Jade opened his eyes.
For a brief moment, he was confused.
The battlefield was still there.
The screams.
The crashing sounds of monsters.
The scent of blood.
The endless darkness of the shadowed area.
Everything remained the same.
Yet something was different.
Jade slowly looked down at himself.
There were no wounds.
Not a single one.
The injuries that had covered his body moments ago were completely gone.
His torn flesh had healed.
His exhausted muscles felt refreshed.
Even the deep fatigue that had nearly brought him to collapse had vanished.
It was as if his body had been remade entirely.
Jade blinked.
Then he looked around.
Aviana stood beside him.
Her black-and-gold hair fluttered gently in the wind.
Though covered in blood and dirt from battle, she still looked magnificent.
On his other side stood Ant Demon.
The towering creature remained silent, its terrifying presence enough to make lesser monsters flee instinctively.
Jade frowned.
The last thing he remembered was being blasted away by the light erupting from the eggs.
After that...
Nothing.
Only darkness.
Then Beast God.
The conversation.
The truth about Fate.
The lineage.
And finally—
His decision.
Jade touched his chest.
His heart was beating steadily.
Stronger.
Much stronger than before.
Then suddenly—
A flood of memories entered his mind.
Jade staggered slightly.
Images rushed through his head.
Scenes he did not remember experiencing.
Battles.
Sword strikes.
Monster corpses.
The eight Initiate Overlords.
And then—
Understanding dawned on him.
While his consciousness had been speaking with Beast God, his body had never truly stopped moving.
Something else had controlled it.
Or rather...
Someone.
Beast God.
The divine being had temporarily taken control of Jade's body.
And during that short period—
The eight overlords had died.
Every single one.
Jade saw flashes of the battle.
His sword moving with impossible precision.
Each strike smooth.
Effortless.
Beautiful.
Not a single movement wasted.
The creatures had been powerful.
Far stronger than ordinary monsters.
Yet under Beast God's control, Jade's body had moved like flowing water.
Like a master chef preparing a meal.
The memory felt strange.
Then Jade remembered his mother's words.
"When meat is too tough, forcing the blade only makes things harder. Sometimes the gentlest cut is the sharpest."
At the time, Jade had not understood.
Now he did.
The overlords' defenses had been nearly indestructible.
Trying to overpower them would have failed.
Instead, every strike had been soft.
Precise.
Perfect.
Their defenses had become meaningless.
Jade slowly gripped his sword.
The crimson blade hummed softly.
The weapon seemed happier.
Stronger.
As if it had enjoyed the battle.
Far away, another fight was reaching its conclusion.
Aviana was battling the monster that had been chasing Ella.
The creature had transformed into Ant Demon's form.
A gigantic nightmare wrapped in darkness and death.
Its body radiated overwhelming pressure.
Its claws could tear apart steel.
Its death aura poisoned everything around it.
Worst of all—
The creature possessed the ability to read thoughts.
It knew what its opponents intended before they moved.
A terrifying ability.
One that should have made victory impossible.
Yet Aviana was still alive.
Not only alive.
She was winning.
The creature could hear her thoughts.
But strangely—
That advantage wasn't helping.
Because Aviana herself did not fully know what she would do next.
Her instincts moved faster than conscious thought.
The moment an idea appeared in her mind, her body had already reacted.
The monster would read one intention—
Only to discover she was already somewhere else.
Its predictions became useless.
Its copied power became a burden.
Again and again, Aviana struck.
She moved through the air like a streak of black and gold lightning.
One moment she was above.
The next she was behind.
Then beneath.
Then attacking from another angle entirely.
The monster grew increasingly frustrated.
It could see her thoughts.
But it could not catch her.
Finally—
A sharp scream echoed across the battlefield.
Aviana's claws tore through the creature.
The copied Ant Demon staggered backward.
Its body collapsed.
Though not completely dead, it was crippled beyond recovery.
It would not survive much longer.
Aviana didn't even bother finishing it.
Instead, she turned around.
Her golden eyes searched desperately.
She was looking for someone.
A strange feeling had been bothering her for hours.
A feeling she couldn't explain.
A feeling that someone important was missing.
Someone she should know.
Someone she should remember.
And now—
For the first time—
That feeling was becoming stronger.
Much stronger.
Without hesitation, she flew forward.
Aaron had also finished helping Ella survive the monster pursuit.
Together, the three of them moved toward Jade's position.
As they approached, Jade remained frozen.
His heart was pounding.
Not from fear.
From hope.
Ever since Beast God had returned his Fate—
Something had changed.
He could feel it.
The connection.
The threads.
The invisible bonds that linked him to the people he cared about.
They had returned.
Now he only needed confirmation.
Aviana landed first.
Her bird form dissolved.
Golden and black feathers scattered into the wind.
She returned to her human form.
For a moment, she simply stared at Jade.
Silence stretched between them.
Jade's heart nearly stopped.
Then Aviana suddenly rushed forward.
Before Jade could react, she grabbed his shoulders.
Her eyes were slightly red.
Angry.
Relieved.
Confused.
All at once.
"Don't scare me like that ever again!"
Jade froze.
His mind went blank.
The words echoed repeatedly inside his head.
Don't scare me.
Again.
Again.
She remembered.
She remembered him.
For the first time since losing his Fate—
Someone remembered.
Real emotion flooded through Jade.
He wanted to laugh.
He wanted to cry.
He wanted to scream.
Anything.
Everything.
At once.
Then Aviana blinked.
Her expression changed.
She stared at him harder.
As if noticing something she should have noticed earlier.
Her eyes widened.
A look of realization appeared.
Then she took a step back.
"Wait..."
Jade looked at her.
Aviana pointed at him.
Her voice trembled.
"You..."
Another second passed.
Then her eyes became even wider.
"You're Jade?"
The words struck harder than any attack.
For a moment, Jade couldn't even respond.
Months of memories.
Battles.
Promises.
Friendship.
Everything returned to him at once.
Not because he remembered them.
Because someone else did.
A huge grin spread across Jade's face.
A genuine smile.
The kind he hadn't shown in a very long time.
Inside his chest, excitement exploded.
He wanted to jump.
To shout.
To tell everyone.
To tell Aaron.
To tell Ella.
To tell Henry.
To tell Blake.
To tell Sarah.
He was remembered.
Finally.
After everything—
He was remembered again.
And for the first time since losing his Fate—
Jade truly felt alive.