A deafening gunshot ripped through the air, reverberating off the walls of the dining hall. The acrid scent of burnt gunpowder hung heavy in the air—mingling with the metallic tang of blood. Smoke curled lazily from the barrel of Charlotte’s revolver. A thin streak of blood dripped from the right side of Kaeli’s cheek who, despite the minor wound, was still completely focused in the mana transference.

“Captain! Stop!”

The chirurgeon was holding Charlotte’s arms down.

“Let go of me Sylas!”

She fiercely struggled but thanks to Sylas’ more sturdy build, he was able to wrestle the firearm out of her hand.

“She is saving Lady Leona! If you interfere now you can end up killing her!”

“Can you call that saving?!” She pointed to the crystalized limb laying on the side of the couch that Leona was resting on. “You’ve got to be out of your mind to think that is someone saving another!”

“She had to do it!” He shouted even louder in order to get his point across. “If not, Lady Leona wouldn’t even still be alive!”

She clenched her teeth in anger. Her desire was to shoot the disgusting mage in the back of her head for all that she did, but that was also the first time Sylas ever talked back to her like that. For the kind chirurgeon that always took care of the crew as if it was his family to speak the way he did, it must mean that he at least acknowledged Kaeli’s methods to save Leona’s life. She swallowed dry as her head hung low.

“Sylas.” Her voice was filled with dread. “Do you swear that she is indeed trying to save her?”

“Yes, without a doubt, captain.”

“Very well…” She extended her hand to him. “My revolver.”

“Here.” He put the firearm on her palm. “I’m sorry for my behavior earlier, captain.”

“Don’t be.” She hesitantly holstered the gun, but her right hand was still squeezing the wooden handle. “I’m afraid I let my emotions dictate my actions again. I’ll head back outside, if you need anything, anything at all to treat her, do not hesitate to ask.”

“I most certainly will, captain.”

She slowly nodded twice before making her way back to the deck. Sylas turned his attention to Kaeli who remained with eyes closed, focused solely on the task at hand.

‘If it was me… I don’t know if I could do this…’ He thought before bringing both his large hands close to each other as he lowered his head in a silent prayer. ‘May your efforts bear fruit. To allow her to live for another day.’

Deep in Kaeli’s mind, she was still filling the cracked glass cup withholding all she could in order to not shatter her patient’s soul.

‘I don’t know how long I have been doing this but…’ She frowned her brows as she looked into the cup that didn’t seem to fill despite her best efforts to keep the stream of mana constant. ‘Something doesn’t feel right…’

It was just a hunch, but she could tell something was happening to Leona’s mind. She had studied before about the inner world, a place where each individual can access in their mind which is shaped according to one’s subconsciousness. Though simple in concept, she only had been there through assistance of her master.

‘If I could reach her inner world this would’ve been a much simpler affair.’

But it was impossible, at least for now, so she decided to once again focus on what she could do. The thin streak of mana escaping through her fingers into the cup was becoming slightly thicker as she tried to adjust her output, but despite almost doubling the current transference she didn’t notice any unusual behavior.

‘Strange… when I first began doing this, it almost shattered her being and yet… it is as if… something else is taking in this mana…’

In Leona’s mind, her consciousness wandered in the endless void in a state of half awareness that left her feeling a sense of powerlessness. She floated aimlessly with her eyes closed.

‘What is going on…’ She felt sluggish. ‘What happened to me…?’

“Pathetic.”

A voice echoed in the distance.

‘Huh…?’

“You pride yourself in protecting others-”

‘Who…?’

“-yet you fail to protect yourself.”

‘Who are you…?’

She wanted to ask but it was as if the words couldn’t come out of her mouth.

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“You sicken me. Leona.”

She snapped awake . As she sat up panting heavily, she was back to the fallen tree she had cut back when she met Miyamoto.

“Ha… ah… where…? How…?”

Only the large stump remained in the middle of the clearing as the rest of the fallen tree was nowhere to be seen.

“How long will you keep this up?”

An older female voice came from behind her. As she turned to her left in order to face whoever was addressing her, she found herself with her face on the grass.

‘Wha…’

Her left arm was missing even in her inner world as she tried to use it to support her weight and instead she fell down.

“My arm?! Wha- what happened to me?!”

“Death, or at least is what should have happened to you.”

Leona used her other arm to lift herself just enough to tilt her head up. Before her stood a woman with striking aquamarine eyes, her determined gaze was almost piercing through her. Waist-length platinum hair framed her face, their soft waves contrasting with the sharp angles of her features. Prominent bangs split from the middle of her head, cascading along her cheek and jawline with an unwavering resolve in her expression. Her clothing was disturbingly similar to what Leona herself was wearing, albeit black and without the wear and tear.

