One hour later…


    The candles are lit, and the sofas and the coffee table have been pushed aside, creating a small circle of calm. We’ve swept away the broken glass, the shattered instruments… the remnants of that life in disarray.


    It’s not much, but it’s enough – a little sanctuary where we can gather in quiet prayer.


    In the Palace of Lights, there’s a grand prayer hall – a vast, opulent space tended by the healers and paladins of the Order of Selene. It gleams with devotion to immortal Rinnah, rivalling even the sacred splendour of its counterpart in the Chantry of Eternal Light. But that ain’t the place for us.


    Better to do it here, away from the grandeur… away from the world. Just the three of us.


    I slip off my high heels and kneel on the cold tiles, the chill seeping through my stockings and sending a tremor up my legs. Anna hands me a battered copy of the Codex Rinnah, found amid the chaos of Eris’ suite. Many of its pages are damaged… but the ones I need are intact.


    It’ll do.


    The Requiem is the Order of Selene’s prayer for the dead. Inscribed in Enochian, the divine language of the gods, it’s a rite meant to offer peace and comfort in a time of loss. Healers commit the words to memory as part of their training… bringing land and heavens near.


    I never had to recite the Requiem in the previous timeline. Back then, Anna and I didn’t have anyone to mourn. Not until Arcadia and the Demon Lord… where it all ended.


    But in this timeline, I’ve said the sacred words for the dead before. Anna and I… we prayed for Roderic Sinclair’s crew after the Highgrove Warrens. And now, we’re praying for Eris’ friends. Her manager. The ones she lost to the Demon Cult.


    This whole situation… it fucking sucks. It really does.


    “Please join us, Eris,” Anna murmurs, voice gentle as she gestures to her right. “Arisa will lead us in the Requiem.”


    Eris hesitates. Her hands are curled into fists against her lap, her nails biting into her palms. Her red-rimmed eyes flicker with uncertainty.


    It''s her first time taking part in something like this. She’s never been the religious type, and these rites are unfamiliar – little more than distant echoes, things she’s only overheard in passing during her life in the Holy City.


    But eventually… she nods, kneeling beside Anna.


    “Let’s begin, Arisa.”


    Anna reaches for our hands, her grip warm and steady… a quiet promise of comfort. She bows her head, closing her eyes, and I follow suit, my gaze drifting to the Enochian script inscribed upon the worn pages of the Codex Rinnah.


    “All who live shall know both dawn and dusk,” I begin softly in Enochian, my voice barely above a whisper, reverent in the stillness. “For mortal life is but a fleeting breath upon the endless march of time…”


    I wasn’t like this back home in my world. My parents weren’t religious, and neither was I. Our village wasn’t either. There was a small shrine tended by our local Shrine Maiden who worked as a hairdresser most days of the week, and it was mostly empty. As a village, we held yearly festivals… but that was all.


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Even at St. Elicia’s, where I was Student Council President, faith was merely a duty – an obligation, a requirement set by archaic rules dating back to the feudal era of Saint Elicia.


    But here, in Nisha… things are different. I am different. I’ve changed.


    Maybe it’s because magic is real here. Or maybe… I wanna believe in something. That all of this – everything that has happened and will happen… is happening for a reason.


    “Death is not an end, but a return – a passing through the sacred Cycle where all things are renewed… where all burdens are lifted… and all wounds find rest.”


    Eris shudders. A sharp, ragged breath. Then, a whisper, barely audible.


    “Mister Roland. Everyone…”


    Her voice breaks. She’s crying – raw, wracking sobs that shake her whole body, tearing through her like a storm and leaving only emptiness in their wake. Anna pulls her close, arms wrapped around her, whispering quiet reassurances. Eris clings to her, trembling… her grief spilling out in uneven gasps and shuddering cries.


    She’s finally letting go. Grieving. She carried this sorrow even when she tried to forget, burying it deep and locking it away… but the pain never truly left. Magic can do many things, but it can’t mend a broken heart.


    It’s… bittersweet. My vision’s a little blurry now. Just a little! But I have to hold it together and be stronger than I feel. As a Healer of the Order of Selene… I have rites to perform.


    Words to say… as they oughta be said.


    “May Rinnah bring rest to the departed…” I continue in Enochian, my voice steady despite the weight in my chest… despite the grief around me pressing in like a heavy fog. “May She bring solace to their loved ones in this season of sorrow…”


    My fingers tighten around the worn pages of the Codex Rinnah, tracing the sacred script as if anchoring myself to the words.


    “For it is She who walks through the valley of the shadow of Death… bringing her children to a haven where pain and longing fade into light.”


    I remember crying for Shinji, alone in my room, staring at the ceiling as the weight of his absence settled over me like a shroud. I wonder if the others did the same behind closed doors, if they mourned him in their own ways. Eventually… we all found a way to carry on.


    But you, Anna…


    I never had to grieve for you.


    Because… you’re with me, here and now. Alive and well, as if you never died at all. It was like all I had seen and felt in Arcadia one timeline ago was nothing more than a bad dream, and I had been pinched awake… that everything was still okay.


    It let me escape that pain. For that, for this second chance… I’m grateful. I truly am.


    And I… don’t ever wanna feel what I felt that night for Shinji, ever again. Especially not for you, my Paladin. As your Healer, as yours… I’ll keep you safe in this timeline.


    “Roland, Lilia, Aisha, and Isuli…” I murmur in Enochian, my voice barely more than a whisper now. “May their spirits fly free, safe in the light of Rinnah’s Mercy.”


    I press my palm gently against the Codex Rinnah, as if sealing the Requiem back into the sacred pages. The flickering candlelight casts long shadows across the floor, dancing like unseen spirits taking their final leave.


    “May those who mourn be comforted in Her boundless Grace,” I conclude in Enochian, closing my eyes for a fleeting moment. “Forevermore.”


    “Goodbye, Mister Roland…” Eris utters, her voice fragile and trembling, each word weighted with sorrow as fresh tears slip down her pale cheeks. “Goodbye…”


    I open my eyes and exhale, my breath heavy with exhaustion. Not from a lack of Mana or too much strain. I’m just… tired. It’s been a long day.


    Wordlessly, I set the Codex Rinnah aside and look up. The air is thick with the remnants of our prayer, echoes of grief lingering in the quiet.


    Eris is still weeping; her body wracked with silent tremors, her fingers tangled in Anna’s sleeves as if she fears letting go will mean losing everything. Anna holds her without hesitation, smoothing a hand over her back, whispering soft words of comfort.


    When her gaze meets mine… she nods, solemn and knowing.


    I nod back.


    It’s time for me to return to Lady Mezalune. I’ve done all I can here.