The memory of the time she spent in that ungodly facility burned in the back of Sora’s twisted nose; the damage they did to Wendy was resurfacing, bringing back the emotions she’d shared with her best friend as her entire life shattered.

Diane’s sunken eyes lifted in surprise. “Sora… Wow, you’ve changed so much… Hmm. I suppose a Founder would grow—”

“I asked why you’re here!” Sora spat, her flaming hair coming unbound as her main Chakram and other copy spun to either side of the witch. “How did you get inside—is Bathin here—Hikaru?!”

“No…”

Fear gripped her belly as a worse scenario flashed across her mind. “Did you bring Hati and Sköll here?!”

Frustration settled in as one of the most disgusting humans she’d ever known got on her hands and knees to bow her head. “No… I came alone—I’m sorry, Sora… I know I was terrible—horrible—to you; I took part in so many horrific things… unforgivable things… I just wanted to… I want to make everything I did right… I’m just so sorry…”

“What do you mean—what trick are you trying to pull?”

This woman had taken the utmost pleasure in tormenting her to satisfy her thirst for knowledge, imprisoning and experimenting on monsters to bolster her own ego and reputation. She analyzed the baneful human, despite Diane’s shabby appearance, Sora sensed a variety of powerful artifacts on her.

“For a third time, Diane… Why are you here?”

“I just… want to make things right,” she pleaded.

“Then you should have just disappeared from my life forever!”

Her teeth clamped together as she recalled the memories and emotions Wendy felt; the image of her best friend’s own mother selling her to these people for less than a lower-middle-class lifestyle, just in an attempt to control Sora.

Venom in her voice, she growled, “Qebhet.”

The disheveled woman’s focus went to the little snake girl that shimmered into existence beside her, a thoughtful frown on the goddess’ lips.

“Ah! You’ve discovered Diane, Sora. What an interesting time to find her, but I suppose it would be when everyone’s converging on the capital.”

“You knew—why didn’t you tell me?”

“She broke no law or rule,” Qebhet innocently replied. “Since her arrival, she has had no ill intent, and while she may carry unusual artifacts, they pose no threat this Realm cannot automatically counter if used.”

“That’s not the point! She hurt us—kidnapped me—my dad; I couldn’t even see my dad before he left Existence because of these people!”

“Hmm. It is a terrible circumstance, yet I am not here to judge those for actions not taken within this Realm, Sora; I am a peacekeeper, and she has kept the peace.”

Fingers closing into a shaking fist, Sora puffed out a long stream of agitated air, Null-Void swirling inside her Chakram as she glared at the prostrated woman. “You’d stop me if I killed her?”

“A cycle of violence cannot be stopped unless one is willing to come to a compromise,” the girl said, head tilting to the side as Jin and Eyia appeared nearby, slipping through space.

“Sister, I sensed your agitation…”

Jin whistled. “That witch from the Human Realm, huh?”

“I—” Sora puffed out a hot breath, trying to remain in control; she was a hair’s breadth from vaporizing Diane from Existence, and some of Inari’s teachings flashed through her mind, but she purposefully focused on specific ones. “Isn’t there always a price—she’s hurt countless people!”

“Indeed, yet the root of rationalizing an action tends to give rise to questioning one’s own motive in its execution,” Qebhet whispered, moving forward to float at her eye level.

“I am not saying she does not deserve your wrath, but in doing so, what good will come of it, especially given you know she holds no ill-will toward you and is as helpless as you were; in addition, she has supported many Vulpes in their transition to freedom.”

“What do you think?” Not wanting to admit she was having trouble pulling the trigger or hear what supposed good the witch had done, Sora turned to someone she knew wouldn’t hesitate for a second to pull the trigger. Yet, her Nordic sister was fixated on the two bracelets on Diane’s wrist.

“Eyia?”

The Valkyrie stepped forward with a deep frown, reaching down to grab Diane’s wrist and force her up, examining the artifact.

“Eh?”

“Where did you obtain these bracelets?”

Thrown off by the sudden redirect, the Null-Void in her chakrams faded. “What is it—are they dangerous—trapped?”

Diane’s fingers quaked a little as Eyia scanned the unusual symbols. “I—I was taken to a space-like dimension by Devin… There were thousands of items inside, but he only took these…”

A soft hum came from behind them; not sensing anyone there, her weapons spun around to center on the intruder—her two aunts—Nari chewing gum, a bubble popping as she put up two fingers in peace.

