The battlefield had beco a wasteland.
Ash drifted through the air like black snow.
Scorched roots of the great tree smoldered beneath crimson embers while chunks of shattered stone and burnt wood lay scattered across the battlefield.
Senrix stood in the middle of it all.
His armor glowed with countless crimson fissures, each pulse resembling magma flowing beneath volcanic stone.
The six chanical wings behind him remained unfolded, stretching across the battlefield like burning tallic halos.
Crimson fire leaked from every gap of the armor.
His breathing was ragged.
Heavy.
Violent.
Yet sohow...
Tired.
Very tired.
Sunny struggled to stand.
Nephis leaned against Dream Blade.
Elysia lowered her bow.
Even Cassie could hear how exhausted everyone had beco.
The fight had gone on for far too long.
Nobody wanted to continue.
Nobody could continue.
Yet Senrix still raised his fist.
Crimson flas erupted around the gauntlet.
His gaze landed on Sunny.
Then he stepped forward.
One step.
Two steps.
Three—
"I order you to stop moving."
Elysia's voice spread across the battlefield.
It wasn't loud.
It wasn't commanding.
Yet it carried an authority that made reality itself seem to hesitate.
The mont those words were spoken—
Senrix froze.
His fist stopped re inches away from Sunny's face.
Everything beca silent.
Even the wind seed to disappear.
Sunny stared at the motionless fist.
One more second.
One more inch.
His nose would have been broken.
Or worse.
Slowly, he turned toward Elysia.
The pink-haired girl stood calmly with her bow lowered.
For once, there wasn't even a trace of playfulness on her face.
She simply smiled.
A small smile.
A tired smile.
Then she spoke.
"I implanted three quarters of my consciousness inside him."
The battlefield beca even quieter.
Sunny blinked.
Nephis narrowed her eyes.
Even Cassie tilted her head.
Elysia continued.
"Usually it wouldn't work."
Her gaze shifted toward Senrix.
"But his mind is weakened."
She lowered her eyes.
"And his soul is weakened too."
A hint of guilt appeared on her face.
"After everything that happened recently... after forcing himself beyond his limits over and over again... his resistance is nowhere near what it should be."
Senrix struggled.
The armor groaned.
The crimson wings trembled.
Flas erupted around him.
Yet his body remained frozen.
Completely motionless.
Like a puppet whose strings had been seized by another hand.
For the first ti since the battle began—
Fear appeared in Sunny's eyes.
Not because of Senrix.
Because of Elysia.
He had always known she possessed a terrifying Aspect.
But seeing it displayed so casually...
It was unsettling.
Very unsettling.
Nephis seed to arrive at the sa conclusion.
The silver-haired girl quietly observed Elysia.
Thinking.
Calculating.
asuring.
Elysia ignored their stares.
Instead, she looked at Senrix.
A strange sadness entered her eyes.
Then she softly said:
"Sleep, Asura."
The crimson flas flickered.
The giant armor shook.
For a mont it looked as though Senrix was trying to resist.
Trying to force himself forward.
Trying to continue fighting.
Then Elysia spoke again.
Her voice was gentler this ti.
Almost affectionate.
"Let Senrix take control again."
Silence.
A single second passed.
Then another.
Suddenly—
The flas vanished.
The six chanical wings collapsed.
The armor shattered into streams of crimson essence before disappearing completely.
Senrix's eyes lost their madness.
Lost their fury, lost their violence.
His body swayed.
Then—
He collapsed.
Elysia moved first.
She caught him before he hit the ground.
For a mont nobody spoke.
They simply watched.
The terrifying monster who had nearly defeated all three of them lay unconscious in Elysia's arms.
Looking strangely human.
Fragile, even.
The contrast was unsettling.
After a while Sunny finally broke the silence.
"What now?"
Nobody answered imdiately.
The question lingered in the air.
Eventually Nephis spoke.
"We continue."
Sunny looked at her.
"What?"
"We continue."
Her voice remained calm.
Steady, Certain.
"The boat."
Sunny stared.
"After all of that?"
Nephis nodded.
"Especially after all of that."
She looked toward the distant sea.
Toward the endless horizon.
Toward the place where the dark waters swallowed the world every night.
"We don't have the luxury of stopping."
Nobody argued.
Because she was right.
After a few monts, Elysia carefully laid Senrix beneath the roots of the great tree.
The Soul Lantern was brought closer.
Its golden light illuminated his sleeping figure.
The wounds on his body slowly began healing.
Very slowly.
Almost imperceptibly.
Cassie sat beside him.
Her hands folded neatly on her lap.
Listening to his breathing.
Making sure it remained steady.
The blind girl remained silent for a long ti before finally speaking.
"He'll wake up."
Everyone looked at her.
Cassie smiled softly.
"He always does."
Sunny scratched the back of his head.
"That's not exactly reassuring."
Cassie giggled.
A genuine giggle.
One that sounded surprisingly normal after everything that had happened.
Elysia laughed as well.
Even Nephis allowed the faintest hint of a smile to appear.
The tension finally eased.
Just a little.
Eventually they gathered around the unfinished boat.
The vessel was still far from complete.
Large sections remained unfinished.
Several supports still needed reinforcent.
The frawork itself looked questionable.
At least according to Sunny.
"Are we sure this thing won't sink imdiately?"
Elysia looked offended.
"It absolutely won't."
Sunny pointed.
"That side is crooked."
"It has personality."
"That's not how boats work."
"It'll be fine."
Sunny groaned.
Nephis silently grabbed another piece of wood and continued working.
anwhile Cassie remained near Senrix.
Unable to help with construction, she instead listened carefully and occasionally offered suggestions whenever soone described what they were doing.
Most of those suggestions were surprisingly useful.
Sohow.
Nobody questioned it.
Hours passed.
Wood was cut.
Ropes were tied.
Supports were reinforced.
Argunts were exchanged.
Mostly between Sunny and Elysia.
The atmosphere gradually returned to normal.
Or at least as normal as life on the Forgotten Shore could be.
As the scarlet sun slowly descended toward the horizon, the unfinished boat finally began resembling an actual vessel.
Not a good vessel.
But a vessel nonetheless.
Nearby, Senrix remained asleep beneath the roots of the great tree.
The Soul Lantern illuminated his motionless figure.
The golden light danced across his ash-white hair.
For a brief mont—
He looked peaceful.
And for the first ti in days—
The cohort felt as though they could finally breathe again.
A/N: xeleray!! How's the fight scene? Aside from the new light of soul lantern obviously
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