Riches and Bitches: I have a gate to an isekai and leveling-up system!-Chapter 251 : Loss

***Half an hour in the past***

'So it… began?'

Fay gulped her saliva down.

In her promoted ascended form, her perception grew, compensating for the changes to the space around her body. And even with the domain created by her fluttering hair now blocking her vision, she could still somewhat see the world outside of her domain.

It came at a cost, though.

If Fay's domain became the new shape that defined the total sum of her body, then just like she couldn't casually take a look at her guts, she couldn't really see anything going on within her quasi-domain.

Everything that happened within the shapely blob of the platinum white appeared dulled, less intense. And while she could still feel Peter's body wrapped around her…

'This really feels weird,' Fay thought, gritting her teeth when all of a sudden, Peter's presence nearly vanished.

She could feel his body… but not as vividly as before. She could feel his warmth… but it mixed in with the warmth coming from her domain.

And worst of all, their bond seemingly severed, cutting through their connection and leaving Fay, for the very first time in several weeks, with only her own thoughts, sensations, and presence.

'This really feels weird,' Fay thought before taking in a deep breath and reorganizing her thoughts.

By now, the fighting around them pretty much died off, with most of the humans that survived now fully dedicating their hearts and bodies to the simple task of escaping.

'First, let's add some form to my domain,' Fay thought, this time forced to go through every step manually, as opposed to how it all happened when she entered this elevated state of her power for the first time.

And bit by bit, while her brethren busied themselves finishing off all the wounded and counting their own losses, Fay pushed her divine aura to shape the storm of her hair that marked the boundary of her new form.

And bit by bit, the big blob of the platinum white of her hair infused with the brightness of her divine aura continued to solidify, all the way to the point where it turned into the form Fay was most familiar with.

The form of a celestial fox.

"Lady Fay, we are ready to proceed," one of the elites of their unit approached and reported, standing just outside of Fay's range, as if worried she might've lost control over her old-new form.

"Good," Fay spoke before lazily yawning her illusory jaw and then turning her hair-made muzzle to the east, the direction all the humans were running to. "If you are ready, then we should give chase."

Despite the complicated goals behind them, Peter's plans were insanely simple.

The smallest unit among the three that he created from the forest folk only had to grab their vulnerables and have them move in circles to avoid the danger of the ongoing battle.

The bulk of their forces was to head off to the edge of the forest, where they would add their strength to the multitude of the traps Peter's human allies would lay, all for the sake of funneling the escaping humans right into the cross-fire of Makary's gunners.

And just like the other two, the task of the elite force was increasingly simple. They were to head all the way to the west of the forest, further than any big unit of humans managed to make it so far. And then, bit by bit, they were to push all the humans to the east, while inducing more and more terror in those who were lucky enough to survive.

Now, the first battle was won. Out of roughly five hundred humans that managed to reach the furthest west into the forest, only about two hundred managed to leave the field of the battle. Read the latest on m_v-l'e|m,p| y- r

"Good thinking, Lady Fay," the celestial who came to report nodded his head. "We should pressure them so that they won't get the time to join the other forces and regroup."

The celestial turned around and raised both of the simple, crude blades that he held in his hands before bouncing them off the other above his head, creating a metallic ding and attracting everyone's attention with it.

"We are going to give chase!" the celestial whose name Fay couldn't even recall continued to command the entire elite unit. "Let's strike them right as they are about to reach their friends!"

Even though those weren't her orders, Fay only shook her fox's head a bit before taking a first step.

'It's a solid plan, so there's no reason for me to…'

Fay made a single step, before her fake body froze, just like her real flesh did within her domain.

'What?'

Something changed.

Her bond with Peter, one that grew dull and unresponsive before…

It was now nowhere to be seen or felt.

'I can still feel the bond itself… but…'

As the panic started to settle in, Fay's concentration quickly reached its limit.

'But why…'

Fay's physical, human hands started to shake so much it disturbed the natural flow of the hair that formed Fay's new form, making it grow distorted…

'Why can't I feel anything on the other side?'

This wasn't the matter of her connection with Peter growing dull. It wasn't even like in the times when he intentionally suppressed their bond to stave off its side effects.

The other end of the bond simply vanished, as if it was never there to begin with. And even when fully focused, Fay could no longer sense any sign of Peter's presence.

"No…"

Just a single word slipped out of Fay's mouth. It wasn't even loud enough to free itself from her domain, ending up locked inside of Fay's new form.

Along with this single word, came doubt, came fear, came an unending feeling of loss.

As a result of the above, Fay's concentration lapsed, opening up the door for a foreign, dark, and thick substance to suddenly emerge and infuse itself into Fay's domain, altering, changing, and distorting the very fabric of her domain.

Fay's consciousness faded, overtaken by the unyielding sense of loss. Her mind continued to sink deeper and deeper, into realms she never knew existed…

All the way to the point, where she finally found what she sought with all her heart.

A tiny spark, a mere shadow of a presence… An echo that somehow broke through the barrier that cut through everything else.

A vaguely familiar echo… but one that carried the semblance of the connection Fay had with Peter.

A spark, a shard so tiny Fay had to dedicate her entire mind not to let it slip past her awareness.

'You won't get away this time!'

Driven near mad, Fay's mind lunged forth with all its forte, wrapping her entire soul around this petite shard of consciousness and locking it in place, cradling it right in the midst of all the care and affection Fay had for her mate.

Locked at the deepest level of her bond with Peter, Fay dedicated all of herself just to keep cradling this echo, the one last mark that proved Peter existed.

'What a vile process,' Fay thought, her soul-shaking and warping, torn by the overwhelming sense of loss. 'But fear not, honey,' she thought, ignoring the mental pain of separation, only ever allowing her affection and care in the cradle in which she snuggled up this tiny spark of Peter's consciousness.

'I will keep you safe, so just make sure to come back, would you?'