Smoke still rose from the scorched ground.
The air vibrated faintly, as if the forest itself had not yet settled.
But something had changed.
Eileen was standing.
No longer trapped inside the red barrier.
No longer lying broken on the earth.
She stood on her own.
Her blue hair drifted slowly, untouched by the wind, as if floating in invisible water.
Her right arm and leg … the ones torn away moments ago ,were whole again.
Not flesh.
Light.
Pure blue energy shaped into seamless limbs, glowing softly as if alive.
The three fairies stepped back, unable to hide their shock.
From the shadows, the Shadow whispered, disbelief tightening his voice.
"Impossible… she lost half her body."
Ryan froze, blood still running down his forehead.
"Eileen…?" he whispered.
She didn't answer.
Her gaze was fixed on her own hands.
Then her hair.
Then the glowing foot beneath her.
Confusion crossed her face, slow and heavy, as if her mind struggled to keep up with what her body had already accepted.
Suddenly …
A blue presence formed behind her.
Eileen turned sharply.
A woman stood there.
Long blue hair.
A soft glow.
A pendant resting against her chest.
"…Who are you?" Eileen breathed.
Ryan stepped closer, unease creeping into his voice.
"Eileen… who are you talking to?"
She didn't hear him.
Her eyes were locked on the woman alone.
"Do not fear," the woman said gently.
"You will understand soon."
And then she vanished.
Eileen pressed a hand to her head, breathing unevenly as the voice echoed deep within her thoughts.
When she opened her eyes again …
The blue light around her flared.
Siron was still standing.
He smirked, amused rather than alarmed.
"So," he said, lifting his sword,
"you found yourself a new toy.
No matter. I'll break this one too."
Gray embers coiled around him.
Eileen's hand moved.
Not by choice.
Something inside her responded before she could think.
The blue woman appeared behind her once more, resting a hand on her shoulder.
"Do you wish… to protect them?"
Despite the confusion flooding her mind, Eileen nodded.
The woman guided her wrist forward.
And then …
A massive blade of blue light erupted from Eileen's palm, slicing through the air like a celestial edge.
Siron's eyes widened.
"What—?!"
The strike collided with his sword, throwing him backward and slamming his body into the trunk of a massive tree.
Sera gasped.
Ryan stared.
The Shadow whispered, voice tense.
"This… is royal energy.
But distorted.
And far stronger than it should be."
Eileen stood frozen, breath quick and uneven.
She didn't understand what she had done.
Only that something powerful was moving through her.
Siron wiped blood from his mouth and laughed darkly.
"Alright," he said.
"Then I'll kill you first."
He charged.
Just before he reached her, the blue woman appeared again.
"Focus."
Eileen raised her hand.
A circular blue shield formed around her body.
Siron's blade struck it ..
And shattered.
He staggered back, stunned.
"What is this power?" he demanded.
"Who are you?!"
Eileen said nothing.
She stared at her trembling hands, fear and wonder mixing in her chest.
The blue light around her spread, carving glowing patterns into the ground beneath her feet.
Her body lifted effortlessly into the air.
She raised her hand toward Siron.
A massive blue magic circle ignited beneath him.
He looked down and cursed.
"A prison?"
The light surged upward, forming a towering blue pillar around him.
The barrier tightened.
Expanded.
Locked him in place.
Siron screamed as he struck it again and again .. but it held.
Ryan, Sera, and the Shadow could only stare.
Eileen hovered in the air, blue light blazing around her.
Not healed.
Not transformed.
Something else entirely.
And the forest watched in silence.