After following Miyas for some time through the snow covered land, thoughts reminiscent of a nostalgic life before creep into Cer’s mind. I wonder if she remembers what happened…is she mad?... or maybe she is sad…

“I know that look on your face Sir… What are you scheming?” Miyas says without looking back at Cer.

“You can see backwards?” Asks Punkin with curious amusement.

“No, You just can’t see me looking at you. It’s magic!” Responds Miyas in a teasing tone.

Grinning Cer, chimes in. “It’s an illusion Pupu. She plays tricks with your eyes so you think she is looking away, but she keeps looking back to check on us. Isn’t that right Miyas? Do you think we’d run away or leave you?”

“Nice trick Sir!!. So you can see past my illusions. You still know nothing! So you can SHUT UP and stay quiet.” Snaps Miyas towards Cer.

“Ooooooh. You said a bad words, You said a mean things. We don’t say Shut Up…” Chimes Punkin at Miyas’ rashness.

Giggling, Miyas smiles at Punkin, “Tsk tsk. You just said it, Pupu.”

“Oh no. I said a bad things.” Punkin responds while her face flushes red from embarrassment.

“It’s okay Pupu, we all do bad things sometimes and make mistakes; it doesn’t make us bad people does it?” Asks Cer, with one eyebrow cocked while looking at Miyas through the corner of Cer’s eyes.

Seemingly bothered by Cer’s question, Miyas changes the conversation. “We are almost here Pupu. Sir, you can wait here.”

“I can? Maybe I want to come with you further.” Cer responds with a smile suggesting that Cer would ignore the request.

With her hands clasped behind her back, Miyas continues to walk in big strides and smiles. “You don’t really have a choice here Sir… it’s not like your body will let you go any further.”

Caught off guard, Cer’s face fills with an expression of surprise. Wh-hat?!? Why are their mana sources getting further away. Waaaait My body isn’t moving? I can’t speak! Pupu!!! Waaaaiiiit.

Seeing their mana fade away, Cer hears Pupu’s voice shrink in the distance. “Daddy has his thinking face again.”

“Yes, we should let him think. We have to get your mother’s gift.” Giggles Miyas.

–Break–

“Whoah!!! Me-ass, where’re we?” Punkin asks while looking around the vast cavern they entered. “It’s so PRETTY. It glows like the flower!”

“Yes, this is the heart of the land. The center of the islands that are now frozen together as one. This is where I stay.” responds Miyas. “We have been waiting for someone like… Wait. No. I have been waiting for YOU.”

“Really?!?!” Claps Punkin with excitement.

Giving her ribbon wand a whirl in the air, Miyas reveals hidden cages and shelves of trinkets, animals, books, and artifacts. “Your mother sent me here to find a very special animal and protect it with all these other animals and things.”

Looking around in awe, Punkin gawks and points at all the shiny artifacts and clothes and trinkets. “So shiny! Can I have that? And that? I want that!”

Smiling with a deep sense of appreciation and reverence for Punkin’s innocence, Miyas glimmers and glows and begins to transform into a young woman closer to Cer’s age while maintaining her light-but-no-longer- childlike voice. “Those things are flashy. But this is what we have been saving for you.”

Snapping her fingers, Miyas releases a hidden barrier in the center of the room, where a folded garment unravels itself, revealing an iridescent hooded cloak with soft fur-like scales emanating a mysteriously peaceful aura. “Kylan, meet Punkin, the budding seed of Claira and container of Cer. Pupu, meet Kylan, the last known magical species of Kirin your mother had me protect for you…or what is left of her.”

“Mommy made me a sweater?” Squeals Punkin as she jumps up and down, clapping her hands in delight.

Trying to explain the importance of the cloak, Miyas stumbles on her words with embarrassment. “No. No. Uhm. It was a sacred creature. But uh..”

“You KILLED IT!!” Screams Punkin in anguish and sadness. “You made it into a sweater!”

“No, I didn’t kill it. It isn’t a sweater. I transmuted it. It asked me to. YOUR MOTHER ASKED ME TO BRING IT HERE AND PROTECT IT BECAUSE OF POACHERS! In the end, Kylan gave up its form as a beautiful being so it can be free and not be hunted. Kirins are sacred, legendary, magically, even regarded as celestial. They can feel the essence of presence of purity and of evil and will choose to align with those they deem fit and worthy through their pureness. Kylan and I are friends, though Kylan has made it clear, I am not the one Kylan will be staying with. However…”

Noticing Kylan hovering towards Punkin, Miyas stops speaking mid-sentence as her jaw opens and gawks in amazement.

