The three of them departed the next morning.

Fauna carried both children in her arms as she flew. The wind rushed past them, and Anya couldn’t stop smiling.

"Look!" She kept pointing. "Look at the clouds, Mika! They’re so fluffy!"

"I’ve seen clouds before, Anya."

"But these are different! They’re flower realm clouds!"

"And those!" She pointed at massive flowers levitating in the air. "The flowers are actually floating in the air! How is that possible?"

"Probably a localized mana field interacting with the petals natural buoyancy," Mika muttered. "If I had to guess, the flower structure contains small gas pockets that—"

"Mika!" Anya groaned. "Stop being boring and look at the pretty flowers!"

Despite Mika trying to act like a mature adult, Anya was having the time of her life.

She could see the realm spread out below them like a living painting.

Fields of flowers stretched in every direction.

Reds and blues and yellows and purples, all blending together in a tapestry of color.

Petals drifted on the breeze, dancing through the air like nature’s confetti.

She felt lighter than she had in years.

Mika, on the other hand, wasn’t really focused on the beautiful scenery around him.

Instead, while being carried in Fauna’s arms, he was just scribbling in his tiny notebook.

Even now, even here, he couldn’t stop working.

Numbers and symbols filled the pages as he muttered to himself, lost in whatever complex calculations he was running.

He was already starting his process of creating his own system of mana usage. Building the stepping blocks of Molecular Mana Manipulation.

It was revolutionary work, work that would change the world someday and he was doing it at only five years old.

—

Soon they reached the hospital, a large building situated on the outskirts of a charming town.

They were welcomed in a grand manner, the hospital directors bowing deeply, the staff lined up to greet them, everyone putting on their best behavior for the Battle Angel’s visit.

"Lady Fauna! What an honor! We are absolutely humbled by your presence!"

"We had no idea you would be visiting in person! If we’d known, we would have prepared a proper celebration!"

"Please, please, come inside! Allow us to give you the grand tour!"

Fauna went on with the inspection, her keen eyes taking in every detail.

And immediately, she found that there was something very wrong with the hospital.

Even though the funds she had given were quite substantial, the size of the hospital itself did not match the actual budget.

It was much smaller than it should have been. The wings were shorter, the floors fewer, the rooms more cramped.

But more than that, the facilities and equipment were not of the standard she had expected.

They were not the brands she had specified, not the quality she had paid for. Instead, they were much poorer, lesser brands with inferior quality, which made for bad efficiency.

Machines that should have been state-of-the-art were outdated.

Tools that should have been precise were crude.

Even the hospital itself was not built with proper materials.

The walls were thinner than specifications demanded. The foundation showed signs of cutting corners. This was a building that had been constructed with profit in mind, not patient care.

The staff were not the best either.

Many were underqualified, lacking the proper certifications. Some seemed nervous, shifty, as if they had something to hide.

Problem after problem. Issue after issue.

"This hospital was allocated funding for the ’premium’ medical suite with ’premium’ equipment."

She said, her voice dangerously calm as she stood in a room filled with outdated, clearly secondhand equipment.

"The Ventra Brand, specifically. But these are not Ventra Brand machines."

"Ah, well, you see, my lady, there were...supply chain issues..."

"Supply chain issues." Fauna’s tone was flat. "Then what about how the hospital itself was supposed to be three times this size, based on the architectural plans I personally approved."

"So, where are the eastern and western wings?"

"There were, um, unforeseen construction complications—"

"And the staff." Fauna turned to face the trembling directors. "I specifically allocated funds for certified healers with a minimum of ten years’ experience."

"Yet I see multiple staff members who appear to be apprentices at best. Would you care to explain?"

"Lady Fauna, I assure you, there are perfectly reasonable explanations for all of this—"

"Then I expect to hear them. All of them. In detail."

Fauna was not stupid.

She might be known for her gentleness, her compassion, her endless patience.

But that didn’t mean she was a pushover. Far from it.

She had not become a Battle Angel by being naive.

Her mood completely changed when she realized something wasn’t right. The warmth drained from her eyes, replaced by a cold, calculating intensity.

The directors visibly shrank under her gaze.

She decided to have a proper, stern word with all the members of the hospital’s leadership board.

The guilty looks on their faces told her everything she needed to know—they had been caught, and they knew it.

But she also knew her children were present.

"Mika, Anya." She said, turning to them with a forced smile. "Why don’t you two wait in the lounge while I have a discussion with these gentlemen?"

"There’s a lovely balcony with a view of the flower fields."

Anya brightened immediately. "Really? A balcony?"

