The PDR took effed corrected the damage within Risebelle’s systems. There was a moment of suspense in the makeshift b. Then, as if ing to life for the first time, Risebelle’s eyes blinked open. Her body twitched slightly as her systems came online.

  She looked around in amazement. It felt like she had been reborn. Risebelle’s o blue hair flowed freely down her ba her movement, appearing to now be slightly lohan it was before.

  Kintovar spoke with a joyful tone. “Wele back, Risebelle. Yoing to experiene ges, but I hope you’ll find them... intriguing.”

  The moment was both exg and nerve-wrag for everyone in the room. They watched the tank’s door slowly open, allowing Risebelle to step out. Sally, Alden’s 7-year-old daughter, and Alden’s wife were there to withis moment.

  Risebelle took a moment to look at herself, realizing that she cked any clothing, and a pair wasn’t in her immediate sight. She turo Kintovar with a gre.

  “Where the hell are my clothes, Kintovar?”

  Kintovar, with a soft smile, responded, “Don’t worry, Risebelle. I’ll get you some clothes in a moment. But first, it’s important for you to uand that you’ve gohrough some ges. You may feel different, and that’s pletely normal.”

  Risebelle nodded, but her sense of curiosity prompted her to ask, “What kind of ges, Kintovar?”

  Kintovar expined, “Your personality has been adjusted to be more banced. You’ll still have your unique qualities, but you’ll also experience a new range of emotions and attitudes.”

  Before Risebelle could say more, Roselle, who had been waiting anxiously, rushed forward and enveloped her sister in a tight embrace. “I missed you so much!”

  Risebelle pulled bad looked at Roselle with warmth. “What’s the matter? Did you have a tough time?”

  Roselle replied. “No, I just missed you.”

  Risebelle’s eyes softened. “Why?”

  Roselle, with tears welling up, choked out, “Because...You’re my sister. You taught me how to fight properly in your own way, you lead us to successful missions, even though I didn’t like some of them, you..You…”

  Risebelle’s face became saddened. “I’m sorry, Roselle. I knew my time was limited. I told you, now it’s your turn to lead.”

  Roselle’s tears began to flow freely. “But I’m a terrible leader.”

  Risebelle’s eyes glistened with tears. She reached out to gently wipe Roselle’s tears away. “Don’t cry, crybaby. You’re always gonna e, aren’t you?”

  Roselle gave a shaky ugh. “I’m not t......”

  Risebelle’s steadiness quivered in her speech. “I’m so sorry, everyone. I hought I’d be here, apologizing like this.”

  The room fell silent, save for the soft hum of the b’s equipment. Risebelle’s usually stern face was now filed with sorrow.

  “I let you all down,” she tinued. “I worried you, and that’s the st thing I ever wao do. I’m supposed to be smarter and strohan this. I caused unnecessary fear and .”

  Roselle shook her head. “No, Risebelle. It’s not all your fault.”

  Risebelle looked at Roselle, fused. “What do you mean?”

  Roselle took a deep breath. “When we faced Dark Whirlwind, I froze up. I let her get inside my head. I was scared and overwhelmed. It wasn’t just you who made mistakes. I failed too. I couldn’t help you as I should have. I’m sorry.”

  Runebelle, who had been silent, opened her mouth to speak, but Roselle quickly added, “Runebelle thought we were on the same page, but things got plicated. It’s not only your fault, Risebelle. We all have a part in this.”

  When the words left Roselle’s lips, the collective sorrow became too much for them. Tears began to stream down Roselle’s face, and the dam broke for Risebelle as well. The sight of Roselle’s sorrow struck a chord deep within her.

  Runebelle, who had been standing nearby, couldn’t hold bay longer. She stepped forward and enveloped both Risebelle and Roselle in a heartfelt hug. The three sister’s sobs filled the room.

  Risebelle mao choke out, “Thank you, Roselle. Thank you, Runebelle. I didn’t realize... I didn’t realize how much I his.”

  Haras ed her arms around Kintovar, huggiightly while boung.“Dr. Kintovar, it worked! Our teology worked t Risebelle back. This is incredible!”

  Kintovar patted Haras on the back with a ral fad said, “Yes, it did, Haras. But I still feel a bit uneasy about it. The ges in Risebelle’s personality, while necessary, are going to be somewhat uable.”

  Haras, feeling Kintovar’s unease, asked, “Is something wrong, Dr. Kintovar? You’ve been w tirelessly on this, and now that we’ve succeeded, shouldn’t you be happy?”

