Smoke drifted across the ruined valley, curling around broken stones and scorched earth like mourning veils. The air was heavy—dense with power that didn't belong in this world.
Suna stood at the edge of the devastation, her shoes crunching softly against cracked soil. Her hands trembled, not from fear, but from something colder. Something deeper.
Emptiness.
Uno was gone.
She felt it the moment it happened—when the ritual ended and something else looked through his eyes.
The Uno she knew—the one who grinned too wide, who trained until his knuckles bled, who stood between her and danger like it was instinct—he was pulled under.
"I should've stopped it," she whispered.
Maya, nearby and bloodied, didn't respond. Azire stood like a statue, his expression unreadable, gaze fixed on the glowing temple still bleeding light like an open wound.
Belial crouched a few feet away, one gloved hand resting on the cracked earth. His Eclipse Gauntlet flickered—dim, like it, too, felt the absence of Uno.
He didn't say anything at first. Just stared.
Then, softly:
"He was the one who never stopped throwing punches, even when it was hopeless."
His voice didn't carry its usual sharpness. No smirk. No sarcasm.
Suna glanced toward him.
Belial rose slowly, brushing ash from his coat. "I told him once that he'd die being the hero. I didn't think he'd be used like this."
He turned toward the temple, his eyes shadowed beneath windswept hair. "I should've seen it. Should've seen what Kael was doing."
Azire's tone was grim. "None of us did."
But Suna… Suna couldn't stop shaking.
She dropped to her knees and touched the scorched ground. The magical signature lingered, faint and hauntingly familiar. She could still feel Uno. Trapped beneath it. Buried under that god's will.
"You've seen what I've become, haven't you?"
His voice. From memory.
"You won't forgive me for it. I don't want you to."
She pressed her palm deeper into the earth, whispering softly, as if he could hear her through the void.
"I'm still here," she said. "Even if you're not."
A breeze moved through the canyon, cool and strange—unnatural. It brushed her cheek like a whisper.
Then she heard it.
A heartbeat.
Faint, like the echo of a memory.
Her eyes widened.
The world blurred, shifting—just for a moment—and she saw him.
Uno.
Bound in chains of violet light. Suspended in darkness. Eyes closed. Breathing shallow.
But alive.
Alive.
She gasped and fell back, heart pounding in her chest. "He's… He's still in there!"
Azire snapped toward her. "What did you say?"
"I saw him," she said, breath ragged. "Just for a second. He's not gone. Thal'Zir has him caged."
Maya stumbled toward her. "Are you sure?"
Suna nodded. "There's still a thread. I felt it. Like something inside me called out to him… and he answered."
Azire's expression shifted—determined, calculating. "Then we can get him back."
"No." Suna's voice was quiet but firm. "Not yet."
They all turned toward her.
She looked up, her gaze fierce.
"We can't just fight Thal'Zir like this. He's testing us. Playing. And Uno's suffering every moment we waste."
Belial let out a sharp breath, stepping forward. "So we train? Meditate? Wait for a miracle?" He pointed toward the temple with the gauntlet-clad hand. "That thing up there stole our friend. I say we storm it, rip the bastard out, and burn whatever's left."
Maya winced. "And die doing it?"
Belial snarled. "I'd rather die fighting than stand around hoping."
But Azire raised a hand, calm yet firm. "We'll save him. But not with emotion. We need a plan."
Suna's gaze locked on Belial's.
"You want to fight for him?" she asked.
His eyes narrowed. "Of course I do."
"Then trust me," she said. "Because whatever connection I have to Uno… it's not just emotion. It's something deeper. Something he left behind in me."
She rose to her feet, brushing off the dust. Her voice sharpened with something fierce and clear.
"I won't let him rot inside that thing. If we're going to save him… I need to understand what connected us."
Belial stared for a long second. Then slowly, he nodded. "Just don't take too long."
[Meanwhile… within the sealed void]
Uno stirred in chains that pulsed with divine light. Shadows whispered around him, and a cold voice echoed in his mind.
"They still fight for you. Even now. Isn't that… foolish?"
Uno's voice was hoarse but defiant.
"They'll find a way."
The void god laughed softly.
"We'll see.