The climb toward the top of the hill felt longer than before.
There was no sound of wind anymore.
No hissing.
No trembling earth.
Only the slow, heavy rhythm of footsteps pressing into the silence.
Elna carried Sylva on her back.
Sylva's body was far too light—too light for someone who had just split the hill apart. Her head rested gently against Elna's shoulder, her eyes closed.
She looked as if she were sleeping.
Or perhaps she had simply gone beyond the point where it could still be called sleep.
Since that moment, she hadn't spoken a single word.
Not once.
Elna walked without looking up. Her gaze remained fixed on the ground, as if she had already accepted whatever awaited them at the top.
There was no anger in her expression.
No panic.
Only a quiet exhaustion that had settled too deeply to be shaken off.
I walked beside her.
My right hand was broken, wrapped in rough bandages that barely held it together. My left hand throbbed with every movement, a sharp, persistent pain as if something inside had not healed properly.
I didn't know if I could protect either of them anymore.
And what weighed most heavily on my chest—
Elna's bag was empty.
All of her potions were gone.
Healing potions.
Poison vials.
Fire mixtures.
Everything.
Only one remained.
A strength potion.
A small bottle, half full—the one left over from when I had used it against the hallucinated serpent.
I held it in my left hand.
The glass felt heavier than it should have.
As if it understood that it might be our last option.
We kept walking without speaking.
Step after step.
Toward a hilltop that felt far too quiet.
Exhausted.
Afraid.
Confused.
And for the first time since arriving in this world—
I felt small.
Not because the enemy was overwhelming.
But because I had finally realized something.
We might have survived the poisoned mana…
But if something greater appeared now—
I wasn't sure we could stand again.
The sky above the hilltop looked empty.
Too empty.
And the silence—
no longer felt like an ending.
But like something waiting.
—
At last, we reached the top of the hill.
And what awaited us there…
was not destruction.
It was a field of flowers.
A small meadow hidden from the wind, where pale blue blossoms spread endlessly across the ground. Their thin petals shimmered softly beneath the sunlight, glowing faintly with gentle mana.
Mana restoration flowers.
Elna stopped immediately.
The emptiness in her eyes shattered, replaced by something alive.
Hope.
She carefully lowered Sylva onto the ground before dropping to her knees and gathering the flowers without hesitation.
Her hands moved quickly.
Almost desperately.
As if time itself might collapse if she slowed down.
She crushed the petals into a small bottle filled with water. The liquid slowly turned pale blue, a faint glow pulsing within it.
Elna drank first.
Only a little—just enough to restore a fraction of her mana.
Then she made another and handed it to me.
A third, she prepared for Sylva.
Gently, she lifted Sylva's head and poured the liquid against her lips. Some of it went down. Some spilled along her chin.
I stared at the bottle in my hand.
We had climbed this hill…
for this.
For a fragment of hope.
My gaze drifted toward Sylva.
Her thin body barely moved. Her ribs were visible beneath her skin, her form too fragile, too light.
Was this… worth it?
Was everything we endured truly leading to this moment?
I drank.
Coldness spread through my body first.
Then warmth.
Like a stream that had been cut off finally beginning to flow again.
The exhaustion eased.
The pain in my left hand dulled slightly.
Not healed.
But enough.
Enough to stand straighter.
Elna reached toward the flowers again, her hand stretching across the sea of blue.
And that was when—
I saw it.
Behind her.
A shadow.
Far too large.
At first, I thought it was a rock.
Or part of the cliff.
But the shadow moved.
Slowly.
Heavily.
My heartbeat stopped.
A Nightbound Beast.
As large as a house.
Its body was black—darker than moonless night. Its massive head loomed above us, and its red eyes burned faintly even under the sunlight.
It stood behind Elna.
Watching us.
Its gaze was not hungry.
Not curious.
It was the gaze of something that had already decided to kill.
Its jaws opened slowly.
Then—
RAAAAAAAWR—
The roar shattered the air.
The blue flowers trembled violently beneath the force of it.
It wasn't just a threat.
It was a command.
Run.
Elna froze.
Slowly, she turned her head.
Our eyes met.
No words.
No plan.
The potions were nearly gone.
My hand still wouldn't move properly.
Sylva lay defenseless on the ground.
And a monster the size of a house stood only steps away.
The wind at the hilltop drifted softly.
Far too softly.
I swallowed hard.
What were we supposed to do now?