"Indeed. You’ll be able to see the entire valley from there." Fauna’s expression softened, just for a moment. "Go on, darlings. I won’t be long."

—

Anya rushed to the balcony immediately, pressing her chin against the railing as she took in the sight.

Flowers as far as the eye could see. Colors that shifted and blended in the gentle breeze.

"I’m glad I came." Anya said, settling onto a chair nearby. "Even if the hospital has...some problems of its own."

Mika sat beside her, his notebook finally closed for the moment. "Your mother will fix it."

"I know. She fixes everything."

Anya cheerfully said before slowly turning to Mika with a hesitant look on her face.

"Mika? Can I ask you something?"

"You’re going to anyway."

"What are you always writing in that notebook?"

He was quiet for a moment. Then he opened it and handed it to her.

Anya looked at the pages.

They were covered in diagrams, intricate circles and flowing lines and symbols she didn’t recognize.

Notes written in Mika’s handwriting filled the margins, but the words were too advanced for her to understand.

"What is this?"

"It’s a theory." Mika said. "About mana. About how it flows through the body, how blessings manipulate it, how someone without a blessing might still be able to..."

"To what?"

"To harness mana and cast ones one spells." His voice was quiet but intense. "Blessings aren’t the only way. There has to be another system. A different approach."

"If I can just figure out the underlying principles—"

"Is this because you can’t get a blessing?"

"It’s because I refuse to accept that blessings are the only path." Mika sighed.

Anya looked at the diagrams again, her brow furrowed.

"But blessings are...they’re gifts. From the world. From fate. You can’t just..."

"Who...decided that?"

Mika’s eyes were bright with something Anya had never seen before.

"Who decided that only those chosen by fate could wield power?! What about everyone else?!"

"What about the people who are born without anything—should they just accept their lot and never strive for more!?"

"I..." Anya didn’t know what to say.

"I’m going to find another way." Mika said. "Even if it takes my whole life. There has to be another way."

And Anya looked at him—this strange, brilliant boy who was somehow younger than her but seemed to carry the weight of the world on his small shoulders and felt something shift inside her.

"You...really think you can do it?"

"I know I can." He said it with such absolute certainty. Not arrogance. Just...fact.

"Then I believe you." Anya said.

Mika looked at her, surprised. "You do?"

"You’re the smartest person I know, Mika. If anyone can figure it out, it’s you!"

He was quiet for a moment. Then, very quietly,

"Thank you."

And for just a moment, something passed between them.

Two children, both without blessings, both searching for their place in a world that seemed designed for everyone but them.

And then, her voice growing softer and more shy, Anya said something she had been thinking about for a while.

"Mika." She said, her cheeks flushing slightly. "In the future, when we’re all grown up...we could come here to retire."

"W-When we’re an elderly couple, I mean."

"We could find a little house right in the middle of all these flowers, and we could spend our days just sitting on the porch and looking at the view."

She twisted her fingers together nervously.

"And our grandchildren could come visit whenever they want. We’d have a big garden where they could play. And we’d tell them stories about all the adventures we had when we were young."

She turned to look at him, her eyes shining with hope and dreams.

"Wouldn’t that be wonderful!? Just the two of us, growing old together, surrounded by flowers?!"

It was a simple dream. A quiet dream. A dream of an ordinary life with the person she loved most.

She was already planning out their future. Her dreams.

A bright, wonderful life stretching ahead of them.

But just as Mika was going to reply—

BOOM!

A massive sound erupted. Not just the cracking of something or the breaking of a building, but something far worse.

It was like the earth itself was being torn apart!

Both Anya and Mika felt the facility around them shake violently.

They had noticed this feeling before. Whenever Nadia accidentally activated her blessing too strongly, they could feel the earth shaking around them like a full-scale earthquake.

But Nadia wasn’t here right now. She was back home, in their own realm.

So what was causing this?

"Mika?" Anya’s voice was small, trembling. "Mika, what’s happening!?"

Mika was already on his feet, his notebook forgotten, his expression sharp and alert.

"Anya, get away from the railing—"

Before he could finish, before he could even move toward her—

The earth beneath the hospital broke.

Boom!

It wasn’t like a crack. It wasn’t a fissure.

Instead, it was as if a massive chasm underneath had opened up, waiting to consume whatever fell into its maw.

And just like that, a portion of the hospital was swallowed and went somewhere deep, deep, deep underground.

Along with it went Mika and Anya.

"MIIIIIKA!"

She screamed his name as she tumbled into darkness, debris raining down around her, the world spinning and spinning and spinning.