“Yo, Sora; back for Emi’s chocolate!”

Seiōbo barely visible eyes behind her orange-tinted sunglasses were on the witch, lips curved into a small frown, and in the short silence, she snapped her fingers; Diane vanished, making Eyia’s focus snap to the four-tailed Vulpes.

“I must confirm its authenticity!”

“Mmh…” Nari’s gaze shifted between them. “Interested in that unusual force it resonated? It was rather unique.”

“What’s even happening?” Sora hissed, two chakrams returning to her hair and first tail. “This totally feels like a setup, Aunt Seiōbo! Why’d you take her—”

“Sister, you must ask her to return that hateful woman!” Eyia interjected. “They are the lost items of the original Olympus!”

“Huh?” Totally bewildered by the turn of events, she turned her gaze to her aunts; Nari seemed more or less in the dark about their significance until Eyia’s plea. “What about Olympus? I just wanted to kill her—I’m lost… Help?”

“Ooh! Is that it—Bobo, could that…”

Crossing her legs in the air, Seiōbo held up her hand to silence her sister as she gave them a cryptic smile, vision drifting to Jin, who looked quite perturbed. “I know you have much to say, having memories from your mother, as Dragon Founders tend to possess… Why don’t we settle down and have a proper discussion about this… fortune that has come to us?”

Picking at her lower lip in agitation, Sora groaned, running her fingers through her hair; nothing was turning out how she liked, and Eyia’s nervous fidgets at the look her aunts gave the girl bewildered her. “Give me a reason to not want to kill her—she could be a threat to Emilia.”

Jin’s long, hissing exhale brought her answer, fingernails scratching an itch on her arm. “Wendy…”

It was all she needed to hear.

“I’m listening.”

Nari clapped her hands. “Before that, let’s go see my little chocolate supplier! She’s already questioning why you suddenly booked it to nowhere, and if you don’t come back soon, she’s going to come looking for you.”

It didn’t sound like something her developing pre-teen would do. “Haaa… Fine.”

Qebhet gave a short bow, an amenable smile directed at Sora. “I am here to serve, Lady Sora, and I do not believe your interests are best served in murdering Diane; at least, at this time and in this instance.”

“I wish you would explain to me why,” she grumbled, Nari waving the snake girl off as she wrapped them in a magical weave that transported them through space directly to her nervous daughter.

“M-Mom? Aunt Nari and Bobo?! Auntie Jin and Eyia, too! Oh! You went to get them?” she squealed, Tola giving the pair a graceful bow.

“My little Chocolate Princess!” Nari chimed, swooping down to hug her and spin into the air for them to separate. “You’re an expert at flying now!”

“Hehe! I’ve been practicing a lot with Rayla and Luna—oh, Mom!”

“Hmm?”

“The special chocolate—the super-secret one!”

Nari’s eyes sparkled, drool practically visible. “Super secret one?”

“Mhm! I created it all by myself—Mom was a total nay-eh… nay…!”

“—sayer,” Seiōbo helped.

“Yeah! Total naysayer, but I’m a chocolate genius!”

“Absolutely!” she snickered. “Just for Nari?”

“And you, Aunt Bobo!”

“Aww, how sweet!” The dark-furred Vulpes cooed, glancing at Eyia, her hands pressed against her breast with an urgent look on her face that had the Valkyrie bouncing on her toes. “We’ll save it for a bit later so we can enjoy it with you.”

“Wait!” the girl’s cheeks puffed up, vision narrowing. “You guys are already leaving? You just got here!”

“We’ll be back super fast!” Nari promised, giving her a wink. “We’ll be using your mom’s training room to talk, so it will only be the blink of an eye!”

“I’ll blink—I’m fast at it! You better be back,” she huffed, making Tola giggle.

“Hehe! I’m sure you will,” she laughed. “How about this—if you can get to thirty blinks, I’ll—”

“Thirty?!”

“Thirty!”

“And what?” she questioned, lifting an eyebrow that said it had better be good.

“I’ll show you a chocolate elephant I have!”

Emilia’s lips dropped open. “Elephant… A whole elephant?”

“Premium, ultra-quality—special made—and… magical properties!”

“Can it move?!”

“Maybe. Wanna see?”

She instantly nodded. “Thirty blinks?”

“Thirty.”

“I’m starting! One, two—Mom! Stop!”

She got two in as Sora smiled, breaking her count while rubbing her ears and making them fold. “Hmm-hmm. We’ll be back.”

