Inside the cave, the group of children and Saya's mother were walking deeper into the cave along with two other young girls.

‘What should I do?’

Despite looking composed from the outside, Saya was actually panicking as she spotted the path and realized they were nearing the playground.

‘Why isn’t it stopping!?’

As she was wracking her brain trying to think of a way out, her ears started ringing. At first she didn’t pay it much heed but as the ringing grew more and more, it gradually became bothersome to her.

‘Saya, my child’

‘!!!’

A female voice resounded inside her ear as if somebody was directly spoke to her from the side. The surprised Saya hurriedly turned her head to check if anyone whispered behind her back but she found that no one did.

‘Am I hallucinating?’

She massaged her temples using her thumb and middle finger in attempt to ease the constant ear ringing but to no avail.

‘Do you hear me, Saya?’

“W-who are you!?”

Sara said out loud without meaning to and ended up attracting the attention of her mother nearby.

“Saya, are you ok?”

Pio approached her daughter and asked.

“Yeah sorry, I’m not feeling well today it seems."

Pio stared at her daughter for a while before saying anything.

“Hold on for a bit as we will be done shortly then we can go straight back home”

“Okay, sorry."

“Don’t worry about it."

They resumed walking after the group who didn't notice them stopping.

‘Who are you?’

Saya was still skeptical about the voice she was hearing but she still tried to mentally ask.

‘Saya, my child so you can hear me’

‘I asked who are you and why are you calling me ‘My child’’

‘Listen to me, we don’t have much time so I will be brief’

‘All you need to do is hold out and gain some time, rescue is on the way’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Why should I trust you?’

‘You have to trust me aside for the fact that you’ve got no other choice, you are someone very precious to me so I would never put you in harm’s way’

‘Please just t-‘

The voice seems to get cut off here and the ringing stopped immediately, but Saya who still had a lot of questions kept calling in, but got no response in return.

‘What should I do? Do I trust her’

‘As she said I’ve got no other option, aside from that my intuition tells me to trust her somehow’

‘Maybe I’m just going crazy’

It didn’t take long to make a decision as she decisively started working right away.

*Plop*

She fell head first to the ground acting as if she had passed out.

“Saya!”

Pio ran to her fallen daughter. Thus attracting the attention of the group, who also stopped their march and hurriedly went to check on her.

----------------------------------------

Outside the temple, a flying car closed in very quickly as it stopped just before the door, a voluptuous black-haired lady stepped out of the car, she wore a tight dress of the same color as her hair that was open from the back letting her tattoo visible.

“What the Fu#k? Why aren't any of them answering?”

“Those useless Fu#cks”

She was fuming as she made her way to the right side of the temple door where she placed her hand on what seemed to be a random spot there, but soon after she did so a small compartment just enough for one person to pass through opened.

The woman didn’t waste time as she hurriedly entered inside. With each strode she took, wind would blow behind her as she would appear hundreds of meters ahead.

“Sh*t, I need to hurry."

She soon reached the middle of the path where the mothers' corpses were laid, taking a quick look at them seemingly unbothered by their death then resuming her path. It didn’t take her long to reach the ceremony room.

“It’s really gone!”

She said grudgingly while standing before the place where the seed once was. Extending her hand she placed it there as black energy flowed out of her hand into the roots. This seemed to trigger a certain mechanism.

“This will at least earn me some time”

As she stated, a closed black eyelid appeared. This was the eye that captured Luo's actions before but as of now it was closed.

*Stab*

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"Kieek! "

Her fingernails suddenly elongated as she lunged it in the closed eye without hesitation, the latter let out a loud shriek slowly dispersing into black smoke.

At the cave, Saya was seemingly unconscious as she was held in her mother's arms.

“Is she okay?”

Asked a worried child while looking at the mother

*Gaze*

“She is fine, probably just exhausted."

Pio gazed at the child with cold murky eyes as she answered with a frigid tone.

“O-okay”

Taken aback by the treatment he had received, the child backed off to hide behind the back of a young girl feeling scared.

The girl whom the child took as cover frowned at how Pio just treated the child. However, she still held back and asked in a tone that couldn’t her dissatisfaction.

“Excuse me, are we going to take a break here then?”

Pio looked at the girl who had just asked a question, and then looked at her wrist, which had a watch.

‘We still have time’

After checking the time, Pio contemplated for a bit before answering.

“We shall rest for a couple of minutes before resuming”

*Nodding*

After nodding at Pio, the girl turned around as she organized the children with the help of her peers.

‘Nice!’

Cheered Saya mentally upon successfully delaying them.

“Saya, are you okay? Can you hear me?”

“!”

Hearing Pio calling out to her Saya got a bit nervous but still kept the act, and just like this minutes flew by.

Seven minutes later, and Pio was starting to feel pressed about time as she was constantly checking her watch.

‘It seems like she needs more time’

‘I’ve got no other choice; she will be safe here anyway’

Pio gently placed Saya's head on the ground as she stood up.

‘?’ (Saya)

“Get up, we will be resuming”

Hearing her call, everyone obediently got up as they prepared to depart

‘Damn it, when will they get here?’

“But what about Saya? Are we leaving her behind?”

Queried one of the children

‘Well asked!’

“Yes, she is currently sleeping, here is safe so let's finish what we are here for then return back to get her”

“Oka-ay”

“Bu-”

Just as an older girl was going to protest,

*Boom*

She got cut off by the wall which blew apart as debris and dust filled the place obstructing their visions.

“AAAAAAAH!”

A huge hand the size of a car extended right out of the wall. It caught the girl who was just about to protest as her screams rang amid the debris.

