Kaira ran.

Her heart pounded against her ribcage, every fiber of her being urging her to push forward. With her lungs burning and feet moving as if on fire, she led two full squads of guards in a frenetic race against time. The sense of urgency was palpable in the air, sharp enough to cut through steel.

Must go faster. Iris... She needs me.

A dormant, raw energy stirred deep within her, beckoning her to tap into its latent power. The mana inside her pulsed, almost echoing her desperate desire for speed. How can I use this?

With a guttural scream, Kaira willed her body to move even faster, channeling that innate mana and focusing it entirely on her legs. An electrifying rush coursed through her veins, the sensation nearly overwhelming. And then, just as if a dam had burst, her steps multiplied in their efficiency.

One step became two, the pace at which she was moving now rendering the guards trailing her mere blurs. The world around her began to meld and smear as she [Double Stepped] repeatedly.

Once she finally approached the Guild Hall, she slowed down. Two City Guardsmen stood at the entrance while another pair held back a growing crowd. Recognizing her, a familiar guard warned, “There’s a lot of magic being thrown around in there.”

“I’m going in,” she replied simply.

He stepped aside, cautioning, “Be careful, Captain. Found the sound of it, it’s dangerous.”

She looked at him sharply. “I’m not a captain anymore.” As she moved past them, she called back over her shoulder. “I’m an adventurer.”

Then the sight of the shattered doorway threatened to break her momentum.

But she deftly navigated the debris, ripping her sword from its scabbard and yanking her shield off her back with practiced ease. Without a moment's pause, she hurtled into the fray, her mind singularly focused on her mission.

On her lover.

As Kaira moved through the threshold, every muscle in her body tensed in readiness, her shield held steadfast, her sword's edge gleaming menacingly in the low light. Each footfall was deliberate, each breath measured, as she took in the scene around her, her eyes darting to each shadow, seeking out threats.

In the dim room, a body lay lifeless, still in the throes of its final, desperate struggle. Nearby, Owlie, a once-vibrant creature, lay unmoving.

The sight made her heart constrict.

And then, another body, gruesomely headless, the remnants of melting ice surrounding it told a story of a fierce encounter.

She stifled the gasp rising in her throat.

Devastation was everywhere.

Pushing past the weight of her anguish and the grip of the chilling scene around her, Kaira hesitated as the distant and mournful hum began to cascade gently through the dim room. It beckoned her, like a forlorn call cutting through the tapestry of silence and despair. Each echoing note was a fragile thread, pulling her closer to its origin near the bar.

With each step, hope—a fragile, incandescent ember—flickered and grew within her, fed by the haunting beauty of the melody that grew more pronounced and profound. It wrapped around her, a comforting blanket amidst the chilled air.

The melancholic hum soon blossomed, unfurling into a melody so profound and soul-stirring, it threatened to bring her to her knees. Kaira felt the raw weight of every note, each resonating with emotions she couldn't even begin to articulate.

Could this truly be... the song of the Family above?

Eona?

The voice singing this mesmerizing song was intricately woven of deep sorrows and unspoken longings, yet threaded with the enduring golden fibers of hope. The haunting lament was the embodiment of an age-old grief and a desperate yearning, echoing through the vast halls of time, reaching out to every wounded heart, promising solace.

This sound... she mused.

It was as if Eona herself had let her celestial tears fall, turning them into an auditory embrace. If the lofty sisters, guardians of the cosmos, were ever to voice their anguish over the world's heartaches and miseries, surely this is the soul-soothing balm they would offer.

The melody, in its empyrean beauty, acted as a powerful lodestone, drawing her irresistibly towards its source. Kaira felt a deep, almost magnetic pull, her usual warrior’s instincts fading, grip on her weapons slackening. The once-solid and reassuring weight of the sword and shield now felt inconsequential, dwarfed by the enormity of the emotion the song invoked.

Guided solely by the ethereal tune, Kaira stepped toward the taproom, the dim surroundings seemingly dissolving into a serene, dreamlike blur. She almost missed the sight of a large hole in the wall, but the song soothed her, giving her hope where all else despaired. It felt as though she was journeying between realms, with every footfall taking her closer to the nexus of this celestial serenade.

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Drawn as if by an invisible force, Kaira's grip on her sword and shield loosened. She ventured further into the bar, the world around her taking on an otherworldly hue.

Her distress ebbed, replaced by an overwhelming mixture of awe and desperate hope. The world around her, bathed in an ethereal radiance, felt both strangely distant and intimately close.

But then, her eyes landed on Iris.

There she lay, cruelly bathed in her own crimson, her usually vibrant form reduced to a haunting stillness. The shock of the sight struck Kaira like a physical blow, yanking her out of the spell she had been under.

Her heart, once hopeful and racing, now thudded with a painful weight, threatening to drop right from her chest. Beside Iris, Akane's form lay frail and diminished, her life force dwindling with every passing moment.

No no no no no… Iris…

She was stuck in place, her legs became lead, and it was as if her very soul was ripped from her body.

I was too late.

I failed.

“Iris…” she croaked, her eyes stung and her world crumbled.

