Many things in life are born from ashes. Human civilization has proven this many times. Dead cities are abandoned, and new cities grow in different places. Dead rivers can always flow with water again. On barren lands, greenery can easily recover when the rain falls and the sun shines.

The same goes for humans. New humans are born from souls that were once so desperate, powerless, and struck by relentless suffering. If they then change 180 degrees and come to appreciate life so much, it is truly a mystery. Their spirit to live rises just like plants when they receive water, air, and light. Humans need trust, love, and a helping hand. When humans receive these three things, how great is the gratitude in their hearts. For the first time, they can be thankful for something, for being destined to live as themselves.

Primera had just recounted how she struggled to dive to the bottom of the lake to retrieve the Cail's precious pendant. Primera was not a diving fairy, so it was really a hard work for her. Lantis stared at the pendant in his palm... His tears slowly trickled down... He did not know about his feelings, his thoughts, and what he should do anymore. He received so many blessings in one night...

"Lord Lantis..." Primera, who didn't understand what Lantis truly felt, felt so guilty. "Are you not happy?"

"No. It's not that..." Lantis wiped away his tears and gave a rare smile. Primera's eyes widened. "I just don't know... what I should do to thank you. You're a great comrade..."

Primera teared up in happiness. "You must not discard it again!"

"Yes." Lantis continued in his heart. Lantis looked at Eagle Vision's face lying on the bed. Master Clef provided a special room for the Autozam commander. Lantis released Eagle's hand that he had been holding. He, who had received so much kindness, had to do something... "Please take care of Eagle for me."

"Where are you going?" Primera asked, sitting near Eagle's head.

"I have to see someone. The one who made my dreams come true... will leave this world soon."

Primera watched Lantis' back 'till he disappeared. Her happiness was tinged with sadness. She knew she was a good comrade, but nothing more. Accepting kindness was among the reasons of falling in love, and that's what she was experiencing now.

In the girls' room...

"He must have been rude to you, wasn't he?" Umi commented angrily. "You could have given him a piece of your retaliation. You could have easily scorched him..."

"I didn't do it because I had no intention of fighting at all!" Hikaru grimaced in pain. Fuu gently pressed on her wound. "I accidentally entered that room. I kept remembering my mission. I would regret it so much if I failed..."

"Yeah, yeah. I know. I believe you."

"The wound on this hand will leave a scar..." Fuu said as she wrapped Hikaru's right arm with a bandage.

"It's no problem," Hikaru replied lightly. She chuckled as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. The three of them had returned to their room. "I'm used to injuries. If you had few brothers, you'd understand..."

Fuu checked other parts of Hikaru's body. "You're also bruised... But everything's okay. Thank goodness..." Fuu sat beside Hikaru. "Everything's back to normal. And, we'll be going home soon..." Fuu sounded sad. She touched the ring on her finger.

"Home?"

"Our world. Our home..."

"However, it feels... I'm starting to feel attached to this place," Umi said. "We came here as Magic Knights. We started out as strangers, but slowly we've come to know so much. Cephiro has become our home..."

"Haven't you always wanted to leave, Umi?" Fuu asked.

"Not anymore. This is our world." Umi and Fuu looked at Hikaru. "Is there a chance for us… to stay?" she asked. "I think you were the one who opened the time portal… so…"

Hikaru fell silent. "I'm not unaware of your feelings. It's just that every decision has consequences, and we have to be accountable for them. Not everything will go smoothly. We might be called upon again to sacrifice our selves as the price for our desire to stay here."

"Eventually, we must return to our world..." Umi whispered. "After everything has become better, we must leave this place."

"Hikaru... When everything is done, is there really no reason for us to stay here?" Fuu asked anxiously.

"You both seem like you want to cry..." Hikaru reached for their hands. " I feel the same, anyway. Cephiro is so special to me. We who saw this land reborn today want to see its future. Our hearts, which still want to stay here, cannot be denied..."

"What are we going to do?"

"Just don't deny it." Hearing this, Umi and Fuu's eyes widened with excitement. "We have a reason to be here. When we love this place... when this place becomes our second home to return to... There will always be a way for us to come back. Always."

"How can you be so sure?" Umi asked curiously.

Hikaru thought for a moment. "I know it somehow... about being a Pillar, although there's no longer a system that binds it. The power of a Pillar seems to resonate not only in this world but also in our world. A Pillar controls a portal that connects two worlds. That's why Princess Emeraude could summon us here... That's why I could open the portal."

"Wow. Unbelievable."

"Yes. We can return to Cephiro. Always." Hikaru looked thoughtful...

"Hikaru, are you okay?" Fuu gently pushed Hikaru to lie down. Umi fetched a thin blanket for her.

"I'm okay. Don't worry..."

"Rest... Stay here quietly, sleep, and recover..."

"I still want to be with you both-" she whimpered.

"Don't argue," Umi said sternly. "You need rest. For today, this room is entirely yours. Rest as much as you need... We'll be outside."

"Okay..." And in a moment, she was already asleep.

"Like a baby... She's gone into the realm of dreams," Umi said with a smile. "She doesn't know, there's someone anxiously waiting to see her." They both laughed. "But she really does need to rest. You too, Fuu."

"Same goes for you."

They opened the door and found Lantis right in front of them. Impatiently, he asked, "Can I see her now?"