Another explosion occurred on the wall. This made the dust clear up around that place as a very deformed and unsightly face came into view of the group.

*Throw* *Crunch*

Dumbfounded, they watched the huge hand throw the girl straight into the giant open mouth that clumped on her lower half of the body.

*Thud *

Blood rained on the group as the lifeless corpse fell from high up into the ground, her intestines and all kinds of matter splattered over. The group gazed at the corpse stunned by what had happened and unable to process what had just occured until one of the girls screamed.

“AAAAAAH”

That scream acted like a trigger starting the holy mess as cries echoed in the cave, the kids started dispersing in all direction frightened by what they just witnessed.

‘W-why?! It's still too early.'

The aghast Pio couldn’t comprehend what was happening. However, her thoughts were quickly cut off as a figure ran past her straight towards a kid who sat there scared as the giant hand extended towards

“SAYA! NO!”

“COME BACK HERE!"

Saya who dropped the act and quickly got herself together.Upon noticing the danger looming towards one the chidlren sprinted as fast as she could trying to save him ignoring all of her mother's calls. The kid sat there terrified as he saw the huge hand looming over his head about to catch him.

Saya didn’t waste time as she lunged herself at the child. She caught him in her arms and rolled away using the momentum generated barely escaping the hand reach.

“Stand up, let's go!”

She immediately stood up as she prompted the kid to stand up. However, he strangely sat there unmoving as he pointed with his trembling finger behind her.

“S-sis-ster b-b-behind you”

She slowly turned her head around hearing that to be faced with the hideous smiling face of another giant.

“Huh”

‘Is this the end?’

That was the thought that Saya had as she saw the giant open his mouth towards her. She closed her eyes knowing full well that she doesn’t stand a ghost of a chance in beating him.

*Crunch*

The awaited sound of bones being crushed was delivered to her ears, but weirdly it didn’t feel painful at all

‘Huh, is it not supposed to hurt?’

Saya opened her eyes to the sight of the trembling back of her mother from which spider-like legs extended out piercing right into the giant's mouth blocking the latter from clumping down on them.

“Mom-m what are you doi-,no what are those?”

“Saya, stop asking stupid questions and run!”

For the first time in a long time, Saya heard and felt emotions in her mother’s voice.

“B-but I, I can’t without you, how could I leave!”

“SAYA!”

Pio called her daughter’s name loudly.

Saya's eyes opened wide flabbergasted by her mother's reprimanding tone. Pio turned her head just enough to lock eyes with her daughter

“Saya, don’t forget it is my duty to protect you as your 'only' mother, so don't worry and leave."

“I’ll be just fine."

Pio’s eyes were no longer hazy as they brimmed with care while she wryly smiled at her girl. Saya’s eyes were filled with tears but she bit her lips and stood up. She took the child in her arms as she ran as fast as she could without looking back leaving behind only trails of tears that slid out.

“Yeah, well done go don’t look back and-”

*CHOMP*

The giant immersed itself in eating Pio totally forgetting about Saya as she escaped his range of sight

*SNIFFLE*

“Saya, Saya, Saya” (Flashback)

Inside a closet hid the young Saya. She ignored the calls of her name as she hugged her small knees while crying her eyes out.

*Opens*

“I knew you would hide here."

“What is wrong with you?"

“Leave me alone!”

The young girl who just opened was surprised that this gentle child who never spoke shouted at her like this. However, she didn’t get mad but laughed instead

“HAHAHA, I'm glad so you can also shout like that”

“Here, get your little butt over here."

The young girl lifted Saya as she sat on the ground putting her on her lap and asked

“So now tell me what's wrong?"

After staying silent for a while, Saya finally spoke

“Sister, do you have your own mom?"

“Me? Well yeah we all have the same one, don’t we?”

“No, not that one but your own mom that belongs only to you”

“That...”

As she raised her head and locked her eyes with Pio, she could feel her heart tighten from the loneliness in those small pupils of hers.

“What I want is a mother, someone who cares about me and belongs only to me."

Silence elapsed as they stared at each other for a while before Pio spoke.

“Then how about this? I shall be your sole mother, and I will only care about my little girl here."

“Really?!”

“Yeah”

-------------------

“HUF, HUF”

“Saya, I wanna go home!”

Saya huffed as she ran nonstop without looking back. She consoled the child in her arms from time to time to keep him quiet and avoid attracting attention.

“We are heading home, just be patient okay”

“Hm,Hm”

The child nodded as they resumed their run, but despite saying that Saya wasn’t really sure if they would make it back, and just when she thought that, a thumping sound echoed from behind her.

*Thump**Thump**Thump*

The sound kept getting louder and louder. She tried turning her head to look back and what she saw horrified her. It was the giant from just now. It didn’t forget about her but actually persistently chased after them.

Considering her running speed, she knew she could not escape, as her legs started giving up from the constant running, she soon dropped to the ground and realizing that her end was drawing near she hugged the child tightly and whispered to him.

“I’m sorry for being weak."

"?"

The giant lunged on them with his mouth open trying to swallow them whole and just when he had gotten close enough to them that she could feel his saliva on her back, space tore apart as a hand covered in dark purple energy extended out right towards the giant's face.

*Thud*

The claw-like energy covering the hand enlarged to the size of the giant’s head and completely stopped the creature in its tracks as a man with a wide and muscular back walked out.

*Ghaarr*

The giant struggled to overpower the man but to no avail as he turned his head and looked at Saya with his bright irises that glowed with golden hues.

“Sorry for being late."

*Crack** Splatter*

As he spoke, he tightened his grip into a fist, causing the giant's head to explode.

[You have slain a peak First Order, Fallen Giant (Child), +400SP]