  Kintovar offered a small smile to Haras. “No, nothing’s wrong, Haras. It’s just that now that this is done, I think it’s finally time for me to take a day of rest. I haven’t rested properly since I got here, and now is the time to do that. A stist only gets the liberty of resting after they’ve fiheir work.”

  Haras grinned mischievously, her arms still ed around Kintovar, and said, “So, does that mean we finally go on that date you promised?”

  Kintovar chuckled. “How utterly preposterous, Haras. A stist like me taking a day off for a date? Absurd!”

  Haras’s eyes sparkled with pyful determination. “Oh, e on, Kintovar. I’ll get the hovercraft ready. This is happening!”

  With a sly glint in her eye, Kintovar whispered a and into a small gadget she kept at her side. A moment ter, a hologram of Kintovar materialized, perfect down to the ti detail. The hologram stood in pce, awaiting instrus.

  Kintovar slipped away quietly, leaving Haras to deal with the hologram. As Haras bustled around, preparing for their “date,” Kintovar’s hologram spoke in a soft, melodramatie, “Please, pick me up as if I were a damsel in distress!”

  Haras’s eyes widened, and she ughed. “No, no, no! Kintovar would never say something like that. You o be more, well, vilinous! Something darker.”

  With a gleeful smirk, Haras took a dramatic breath and began quoting while adopting a sinister edge. “’In the abyss of despair, where hope is but a fleeting whisper, I and you to lift me from my s as though I were a captive of your darkest designs!’”

  The hologram, with its pre-recorded Kintovar voice, tried to keep its posure. “Well, that’s certainly… more fitting.”

  Haras beamed and lifted up hologram kintovar. “Perfeow, let’s get this hovercraft moving. We’ve got a date to attend!”

  Kintovar, watg from her hidden spot, stifled a chuckle.

  The m sun glistened on the freshly fallen snow, casting a dazzling white b over the ndscape. Risebelle stood outside with her sisters, Roselle and Runebelle, in a desigraining area. A line of targets had bee up, eaarked with a different emblem representing various magical orders.

  Risebelle felt the cold breeze against her skin but paid it little attention. She drew her on, a sleek and deadly on that had been a stant panion on their missions. The hatred still burned within her. She looked at the first target, and eled her feelings. In her mind, she pretehe target was a mage trying to harm her or her sisters. The hatred surged through while she was taking her aim. With a precise movement, she pulled the trigger, and her medium-sized on unleashed an explosively charged round.

  The target burst into fmes. A smoky plume rose into the cold air. Risebelle lowered her on and said, “I switch between using my silencer, an explosive shot, and a normal round now. It’s a signifit improvement that will help us on our missions.”

  Roselle and Runebelle watched in amazement. Roselle beamed at her older sister and said, “That’s amazing, Risebelle! Having the versatility to switch between different shots will give us an advantage in the field.”

  Runebelle’s face was somewhat softened by the warmth of the moment. “It’s a great addition to your abilities, and it will make you even more effective. “

  Risebelle grew serious. “Listen, both of you. We ’t afford tet what Dark Whirlwind is capable of. She’s still out there, and her power is something we o be prepared to face.”

  Roselle and Runebelle nodded in uanding. Roselle added, “That’s why we’re training right now, Risebelle. We know we have to get stronger and improve our skills if we’re going to stand a ce against her.”

  Risebelle aowledged Roselle’s words with a curt nod. “Exactly. We’ll keep practig and refining our abilities. We ’t let uard down, and we ’t allow ourselves to bee pt.”

  She gazed at the targets that remaianding and said, “We’ll do this exercise again, but ime, we’ll surround the target and take out the others. We have to be ready for anything Dark Whirlwind throws our way.”

  With a renewed sense of purpose, the sisters tiheir training, knowing that they had to be at the top of their game for the eventual rematch against Dark whirlwind.

  The m arrived with a crispness in the air. In their desigraining area, Roselle and Risebelle prepared for a different kind of challenge: hand-to-hand bat.

  Roselle stood poised. She cracked her knuckles with a faint yellow lightning ing around her hands a.

  Risebelle, oher hand, focused ily. She summoned a delicate stream of water, encirg her fists.

  “Ready when you are,” Risebelle said.

  Roselle wasted no time. With a burst of lightning, she closed the distaween them in a fsh. Roselle’s punches came flying. Risebelle’s fists, ed in water, moved with an almost serpentine grace, defleg Roselle’s lightning-enharikes with a practiced ease.

