Aurelia finished stabilizing the last bleeding elder and finally pulled her hands back. Hylia hovered close to her, her feathers puffed up from strain. The faint mist around her had grown thinner, showing how exhausted the little thing was.

Aurelia held her gently; then, an expression that almost no one had ever seen on her face appeared, and she began brushing Hylia’s soft feathers near her neck.

"You did well,"

She murmured softly.

"Thank you."

Hylia’s glowing mist-blue eyes blinked slowly, as if nodding at her.

"I just need you to push yourself one last time."

Aurelia spoke. Her voice carried a little guilt, as if she didn’t like how her Bond was being overworked, but Aurelia understood it was important.

Hylia did too, so she nodded again, her determination returning. Aurelia smiled; then, she turned towards Kael and, for the slightest second, she hesitated.

Then, as if she prepared herself, she leaned closer, like she was handing over something precious.

"Be gentle with her."

She requested.

"She gets scared easily."

"I will."

Kael nodded, looking at Hylia with a gentle look on his face. His eyes were still red, but he was a lot calmer and in control of his emotions now.

Aurelia nodded and gave Hylia a small hand signal.

"Go,"

She spoke softly. And honestly—

Aurelia expected resistance.

She expected Hylia to cling to her, to shuffle back, to... refuse.

She knew convincing Hylia to go with someone she didn’t recognize was going to be difficult, that she would need to reassure her constantly, and Hylia might still refuse.

But—

Hylia’s head turned toward Kael.

And in the next instant, she fluttered forward like a piece of moonlight and landed on Kael’s forearm with a soft thump, claws holding his arm carefully, as if she was being careful not to hurt him, and her wings folded neatly. Then she rubbed her head against his sleeve with her eyes closed—a sign of complete trust, as if she had known him for years.

It was a small gesture that almost everyone would have ignored, but...

Aurelia did not.

The Sky Serpent General froze.

"...Hylia?"

She called out, her brows lifting in disbelief.

Then, she glanced at Kael with a piercing look. It was clear what she wanted to ask.

What did you do to her?

But Kael...

He had no answer.

He himself was staring down at the Skydove like he didn’t understand what he was seeing.

He glanced at Aurelia and saw her glaring at him and he—

"I didn’t... do anything,"

He said quietly, almost as if he was defending himself.

Hylia blinked up at him, then gave a gentle coo, like it was obvious.

Aurelia’s lips parted, like she wanted to ask something, but she did not understand what or how to even begin.

But soon, the Sky Serpent General collected herself. This wasn’t the time to think about this. As much as she wanted to know what was happening or how Hylia—who wouldn’t leave her even for people she had known for years—left her instantly when it came to Kael, right now—

Healing was more important.

"Now go."

Aurelia spoke.

Kael nodded too; a prepared look appeared on his face.

Around them, the lines slowed for a moment. Both the Velmourns and Stonefangs looked up.

Hylia had been healing many people. She had been one of the few lights in all this smoke and screaming. So when people realized Kael was taking her away, confusion spread fast.

A wounded Stonefang mother looked up with panic in her eyes, clutching her bandaged child. Seeing that, a Velmourn soldier frowned.

"She’s leaving?"

He asked directly.

"Why?"

Kael didn’t answer.

He... could not answer.

What was he even supposed to say here?

He wanted to hide the existence of Ants, so where was he taking one of the only beings who were helping in this desperate situation?

His mind couldn’t come up with anything—how could it? His mind was still in shambles, so much that he couldn’t even come up with a right, believable lie in this situation.

That was when Aurelia stepped forward.

"Hylia is young."

She raised her voice. She wasn’t shouting, but it was loud enough for people to hear.

"She has healed beyond what she should have."

A few people stiffened at those words. Aurelia didn’t care; she kept going.

"And I will not force her to continue, because if I do, she will collapse. I helped you out of my goodwill, but I will not push my Bond to collapse for your sake.

I am not that good."

The people exchanged looks at those words. Stonefangs were confused since they didn’t understand her—only the Velmourns did—and they...

They understood where she was coming from.

Aurelia was a prisoner; she obviously had no reason to push herself or her Bond to such lengths for people who imprisoned her. The fact that she even showed up and helped was more than enough for them to feel indebted to her.

Aurelia’s gaze swept over the crowd, as if she was reading them, then—

"But Kael came to me. He says he has a way to recover Hylia’s stamina. Something he says cannot be done in front of others and I...

I decided to trust him."

Some people frowned at those words. A way to recover a Bond’s stamina? Something that couldn’t be done in front of others?

It all sounded strange, but...

When they realized it was Kael who said it, it all made sense. Kael had helped them in mysterious ways. Something like this wasn’t that unreasonable.

Aurelia nodded at that reaction, then she continued—

"I do not know if his method will work or not, but I am willing to wait.

But until then, Hylia will not heal anyone. You can move to other healing stalls; you will be healed there."

Some people grunted at those words. Stonefangs were still confused, but Zakaar quickly translated her words, and while there were still some who seemed dissatisfied, most understood and quickly scattered, moving to other stalls.

Gruumak and Korvath took command again. Aurelia was no longer leading everything, but the calm she had spread—and her soldiers—had become the center of the entire operation.

And just like that—

People began moving again, swallowing their grunts and unhappiness without any arguments.

All this while, Kael didn’t look at anyone. He kept his head low, clenched his fists, then he walked.

Hylia was still on his shoulder, and he was especially careful with her.

Inside his head, Imperia started speaking again. She had already instructed her Ants to gather the injured Ants while Aurelia and others were healing the Stonefangs.

Now, Kael just needed to move according to Imperia’s instructions, and that was exactly what he did, without using his own mind.

’Left. Behind the collapsed roof. Keep going.’

The Ant instructed her father.

Kael moved, turning between broken homes, and soon, they were here.

The corner Imperia chose was smart.

A shattered wall blocked sight from the center lane. A half-collapsed storehouse made a shadow like a curtain. Even if someone looked this way, they would see only rubble and smoke.

Not to mention Imperia had positioned some Ants around the corners, making sure that the moment someone got closer, she would be informed.

Kael trusted Imperia with all these coordinated movements and stepped in, and for a moment, everything felt... quieter.

Then one by one—

Imperia’s Ants appeared—three ants carrying the injured ants since the injured ones were in no condition to move on their own.

Some had broken legs, some had cracked bodies, their shells burned black at the edges, some had it even worse—

Half of their bodies were missing, but... they were still alive.

Still holding on.

They had... small bodies, so their wounds seemed... small too.

But when there were dozens of them...

It became a horror of its own.

Kael froze when he saw it, his chest squeezed so hard it hurt.

These weren’t just Ants; they were... Imperia’s children. He knew how much Imperia loved her children, he knew what she must be going through right now, and the more he thought about it all, the more... helpless he felt.

There were around sixty injured ants in front of him.

And beside them...

There were more.

The ones who... weren’t moving.

The ones who... weren’t breathing.

There were about twenty of them.

Dead.

Their bodies were already cooling against the snow and stone.

Kael stared at them.

His throat tightened.

He remembered Imperia’s voice earlier—many ants have perished—but again, hearing it and seeing it were... very different.

This wasn’t a mere report.

This was... death.

And Imperia—

She stepped out of Kael’s Sanctuary.

The moment she appeared, Kael’s heart squeezed even further, because right now, Imperia looked... different.

She looked like a mother who had been punched in the soul.

She moved forward slowly, her antennae trembling.

She touched one still body with the tip of her leg.

Then another.

Then, her voice hardened.

"She was... only a month old."

She spoke, and hearing her low, broken voice, Kael’s throat tightened, his red eyes glistening again.