On the far side of the snowfield, the silver-haired man stood in the howling blizzard.
In the distance, a massive silhouette charged with the breath of destruction was descending.
But he did not retreat.
He only lowered his head and looked at the sword in his hand.
The Divine Key passed down through the Kaslana bloodline to this day: Heavenly Judgment.
The blade began to glow a deep crimson. The light grew brighter and more fierce, as if it meant to burn everything to nothing.
Every time Heavenly Judgment was unsheathed, it was to protect the ones he loved most.
This time was no different.
He raised his head, looked toward the descending silhouette, and let the corners of his mouth curl into a faint arc.
There was no fear in that expression, no hesitation.
Only the resolve of a warrior, a father, a husband.
"Heavenly Judgment, unsheathed."
---
By the time they arrived, the blizzard had already stopped.
A massive crater, as though scorched into existence by some terrifying force.
No body. No trace of Kevin Kaslana. Nothing.
Only the crater, lying there in silence, as if quietly recounting everything that had just taken place.
The comments section had gone still as a dead sea. "Where's Kevin?"
Theresa stood at the edge of the crater, her small figure dwarfed by its enormity.
Her lips moved, but no sound came out.
That man who was never serious, who always cracked jokes at the worst possible moments.
Kiana stood behind her, completely motionless.
Then, without warning, the communicator chimed.
Theresa answered almost instantly. "Kevin?!"
But the voice that came through was not his.
It was a woman's voice, warm as the first ray of sunlight on a spring morning.
"Theresa, it's me."
Theresa froze.
"Cecilia?!"
"Kevin is with me."
Cecilia's voice remained gentle, though it carried a faint, barely perceptible exhaustion.
"He's alive."
"What?!"
"He's alive." Cecilia repeated. "Heavenly Judgment burned away half his body. But I used the power of Abyss Flower to bring him back."
From across the communicator came a faint, broken groan.
Theresa knew that sound all too well.
It was Kevin.
Weak as a thread about to snap, but that cadence, that unmistakable cadence of a man who's still breathing and wants you to know it.
Absolutely Kevin.
The comments erupted: "HE'S ALIVE, KEVIN'S ALIVE!"
"What kind of miracle item is the Abyss Flower?!"
And Kiana stood exactly where she was, not moving an inch.
Not from grief. From that voice.
Cecilia. Mom.
"The Herrscher of the Void has already headed for the Babylon Labs."
Cecilia's voice continued through the communicator, laying out the plan for what came next.
"Go ahead and stall the Herrscher of the Void. Once I've patched Kevin up, I'll rendezvous with you."
"Understood. We're moving out now."
The channel cut off. Theresa turned and looked at Kiana.
"Kiana, we need to..."
The words died on her lips.
Because she saw Kiana's face.
She looked as though she'd been struck by lightning, frozen in place.
"Kiana?" Theresa called softly.
No response. Comments began scrolling: "Was that really the first time she's ever heard her mom's voice?"
---
Back in the studio, Kiana stared at the screen, her eyes rimmed red.
But she wasn't crying.
She just looked at the girl on screen, the girl who was the spitting image of herself.
It was an emotion she had never experienced before.
Because in real life, she had never needed a first time to hear her mother's voice.
On screen, Kiana finally spoke.
Her voice was so soft, so quiet, like a snowflake settling into an open palm.
"Cecilia."
She said the name slowly, as if tasting something rare and precious.
"...Mom."
Her lips curved into a smile that made you want to cry.
"So this is what Mom's voice sounds like."
She looked down at her own hands.
"I've never heard Mom's voice before. Not until now."
In that moment, the entire comments section broke.
"Game Kiana has had it so rough."
"She fights for everything beautiful in the world. And she herself is the most beautiful thing that ever needed protecting."
Elysia watched Kiana on the screen as tears slipped silently down her cheeks.
She thought of everything this girl had walked through to get here.
And now, for the first time, she had heard her mother's voice.
---
Back in the studio, Kiana finally couldn't hold it anymore. Tears fell, one by one.
Mei wrapped her arms around her gently and said nothing.
Bronya walked to Kiana's side, reached out, and quietly took her hand.
Seele sobbed softly, wiping at tears that just wouldn't stop with her sleeve.
Stelle and March 7th clung to each other, crying their eyes out.
Dan Heng adjusted his glasses and stayed silent.
Durandal looked at Kiana, something unusually soft rising in her eyes.
In the corner, Arthur was still standing by the window.
He looked out at the sunlight and heard those words echoing over and over in his mind: "So this is what Mom's voice sounds like."
He thought of that dream. Of himself drifting through the Sea of Quanta.
He thought of the question that had never stopped haunting him: "Why am I here?"
He turned and glanced back at the people in the studio.
And at Elysia, bound to them through the screen.
And at the countless players watching this story unfold.
He smiled quietly. Maybe the answer was somewhere in all of them.
Maybe there was never any need for an answer.
---
Then Elysia waved at the camera, her smile just as radiant as ever.
"Alright, that's it for today's stream! I'll be back tonight, okay? Don't you dare sneak ahead without me!"
The comments filled up with "okay okay we won't."
Elysia nodded, satisfied, and ended the stream.
In the studio, Kiana stared at the darkened screen for a few quiet seconds.
Then she stood up.
"Arthur."
"Yeah?"
"Can I take some time off?"
Arthur looked at her.
Kiana's eyes were a little distant, and there were still tear tracks on her face she hadn't wiped clean.
"I want to go home and see my parents," she said.
The room fell quiet for a beat. Mei stood up and walked over to her.
"I'll go too."
There was warmth and gentleness in Mei's eyes. "I want to go see my dad as well. He always looks so stern, but he's still my dad."
Bronya stood up too.
"I'd like to take some time to see my mom. And Cocolia too."
Seele murmured, "Um, then, I also... I want to go see my family."
Arthur looked at the four of them for two quiet seconds.
Then he smiled.
"Approved. All of you, go spend time with your families."
Kiana blinked, then nodded firmly.
"Thank you, Arthur!"
The four of them gathered their things and left the studio one by one.
The door clicked softly shut behind them.
The remaining few drifted back to their own spots.
Durandal sat where she always sat, fingers moving steadily across her keyboard.
Dan Heng pushed up his glasses and went back to debugging.
And Stelle and March 7th squeezed in front of the same computer, four eyes locked on the screen.
"Stelle," March 7th whispered.
"Yeah?"
"Arthur said it was going to be a good story, right?"
"Right."
"So that means it's definitely going to have a happy ending, right?"
"Definitely."
They looked at each other.
And at the same time, reached out and clicked open the second half of the story.
۞۞۞۞
~ Push the story forward with your Power Stones