In a glacial stillness, so cold it seemed to freeze their blood, the eerie spine stretching toward the sky kept radiating its faint light, unbothered by the onlookers.

  “Do you think…?”

  Stella glanced at May, seeking approval.

  Dropping her gaze, May pondered for a good minute. The wait weighed on everyone, but it was necessary in this tense moment.

  “You want to interact with that object? To find the place it’s linked to?”

  The younger woman nodded silently.

  Slowly, May turned her eyes to the sky.

  “In the worst-case scenario, I’ll demolish this pillar. I don’t think you need to worry too much.”

  A heavy frown replaced her neutral expression.

  “You understand that mental attacks are a thing, right? What if this affects her mind?”

  She crossed her arms. “We can’t have her interact with an object we know nothing about and simply go along—”

  May stopped when she noticed Deveralna pointing behind her with a defeated look.

  Without waiting, she turned—and froze. Stella was already leaping swiftly between the skeletons that reached forever toward the pillar in eternal death.

  “…”

  Stupefied by Stella’s recklessness, all May could do was sigh.

  The lamia dropped down beside her, speaking quickly—time was short.

  “I’ll go with her. Like I said, I’ll make sure nothing happens to her.”

  Dropping her head slightly, May almost glared at her companion.

  “You do that. We can’t have anything happen to her, or we’ll have a lot of explaining to do.”

  Her voice hardened. “I’d rather not see Orion in that state again.” Deveralna’s expression darkened. “Me neither… I’ll be on higher alert than usual.”

  May gave a single nod, satisfied. She watched as Deveralna leapt into the air to join Stella.

  Just as Stella made her final leap and landed before the pillar, Deveralna stopped her.

  “Wait! Stella.”

  The girl turned and tilted her head slightly.

  “Yes?”

  “You have to be careful.”

  That was all she needed to say. Stella smiled and nodded.

  “I understand.”

  Turning back to the pillar, she lifted her gaze, feeling the energy emanating from deep within. It loomed over her, arching like a claw ready to tear her apart.

  “We don’t know what this is. I heard what May said about mental attacks.” Her voice was low and tense. “There’s a ninety percent chance this thing will activate some kind of defense mechanism. That’s how I would design it, anyway.”

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  The lamia crossed her arms and let the young Remnant approach the spine.

  “Then you know how to deal with it, I assume.”

  Stella stopped inches from the object, glanced over her shoulder, and smiled with outrageous confidence.

  She placed her hand on the pillar.

  Her eyes lit with focus as her Remnant power took over.

  Through the lens of Science, Stella’s mind absorbed every fragment of data. Blurry, disjointed images flooded her—too short to understand, too vague to place. She began to stitch them together, piece by piece, until fragments merged into something whole.

  She saw familiar houses, a land she recognized, and people strangely similar to those on Triazils. Confused, she stored the thought away and dug deeper.

  Then, one figure stood out—a woman with long black hair and a spear-like weapon in hand, her hair swept by the wind.

  “That is far enough.”

  “!”

  A force pushed Stella back, the words carrying a soft but cruelly cold edge. Before being severed from the pillar, she caught a glimpse of the one rejecting her presence.

  "Oh? Interesting."

  Sitting on a throne of bones with three spine-like pillars rising behind her, the black-haired woman smirked. When her eyes opened, the gaze of a monster froze Stella’s soul.

  In the last second before the link broke, Stella saw it—an incomprehensible being, vast enough to blot out the sun, swallowing even the light. Compared to the Primordial of the elementals, this monster was unmatched.

  And then, reality snapped back.

  “Hah!”

  Sweating profusely, Stella exhaled every last breath.

  “Stella?!”

  She stumbled back, tripping over a skull and nearly falling—until Deveralna caught her.

  “De-Deveralna…”

  Her eyes trembled, words failing her.

  “I can see you’ve been affected. Just breathe until you can speak.”

  Inside, Deveralna’s thoughts raced.

  I hope this wasn’t too much… what can I do for her? I know!

  Placing a gentle hand on Stella’s head, she stroked her hair just as Orion would.

  “It’s alright. Take your time. We’re right here. For now, we should get you out of there.”

  Her eyes flicked to the pillar, her soft expression hardening into a glare that could petrify a lesser being.

  After bringing Stella back to May, they waited for her to recover.

  “Fuuh…”

  A few deep breaths steadied her.

  “I’m fine now.”

  “Good.”

  May withdrew her hand, though her concern lingered. Both women exhaled in relief, their bodies relaxing.

  “I’ll tell you what I saw.”

  “You don’t have to. Won’t it send you into a panic again?” Deveralna asked.

  “I’ll be fine. The data isn’t dangerous.” Her eyes darkened beneath her bangs. “It’s the being that noticed me—that’s what terrified me.”

  The words made both women tense.

  “So we’ve been spotted. Great.” May’s gaze fell as she touched her chin, thinking.

  “I think it already knew we were here,” Stella continued. “It simply didn’t care enough to show itself.”

  Deveralna sighed heavily.

  “You’re speaking a language I know too well. We were unexpectedly trudging through an unknown territory, controlled by a dangerous being.”

  A firm nod confirmed it.

  “Good thing we stayed on guard. Who knows what could have happened if we’d been caught unaware…” May’s mind conjured the worst.

  Silence fell before Stella spoke again.

  “While I understand who those people were…” She looked toward the skeletons forever reaching for the pillar. “Let’s leave that aside for now.”

  May and Deveralna exchanged puzzled looks.

  “What shocked me most is that—by some cruel twist of fate—” She turned to them, the darkness over her face deepening.

  “It seems I’ll have to fight the Devourer who killed my grandmother.”

  The sigil of the Remnant of Progress flared in her eyes, a hint of hatred slipping through her composed mask.

  “…”

  Neither woman knew how to respond. I don’t like that expression, they both thought.

  Without speaking, they stepped forward and pulled Stella into their arms.

  “Huh?”

  “It’s alright,” Deveralna said softly. “You have us. Don’t act like you’re alone.”

  May nodded.

  “You can depend on us. We’re family, not strangers. Your problems are ours.”

  The conflicting emotions in Stella’s chest tightened. This was her fight—her mother’s phantom had asked her to face it if she could. But with their heartbeats in her ears, she felt less alone. She wrapped her arms around their waists.

  “Can… can I really ask for help?”

  “Of course! Devourer or not, isn’t this why we’re here?” Deveralna’s smile brightened.

  “We have a duty to protect you. What kind of mothers would we be if we didn’t?”

  May tapped her head lightly.

  No one in the Agathion faction saw Stella as anything but their daughter. She was precious. Irreplaceable.

  When they let her go, Stella stepped back, coughing to mask her emotions.

  “Alright. In that case, let me tell you everything I saw.”

  Taking a steadying breath, she organized her thoughts.

  “These people… were former residents of Triazils.”

  While I never wrote to be one of the best, it warms my heart this story, and the characters I've shaped entered your heart. I know my flaws. This story is far from perfect, and one day, hopefully, you'll be able to reread it from the beginning without throwing up blood at the awful grammar and sentences.

  Thanks for keeping up with it. I'll try to release more chapters during the week, but as usual, I can't promise anything. I hope every single one of you readers have a great day.