Ai followed Elara's gaze, a slight furrow to her brow.

  "Wait...for what?" she asked, confusion in her voice.

  Elara glanced back at her. "For the world to catch up to us."

  Ai crossed her arms, defensive, guarded. "What's that supposed to mean?"

  Elara leaned casually back on her heels, hands in pockets.

  "It means..."

  She tilted her head, eyes glinting, not with cruelty, but promise.

  "...It means the world's gonna finally get it."

  From the stormclouds, a figure could be seen descending towards. Elara, expecting a new foe, let out a soft sigh.

  "Of course..." she muttered to herself, watching the figure get closer.

  Ai watched too, hands tensed as her aura began to flare up around her body. "Who is that?"

  Elara crossed her arms, not bothering to reach for her weapons.

  "That..." she drawled, voice both knowing… and annoyed. "...Is someone I know all too well.”

  The figure touched down on the ground, silhouetted by the stormclouds. Even from where they stood, Elara and Ai could sense the powerful aura radiating off them.

  The figure approached, one step at a time.

  Ai tensed even more, eyes narrowed.

  Elara didn't move.

  She just stood there, watching.

  Then, when the figure was only a few feet away, Elara said lazily:

  "Took you long enough.”

  The figure stopped, silent, still.

  Elara sighed again, exasperated but not alarmed.

  "Well?" she said, hands on hips. "You gonna speak, or just stare at—"

  But before she could finish, the figure took two quick steps forward, grabbing her shoulders.

  Elara's eyes widened, genuine surprise on her face for the first time.

  Ai tensed even more, hands clenched into fists, ready to attack.

  Then, the figure hugged Elara. Hard.

  Elara froze, completely and utterly still, for the first time in years.

  Her arms stayed limp at her sides, breath caught somewhere between shock and something deeper she didn’t want to name.

  The figure pulled back slightly, but didn’t let go, just enough for their face to come into view beneath the hood: wild silver-streaked hair, sharp features softened by raw emotion... golden-green eyes that shimmered with unshed tears.

  "El," they whispered, the voice rough from disuse but achingly familiar. "It's really you."

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  Elara blinked once... then slowly exhaled like she’d been holding her breath since the world ended.

  "...Lyra?"

  The name came out barely above a whisper, as if saying it too loud might break the illusion.

  Lyra gave a wet chuckle, half-laugh, half-sob. "Yeah… idiot." Her grip tightened again for just a second before letting go fully. "You’re not allowed to disappear on me like that ever again."

  Ai stood frozen now, not from tension… but confusion. She looked between them like someone had rewritten history without warning it was coming.

  Lyra stepped back, wiping her eyes. Her gaze flicked briefly to Ai, curious but not hostile.

  Elara cleared her throat, trying to cover the raw emotion still lingering in her voice.

  "Right," she said, more to herself than anyone else. "That just happened."

  Lyra glanced at her, a hint of the old snark glinting in her eyes.

  "Miss me?"

  Elara rolled her eyes, then smirked. "In your dreams, brat.”

  Lyra crossed her arms, pretending to pout.

  "Rude."

  Elara just grinned, arms folded. "And you're still a pain in the ass."

  Lyra's eyes shone with familiar mischief. "And your hair's still a mess."

  Elara scoffed without heat, reaching up reflexively. "Says the one who looks like a hobo."

  Lyra pulled what they could of her wild silver hair back. "Touché. But at least I don't have a case of permanent bitchface."

  Elara's smirk widened.

  "Is that a complaint?”

  Lyra crossed her arms again, leaning back on one hip.

  "More like an observation."

  Elara rolled her eyes. "A useless one."

  Lyra's smirk was borderline teasing now. "And yet you're still talking to me."

  A sudden glint of darkness crossed Lyra's eyes. Ai noticed this and didn't waste time.

  All Elara saw while she was distracted was Lyra's head suddenly flying off in a golden flash, the gem sprite girl's head rolling down several meters.

  Everything froze.

  No one spoke.

  Elara's eyes slowly widened,

  Then she whipped her gaze toward Ai, and stared.

  For the first time, there was nothing hidden in her eyes, no masks or games. Just cold fury.

  "Ai."

  Ai didn't blink, didn't do anything but meet her gaze. "Yes?”

  "...What. Did you do."

  Elara's voice was low, so quiet it cut through the air like a blade. The ground beneath her began to crack with dark energy, shadows curling like smoke from her feet.

  Ai stood firm. "She had that look."

  "The look?" Elara hissed. "What look?"

  Before Ai could respond, Elara threw her hands towards Ai’s neck to choke her, but her hands...phased right through.

  "Wh-what the..."

  Ai watched as Elara's eyes widened, confusion and shock replacing the anger.

  "What the hell?!" she hissed.

  Ai said nothing.

  Elara tried again, but again, her hands just kept passing through Ai's body like a ghost.

  "...What is this?" Elara gritted out. "Why can't I…”

  Ai tilted her head slightly. "I've been 'spirited away'."

  Elara's eyes flicked to her, fury mixed with confusion. "Spirited...away...?"

  Ai nodded. "It's a long story. But in this state, I am untouchable."

  Elara's mind raced, the anger slowly replaced by cautious interest.

  "Untouchable..." she repeated softly. "That's...a hell of a power.”

  Elara slowly spun a half-circle, looking around.

  Lyra's body dissipated in a flurry of shadow the moment Elara's eyes landed on her, leaving the two girls alone once again.

  "What..." she breathed, shock written across her face.

  There was a beat of absolute silence.

  Then Ai said calmly. "That was a Shadowstalker," she informed. "They're creatures of Darkness who like to take the form of their target's loved ones to trick them into letting their guard down...then go for the kill."

  Elara's mind raced, processing this new information. "So that wasn't..."

  Ai shook her head. "No. That wasn't 'Lyra'.”

  Elara's eyes flicked back to Ai, calculating. "And how do you know that?"

  Ai crossed her arms, meeting her gaze. "I've encountered one before," she said flatly.

  Elara's brow rose. "And you survived?”

  Ai nodded slightly, a ghost of smugness in her voice. "I'm harder to get rid of than I look.”

  Elara smirked, just slightly. "Guess I'm starting to see that."

  She turned away, scanning the storm-laced horizon again, shadows curling at her feet like restless serpents. Then:

  "...You still shouldn't have taken a shot without confirming."

  Ai didn't flinch. "I don't second-guess in combat."

  Elara glanced back at her, golden eyes sharp. "No... but you also don’t ghost through your own partner’s hands like some spirit warrior one minute and act like nothing happened the next.” She stepped closer, deliberate, intense. “What are you hiding?”

  "Nothing." Ai said, completely without a single hint of hesitation.

  Elara didn't blink, didn't take her gaze from Ai’s. "Bullshit."

  Ai said nothing, watching as Elara moved another step forward, stopping inches away from standing toe-to-toe.

  Her golden eyes bore into Ai's, searching, analyzing, peeling back layers. The air felt charged between them, tension like a live wire.

  Then, finally, Elara spoke again, voice low, deadly.

  "Start talking.”