I feel a spatial affinity wrapping around my entire body. Every part of me is covered by this mana, and a second later everything turns black. I appear outside the dungeon moments afterward, and I look around to see if there are more people.

  There’s a group of two individuals. My brain goes into overdrive trying to recall them. Their group originally had eight members—only two survived. In theory, six groups entered the dungeon; for now, I only see those two people and myself. I turn to the other side looking for the owl group, and I see them in the distance.

  I run toward them with all my energy, happy to have completed the mission and to have gained a great group of friends.

  But as I reach them, none of them are smiling or look happy. The faces of some of the girls are in tears, and Murill is staring at the ground with an expression I’ve never seen—absolute sorrow. I get a bit closer and see Joaki holding someone in his arms while tears fall from his eyes.

  That person is Gator. I can’t feel any signal of life from his body. Did my exploration partner not survive? I kneel beside Joaki; I don’t have the strength to speak or move. I simply let the tears fall from my eyes as I carefully look at his body.

  He’s missing an arm, and he has two massive holes in his back. I want to scream or do something, but my body won’t react—I just remain still for several seconds, watching the leader of the owls clutch his fallen companion.

  Minutes pass. My tears stop flowing, and the deep sadness slowly fades, leaving only a massive emptiness. Some continue crying; others simply sit and stare at their dead companion.

  "We must give our brother a proper burial." Murill approaches from behind, placing one hand on Joaki’s shoulder and the other on mine.

  "Maki… could you freeze his body? We need to preserve it as much as possible." Joaki’s voice is cracked. His usually controlled Imra is filled with holes—sadness, regret, and self-blame for everything that happened.

  I gather a large amount of mana. With my gravity mana I suspend the body above the ground, and with my ice mana I cover his entire body in a rectangular coffin. I try to keep the temperature as low as possible to preserve him.

  "Murill, store this in your storage bracelets." Joaki drops a large amount of cores and stores Gator’s corpse in his bracelet. Joaki looks at his storage device and presses it to his chest while closing his eyes.

  I use a device to contact Susan. I can’t speak to her, but I send signals to show my location. I sit with the others as we watch the dungeon collapse, taking the life of a great companion with it.

  "One of his last wishes was to be buried in your territory. He wanted to remain close to us." Joaki speaks while we both watch the dungeon dome crumble piece by piece.

  "Why not in the land where he was born? Didn’t he have any family?" Most people prefer to be buried where they were raised.

  "He was an orphan. His village was always poor. He didn’t have a good childhood, and he had no attachment to that place. Gator preferred to stay close to us and give us at least moral support when needed." I nod slowly. I promise myself I will write a letter and send it to my grandmother. This explorer and friend deserves a proper burial.

  "I’d like to know what his last words were." If he had a request, I’ll try my best to fulfill it. I hear Joaki’s trembling voice; I see him struggling not to cry as he forces himself to speak. "Sorry for asking—tell me later if needed." I pat the captain of the owls on the back.

  "Thank you… don’t worry, I’ll tell you now." Joaki takes a few seconds to control himself and calm his mind. "Gator always saw us as his only family. His last words were:"

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  "‘Guys, keep moving forward. Don’t think of my death as a reason to give up, but as motivation to keep achieving your goals. You’ll live in a beautiful place—devote yourselves to what you love most without drifting apart. I hope you always carry me in your hearts. Thank Maki on my behalf for this opportunity for all of us. Bury me near you. Thank you for appearing in my life. I love you.’"

  I’m surprised Joaki managed to say all of that without breaking. Tears run down my face again—not just mine, almost everyone is tearing up once more.

  Minutes pass. I sit quietly thinking about every moment I shared with Gator—they were few but intense. He was a tireless worker, always trying to give more to help his companions. The thought of losing someone so suddenly overwhelms me—I feel a bit of fear thinking about losing my loved ones.

  My mind drifts to funerals. I didn’t attend many in my past life, only a few for distant relatives and grandparents of friends. Then something comes to mind, something I haven’t seen in this world. Seeing Murill looking at his wedding ring sparks a good idea.

  "Joaki." The leader looks at me. "Why don’t we cremate Gator’s body? It would be a beautiful way to keep him with us forever." That way, each one of them could have a piece of their companion with them throughout their lives.

  "Cremate his body? How would we take him with us?" I explain everything to Joaki—how we can store his ashes in small vials to wear as personal necklaces for each member, while the rest can be placed somewhere special where they can visit him from time to time.

  Everyone listens to my idea—I speak louder when I feel their curious eyes on me. "It’s not a bad idea. Gator would love it—he’d go with us everywhere. Let’s put it to a vote. Raise your hand if you agree." They all raise their hands immediately—they all want to carry a part of their friend with them.

  The saddest one besides Joaki is Yuly. She isn’t speaking; she’s staring at the ground with clenched fists. She only feels guilt—her Imra is easy to read in her current state. She’s blaming herself for not being able to save her companion.

  I approach her. She looks at me for a second, then places her forehead against my chest. I wrap an arm around her back, hearing her sobs and feeling her tears run down her face.

  I rub her back gently. I can’t find words to comfort her; I just hold her and support her weight. Minutes later she lifts her head again.

  "Gator was my older brother. We weren’t related by blood, but we grew up together in the same orphanage. He got into fights with many people to protect me, always treating me like a little sister. Now he’s gone." Small tears fall again.

  "It’s not my fault—I know it’s not. We all did our best. I just feel miserable for being the group’s healer and not being able to help him." She wipes her tears with her small hands.

  "In this moment, the only thing we can do is remember him for what he was: a great older brother, an excellent companion, and a sincere friend." I say a few words straight from my heart.

  Yuly finishes wiping her tears. She brings her legs together and rests her head on her knees. Her hands are on her shins, her eyes staring forward. "Thank you." I hear a small whisper of gratitude.

  The gloomy atmosphere lightens a bit as everyone starts sharing stories about Gator. The sadness remains in the air—we’re just trying not to collapse again.

  Almost two hours pass before I sense a presence behind us. Everyone looks at me when I stand up, then they follow my gaze and see Susan. They understand immediately.

  "My deepest condolences to all of you." Susan’s words catch us by surprise. She understood the atmosphere instantly. "May I take Maki for a moment?"

  "Thank you, Director Susan, for your condolences." Murill bows respectfully. "Don’t worry about us—you may take your ward."

  Everyone tries to smile. I understand their feelings and follow Susan to the side.

  "They seem like good people. It’s such a shame this ended so sadly." Susan lifts her hand and gently ruffles my hair.

  "They are—a fantastic group." I glance at them from the corner of my eye.

  "Do you want to tell me about the dungeon now? I can wait if you’re not in the right state." Susan looks worried.

  "It’s better now. You must be under pressure from the council—it’s best to get all this done as soon as possible." I lift my head, thinking of everything that happened in these days inside the dungeon.

  I tell her everything from the moment I entered to when I killed the last monster boss. I don’t omit anything—not even how I killed the withered tree group. She’ll know what to do with the information; Susan is very smart.

  "I don’t like any of this. I have a bad feeling." Susan shares my worries. We both suspect this might be the beginning of something far bigger.

  "I’ve memorized everything you said. I must go to the council—I don’t know how they’ll react to all these details. I’ll see you later at school… and thank you again." Susan gives me a strong hug before disappearing in a flash. I walk back toward the owl group.