"She's already asleep..."

Disappointment immediately shadowed Lantis' face. He knew he couldn't force it. "Is she okay?" he asked again.

"She's fine," Fuu replied. "So, what do you need with her? Perhaps we can help convey it to her later..."

"I just... I want to thank her," Lantis said softly, feeling awkward.

"Just a thank you?" Umi questioned. "I thought you had more than that. She saved your friend!"

Lantis fell silent, then said, "You're right." He lowered his head. "There's actually a lot... Please, let me wait for her."

"Alright, if that's what you want. You can go in and wait inside..."

"Umi," Fuu disagreed slightly. Fuu threw a worried glance towards Hikaru, then towards Lantis.

Umi then pulled Fuu's hand to leave the room. "It's okay..." she reassured her. "Let him settle things with Hikaru. Let's consider this our way of apologizing for suspecting him wrongly. Let's go find Ascot!"

"Hey, since when did you become fond of him?"

Umi just laughed and they disappeared.

And Lantis entered. He looked around. So quiet. The day was still bright even though the sun was starting to lean westward. The windows were wide open, letting in the cool breeze that refreshed the entire room. The pale girl lay on the bed. She looked so peaceful. Yet she appeared quite serious with bandaged wounds and bruises in several places. Lantis felt concerned...

Lantis edged towards Hikaru's side. There was no chair there, so he chose to sit on the edge of her bed. Unexpectedly, Hikaru had already opened her eyes and shouted at him. Lantis was startled and jumped to his feet. "You!"

"You're so funny!" Hikaru laughed. She was truly mischievous. "Oops, sorry! I just couldn't resist teasing you!" she quickly added as she sat up. "Sorry... I pretended to be asleep earlier. I really didn't need to rest, but they forced me. I didn't want to argue with them... Haha... let them be outside."

Hikaru eagerly got off the bed and approached Lantis. "I'm glad to have someone to chat with. Hey, are you okay? Why are you so quiet? Come on!" Hikaru grabbed his hand and led him to the balcony. "Today is amazing, isn't it?"

Lantis was still shocked. He quickly remembered his purpose. "I came to find you to... I want to-" Lantis really wanted to say it, but the girl stopped him.

"I already know. You don't need to say it. I've already accepted it." Hikaru laughed again. "Look! This place is so high..." The wind played with her hair, and her long hair fluttered around. "I heard you earlier..." She leaned against one side of the balcony railing.

"You saved the most important person in my life... Eagle Vision..." Lantis didn't know if the girl heard him. "I'm very grateful... You did what I couldn't..."

Hikaru lifted her face and smiled. "It's all in the past now, and I want to forget what I've done. I'm more interested in the future, what I can do next... to heal Eagle, to restore Cephiro to normal, to ensure the people I care about can live better lives. Those are still far from being achieved... It makes what I've done feel less meaningful-"

"No! Everything you've done is so meaningful... to me." Hikaru fell silent instantly.

Lantis groaned in frustration, wondering why it was so difficult to make this girl understand. "You've done things that almost drove me crazy... Seeing you so joyful after everything that happened, I don't know why I feel so worry about you." Lantis chuckled at himself. "I don't know what to do if something happened to you... I feel like punishing myself for letting you get so involved in my troubles. You've done something that I can never perfectly repay... A thank you will never be enough... What can I do?" Lantis lifted his face. They looked at each other and fell into long silence... "What should I do?" Lantis asked again "…to thank you and apologize."

The feeling of indebtedness can indeed be unbearable at times, but... "I don't know. I don't need your repayment." Hikaru reassured Lantis once more. "I really don't know. I just did it, following what my heart said was right... I just want everyone to be happy. I want you to be happy."

Lantis' eyes widened upon hearing that.

Hikaru blushed slightly. "Anyway, thank you for thinking of me. But I'm okay. You don't need to feel guilty... don't need to repay anything-" Hikaru gasped.

Unexpectedly for Hikaru, Lantis approached and hugged her tightly. "Thank you so much..."

"Lantis..." Lantis didn't let go.

Hikaru's figure was engulfed by his embrace. Hikaru's ear could hear his heartbeat clearly. Words would never truly convey it. But through this emotional action... through each breath, suppressed sob, and quickening heartbeat, Hikaru could understand one thing more clearly, about this person. She knew somewhat about his life journey and wanted to give back a bit of the sweetness he had ever received throughout his life from family, siblings, friends, and those who ever loved him... That would be the best reason for him to keep living a good life...

"Thank you," Lantis repeated several times.

Hikaru lifted her hand, returning the hug warmly, while patting Lantis' back.

They stood like that in silence for a while until Lantis straightened up. They looked at each other. "I'm sorry..." Lantis quickly wiped away his tears.

"It's okay... I've cried a few times too. There's no need to be ashamed..."

"Don't compare me to you. I'm a man..."

"You're human... You're allowed to cry if you want." They both chuckled softly. "You're also allowed to laugh..."

Lantis' laughter became more unrestrained. Whatever had held him back until now had disappeared. He looked at the reddening sky and took a deep breath. For the first time, he could praise Cephiro, and this world seemed so beautiful. And Hikaru stood beside him, now a very important person to him... He smiled at life. After today, his path would be different. He could see the future, and his own dreams would finally be true.