The cold wind of the Hunting Grounds swept across the lake, bringing a biting chill, yet it could not compare to the barren, frozen wasteland of loss in Rover's heart.
He stood alone on the small island in the center of the lake, tightly gripping the Moonstone bracelet in his hand, his knuckles slightly white from exertion.
Abby floated quietly by his shoulder. A rare look of worry—entirely out of character with its usual lively nature—flowed through its eyes.
Following the guidance in his memories, and the increasingly clear pulling sensation from the bracelet, he had come here: a secluded and unfamiliar island in the center of a lake atop a mountain west of the Plains of Bygone Flowers.
In the center of the island, beneath the ancient giant tree, the air felt even more stagnant than elsewhere.
The moonlight converged here into a hazy halo that seemed to not belong to this world.
Right at the brightest point of the halo, an incredibly faint silhouette—as if sketched from moonlight and dust—slowly emerged.
It was Yuno.
Or rather, it was her remaining final fragment of consciousness left behind here, an afterglow on the verge of dissipation.
Her form was more transparent than ever before. Her blue-black hair and eyes seemed to blend into the moonlight itself, losing their past sharpness and radiance, leaving only an almost shattered tranquility.
She looked at Rover, her lips struggling to pull into an incredibly genuine, faint smile. That smile lacked her usual slyness or pride; it held only total relief and... a trace of deeply hidden reluctance to part.
"As expected... you still found this place, Blank Person."
Her voice was as light as a sigh, entering Rover's ears with an illusory echo.
"Yuno!"
Rover took a step forward and reached out his hand, but it passed right through the illusory light and shadow, grasping nothing.
"Don't waste your energy," Yuno's phantom shook her head slightly. "This is just... a final obsession unwilling to dissipate. It's truly wonderful... to see you come."
She paused, as if gathering her last bit of strength, her gaze falling gently on Rover's face: "This trade... using my 'disappearance' in exchange for a victory outside the prophecy... looking at it now, it's quite a bargain, isn't it?"
"No! It's not a bargain at all!"
Rover growled, a suppressed storm in his golden eyes. "Yuno, why? Why didn't you trust me? Why didn't you give me the chance to choose another way?!"
Yuno's phantom seemed to freeze for a moment. Then her smile turned somewhat bitter, yet carried the candor of shedding all pretense: "Trust you... I've always trusted you."
"It's exactly because I trusted that you would definitely succeed, that I dared... to be this willful just this once."
Her silhouette began to flicker more erratically, like a candle in the wind.
"Anyway... I'm going to be gone soon..."
She suddenly murmured softly, as if talking to herself, or as if finally making some sort of decision.
Her gaze focused on Rover's face once more. Within it burned a final speck of fiery light, pure and brave.
"Rover..."
Her voice grew a bit clearer, carrying an unmistakable, deep emotion: "Maybe it's a bit late to say this now, and a bit silly... but, I like you."
"Not the kind of liking for a partner, nor the admiration for someone strong... It's the kind where I want to always stand by your side, the kind where I want you to only look at me... that kind of liking."
She smiled softly, carrying a hint of self-deprecation but incomparable frankness: "Saying it out loud now, it seems... I'm not that shy about it anymore. Anyway, whether you remember or forget... this is just my own business now."
"Just... don't forget me too quickly, okay?"
"At least... not that quickly..."
Before she could finish her sentence, her silhouette shattered into specks of light like fireflies blown apart by the wind. They rapidly dimmed, ultimately melting completely into the moonlight and vanishing without a trace.
Only that bracelet in Rover's hand still retained a faint trace of warmth.
In the air, her final, sigh-like plea seemed to still echo: "I leave it to you, Blank Person..."
"YUNO!!!"
Rover's cry dissipated over the vast lake, receiving no response.
He gripped the bracelet tightly, his fingernails practically digging into his palm.
Abby gently flew in front of him and bumped its little paws against his cheek: "Rover, don't be too sad. Yuno... she seemed very happy just now..."
Rover closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, the sorrow in his eyes had been replaced by an almost obsessive resolve: "She shouldn't disappear like this! And she shouldn't be forgotten like this either!"
"That's right!"
Abby nodded vigorously. "Benbu remembers everything! I remember her scaring people with us in the arena, I remember her treating us to see the pretty murals, I remember her giving us such an important bracelet!"
"None of these are fake! Benbu and you both remember!"
It flew in circles around Rover, trying to express its support in its own way: "So, Rover, do whatever you want to do! Benbu will definitely help you!"
"Even though I'm not in my super-super-super awesome state yet, I will stay with you forever and ever!"
Looking at this incredibly sincere little fellow in front of him, a warm current surged in Rover's heart.
He reached out and gently patted the top of Abby's fluffy head.
"Yeah," his voice was low but firm. "I know. Thank you, Abby. We... will not give up."
Rover pressed the bracelet against his heart and kissed it lightly: "Yuno, no matter where you are, I will find you."
Under the moonlight, his silhouette appeared lonely yet resolute.
A moment later, his gaze turned toward the direction of the Quadrangle Hall: "Next, we need answers."
The Quadrangle Hall was emptier and quieter than usual, permeated with an indescribable sense of oppression.
The great war had ended, and the Oracles had returned here in batches.
When the several young Oracles left in charge saw Rover enter, their eyes carried a trace of bewilderment and unease. They seemed to vaguely sense some kind of absence, yet couldn't articulate the reason.
Rover headed straight for the side hall. Lilibet, the Head of the Oracles, was gazing at a somewhat faded mural.
On his way over, he had already asked Augusta to contact Lilibet and briefly explain the situation to her. Although the other party was shocked and doubtful about this, she still agreed to the request of this Hero King.
Even though Rover knew where he could enter the Space of Chaos, to safely bring Yuno back and to avoid any unexpected events from occurring again, he still needed Lilibet's help this time.
"Grandma Lilibet."
Rover spoke, his voice exceptionally clear in the silent hall.
Lilibet slowly turned around. Her wrinkled face bore deep exhaustion and a sort of all-seeing compassion.
She looked at Rover, her gaze lingering for a moment on the Moonstone bracelet around his wrist.
"You're here, child." She sighed.
"Please tell me, what exactly happened?" Rover looked straight at her. "Why has everyone forgotten her? Where... where exactly is Yuno?"
Lilibet fell silent for a moment, leading him to a quiet prayer room.
She gestured for Rover to sit down, while she paced slowly, her voice low: "Child, I originally thought the Oracle you spoke of did not exist. However, I unexpectedly found a single record of her."
"What you are experiencing is an extremely rare 'karmic knot'. Usually, the threads of fate are clear, possessing a beginning and an end."
"But now, regarding this Oracle named Yuno, two mutually exclusive threads of fact have appeared."
She extended a bony finger and traced a line in the air: "One thread shows that she died heroically three years ago at the End of the Clear Spring, swallowed by the Black Tide. The other thread manifested because of you—she only disappeared to save the Seven Hills just a few days ago."
"Of these two threads, only one should be true. But due to your existence and your profound connection with her, they have become bizarrely entangled, dragging her existence into a chaotic state between life and death, existence and disappearance."
She looked at Rover, her eyes complex: "She is currently... neither completely dead nor truly existing. It's more like she's a phantom trapped in the torrent of impermanence, repeatedly experiencing fragments of the past."
"And you are the only one who can still form a connection with her and this chaotic karma. You are the one who has anchored her final traces."
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