The group hurriedly traveled toward their destination, fearing that the point Rain pointed to would leave them behind. It was impossible to say which of them were traveling faster, but John feared it was whatever they were chasing.

‘Mmh, as long as it’s staying in the area, it should be fine, right? God, my nerves are tense!’

He could feel his heart pounding faster than usual, but it was no wonder. They had been chasing this hope for weeks, praying Rain was leading them to something meaningful.

Her finger pointed slightly to John’s left, so he changed directions slightly while ensuring Dennis followed.

Not long after, they finally heard a sound in front of them, rhythmically traveling from tree to tree like Dennis. John felt he could hear a voice, but the sound was so tender and soft that he could have been mistaken.

‘Do I shout out? Surely they are human, right?’

The sounds of traveling stopped. A spear of fire shot out of the trees ahead, aiming directly for John.

‘What the–’

Forced to act fast, he summoned his shield, pointing it at an angle so it would deflect the spell instead of blocking it directly. The spear hit the shield and sent sparks flying in all directions, but it was forced to change directions, flying past John and Rain and hitting a tree behind them.

‘That spell had power! And technique! And speed!’

A spark of hope ignited in his heart. He knew someone capable of sending some incredible spells. They were far stronger than she had been capable of, but she would have grown since they separated. Perhaps even into an aspecter.

“Hold your fire! We’re human!” John yelled, hoping they wouldn’t have to dodge anything. Rain wouldn’t like that sudden burst of speed.

A faint voice responded to his call, “What? Humans? Wait…”

John was stunned, staring ahead of him in disbelief. It was a voice he would recognize anywhere.

‘Is it really…?’

The sounds of two people jumping between trees approached them, eventually revealing a man and a woman, both in heavy armor. The man had thick steel armor, while the woman had the same armor that she wore when John last saw her.

“John?! Is that really you?!” She removed her helmet, letting her long blonde hair fall. The sapphire blue eyes stared at John joyfully, but then they dimmed slightly when looking behind him.

“... Serah?”

He could hardly believe it. The person he wanted to see the most was the person Rain had led him to. It was perfect.

Larang descended, moving toward Serah slowly. She looked at John with so many emotions, unable to settle on one. He understood her well. There were many questions that needed to be addressed. But right now, he only wanted to embrace her.

Landing on the branch in front of her, he spread his arms. Serah’s expression landed on a tearful smile, and she embraced him, realigning the world.

There was no warmth or soft sensation, and Serah would be face to face with Rain during the hug. But it was still the most fantastic embrace John had ever felt. Details be damned.

“You knew…” John whispered, recalling their last words. “You promised we would meet again.”

Serah nodded, responding with a moved voice. “I knew you would find me, John. What could ever stop you?”

John didn’t respond, accepting her words for now. He could save his questioning for later.

“John?”

“...I didn’t know,” he started, feeling a tear coming. “I had no way of knowing if you were alright, Serah. I was terrified!”

She drew a sharp breath, unable to hide her reaction. “... Let’s… talk somewhere else, John. There’s too much right now.” She ended the embrace but seemed reluctant to let him go, holding his hands in hers. “I… really missed you.”

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John felt the truth in her words and took them to heart. “... Uhm, where do you want to go?”

“We have a base nearby, so just follow us there.” She turned away, but her eyes remained on him as long as they could. Then she blinked rapidly and nodded to the armored man. They both started jumping again, expecting John to follow.

John took a deep breath to gather himself, still unable to believe what just happened. He had tried to stop himself from hoping to meet Serah here, afraid of getting his hopes crushed. But his relentless dreams showed him little else than this exact scene.

‘And here we are… Ahh, I didn’t think it would affect me this much. Thank god!’

As he stepped back, Larang waited for him, and they ascended. With intense relief, he followed Serah and the probably ugly man.

Dennis had remained silent during the whole exchange, understanding what was happening. He simply followed silently.

Rain had remained unusually silent during the meeting, causing John to wonder what she was doing. “Rain, you awake?”

