"Uh… what now?" Desty’s worry curled like winter steam. "What’s the trigger condition? Can you say it?" "Oh—maybe not; you can’t explain it yourself."

Lucimia sighed again, breath thin as frost-mist. "Don’t rush. Maybe plants won’t work; try animals."

"Ah… alright." Her heart sank like a stone in snow. Desty felt she never helped, only stirred trouble.

She ducked her head, frustrated, toe flicking packed snow. The spray kissed Lucimia’s shins like cold rain.

"Uh… sorry…" Desty raked her hair, awkward as a sparrow in wind.

Lucimia halted, turned, and looked back, a sigh drifting like a pale cloud.

"Sorry, Desty," she said, the words falling like snowflakes.

"Wh-why say that now?" Desty stopped too, confusion shining like water in her eyes.

"Dragging you into this," Lucimia said, gaze sliding away like a river. "You don’t need to do this with me. Maybe go home, live the days you want."

"I…" Her throat tightened like a knotted ribbon.

"Remember Jaha Town?" Her voice moved like oars on dark water. "I kept urging you to sail with me, because I didn’t want you to die." She continued, breath smoking white in the cold. "Then I promised to protect the town. Now I’m trading with Nirael, and by that, shielding the Empire." She paused, a heartbeat in ice. "I think there’s a way for both. I’ll protect the Empire for you. You leave now and live. What do you say?"

Silence fell, heavy as fresh snow.

When Lucimia finished, she met Desty’s eyes. Desty lowered her head, pulling in two steady breaths like bellows, and spoke softly. "Do you think… I’m the kind who abandons a partner?"

Before Lucimia could answer, she went on, words firm as a drawn blade. "I became a Holy Knight to guard. I’ve been ready for death. And where would I go? I helped Nirael, and they already brand me a traitor."

"I can use Reversion," Lucimia said, voice smooth as ice. "When Diana attacked us, you could say you were undercover."

"No use." Desty shook her head, like a pine shedding snow. "The Purification Deity is a Dark Deity, and I won’t serve a Dark Deity." Her breath clouded like smoke. "If they order us to kill Evil Entities, we’d be killing ones like you, like Nirael…" She looked at the white hills. "Right now, aside from staying with you, I’ve nowhere to go."

Lucimia held her tongue, quiet as a frozen stream.

They stood there, the air muffled by snow, silence thick as wool.

After a long moment, Lucimia stepped and turned, like a crane breaking frost.

"Let’s go," she said, voice light as drifting snow.

"Uh, yeah…" Desty nodded, a small motion in the storm.

They moved through mountain flurries, searching for animal-type monsters, boots biting the crusted white.

But in weather this extreme, only high-level beasts still roamed, iron-hard by the storm. A magic duel would eat time and strength, and they might still slip away.

Lucimia wanted a weaker one, just to test, yet the snow kept its secrets.

In the end, she chose to dig up the small hibernators hidden under winter’s quilt.

"Bear-type monsters usually hibernate," Desty said, knowledge shining like lamp-light. "They nest in big tree hollows, rock caves and burrows, under logs or stones, by river levees, in dark ditches and shallow dips. We search there."

"Good," Lucimia nodded, like a pine bowing under frost.

They found several rock faces, veiled by snow, Frost, and snarled brush. Lucimia cast Wind Blade to slice the tangle, then blew the snow back with magic, and shaped Frost to clear the face. Earth magic lifted loosened stones. Soon, a cave mouthed open like a black door.

They shared a glance, quick as a spark. Desty lit the dark with mana, and they went in.

"Roar!" The sound hammered the cave like thunder.

The beast inside had already woken; their digging had rattled its dreams like stones.

A bear-type monster charged out, green eyes glinting like lanterns at dusk, fixed on the two girls.

Lucimia didn’t hesitate. Her hand rose, and an ice spike flew, sharp as a winter fang. The beast sprang aside, landed bristling, fur standing, lightning flickering like snakes.

This one could use magic—power humming like a storm under fur.

It gathered strength for two heartbeats, jaws gaping. Hind legs kicked, and a bolt carved the air, streaking for Lucimia with arrow-fast speed.

Lucimia stayed calm, a lake under moon. She lifted her small hand, palm toward the thunder-bear. In the next breath, its lightning poured into her, a storm of elements pooling in her palm.

The bear froze, stunned, like a stag caught in torchlight. It had never seen anyone take its own magic.

Lucimia willed it, and the lightning became a spear, bright as a split sky. Magic coiled her fingers as she gripped the haft, stepped forward, and hurled it hard.

Zzz—! The spear hissed, cutting through like a blade through bamboo. The bear couldn’t react; the spear punched its skull and drove it back, pinning it to stone.

One strike, one kill, clean as a falling guillotine.

Lucimia dusted her hands, calm as settling snow.

"So strong?" Desty breathed, eyes wide as moons.

"Alright, let’s keep testing," Lucimia said, voice steady as steel.

"Mm." The sound was small, like a sparrow peep.

Lucimia jogged up, drew back the magic sustaining the lightning spear, then laid the bear on the ground like a felled log.

She watched blood run, a dark stream over pale stone. Her fingers touched lingering warmth, and Lucimia went still, like a deer scenting fire.

For no reason she could name, the thought rose like smoke: this bear might be very, very tasty.

She twitched her nose, catching a phantom savor. It rivaled the fine plates of noble kitchens, rich as buttered flame.

Hunger slammed her gut like a drum. Saliva welled, throat worked, tongue slicked her lips.

Lucimia was hungry, a wolf in winter skin.

She wanted to eat this monster—not with the Fuzzy Orb, but with her own mouth. Tear with teeth, chew, swallow, claim.

Without noticing, she pressed a hand to its body and bent slowly, like a tide lowering.

"Lucimia?" Desty asked, puzzled, voice flicking like a candle. "What are you doing? Aren’t we testing Devouring with the Fuzzy Orb? You were using the Fuzzy Orb before."

"Uh." The call snapped her back like a branch. She saw the bear’s head inches from her teeth, startled, sprang up, and turned, back to the corpse.

"Cough, cough…" Lucimia cleared her throat, a shiver running like icewater. She was spooked by herself.

What’s wrong with me? Corruption?

A cold fear slid down her spine like frost. She remembered Yuna’s original timeline—Devouring had fully corrupted her. She ate and ate, then vomited, a nightmare of hunger and bile.

"Lucimia?" Desty stepped closer, concern warm as a small flame.

"Nothing…" Lucimia wiped spit from her lip, hand steadying like a brace. "Just wanted to check something up close. Let’s start the test."

"Oh… okay." Desty nodded, letting the worry drift like smoke.