The sun had long since disappeared. Only darkness and thousands of stars filled the sky. Hikaru felt the ground beneath her grow harder, inflicting pain on her exhausted body. The ruins of civilization were scattered across the earth, covered in grass, dirt, and stones. The air felt cold, and loneliness clawed at her as only the sound of the wind filled her ears. There was nothing visible, nothing left anymore.

Keep walking... Hikaru commanded herself. But there was nothing she could do to make herself stronger. All she had was her determination. She stumbled several times, and each time, she gathered her strength again and rose to her feet. The ground beneath her seemed to spin, and she felt she would die from exhaustion. She tried to keep moving, slowly but surely. Millions of her memories in this land played back in a chaotic timeline, uninvited...

Her two friends, Umi, Fuu... When they were just teenage girls... When their first tragedy cut painfully into their hearts. The Pillar Emeraude, killed by her hand... Cephiro on the brink of destruction, which she then saved. She had become the Pillar of Cephiro. No. She had always believed she was just someone who, together with others, would help revive this land. Master Clef, Presea... LaFarga, Caldina... Ascot, Ferio... Eagle Vision... Everyone, Chizeta and Fahren... A life in peace... and her hope for happiness with Lantis.

"You're taking my resting place," Lantis complained. "Why do you keep bringing children and the townsfolk here? Is there no other place? This tree belongs to me. It has always been my spot..."

"I have no other choice. This place is so beautiful, by the edge of the lake, and the sun looks stunning from down here," Hikaru replied cheerfully, gazing up at the sky. "Besides, it's so warm here... I want to share many beautiful things with people in a place like this..."

"Beautiful things?" Lantis fell silent.

"Actually, it's just a dream. I see a world that will be more beautiful in the future. I want everyone to see what I see and work together to make it happen..."

"To be honest, I don't mind at all." Lantis took a deep breath... "It's just that there's something beautiful I also want to share with you. If you're willing to accept it, I won't bother you about this place again. ... Turn around," Lantis commanded suddenly.

"What?"

"Turn around and close your eyes." Hikaru complied. She didn't know what Lantis would do, but for a moment, she felt something cold touch her skin. Opening her eyes, she found a shimmering pendant resting against her chest. "I want to share something beautiful too." Hikaru gave him a curious look, seeing Lantis's face flush... "I love you."

Remembering that, Hikaru smiled faintly. Is there a chance for me to fulfill my promise to him? She wondered. Can I hope that he still believes in me? Is he still waiting for me there?

Once again, she stumbled and tried to rise but couldn't. Her legs, now numb, refused to obey her command to keep supporting her body. Her eyes blinked slowly as visions of the glowing earth increasingly overwhelmed her mind.

"He must... be there... waiting for me... He's there..." she comforted herself. Even though she knew that hope was ultimately futile, there was something she could believe in, even if it was just an illusion created for herself. She lost consciousness. The darkness became her blanket.

Shinre suddenly awoke from his sleep and sat upright. "There are voices..." he whispered, tense. "I can hear them. I thought it was just a dream."

"Yes," said Lantis, leaning against a tree's branches, able to see clearly. In the dark of night, he noticed glimmers of light in several places. Between one light and another, there was a considerable distance. Carried faintly by the wind, he could hear people shouting...

"I'll check it out," Shinre said, attempting to stand.

"Don't. They're people from the capital," Lantis prevented him.

Shinre was taken aback. "What are they doing in a place like this? It's so far from the capital!"

"Let's go."

"Wait a minute. I feel uneasy if we don't find out what's going on. There might be a problem... We need to help them."

"Come on. We're not getting involved with them anymore."

"Father…"

"Come on, Shinre."

Lantis jumped down from the tree and walked in a certain direction, deeper into the forest. Shinre watched him with a troubled heart. His father had disappeared into the darkness. Shinre stood still, hearing the voices now. He extinguished the campfire and followed his father. Still, a few times, he looked back.

"Hikaru!" Umi shouted, flying in the sky with her dragon. "HIKARU!" she screamed with all her might, breathless. She flew again, scanning the ground below her. She heard her communication device beep.

"Search location expanded to 100 km outside Neo-Cephiro," said Eagle.

"That far?" Umi asked, growing more anxious. She looked at the ground below, wild grass and rocky soil. The full moon hung overhead, casting a pale light. The earth seemed eerily misty.

"Stay off the main roads. There's a chance she didn't pass through there..."

"Didn't pass through there?"

"There's also a possibility she's headed somewhere we didn't expect or didn't know about..."

Umi swallowed hard. "Eagle, are you saying we won't find her?!"

"Not exactly." Eagle paused. "Remember, she was said to be walking east."

"East..." Umi gasped. "Could that mean the old Cephiro? Are you going to search there? That's so far away..."

"It's very possible. I'm trying to find help."

"Help?"

"Lantis. I'm tracing the information given by the sentinels searching for Lantis and Shinre."

"How can he help us? He himself has vanished from us!"

"Do you really not understand?" Umi didn't grasp Eagle's last statement. "Lantis never truly left Cephiro; he's not far from us—"

"What's going on?" asked Ascot, who had just joined them. He dismounted from his monster and approached Umi and Eagle.

"Old Cephiro... Eagle said he might have gone there," Umi replied, her brow still furrowed. That place could no longer be called a place. It was a dead land. There was no life there.

"Let's go there, Umi." Umi nodded.

It's true. They are still searching for her. But this is unusual. Why is it happening so suddenly after a year of inactivity has passed? Lantis pushed aside the large plants that obstructed his path. He continued onward, hearing Shinre walking behind him. He spotted a hill and made his way toward it. From the top of the hill, in an open area, he could see the world ahead of him.

The land was covered with the remnants of giant castle ruins. Tall grass, chunks of stone, and tree roots erupted among the debris. There was nothing but wilderness and traces of destruction. In some places, large craters still marred the ground. Chronos had succeeded in devastating this place. Elsewhere, massive stone wall monuments marked the mass graves.

From down here, the sky appeared so vast and unobstructed. Lantis took a deep breath. Something enveloped him. This atmosphere had never changed, and it was called longing.

"Waiting for the dawn..." said Shinre, who had caught up with Lantis.

He saw his father standing with his back to him, gazing at the sky above. The cold wind whipping around him made his cloak billow. Shinre joined his father in looking at something far to the east, a deep blue sky with a line of light in the distance.

"Waiting for light... waiting for the sun to rise... and shine. Your habit." Shinre sat on a large stone beside Lantis. "You're strange, Father. You say you no longer care, but you're still waiting. You truly love Mother. Your actions say so... even if your mouth denies it."

Shinre waited for his father to speak, but Lantis remained silent for a long time. Shinre sighed. He lay back and stared at the stars above his head. "Everyone chooses to live in a better place, yet you insist on staying here."

Lantis's eyes gazed at something far in front of him. The tree of his memories with Hikaru had long since died and vanished from sight. Its branches had long since dried, consumed by time, and destroyed in battle. The great lake that once existed had also disappeared, just like the ocean of his feelings for Hikaru had dried up... Before him lay a vast, thick meadow. So vast... and it blended into the horizon.

"Indeed. There's no point in staying here. Shinre, let's go."