  Roselle’s attacks became more intense. She increased her speed even further by boosting her output. She aimed high and low, hoping to catch Risebelle off guard, but Risebelle ’s water-ed fists absorbed the impact of Roselle’s punches and redirected the force with smooth, calcuted terattacks.

  “Your speed is impressive,” Risebelle noted, catg Roselle’s punch with a sweeping motion. “But the key to overing it isn’t just speed. It’s knowing how to use it against itself.”

  Roselle grinned. “Well, I’m not going to make it easy for you. You’ve got to stay sharp.”

  Alden, the owner of the , emerged from it. He called out to the girls,“Lunchtime, everyone!”

  Risebelle, Roselle, and Runebelle gathered around him. “You’ve been w hard out here. e inside, and I’ll fix up something to eat.”

  Risebelle responded suspisingly. “Thank you, Alden...”

  Alden nodded ahem ihe , where a hearty meal repared. He khat the girls typically only o eat once a day, and he wao make sure they had a satisfying and nourishing lunch. The meal was a blend of different dishes, suitable for each of their tastes and preferences.

  Alden joihem at the table, making sure they felt at home in his . The group sat down for lunch. Kintovar remained engrossed with a small gadget in her hands. Haras, oher hand, wasted no time and began to dig into the delieal that Alden had prepared. The fvors of the food were a pleasant delight.

  Aldeo catch up with Kintovar, inquired, “Kintovar, are you still pnning on heading South to explore the industrial and teological side of South Jancito?”

  Kintnced up briefly from her gadget and replied, “Yes, I do o make that trip to gather information and make some tacts. But it won’t take too long. My primary goal is to reach East Jancito before the day of the Tour. I have important matters to attend to there.”

  Mystimonia joihe table. “I might have missed out oion in Jay’s domain, but I’m not worried. I’ll meet her one-on-one in the Eastern Jancito tour. She won’t be able to escape me there.”

  After the group finished eating, Sally said, “Thank you for the meal!”

  With her boundless energy, Sally immediately hopped out of her chair and started to run around Roselle. The young girl was always eager to py, and today was no exception.

  Sally approached Risebelle and, “Risebelle, do you want to py with us?”

  Risebelle wasn’t used to the idea of ‘pying and having fun’. Her response was a hesitant, “Maybe.”

  Kintovar turo Sally and said, “I’m sorry, Sally. We have to leave immediately, so there won’t be time for py today.”

  Sally’s face fell. Alden’s eyes narrowed. “Did you get the train tickets for your journey, Kintovar?”

  Kintovar reached int and pulled out the train tickets, holding them up for everyoo see. “I did. I should have mentio sooo the others, but the tickets are ready. We’re set to leave in a few hours.”

  Alden gave a small sigh, nodding in uanding. “Its fine, Kintovar. I didn’t expect you to stay forever. Still, I wish we could’ve had more time together. It’s been a pleasure having you all here.”

  Kintovar’s expression softened. “Thank you, Alden. reciate your hospitality more than words express. We’ve been made to feel very wele.”

  Kintovar packed up her belongings with Haras, the group prepared for their departure. Outside, the atmosphere was heavy with Sally’s tears and her pleas for Roselle not to leave. She g to Roselle, saying, “Please don’t go, Roselle. I’ll be so lonely without you.”

  Risebelle, who had ofteoid distant, was the one who stepped forward. She bent down to Sally’s level aly patted her on the head. Risebelle’s memories flooded back to when they had to share a room on her first arrival, a time when she had held onto Sally’s small hand. It was a moment of innod purity that had touched her heart, even amidst the simmering hatred she carried. Risebelle gazed into Sally’s eyes and said, “Sally, you won’t be alone. You have your dad, and he loves you very much. Remember the times we shared a room together, just you and me? I’ll always remember that. But now, I have to go on a mission to keep you and everyone safe. We’ll e back, I promise. Be strong for me, okay?”

  Sally looked up at Risebelle with teary eyes and nodded, uanding the y of their mission.

  Alden’s eyes was slightly widened as he said, “Well, that’s a surprise ing from you, Risebelle.”

  Kintovar added, “Indeed, it is. But we must be on our way now. This is goodbye, for now.”

  Alden gave her a smile. “Goodbye, Dr. Kintovar.”

  With a sense of mutual respect, they shook hands.