"Who taught you to wield power to hurt others?" Lantis hissed. "Are you truly a magic swordsman? Where does this arrogance of yours come from?" His voice was sharp, cutting through Shinre's heart like a blade.
Lantis swept his gaze across the room, met with joy by everyone except two figures. His eyes locked onto Nova and the young man beside her. Their expressions were stricken, as though they were seeing a ghost.
"Y-you're supposed to be dead..." Nova's voice quivered. "You have dead..."
"Dead, you say?" Lantis replied, bewildered. "Did Zonda tell you nothing about me while she told me so much about you? Ridiculous."
"Z-Zonda?" Nova felt as though the world had shifted beneath her feet. Zonda knew and kept it hidden. She darted her gaze between Lantis and Shinre. What had truly happened all this time?
Alba's worried eyes stayed on Shinre, who lay motionless, paralyzed with a mix of fear and pain.
"You've returned, Lantis," Ferio spoke, a mixture of joy and disbelief in his voice. He hadn't expected this.
"Yes. I have unfinished business... with him." Lantis's sharp gaze moved to Eagle, who nodded, understanding. Primera had indeed succeeded in her mission.
"Alright, but please, let go of the boy. If you break his neck, what I'm about to say will be pointless," Eagle pleaded, urging Lantis to release his hold. Lantis relented, lifting his heavy boot from Shinre's neck.
Shinre struggled to rise, his body trembling as though he feared something far worse than physical pain. Ultimately, he sank to his knees, dreading this second confrontation. Eagle watched him before shifting his attention back to Lantis, who seemed poised and impatient. A small, bittersweet smile crossed Eagle's lips.
"Why are you smiling like that?" Lantis asked, suspicion lacing his words.
"Today, I don't know if I should feel joy or sorrow..." Eagle's expression darkened, though a smile remained. "If only Hikaru were here, your family would be complete." Those words fell like a thunderclap upon the room. "He is your son."
Lantis, struck with shock, unconsciously let go of the pendant in his hand. The charm clattered as it hit the floor near Shinre. Stumbling back, Lantis shook his head. "What cruel joke is this?"
"I'm not joking. Knowing that you two once fought to kill each other in this war was horrifying to witness," Eagle continued, turning then to Ferio. "Now you understand why I said you must not kill him. He is Hikaru's son."
"Is it true?" Umi rushed to Shinre's side, helping him sit up properly. "Hey, are you alright?" Shinre remained silent, his eyes distant.
Meanwhile, Fuu murmured, "I always believe he would bring Hikaru back to us... Ferio, you truly cannot harm him."
Ferio stood silent, watching as tears traced a slow path down Lantis's face. The king was at a loss for words. He, too, was a father and could grasp a measure of the storm inside Lantis—an agonizing blend of joy and bitterness that seemed poised to shatter him. Yet Lantis's attention was fixed solely on Nova, who looked back at him with profound sadness.
"Where is she now?" Lantis demanded sharply.
"I... I don't know how to tell you," Nova stammered.
"Where is she?!" Lantis's voice rose, urgent and commanding.
Nova remained silent, bowing her head in surrender. The truth she carried was nothing short of devastating. "Please, forgive her. She didn't know you were alive... She truly didn't."
Lantis's patience snapped. "How much time does she have left?" This time, his voice cracked, filled with a desperate edge.
Again, Nova couldn't bring herself to answer.
"Damn it! Damn you all!" Lantis stumbled back before striding out of the meeting chamber, his heart in ruins. Zonda's words had not been lies after all.
"Lantis!" Eagle called after him, but it was no use. He wanted to follow, yet his eyes turned to Shinre, who was frozen in place.
"This wasn't how it was supposed to be," whispered Kotori, her voice choked with sobs. What should have been a moment of joy for Lantis had turned to anguish.
Umi knelt by Shinre's side, watching the boy close his eyes as tears rolled down his cheeks. She tapped his back gently. He was visibly trying to regain control, and Umi's anger toward Lantis flared—how could he walk away so easily, leaving his son like this?
"What did he mean?" Fuu asked, fear creeping into her voice. "What does he mean by 'time left'?"
"The bond between the Pillar and her realm," explained Master Clef, stepping in when Nova was too shaken to speak. "As the nation rises, the system will weaken and eventually end forever. When that time comes, the Pillar, no longer needed, will die."
"Die?" Fuu echoed, shocked. Why had she never known this? "What can save her?" she demanded, desperation in her eyes. "Isn't there something we can do?"
"Nothing," Clef said, shaking his head. "She cannot free herself from this bond."
"No. That's not fair. Why must she go through this? After everything... Is there truly no way?" She turned to Eagle, shattered by the dawning realization of their futility.
Suddenly, Umi spoke up. "No. I believe there's a way to save her. We need to return to our world before her time runs out. Don't you remember, Fuu? When we returned to our world before, it was as if none of this had ever happened."
Clef wasn't surprised; it had been his way to save Hikaru once before.
"That's... true," Fuu responded, uncertain but hopeful. She knew that if they returned, time in their world would reset. Twenty years would vanish, bringing them back to the moment they first left.
"Fuu, we can do this. We aren't too late—we need to find Hikaru as soon as possible."
Shinre reached for the pendant his father had dropped, placing it around his neck. He remembered its crystal-white brilliance, now dulled to black, having once saved him from death. The emptiness of loss swelled inside him again. After his father gone, now he lost his mother again. He felt someone embrace him. Lifting his gaze, he found Alba there.
"Brother, I'm okay. You don't need to worry."
"Your father... He..." Alba couldn't continue. "He didn't even look at you."
"That... doesn't matter. I understand that not all truths make us whole." Shinre tried to smile. "I have what I wanted. I want nothing more than to live on. Maybe one day, I can meet with my mother once again before her departure and tell her I've survived, just as she hoped..."
Shinre looked up, meeting Ferio's eyes. Ferio, who had been listening along with everyone else, now looked at the boy with something approaching empathy. The fury he had felt earlier had faded.
"Master Clef. Maestra Nova." Ferio spoke politely, breaking the tense silence and drawing everyone's attention. "You will have what you desire. But take care of this boy and teach him some manner..." Ferio rose to leave, casting a final look over his shoulder. "He'll need it if he wants to live here with us."