Gabrielle emerged from the desolate realm first, eyes scanning the chamber with renewed focus.

  The Ignoramuses looked at her with shock, and not seeing Elara come out made alarm bells ring in their minds.

  "Gabrielle, nya—" Liana gasped, flourishing a dozen cannons and turrets in the blink of an eye, aiming them dead at Gabrielle from all angles, who stood unamused by the display of power.

  "Where's Elara, nya?!" she demanded.

  With impeccable timing, Elara came through the portal next, face tight with determination.

  "Yeah, I'm here," she assured, the portal behind her closing.

  Liana's cannons retracted instantly as she turned to Elara, relief flashing across her face before she pounced forward, hugging the gem sprite tightly around the waist with a happy, "Nya! You're okay!"

  Elara let out an awkward chuckle, patting Liana on the head. "Yeah… yeah, I’m fine."

  But her eyes stayed locked on Gabrielle over Liana’s shoulder.

  Gabrielle gave a small nod, silent confirmation that their pact stood.

  Then Venera stepped forward from where she'd been watching in silence near Antiquus’ massive wings. Her arms were crossed; her expression unreadable.

  "So," Venera began coolly, “you brought back more than just intel.” She glanced at Gabrielle like one might eye a blade left too close to their throat. “And now you expect us to trust her?”

  Gabrielle didn’t flinch.

  "I don’t expect trust," she said evenly. "I earned my place by giving up secrets that could get me killed." Her gaze swept over the group, one by one meeting their eyes until they looked away or nodded slightly in silent acknowledgment of truth spoken real as blood under skin.

  Then Iritscen spoke up, the scientist adjusting his cracked goggles thoughtfully:

  “Hmm… If what you say is true about Elara being a living vessel for Gaia’s Eye…” he stroked his chin. “That changes everything we thought about energy resonance in ancient magic systems.”

  Zofie smirked coldly from where she leaned against Antiquus’ leg:

  “So basically? Our little gem sprite here is part god?” She tilted her head at Elara playfully, but there was respect behind it now, not mockery.

  “I wouldn't go that far,” Elara muttered, but couldn’t hide how uneasy pride flickered through her chest anyway.

  Venera sighed sharply, cutting through all noise like steel slicing silk:

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  “There's no time for divine origin stories.” She pointed toward Hikaru standing silently in shadow beside Adeyemi, who remained still as stone despite knowing every word mattered right now, and added:

  “If you're going after those records? Then move fast, or die trying.”

  Silence fell again...

  Until Charlotte raised two fingers gently into the air:

  "Excuse me...?" The Victorian-dressed timekeeper spoke softly but clearly: "When exactly do we leave?"

  Everyone turned to look at Gabrielle.

  She didn't hesitate:

  "Now.”

  The wind howled around them as Antiquus cut through the night, his great wings slicing through clouds like a blade through silk. Elara tightened her grip on his scales, heart pounding, not just from the speed, but from the weight of what lay ahead.

  She looked over at Gabrielle, still staring ahead into the dark, her face unreadable in shadow and starlight.

  "So..." Elara said, raising her voice slightly over the rushing air. "What happens when we find these other Vessels?"

  Gabrielle didn't turn. Her eyes stayed fixed on the distant horizon where jagged peaks hinted at their destination, the Hollowed Wastes.

  "We awaken them," she said simply.

  Then after a pause:

  "And then...we make sure they remember they're not alone.”

  The wind bit at Elara's face, but her gaze stayed locked with Gabrielle's now.

  Remember. That single word rippled through the night, echoing in its simplicity and weight.

  Elara didn't know what to say, what it meant, how to feel...

  But something in the intensity of Gabrielle's eyes made her believe.

  She gave a slow nod: "Then...let's find those records.”

  ★

  Alice and Bonnibel stared up at the parting sky, stunned. There was a strange, almost hopeful thrill in their eyes…

  …and then, like clouds giving way to the first rays of the dawn, she smiled.

  “Come on, Bon. There's no time to lose.”

  Bonnibel blinked, then grinned, stepping up beside her.

  "Since when did you get brave?" she teased, nudging Alice’s shoulder.

  Alice rolled her eyes, but the smile stayed. "Since I realized we're not fighting alone anymore."

  She gripped the Fragment tighter, it pulsed once, softly, like a heartbeat syncing with hers.

  Bonnibel took a breath, then raised her staff high.

  A spiral of green energy erupted from its tip, crackling in the air as ancient glyphs flared to life around them.

  "Not just brave," she said with a wink. "Now we're armed."

  The earth rumbled beneath them as roots burst upward, a living bridge forming from pure will and magic.

  "Away we go!”

  "And don't even think I'm going easy on you just because I finally got you out of your shell!" Bonnibel called back, racing across the makeshift path.

  Alice laughed, a clear, joyful sound as she dashed behind. "In your dreams!"

  As one, their figures sprinted toward the horizon, the sky lightening with every step, and a new hope burning in their hearts.

  "Hey, Alice?"

  Bonnibel called, panting between breaths.

  Alice glanced at her, eyebrows raised. "Yeah?”

  "If we survive this..." Bonnibel started, then grinned, half-joking, half-serious.

  "...you’re so buying me ice cream."

  "...Angels eat ice cream????”

  Bonnibel scoffed, swatting the question away like a pest. "Of course we eat ice cream! You thought I was gonna say 'blessed bread and holy water' or something?”

  She shot Alice a sly look as they leapt over a crumbling rift in the path.

  "Angels got taste buds, don't we? Besides, chocolate mint with divine sparkle sprinkles is, like, canonically my jam.”

  "So you’re telling me," Alice said, dodging a falling chunk of sky-rock, "heaven has flavor?"

  Bonnibel gasped in mock offense. "Only if you've been good!" Then she smirked. "And I’ve been very bad lately, so I deserve extra."

  Alice laughed, bright and breathless, as the world burned behind them and the future surged ahead.

  "Fine," she shouted over the wind, "But when we get to the other side, I want caramel swirl with starflake crunch!"

  Bonnibel’s eyes lit up. "Now you’re speaking my language."

  And just like that, the apocalypse didn’t feel quite so final.

  After all…even divine deities need dessert.