Each step she took resonated with purpose, the sound of her approach echoing through the stillness of the clearing.

“You are a disappointment, Leona.”

“Ngh… who are you and what have you done to me?!”

“You are unworthy of knowing who I am. And this sorry state you find yourself in is the fruit of your own foolishness.” Her voice was sharp as a blade, each word cutting deeper than the last. “Not only did you rely on the strength of others but you failed to fulfill a promise that you’ve made.”

Leona’s eyes widened in surprise, but bewilderment quickly gave away to anger.

“You know nothing of me!”

“That is where you are wrong.”

Her large steps menacingly closed the gap between them as she reached down and grabbed Leona by the back of her hair.

“Ngh!”

The woman lifted her just enough so she could approach her own face near hers. The aquamarine eyes had a disturbing eerie light blue glow to them.

“I know more than you realize.”

“Who- Ugh… who are you?!”

“I told you before…”

She stood up while lifting her up at the same time. Leona grabbed her forearm in order to alleviate the pain she felt in the back of her head but with only her right arm, she could barely lift her own weight.

“Ngh… let go!”

“...you are unworthy of knowing.”

The woman flicked her arm and tossed her against the stump of the tree. Despite not looking strong like Krieg, she was able to fling Leona as if she weighed nothing.

“Argh!”

The impact sent a shock through her whole back that while not fatal, was still enough to make her muscles burn. What unsettled Leona was that the woman didn’t have any real killing intent behind her actions and it felt like she was simply interested in inflicting pain upon her.

“If you’re willing to die so easily for a cause you’re fighting for, so be it.” She extended her right hand back and the frostburnt silver longsword behind her began to tremble. “I will snuff out the last ember of your existence.”

The longsword flung out of the ground spinning before reaching her hand, as she grabbed the weapon mid-air the blade began to shine. She swung the weapon to the side, revealing the flat part of the blade as she approached the tactician.

“If I die here…” Leona’s voice, though weak, had a distinct confidence within the words she spoke. “...I won’t be able to protect them.”

The woman stopped in her tracks as she heard those words.

“I…” Leona continued with an unrelenting resolve. “I certainly don’t want to lose anyone again. That is why…” She stood up despite the pain she felt and slammed her fist against the left side of her chest. “I will fight until the bitter end!”

Extending her right hand past her left shoulder she opened her hand and the hilt of a sword appeared out of thin air. Golden mana began to spiral from the hilt, creating a sturdy guard as it continued to construct the gleaming blade of similar size to the woman’s longsword.

“Hah! Do you believe your strength to be enough?! Pathetic!”

“Perhaps it isn’t.” She held the ornate sword close to her chest with each of her fingers tightening around the blade’s handle. “But I’m not fighting alone.”

Suddenly, a burst of mana began to overflow from her body and for a split second her short hair turned platinum.

“It can’t be…” The woman clenched her teeth in anger as she held the sword with both hands as she rushed forward. “My pain! My suffering! I will not be denied!”

“By prayers offered to the just–” Leona turned her body to the left, winding up the divine sword in her hand. “–bring salvation to this land!”

Her mana turned golden; the moment she swung her blade and it collided against the woman’s sword—a bright flash of light engulfed them both.

The split second confrontation felt like an eternity with memories of an untold past not unlike her own assaulted her mind. Different screams echoed within her soul and as the light died down she witnessed the results of her conviction.

Cleaved through the right shoulder in a diagonal slash that went down her chest, the woman smiled bitterly as the warmth left her body. The frostburnt silver blade was just millimeters away from hitting Leona’s neck before the woman’s right hand fell limp letting the sword fall in a dry thud against the blood soaked grass.

“You are… truly… the bravest among us all…” The platinum of her hair was fading away, revealing the blonde color of her hair. “Maybe this time… this time will be different…”

The woman brought her left hand up and grabbed the blade tightly—cutting through the leather glove she wore.

“Huh?!”

Leona only realized she had won the battle after she felt the weapon almost leave her hand as the woman pulled the sword out of her body. Instead of blood, sparks and some murky black liquid dripped from the woman’s hand.

“I have high hopes for you… remember that.”

She tightened her grip around the sharp blade which sent even more sparks flying from her hands and before long, it began to slowly destroy her limb as if disintegrating her very soul. Seeing her fade away made Leona brandish her sword aside and yell.

“Wait! You haven’t told me who you are!”

“In time, you’ll realize who I truly am.” She had a confident smirk on her face as her body was vanishing in fragments of mana scattered to the wind. “Farewell, Leona Crossford…”