“... Serah… Is Serah important to John?” she asked quietly. Her words felt hollow in a way that John couldn’t quite explain.

“Yes. More than anything,” he replied honestly. But realizing his mistake, he added, “...Uhm, but so are you, Rain.”

It was a cop-out answer. However, it wasn’t entirely untrue. He would risk his life for both of them any day of the week. His feelings for them were very different, but that didn’t matter.

Rain remained silent.

“... I can’t thank you enough, Rain. I never would have found her without you.”

Rain still remained silent.

‘... What’s up with her? It’s not… jealousy, is it?’

He decided to leave it for now and continued to follow Serah and the weak man through the jungle. Dennis was right behind, having no issues with keeping up.

It didn’t take them long to reach their destination—an old tree, wider than any they had seen so far, standing right by a small river. There were obvious signs of life around it, like a small fireplace, fishing rods by the river, and downtrodden dirt.

Serah landed lightly on the ground and turned to John with a smile. Then she turned to the armored man. “You go check up on the others, alright? I’ll talk to these guys.”

The man nodded and removed his helmet, revealing an average-looking face, likely helped by his short beard. There was little notable about him, if anything at all. He walked toward the other side of the tree and disappeared from sight.

Dennis landed next to John with a labored breath. He waved at Serah in greeting. “Hello, I’m Dennis! John, is this the girl?” he asked, looking at John in wonder.

After hearing that, Serah sent John a questioning stare, but she didn’t ask. But then she looked alarmed. “John, you should put Rain down. Now.”

Dennis also seemed to notice something, muttering a quiet “Oh, shit” under his breath.

Confused, John turned to look at Rain sitting on his back. Her face was completely pale, filled with beads of sweat, and she was staring a hole in his back, utterly unresponsive to her surroundings. “Rain? Rain, what’s wrong?!”

He removed the harness from his shoulders, feeling her slip off him and fall on her knees. Something was clearly wrong with her; it couldn’t just be jealousy.

He leaned down and grabbed her shoulders, trying to make eye contact. But she was lost. “Rain! What’s going on with you?!” he asked, gently shaking her.

Rain seemed to start responding, but not in a good way. Her breath turned rapid and shallow as she studied her surroundings confusedly. Then she looked at John. “... John… No.”

He felt lost, unsure of what to do. It seemed like a panic attack, but nothing he could think of would trigger that, so he wondered if some disease had grabbed hold of her. If so, they would need to find their portal immediately.

Serah sat down next to them and put a hand on Rain’s back, making their eyes meet. “I think Rain and I should have a girl-to-girl talk. Right?”

Rain looked at her with wide eyes, and then she nodded weakly. Her breathing calmed ever so slightly.

“Good! John, you guys can go inside for now and meet the others. I’ll bring Rain back soon. And spying will be punished severely, okay?”

John could only obey, feeling way out of his depth. If talking could help Rain, then it would have to be a shock that caused her condition. He just couldn’t understand what. Again, Serah seemed to know things she shouldn’t be able to.

“Yeah, just… take good care of her. She’s very vulnerable.” He got up, looking down at the both of them with worry, before turning to head inside the tree.

Dennis followed him after some hesitation, also looking worried. Once they were out of hearing range, he asked, “Hey, John. What the hell is going on?”

John looked at him and shrugged. “I don’t know. I thought it might be jealousy or something, but that doesn’t seem to be the case, does it? She was completely out of it.”

“... No, I don’t think that’s it. Rain never looked at you like that, I think. But then what?”

“We know she has secrets. We know she led us here… but…” John strained his mind, trying to put pieces together. But nothing came to him.

‘Did she expect to find something else here? Or did she react to Serah somehow? Is that… is Serah the tyrant that caused this planet to change?... No, that’s impossible. I know she’s human, more certainly than anyone else. And becoming a weaver doesn’t have the same effect, does it?’

Standing outside a hole in the tree covered by a curtain, he took a deep breath. He felt like he would have some time to think things through soon. For now, he was curious about this other group that had survived this planet.