Kylan, the mystical hooded cloak with a small horn like a unicorn, begins stretching itself out and resizing itself as it’s aura manifests as warmth and light, brightly pulsing in front of Punkin. The hood of Kylan then tilts down, as it bows to Punkin, hugging her in the warm gentleness of its aura as it envelops her in a bubble of light.

Clapping with excitement as Kylan bows, a few tears slide down Punkin’s face as she fervently nods her head while gazing at Kylan’s hood, as if she was agreeing to a conversation only she could hear.

Reaching out the corners of its cloak, Kylan catches Punkin’s tears and wraps itself around Punkin.

“Thank you, Kylan! You knew mommy? I remember! This is how mommy hugs me!! Yes! You can stay with me and Daddy.” Whispers Punkin, as she snuggles into Kylan’s comfort.

Gracefully, Kylan wraps around Punkin’s back and places it’s hood over Punkin’s head while its corners reach down to embrace Punkin’s shoulders. The remainder of Kylan, folds itself and wraps around and ties around Punkin’s waist, keeping her body warm and covered from the cold.

Witnessing Kylan choose its partner, Miyas sheds a single tear of both joy and sadness. I see. I wish you had chosen me. I know I have made mistakes and have hurt many people and failed you. I can see why you chose her. She has more love than we will ever have for ourselves. She breaks through the walls we build around ourselves. She is amazing. She is so much like her mother. So he is capable of good things.

Interrupting Miyas’ contemplation, a sudden rustling near Miyas startles her.

“I have learned your ley lines and mana flow Miyas. Your illusions are beyond what Claira could have taught you. I am proud of where you have come. You can create lies in our minds, but you cannot lie to yourself. What happened to this land? What have you done?” Cer speaks sternly but gently without judgment or punitive intent.

Letting her tears flow and hit the ground where they glow and absorb into the floor, Miyas cries and slumps over in defeat. “Everyone left me all alone. I waited and nobody came. Claira said it would be paradise and it felt like hell. I couldn’t stand living in a place that did not feel like me. I’m sorry.”

Catching Miyas as her knees buckle, Cer embraces Miyas and rests her head against his heart. “You feel that? That is what I feel from you. You just forgot your way. You felt alone before you believed everyone left you all alone. Yor magic is strong and your external environment reflects your internal environment. It is okay. We all need to grieve our own demons and grieve when we let our walls down. They protected us from our own demons at the expense of letting others in.

I have never left you or forgotten about you Miyas. I have always been your shadow. Following you as you walked in your light. And as your shadow, now that you are in darkness, I have grown to embrace you as I absorb your darkness as part of me. I have never left you. I am and will always be your shadow, my precious pupil.

I am proud of you for keeping your promise to Claira. I can see she trusted you with the most sacred of creatures. You have unknowingly held the burden and vulnerability of the world on your own for so long. Let the weight go. You are not alone, ever. We shall carry this weight of loneliness with you, and you will never be alone as we carry it together. “

Embracing Cer tightly and crying into Cer’s chest, Miyas’ tears saturate Cer’s clothes and begin to flow and drip into the ground.

As the tears absorb into the ground, the ground emanates with light as mana surges through the materia of the sacred land.

Seeing Miyas cry, Punkin cries and runs over to Cer and Miyas, embracing both of them while stroking Miyas’ head to soothe her. “Don’t be sad Me-Ass. I love you. You’re okay… Your’e okay…”

Outside the cave, the snow quickly thaws and melts. The ice that froze the islands together dissolve into the ocean and sea. Brush, trees, flowers, and shrubs grow back to the state they were before they were frozen in a time of desolation, loneliness, and emptiness.

Sensing the aura and changes occurring outside, Cer offers a single chuckle of warmth and appreciation. “You dug your roots in sorrow and built a wall around you so tight it choked your ability to grow. You have been uprooted and trans-potted from the walls you built to an open world where you can grow beyond the dreams of your imagination. You see, changing the truth we hold inside, changes what others experience around us. Are you ready to come home now, our dearest Miyas?”

Without looking up, Miyas nods, and her form begins to shift as she transforms into her child-like appearance.

“Ah. I see. Entering back into the world will feel like a new world to you. Like stepping out of a dark cave into the light. It will take time for eyes to adjust and see the beauty that we once feared outside the certainty of our cave. For now, rest. If you are ready to step into your light and discover yourself, tomorrow we journey and start to find our way home.”

Nodding in agreement, Miyas and Punkin both slip and fade into sleep,

As soon as they begin to breathe deep in their slumber, Cer gently places Myas and Punkin both next to each other and quietly leaves the cave to feel the true warmth of the sun upon Cer’s skin.

Shifting, Kylan unravels itself and covers Miyas and Punkin as they sleep, cloaking them in warmth and light as warm as the sunbeams thawing the snow of the world outside.