Seiōbo clapped her hands, and they were instantly standing beside Wendy’s bed, a confused Diane floating in the air.

Sora couldn’t help but smile a little, seeing the witch slowly spinning in the air; she would have been waiting for quite some time in the time-accelerated room, stuck in a perpetual twist—perhaps it was a way to lighten her mood—it worked.

“What about Wendy?”

She turned to frown at her best friend, hair almost a third flames with the other half dyed copper—it wasn’t clear which side would take precedence—Mofupsi was half and half.

Her ink-furred aunt pointed at Diane, utterly silent with her eyes closed as she waited for their verdict, and maneuvered her to a couch. “I understand you have a history, Sora, but it seems… we have been played a rather fascinating hand; hmm-hmm, someone is trying to manipulate us. Why don’t we take a seat?”

Ears twitching with agitation, Sora rubbed her left arm and swung her three tails around to sit in the chair beside Wendy; Diane gingerly took the couch the furthest from her, unable to make eye contact and remaining far too meek for Sora’s liking.

Oddly, Eyia was swift to sit beside her, grabbing her arm without asking, yet the woman didn’t resist. “It has already been set…”

Her aunts settled in beside her, Seiōbo’s relaxed vision on Jin as the Dragon laid on one of the sofas, propping her head against the armrest. “What do you make of this with your foreknowledge?”

Jin glared at the ceiling. “Humph… It’s convenient, and only a Primordial would know that stash’s location; it’s more than suspicious, meaning they want us to know we’re being guided into a path.”

Sora’s glare didn’t leave Diane. “By her?”

“No, Sister,” Eyia mumbled, a shiver running down her frame. “I suspect it is… Mmgh…”

“Hmm?” Sora’s eyebrows pulled together; Eyia was always so consistent that when she froze up like this, it meant there was something terribly conflicting inside of her. “What’s wrong, Eyia?”

Seiōbo cleared her throat. “Jin, perhaps you could elaborate?”

“Haaa… The Herald of Sakura—so far as I know, the store with that particular item was lost during a battle in the Great War between the Primordials and Founders; if this Devin guy found it and, out of everything there, only took those two bracelets… There are powerful artifacts in there that could kill your aunts, yet this was all they took?”

Nari hummed, showing a tad more seriousness than normal. “It is certainly more powerful than both Seiōbo and I; it is of our mother’s level.”

Sora’s gut tightened at the comparison. “Are you telling me it’s 13th-dimensional—both of them?!”

“Basically,” Jin groaned, stretching out her chest before dropping back onto the sofa. “It isn’t combat-related, and probably one reason why the Vulpes in this Realm have been transitioning so smoothly… They’re resonating harmonizers.”

“I thought so,” Seiōbo mused. “It has the power to accelerate Mofupsi and Wendy’s essence evolution.”

Fingers pressing into her lap, Sora’s gaze darted to her slumbering best friend. “No way! So… Wait, why would Devin do that?”

Her thoughts returned to the pompous Wolfwere who had lived to get attention from Eric; she hadn’t seen him at all since Miami. “How… would he know about The Herald… Is he working with her like Eric was?”

Diane’s dry voice spoke, limp hand still being held by Eyia, seemingly engrossed by something only she could see in the two items. “Devin is no longer who he once was… You are probably right—I’m a trap, spent by him… the t-things guiding him,” she choked, waves of fear radiating off her shivering frame as she relieved some past experience.

Crossing her legs in the opposite direction, Sora saw Jin’s pointed stare; she did not like the implications. “Okay… So, could this actually hurt Wendy if it’s a trap?”

Eyia’s blonde locks bounced against her shoulder. “No, Sister… I am searching everything I can see, and there is no taint or force beyond Harmonia’s—it has the properties of destruction in the properties Eris added, or unity, yet only harmony is set.”

Sora drew her long hair around her shoulders to comb through it in agitation. “Not to be rude, Eyia—I know you are way more experienced than I am… but how would you know what a 13th-dimensional item from a Primordial can do, and Greek—not Asgardian? I don’t know if my Aunt Inari could say for certain about something like that.”

Jin’s illuminated yellow irises drifted to her. “Eyia has senses we don’t when it comes to something like that; if she said that, my mother would believe her—that being said…”

“Mhm—the purpose is another matter entirely,” Seiōbo finished. “Nari and I have heard whispers from the Earth Realm’s universe; impressive waves of unsettling strings being plucked, which resonated to open many hidden tunnels throughout Existence… It requires an extensive understanding of how Existence operates.”

