"Don't give up... He... is there... Just a little longer..."

Hikaru dragged her body to keep moving. She felt like a puppet acting on a command that showed no mercy toward her. She just wanted to reach that place, even though she was blind to the direction. She believed that he was there.

She had lost her bearings throughout the night, but her feelings remained alive. She didn't care how hostile the earth felt beneath her or how many times it threw her down. She struggled to maintain her consciousness. Alternating between fleeting moments of drifting into dreams and returning to the harsh reality of her pain, she pressed on.

Once again, the earth caused her to stumble, and she fell. The visions overtook her, once more engulfing her as she could not resist. She felt like a boat tossed and submerged by waves in a vast ocean, like powerless dust swept away by a strong wind.

Hikaru wanted to laugh, to mock her madness for trusting in hope more than in reality. She knew very well she would never reach there. She was indeed losing her mind. Even if she made it to that place, she still wouldn't find anything... because the one she wished to meet was no longer in this world.

Hikaru tried to picture Lantis's face in her mind, but she couldn't remember it at all. She tried to recall Lantis's voice but couldn't remember what it sounded like either. She hated herself for being this useless. Tears streamed down her face as she called that name:

"Lantis…"

The sun had fully risen. Its rays felt warm as if saying, "Wait."

Lantis turned to look at it for a moment before turning his face away.

"You know, Father? Mother loves you very much..." Shinre said softly. "You were always in her heart—"

"Let's go." Lantis said again, calling for his magical steed.

"Alright." Shinre climbed down from the stone and called for his own. They were about to leave when someone suddenly shouted, startling them.

"Wait!"

The two turned and found, "Eagle Vision?!"

"I finally found you!" he exclaimed with relief as he descended from his hovercar.

"Uncle? How did you get here?" Shinre asked, surprised but happy. Following Eagle were a dozen soldiers, and gradually, the voices Shinre had heard earlier drew closer. He realized something serious was happening. "What's going on?"

"We're searching again," Eagle answered, panting. "Fortunately, I was able to find you..."

"You never stopped searching for her," Lantis chided, turning his face away.

"It's not like that. Hikaru has returned to Cephiro!" Eagle said, shocking the two. "Your brother and sister, Senna and Serena, brought her to the capital. But—"

"Are they really in the capital?!" Shinre was joyous. Eagle nodded quickly, and Shinre's face lit up. "This is good news, Father!" But Lantis didn't feel the same way.

Eagle was still trying to catch his breath. "I was really looking for you," he said to Lantis, "because you need to know this."

"For what? To tell me the bad news?" Lantis asked coldly.

"Father..." Shinre pleaded for Lantis not to speak like that.

Eagle fell silent, his face flushed with anger. "You haven't changed a bit!" He could no longer contain himself. "Yes, it's bad news. Very bad! She left Cephiro right after she regained consciousness! We've been searching everywhere for two days, and we still haven't found her! Her body is already so weak..." Eagle felt choked up. He closed his eyes, trying to swallow his anger. "You know... There won't be much time left for her... Everyone wants to save her; why are you—"

"Death comes for anyone. It makes no difference whether they are ordinary humans or a Pillar. Why should we give her special treatment? Let's go, Shinre!"

"Father..." Shinre looked at Lantis with desperation. He didn't know who or what to follow. "Father, Mother has come back—"

"Shinre!" Lantis called again, louder this time, but Shinre did not obey. Lantis urged his steed on. The magic horse neighed loudly, impatient to fly.

"We really need your help. She may have gone to a place we never know. Do you happen to know anything? Lantis!"

Lantis remained silent. He turned his face away, gazing into the distance where their tree of hope had ever stood. Even though he knew its location, it no longer existed.

"Lantis! Why are you silent? You know something, don't you? You know where she went, right? Tell me!"

Did he know something? Of course, he always knew. It was the thing that kept him tethered to this place. Here, 20 years ago, he and Hikaru made a promise. Lantis let out a quiet laugh... "Even if I know, it's of no use anymore."

"Father..."

"She's dead to me! Let's go, Shinre!"

Eagle was taken aback. "She's not dead! THIS IS REALITY! Lantis!" Eagle chased after him.

Shinre was torn into a dilemma. He chose not to follow.

Lantis shot into the sky while Shinre stayed behind with Eagle. Unable to hold back any longer, tears streamed down his face. Just moments ago, he had hoped to hear that the woman was finally dead, which would mean it was all over. It would mean that the burden that had weighed heavily on his heart for years would be lifted entirely. But when he learned that Hikaru was still alive and had left everyone and everything behind, why did he wish for her to come to him? He himself denied it. There was no way Hikaru would come to this place. There was no way that woman could be so foolish as to act like this. She was dying. There was no way she would sacrifice her life for someone she knew was already dead...

Yet somehow, he knew Hikaru. For the calling of her heart, she was a woman who dared to die, indifferent to whatever might befall her. Therefore, nothing was worse for him than realizing that she might die trying to fulfill her promise to him!

Suddenly, his greatest fear seemed poised to become reality. No matter how desperately he denied it, he couldn't lie to his heart. Hikaru was indeed alive and had been so close all along. So why did he leave her, continually rejecting and casting her aside?

Why is this happening? What have I done to her? Lantis asked himself in distress. Is this what I wanted from her? Am I testing her? Damn... Why can't I stop loving her?!

Lantis abruptly halted in mid-air. He gazed down at the earth beneath him in despair. He screamed with all his might, his voice echoing far and wide… a name he hadn't called in years, "HIKARU!"

There was no answer. Yet, from a certain direction, beams of light shot into the sky, ascending slowly. It sparkled for a moment before finally disappearing...

"Perhaps there is one more place we can go together, but you... You still have things you must do."

It was so painful... You are powerless... yet you still desire something to come to fruition... Nair, you are right... I must return. But my real place to return to is deep in the embrace of someone. He is the one who never left me when the whole world turned its back on me. He protected me when the whole world wanted me dead. He loves me with his life and death.

Hikaru gazed at the rising sun before her with vacant eyes. She stood on a high cliff. Before her lay a vast field littered with the remnants of destruction from long past, yet it looked so beautiful beneath the gentle morning sunlight. However, nothing appeared in her eyes except the vision from her dreams that now filled her mind perfectly. The figure of Nair before her seemed more solid than ever, welcoming her arrival.

"Nair, why are you reaching out your hand? I still want to be here."

"Come with me..."

"Where to?"

"To a better world..."

The time had come. The end of this journey... Hikaru extended her trembling hand. Their hands were about to meet...

"Can I finally close this chapter of my story? Is it okay to end it? One thing you said I must do... never came to my reality. You know? I'm afraid, I'm so afraid. I can't apologize to him. He's not here... no longer here. I want to cry. I truly want to cry... My story ends so sadly."

Her world became so silent and dark. She couldn't truly feel it when her body finally collapsed, falling to the ground. She felt no impact with the hard earth that she should have felt. She felt someone holding her, but that sensation was faint. She felt like she was floating. She desperately wanted to know what was happening, but even with her eyes open, she just saw nothingness. Her last breath escaped her in a heavy sigh, and she couldn't draw in another. Her chest felt like it was on fire. Every part of her body felt pierced by a thousand knives. A tear fell from her left eye.