Volume 2—Chapter 39: Saving Grace

Aria and Irana locked eyes, neither moving nor speaking. The only sound that remained was the faint crackling of dying embers around them. Smoke curled in the air, drifting like silent ghosts through the ruins of the once-burning building.

Ten seconds passed.

Then twenty.

Aria took a step forward.

Irana stiffened.

“Onee-chan…?” Irana called out again, her voice barely above a whisper.

But Aria didn’t respond.

She didn’t blink.

She just kept walking.

Irana felt her throat tighten. It was as if Aria couldn’t even hear her. As if she was moving with a purpose Irana couldn’t understand.

Ariana, still clutching her injured hand, watched the eerie interaction unfold. She could feel the shift in Aria’s presence the moment her attention moved away from her. The overwhelming force pressing down on her had lifted.

Now was her chance.

Summoning whatever energy she had left, Ariana tried to ignite a flame in her palm—just a flicker, just enough to launch one last attack. If she could just hit Aria while her guard was down—

But nothing happened.

Not even a single spark.

Her breath hitched.

What…?

The realization sent a chill down her spine. She wasn’t just exhausted—she couldn’t use her fire anymore.

And if she couldn’t fight—

Her eyes darted to the exit.

As Aria continued her slow, deliberate approach toward Irana.

“Onee-chan… It’s me, Irana. Don’t you recognize me?”

Her voice was soft, uncertain. She searched Aria’s empty, emotionless eyes, desperately looking for some kind of response. Some flicker of familiarity.

But Aria didn’t react.

She didn’t acknowledge her words at all.

Yet, Irana didn’t even consider running away. It never even crossed her mind.

This was her sister. Her Onee-chan. No matter what had happened to her, Irana refused to believe that Aria would ever truly hurt her.

She took a step forward—

And then something sharp whizzed past her cheek.

Irana froze.

She reached up, her fingers grazing her skin, feeling something warm and wet smear across them. When she pulled her hand back, her fingertips were coated in red.

Blood.

Her own blood.

For the first time, her heart skipped a beat.

But instead of panic, instead of fear—

She felt hope.

If Aria truly wanted to hurt her, that attack just now wouldn’t have just grazed her. No, this was proof—proof that deep down, her Onee-chan was still in there, holding back.

So, with renewed confidence, Irana’s expression brightened.

She opened her mouth, ready to reassure Aria, ready to tell her that she was here, that she wouldn’t leave her, that she would bring her back no matter wha—

BAM!

Something heavy slammed into her face.

Her entire world blurred into a swirl of colors and stars as her head snapped to the side.

There was a brief pause.

Then, the pain registered.

Aria had just punched her.

In the face.

Irana staggered, blinking, trying to process what had just happened.

Her brain short-circuited.

She lifted a trembling hand to her now throbbing cheek. “D-Did I just… Did I just get decked?” she mumbled in disbelief.

Her legs wobbled slightly, but she forced herself to stay upright.

“Okay…” Irana took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. “That’s… That’s fine. It’s fine.”

She looked at Aria again, her lips pressing into a thin line.

This was definitely going to be harder than she thought.

The moment Irana steadied herself, Aria was already moving.

There was no hesitation. Only raw, precise aggression.

Irana barely had time to react before a chunk of debris lifted off the ground and launched straight at her. She threw up her arms, ice instantly forming in front of her as a shield. The impact sent a cold vibration through her body, but she held firm.

Before she could even recover, another piece of debris shot toward her from the side.

Fast!

Irana ducked just in time, the rock grazing past her hair. She turned to counter, raising her hand—ice forming in sharp, jagged spikes—only for the entire battlefield to suddenly shift.

What?!

The ground beneath her tilted unnaturally, as if gravity itself had betrayed her. She lost her footing, sliding sideways, and in that moment of imbalance—

BAM!

Something heavy slammed into her gut, sending her flying backward. She crashed through a half-burnt support beam, rolling across the floor.

Irana coughed, the taste of smoke and ash filling her lungs.

She’s using telekinesis to mess with my footing…

She quickly pressed her hand to the ground, a surge of frost spreading out in all directions. The floor beneath them hardened into slick ice, negating Aria’s ability to shift it around.

Aria, however, was unfazed. She then slowly floated into the air—

Then, it simply lifted off the ground entirely.

Irana stood there, her eyes wide in disbelief, staring at Aria, who was hovering in the air with an unnatural calmness. The sound of the wind whistling through the space around them seemed to deepen the silence that had suddenly taken over her mind.

She’s floating. The thought echoed in her head, and for a moment, everything else seemed to blur around her.

Then, like a cold wave crashing over her, it clicked.

Irana’s mind flashed back to the other day. The way her father had risen effortlessly from the ground, his power surging through the air like a force of nature. He can manipulate the world around him with nothing more than his will. The sensation of watching him defy gravity had been so overwhelming at the time, so incredible…

And now, here was Aria, effortlessly suspended in mid-air, her body floating with the same unnatural grace.

Onee-chan power… It’s similar to Father.

Irana's breath caught in her throat, her pulse racing. This wasn’t just about Aria’s strength or her usual abilities—it was something far deeper, something far more dangerous. The telekinesis she had displayed earlier wasn’t just a simple manipulation of objects; it was a reflection of the power that her father had once shown. The ability to control the very space around them, to levitate with a flick of the mind. Aria has… has inherited Father's power.

Irana’s mind was so tangled in her thoughts that she overlooked the most crucial detail—the ground beneath her was no longer attached to the earth.

She had been too absorbed, too shaken by her realization about Aria’s power, to register the subtle shift in her surroundings. There was no frame of reference register in her mind. Everything seemed weightless for a moment, an eerie stillness before—

Without warning, the floating platform Aria had lifted was slammed downward at a terrifying speed.

The sudden drop sent Irana’s stomach twisting, the sickening sensation of freefall hitting her hard. And as if that wasn’t enough, something loomed above.

Debris. A massive chunk of concrete.

Falling.

Straight toward her.

Irana’s body tensed. She couldn’t fly. There was no foothold, nothing to lache into, nowhere to dodge.

Her mind raced through every possible move, but none would work. Her cryo abilities were useless in mid-air—she needed leverage to generate her usual bursts of power. If she tried to blast the rubble, the sheer force might push her further into freefall, sending her straight into the incoming wreckage.

She felt true helplessness.

Her breath hitched.

“Tch—!”

Is this it? Is this how it was going to end?

Then—

A blur.

Fast. Unnatural.

And then—a hand.

“Irana, grab my hand!”

A voice cut through the chaos.

Viola?

Irana barely had time to process before instinct kicked in. She lunged forward, grasping for the outstretched hand. Then—everything blurred, the world twisting around her. A split second later, the chaos of falling debris was gone, replaced by an entirely new scene unfolding before her eyes.

“Thank god I made it in time.” Viola exhaled, her breath slightly ragged.

“Sorry for leaving you alone for so long. There were too many people trapped in that burning building—I had to—”

Before she could finish, Irana reached out and gently pressed a hand over Viola’s mouth, silencing her.

For a moment, there was only silence between them. Then, with a faint, tired smile, Irana whispered,

“…No. Thank you.”