—
The Nightbound Beast moved first.
The hill trembled as its massive feet slammed into the ground, sending vibrations through the earth beneath them.
Elna reacted immediately. Without hesitation, she lifted Sylva onto her back.
"Run!"
We turned and sprinted down the slope.
The blue flowers were crushed beneath our feet, scattering into the air behind us like fragments of fading hope.
A second roar erupted.
Closer.
Angrier.
Its footsteps followed—heavy, relentless, far too fast for something of that size. I could hear its breathing now.
Rough.
Close.
"Elna!" I shouted.
"Vein! Do you remember the lake we found?!"
"Yeah!"
"Take it there!"
I nodded, even though she couldn't see me.
"Split up!"
We changed direction instantly.
I dashed to the left.
Elna ran to the right.
For a fraction of a second, the Nightbound Beast stopped.
Its glowing eyes shifted between us.
Calculating.
Judging.
Deciding which prey mattered more.
And then—
it chose.
—
Elna ran.
The weight on her back felt strangely light.
Too light.
Sylva's weak breathing brushed faintly against her shoulder as she forced her legs to keep moving.
Behind her—
the Nightbound Beast roared.
The sound shook the air itself.
Branches shattered.
Stone cracked.
It was close.
Far too close.
Elna did not look back.
Not yet.
Her breathing burned in her chest, each step sending sharp pain through her legs, but stopping was not an option.
"Sylva… hold on…" she whispered.
The ground trembled again.
Heavy footsteps.
Closer.
She leapt over roots, slid past broken trunks, ducked beneath hanging branches.
Claws slammed down behind her.
Wood exploded into splinters, sharp fragments slicing across her cheek.
She kept moving.
Wind magic surged instinctively, a small burst pushing her sideways just as another strike tore through the space she had occupied moments before.
The shockwave grazed her back.
Pain flared.
But she was still alive.
Still running.
She couldn't fight while carrying Sylva. Her mana was nearly gone. All she could do was survive.
The forest blurred around her.
Left.
Right.
Jump.
Roll.
The beast never slowed.
Its breathing grew louder.
Hot.
Heavy.
Like it already knew she would fall.
"Why… won't you stop…" she gasped.
No answer came.
Only another roar that shook the trees.
Then—
the forest opened.
The ground leveled.
And Elna stopped.
A wall of rock stood before her.
A sheer cliff face.
Smooth.
Impossible to climb.
A dead end.
Her breath caught.
Behind her—
the Nightbound Beast emerged from the trees.
Massive.
Silent now.
Its red eyes locked onto her.
Elna's arms tightened instinctively around Sylva.
No escape.
No time.
Carefully, she lowered Sylva to the ground. The girl's face was pale and still.
"I'm sorry," Elna whispered.
Gathering what little mana she had left, Elna raised her trembling hand.
The air stirred weakly.
Not violently.
Just enough.
A controlled current of wind wrapped around Sylva's body.
"Forgive me…"
The wind lifted Sylva gently from the ground and carried her sideways, lowering her away from the immediate danger as carefully as Elna could manage.
Sylva's body drifted through the air.
Then settled softly onto the grass several meters away.
Elna exhaled shakily.
At least… she would be safe.
The beast moved.
Faster than something that size should have been able to.
Its jaws opened.
Darkness swallowed the space between them.
Elna's legs refused to move.
Still—
she raised her arms.
Pointless.
But she refused to die without resisting.
The shadow fell over her—
and then—
a violent gust exploded between them.
The world flashed white.
The Nightbound Beast was thrown sideways as if struck by an invisible force.
Elna stumbled backward, her eyes widening in disbelief.
Someone stood in front of her.
Long hair swayed gently in the wind.
A familiar posture.
A presence she had not felt in years.
Her breath caught.
"No…" she whispered.
The figure turned slightly.
Calm eyes met hers.
Warm.
The same eyes that had watched her train until dusk.
The same presence that had once stood beside her without fail.
Elna's lips trembled.
"Arcelia…?"
A gentle smile appeared.
The wind around her moved softly.
Obedient.
Quiet.
Then she spoke.
"Long time no see, little storm."
Elna froze.
The world behind that figure blurred.
The Nightbound Beast roared again—
but the sound felt distant now.
Faint.
As if it belonged to another place entirely.
Elna took a slow step forward.
Her eyes burned.
"Sister…?"
The smile did not fade.
And the wind carried her voice like a memory that refused to disappear.