She couldn’t tell which way was up.

She couldn’t see anything but shadows and stone and the rapidly shrinking patch of light above her that was the sky.

But then—a hand grabbed hers.

"Anya! I’ve got you!"

Mika had her. He pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her as they fell together, plummeting deeper and deeper into the earth.

The chasm seemed endless, a hungry throat swallowing them whole, and all Anya could do was cling to Mika and sob.

"I don’t want to die!" She screamed. "Mika, I don’t want to die!"

"Shh—I’ve got you—just hold on—"

"MOMMY! MOMMY, HELP US!"

But the light above was getting smaller and smaller, and no help came.

They kept falling, falling, falling into the darkness below.

—

Above ground, Fauna was in the middle of confronting the hospital directors.

"I’m going to ask you one more time." She was saying, her voice cold as winter steel.

"Where exactly did the allocated funds go? Because they clearly didn’t go into this hospital."

"L-Lady Fauna, please, we can explain—"

"You’ve been ’explaining’ for the past twenty minutes, and I’ve yet to hear a single—"

BOOM!

The sound hit her like a physical blow.

She spun around, her eyes widening as she saw the wing where she had left her children crack and splinter and begin to collapse.

Her heart stopped.

"MIKA! ANYA!"

She was moving before she even finished thinking.

Her wings erupted from her back, magnificent and powerful, and she launched herself toward the collapsing building with all the speed she possessed.

She had to reach them. She had to save them.

They were her babies. Her precious darlings.

Nothing else mattered!

But just as she was about to follow the falling building into the massive, deep chasm that had broken apart.

A chasm that seemed to go all the way down to the deepest parts of the earth—

Her wings disappeared.

They just...vanished. Dissipated into scattered mana like they had never existed at all.

One moment they were there, carrying her forward with godlike power, and the next moment they were gone.

And she was falling.

No. No no no no no.

Fauna tried to summon them back. She reached for her blessing, for the power that had always been there.

She called on every ounce of her being.

Nothing.

It wasn’t just her wings. She couldn’t use her blessings at all. Not a single one.

Her healing. Her flight. Her strength. Everything that made her a Battle Angel—gone.

She felt completely powerless. Like a normal mortal.

And right now, she was even falling into the chasm herself, the darkness rushing up to meet her!

But Fauna was not a woman who became helpless the moment she lost her powers.

Her older sister had put her through a lot of training in the past.

Training that had been conducted without blessings, without powers, without anything but her own body and will.

So even in a situation where she was completely powerless, she would always be able to think fast and act accordingly.

The moment she realized she couldn’t use her blessing—she acted immediately.

She twisted her body in the air, orienting herself.

There.

A boulder, falling nearby, roughly the same velocity.

She maneuvered herself toward it with precise, controlled movements.

When she reached it, she kicked!

The force of the kick propelled her body sideways, toward the rocky wall of the chasm.

She stretched out her hand, reaching for a jagged outcropping of stone.

She caught it!

But the impact was brutal.

Her left arm, the one she had used to grab the rock was not designed to absorb that kind of force as a mortal.

Her shoulder came out of its socket with a sickening pop.

The flesh of her palm tore open against the sharp stone.

Blood poured from the wound, hot and slick.

And the pain—

The pain was unimaginable.

White-hot agony shot through her arm, her shoulder, her entire left side.

Her vision blurred. Her breath came in ragged gasps.

But she held on.

She held on, because her children were down there. Her babies were falling into the darkness, and she had to save them.

With gritted teeth and sheer, desperate will, Fauna began to climb.

"Arghhh—!"

It was agonizing. Her left arm was useless, barely responding to her commands, and every movement sent fresh waves of agony through her body.

Jagged rocks cut into her hands. Debris continued to rain down from above, and she had to twist and dodge to avoid being struck.

More than once, she nearly lost her grip.

But she kept climbing.

’Anya. Mika. I’m coming. Mama’s coming!’

—

When she finally hauled herself over the edge of the chasm and collapsed onto solid ground, her body was broken and bleeding.

But the moment she was clear of the darkness, her blessing flooded back into her.

Her wings rematerializing, her divine power surging through her veins.

But she didn’t wait to heal herself. She scrambled to her feet and stared down into the massive hole that had swallowed her children.

"ANYA! MIKA!"

No answer. Only darkness.

Fauna fell to her knees. The most powerful being in existence, and she couldn’t save her own children.

"Please." She whispered. "Please, not my babies. Please..."

She reached for her communication crystal with shaking hands.

Her sisters needed to know.

They needed to come.

They needed to save her babies!