“Secret passages!” Nari giggled. “Really secret ones; I don’t know how to find them, but they are capable of transporting higher-dimensional entities across Existence in the blink of an eye to connected locations—accessible anywhere—like an Existence instant delivery system.”

Seiōbo’s sapphire eyes narrowed upon returning to Diane. “So… Explain everything to us—there is a critical decision to be made, and it appears whoever is orchestrating this wants us fully aware of the direction we take.”

It took a second for Diane to gather her courage, taking a deep breath with Sora’s flaming gaze on her before beginning. Devin had been a part of a mad experiment involving one of the werewolves infected by some Eldritch entity or entities within the Herald of Sakura.

Sora had heard a little about that when meeting Pandora herself—the neutral Primordial woman who had been watching her as early as the start of her Vulpes transformation—and she knew perfectly why the witch was terrified of her.

She couldn’t say Pandora’s name without rattling the cage of the evil nightmarish Eldritch amalgamation Amy, Sora’s grandmother, had created, using a forbidden Vulpes magic that Inari feared her little sister had used to create Sora; the artificial Primordial was the embodiment of the box of evil, causing every side to fear her.

After the story was concluded, Sora looked at the melancholy woman with disgust. “Why am I not surprised you played with something First Generation Founders and Primordials are terrified of—you may not have done the experiment, but you gave him the information to go through with it by using the werewolves as guinea pigs—why did anyone not stop it in the first place, Aunt Seiōbo?”

Seiōbo puffed out a long breath. “Unfortunately, I cannot answer that, Sora; however, there is one thing we can assume by this.”

A dangerous note was in Jin’s voice as she swung her legs over the sofa’s edge to lean forward, steepling her fingers. “The Herald opened the box—Sakura played her hand while everyone else was distracted… The focus is on rescuing Amy, leaving Devin to play to the strings of his master, be it these creatures or Sakura, we can’t say.”

Sora’s jaw pressed together. I hate it… There’s always so much happening in the background… Everyone is playing their little chess game, and there’s always someone else out of sight. How big is this?

In the ensuing silence, Sora’s fingernails dug into her thighs, and after a minute of everyone in thought, she posed the obvious. “Does it even matter what we decide? Say we do trip someone up—they’ll just throw something else in my path… What are we even fighting for? I just want to get out of this…”

“Haha!” Everyone looked at Jin as she rolled onto the floor, grasping her stomach in her fits. “Does it matter? Normally, absolutely not, hehe, but Sora… You forget—you’re the wild card in all of this, even more than Aiden, and he adds a loop in itself!”

“How so?”

“You’re not of this Existence,” Seiōbo answered with a soft smile. “A single action you take can throw off ages of planning, which is why Aiden was drawn to you; together, even if you don’t know what you’re doing, the effects you have on Existence go far beyond what you know.”

Nari got up to lift her up and give her a hug, kissing her cheek. “Basically, Bobo’s doing the long-winded thing and saying do what your heart tells you; we’ll back you.”

Sora’s frustration melted in her aunt’s warm embrace and kiss; sitting back down, she closed her eyes, letting her mind clear. A peace came over her with the support of her friends and family—if that was the case, she would do what she wanted.

Vision opening, she looked at Eyia, a smile brightening her lips, ignoring the witch. “What will it do, Eyia?”

The Valkyrie slipped the two bracelets off and moved to hand them to her with a conflicted expression. “Theoretically, they should act as a harmonic balance that will help bridge opposing forces; if worn by both Mofupsi and Wendy… They should bounce off each other, and since they are going through the same Essence transformation… They will feed off one another to stabilize the transition.”

Seiōbo studied them as Sora took the shimmering golden accessories. “I have the same conclusion, however, since it is Null-Void we are dealing with; I believe they will be severely damaged by the process, even with the strength involved.”

“Not only that,” Jin added, mirth dying down as she hoisted herself back onto the couch. “Primordial technology and magic originate in another Existence; it will also have difficulty with her Vulpes side. I wouldn’t say they’ll be destroyed, but according to the knowledge my mother gave me on those items, they’ll need to wear them for a while after for it to stick and not cause a rebound—whatever that means—’cause I got no clue!”

Sora fingered the rings, trusting her friends and family. “So… If they wake up, does that mean we should go straight for Jin’s sister’s place? We were holding off for, well, them to finish this change.”

