and sinuously spread towards the Frost Spirit.
The Frost Spirit tried to struggle, its body trembling slightly, each tremor causing the surrounding snowflakes to dance.
However, it was too weak at this moment; the previous battle had exhausted almost all of its power, leaving it utterly unable to resist the gradually approaching light, which carried an irresistible force.
As the light enveloped it, the Frost Spirit's body gradually shrank, as if being pulled by an invisible, powerful force.
It emitted a faint cry of protest, a sound that seemed particularly mournful in the cold air, like a desperate elegy.
Cana's gaze was firm and focused; fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, instantly freezing into frost in the cold air.
But she paid no heed, fully immersing herself in the sealing process.
The light from the card in her hand grew stronger, forming a brilliant orb of light that completely enveloped the Frost Spirit.
Within the orb of light, the Frost Spirit's form gradually blurred, and its struggles became increasingly feeble.
"Collect!" Cana shouted loudly, her voice echoing in the silent snow, like a clap of thunder.
The stream of light instantly plunged into the card with a soft "whoosh."
The Frost Spirit's image immediately appeared on the card, the pattern flickered a few times, and the light, as it brightened and dimmed, seemed to be making a final struggle.
But eventually, the light settled, and the card revealed a scene of falling snow, with the Frost Spirit's figure hidden within the blizzard.
The Frost Spirit was successfully sealed within the card.
The light in Cana's hand gradually faded, and she gazed at the card sealing the Frost Spirit, a relieved smile gracing her face.
That smile bloomed on her frost-reddened face, like a red plum in winter.
At this moment, the cold wind still howled, stirring up the sky-filling snowflakes.
Cana's hair and the hem of her clothes danced in the wind; she stood in this vast white world, as if she had become its sole ruler.
She carefully placed the card into her embrace.
Then, she turned and walked steadily towards the distance.
Each step left a deep footprint in the snow; these footprints were like her battle medals, and also like a path leading to the future.
Her figure receded into the snow, eventually disappearing into the vast wind and snow.
Only a string of deep footprints remained, gradually covered by the constantly falling snowflakes, as if this fierce and spectacular battle had never happened, but the sealed Frost Spirit became an eternal witness.