But even as the weight of despair threatened to drag Kaira into its cold embrace, the room itself seemed to resist the encroaching darkness.

From the depths of the shadows, as the song continued, brilliant green motes began to emerge. These were no ordinary lights but concentrated essences of pure mana, glowing with purpose. Like luminescent fireflies in a moonlit glade, they flitted about, bestowing their touch upon the wounded. Every being they caressed seemed to pulse with new vitality, wounds closing and life force slowly but surely rekindling.

Kaira’s gaze was yanked from Iris’s unmoving form by the rising voice, so filled with sorrow, hope, and desperation.

And in the center of this luminous tempest was Bree.

Her form, though wracked with grief and exhaustion, stood tall and unwavering. Tears traced glistening paths down her face, but there was an undeniable strength there. Her voice, a conduit of raw emotion and powerful magic, lifted in a haunting hymn, weaving together threads of hope, despair, love, and longing. It was a song born from the deepest recesses of her soul, invoking the will of the gods that seemed to resonate with the very world itself.

Kaira, caught between overwhelming grief and the hope emanating from Bree's song, found herself kneeling on the cold floor, her eyes unable to move from Iris's form.

Even as despair threatened to drown her, the symphony around her whispered promises of salvation and healing. And for that brief moment, within that ethereal cocoon, anything seemed possible.

Bree's voice, previously gentle and soothing, began to surge with a powerful energy. The haunting melody spiraled, turning raw and forceful. Every note echoed the gravity of life and death, every crescendo seemed to shatter the barriers of possibility.

Kaira felt each vibration as though it were a heartbeat, each note burrowing deep, resonating with her very soul.

The song, filled with Bree's own desperate plea, reached an ear-splitting climax.

As if compelled by the call of that piercing note, the emerald motes of mana swirled and danced even more fervently. Their glow intensified, turning the room into a veritable storm of light and magic. Their vibrant hue seemed to paint every dark corner, dousing the room in a sea of verdant brilliance.

And then, with a note that sounded like the universe itself mourning, the motes of mana began to move purposefully, no longer fluttering aimlessly but driven by clear intent. They began to descend towards the wounded, drawn like moths to a flame.

One by one, each mote seemed to find its chosen, sliding effortlessly into nostrils and mouths, reminiscent of a baby's first eager breath of life. Mocha moved, groaning as she leaned forward in Sera and Tanith’s arms. Laken rustled as Gryff helped him roll to his side.

Those injured started moving, but the two most injured were taking more, sucking up the magic in increasing quantities.

Kaira watched, spellbound and hardly daring to breathe, as these manifestations of pure life entered Iris and Akane. They appeared almost to be drinking in the very essence of life, the very breath of Eona herself.

It was a sight both deeply intimate and profoundly divine, a dance of life and death on the razor's edge of hope.

Then, as suddenly as the crescendo had begun, Bree's voice shifted.

From the heartrending peak of sorrow and longing, it cascaded down to a soft, gentle note—one brimming with love, hope, and the sweet promise of tomorrow.

The very air seemed to hold its breath, time itself seeming to pause.

And with that final, delicate note, Bree's strength gave out.

Her form swayed for a moment, a silhouette against the lingering glow, before she crumpled to the floor, her magical song now a mere echo in the stillness.

The silence that followed was both heavy and sacred. It was the stillness after a storm, the quiet reverence of a world reborn.

Kaira's gaze, drawn back to Iris by an ineffable pull, saw the subtlest movement. Iris's chest, previously so distressingly still, now rose and fell into a rhythm of life. Akane's once limp form now stirred, her vulpine snout quivering as she drew a deep, rejuvenating breath. The fox’s form shimmered and a kitsune appeared, her eyes locked onto Iris.

And then, with a sound that held the weight of a thousand unspoken words, Iris gasped, her eyes flickering open to meet a world forever changed.

The poignant stillness that permeated the room seemed to shatter in an instant. It was as if an unyielding chain that had been constricting Kaira's chest, holding her rooted in place, suddenly snapped.

Driven by an outpouring of emotion and sheer relief, Kaira's feet moved before she was even fully aware. Her every instinct, every fiber of her being, propelled her towards Iris. The distance between them, mere feet though it may have been, felt like miles. But in a heartbeat, she was there, collapsing by Iris's side, her hands reaching out to cradle her lover's face.

She gently cradled Iris’s head in her hand as she parted those scarlet locks and locked onto those beautiful blue eyes. Her world was here.

“Iris,” she choked out.

Kaira’s vision blurred as tears pooled. The suffocating fear, the gut-wrenching dread she felt upon seeing Iris unmoving—it all came crashing down in waves, threatening to drown her.

Iris, sensing the intensity of Kaira's emotions, lifted a shaky hand, lightly brushing Kaira's tear-streaked face. Even in her weakened state, that touch was filled with understanding and concern. They were two souls tethered by a bond that they were even now exploring. One that Kaira never wanted to let go.

“I thought I lost you,” Kaira whispered, her voice thick with emotion.

Iris gave a soft, pain-laced chuckle, her eyes glinting with mischief. “Come now, love,” she smirked, the twinkle in her eyes unmistakable even through her pain, “This? Merely a setback.”