“Haaa… Yo, Sora,” Jin mumbled, scratching above her eye, “I gotta be honest with you; I’m not confident we can make the trip as we are after talking to your aunts. My family is going to come right for us when they get our position.”

“Not just that!” Nari chimed in. “Bobo says we’re going into Primordial space; we might not just be fighting Dragon Founders in our fight to get to her sister’s palace.”

Sora rolled around her neck, steel setting into her belly as she turned to glare at Diane; she’d let Wendy decide what to do with her since—out of everyone—she’d been affected most by this organization.

Turning back to her best friend, excitement bubbling inside her heart, Sora swallowed the sticky saliva in her throat; if she could have Wendy and Kari go through this training with her, maybe they’d become friends, as well—finally, they could start bridging this colossal divide, and Wendy wouldn’t feel so inferior or helpless.

“We’ll stay and finish training—hehe, plus, I don’t think I could convince Emilia to cut her schooling short; she needs it—in fact, Tola and White need us, too. Wow, we have a lot to do!”

A giggle came from her blonde aunt. “Good point! Emi would throw a fit; I would, too! I still have so much chocolate to find and flavor!”

“Ugh… Nari, you could create something far more divine.”

“Yes, buuuut, then I wouldn’t be able to enjoy Emi’s enhanced chocolate so much!”

Sora slipped the first bracelet on Wendy’s right wrist before moving around the bed to her self-acclaimed servant’s—it suddenly dawned on her that Mofupsi was a perfect sitter when Tola was gone—it worked out. “Aww, you’re holding yourself back from higher-dimensional chocolate for Emi? You’re awesome, Aunt Nari.”

“Mmh-hmm-hmm-hmm! Of course, I’m the best aunt—no competition—Emi is all mine! Mia-ha-ha-ha!”

She laughed at her imitation of the evil aunt, but it soon died down as she held her breath; Null-Void and foxfire roared into life between Mofupsi and Wendy—the force rebounding between them—it spun into a cyclone that continued to branch out, forcing them back.

“Is that… supposed to happen?” Sora nervously asked, the only one remaining near the two in case she was needed, strengthening her protective fields around the dress and amulet her daughter had made.

“Yes,” Eyia shouted, an odd pulse reverberating in the air. “It is equalizing their resonance—one will take the Null-Void and the other Vulpes Founder…”

She paused as, instead of splitting, the bracelets began to flake away, the bed and floor being converted into food for the outer Existence substance, and a mix of the two forces compressed into Wendy and Mofupsi.

Eighty percent of the foxfire sank into Mofupsi while the same amount of Null-Void ate through Wendy’s clothes to turn her into a flaming mass. Patterns swirled into existence around the Vulpes’ nine tails, causing a streak of mostly copper and some white to remain.

Sora’s attention was mostly on her best friend, though—Wendy’s body converted to pure Null-Void, and she could feel a tight resonance that felt so familiar that the answer instantly sparked in her mind—in changing her Essence, she’d imprinted a part of her own spiritual DNA onto her; by her father’s weapon-like race’s standards, they were now real sisters.

Another surprise came in the form of the Null-Void solidifying into a fancy, silver, metallic book, patterns Sora remembered her friend doodling in middle-school etched across the cover—Wendy had mostly taken after her father’s side.

Mofupsi’s lime-green irises cracked open as the forces left; the bracelet cracked in several places. “M-Master? I…”

Giggling as Sora heard a hum come from Wendy that no one could hear—she was speaking in Null-Void pulses—she knew her new sister would still understand English, even if she couldn’t speak it without a physical body.

She floated up to slide her fingers down her new sister’s spine—Sora always wanted a sister—and smirked at the quiver she felt. “Wendy… looking fancy—oh?”

Sora giggled again, wondering what the others would think about the girl’s wild awakening as she started to freak out, pages flying out in a frenzy like blades, threatening to cut her Null-Void, physical projection into pieces.

“Eek—S-Sora… where are you touching?! What—Ahh! What am I? Sora—I-I-I…”

Sora released her friend in surprise as the several pages—not many being inside her small book form—broke away to try and push her away, Wendy screaming, “What am I doing?! How do I stop… Help! Help!”

“Haha! Wendy—j-just calm down a little—woah, watch it!” she called out, hopping away as the blades went for her chest, legs, and tails; it redirected, and Sora released her corporeal form as her friend instantly changed course to meet her. “What are you doing, Wendy?!”

Sora’s Chakrams twisted around the wasp-like pages with the girl’s flailing attempts to catch anything, likely not accustomed to flying—and still screaming for help—Wendy chased her through the air; she couldn’t stop laughing at her new sister’s subconscious lunges.

The others were totally lost, only hearing Sora’s cries, but it seemed Mofupsi at least was able to understand their Null-Void conversation, not that she’d have the cultural understanding of why this was so funny to her new master.

“I don’t know! I’m trying to grab anything that can stop me from spinning—I’m so dizzy—I’m gonna be sick…”

“Oh! I’m the only thing that, heh, can actually hold you when you’re just eating everything!”

“I’m not trying to! My stomach… Bleh…”

Flashing back into physical form, Sora used her months of training to expertly twist around the pages and grab her book, instantly making the sheets freeze as Wendy barfed the semi-converted, spiritual residue out of her inner binder; Sora didn’t even know they could throw up.

“There! I’ve got you—”

“My butt!”

“Woops! Let me just slide—”

“Eek! Can you be a little gentler?! What is happening—I see like… everything—bleh…”

“Ahh! Watch it!” she hissed, holding her a little to the left as more goo-like solidified spiritual force ejected out. “Right! Right! We can see in 360 degrees; you’ll get used to it—eh, try to make a physical body—focus on that…”

She let go as a high concentration of Null-Void exploded out of Wendy, catching her by surprise; she managed to protect her necklace, but, unfortunately, her dress was consumed by her panicking friend.

“Really…” Sora groaned, looking down at her naked body before generating a Null-Void replacement and hoping Emilia wouldn’t notice. “You doing okay?”

Wendy’s pure-white, naked body hung in the air, hunched over, holding her stomach; now in a mostly human-state, English came out, and after unwittingly consuming more, her voice was perhaps even more sickly.

Smiling slyly, Sora was grateful that the others hadn’t heard Wendy’s half of the conversation; there would be no sweet home Alabama jokes when the others discovered the new relations on this day!

“Mmgm… No—gah—this is horrible!” Wendy hacked, tears leaking from her illuminated eyes to vanish on the way down as Existence annihilated them.

Wendy fluctuated between her book and physical figure a few times, her fluttering pages cycling around her, but with some coaxing—and everyone else staying far back from the explosive dance—Sora helped her remain at least semi-stable.

“There… Feeling better? Oh—”

Yet, after thirty seconds, she collapsed again, showing just how unstable she was.

Working her physical state back up, she coughed. “No… Ugh… I feel so… gross…”

“Well, if you’re just sucking everything in like a black hole, of course you’d be sick.”

“Yeah, great advice… just don’t do the thing—”

“Hehe. Take your time!”

“Master?” Mofupsi whispered, having watched helplessly; it seemed she didn’t have the same immunity to the force from her hesitation.

Sora took a deep breath, vision centering on the bracelet that was still around Mofupsi’s wrist; it was shrunk and molded snuggly against the fox’s arm, and the same was true for the portion of Wendy’s binder, standing out a bit and showing more damage. “I’m glad to see you’re all okay.”

“Odd definition of… fine—ugh. How much time has passed? No! I collapsed again. How can I keep it?”

“Erm… It was supposed to take three years… We’ll figure this—”

“W-What? Three years have passed?!”

“No! Eight months; we figured out another way—eh-heh, or it came to us,” she mumbled, pointing at her book as she brought it around to look at it.

“So… This is really me—and why am I naked…”

“Here!” Sora snickered, creating a bra, underwear, shorts, and a tank top for her to slip into, but Wendy couldn’t keep her human state for long. “Something simple and easy—oh, but be sure not to slip out of it!”

“I can do that? Wait, why do I feel this… weird pull to you—I felt it before, too…”

“Don’t worry; I’ll teach you all the tricks! Welcome back, Wendy,” she whispered, stepping in to draw her closer. “We’re real sisters now—hehe, which makes you Emilia’s real aunt!”

Emotion touched her voice. “Really?”

“Mhm! Heh, but you’re a book now! Haha!”

Warm skin beginning to tremble against hers, Null-Void tears fell against Sora’s shoulder as Wendy pulled her in tighter. “Thank you, Sora… Thank you for not abandoning me…”

“Never… Now, eh-heh, I think we need to do some training before we go to the festival—don’t need you vaporizing all Emilia’s chocolate!”

Wendy could only blubber an unintelligible response in return, Mofupsi standing nearby with a soft smile; finally, things could get back to normal.