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"Well, what you all did back there certainly earned you some brownie points with me," Maria said with a warm smile. "Well done! If you keep showing me that kind of sincerity from now on, I might even give you a cool Dream Heart. What do you think?"
"Really?!" they all shouted in unison, eyes sparkling with excitement.
"But only once you prove it's truly worth it," Maria added, still smiling.
The Elders burned with renewed conviction, while the White Mist Immortal, now reborn as a Rakshasa, quietly mulled over what he had witnessed.
"Maria, that technique…" he muttered. "It was unlike anything I've ever seen, yet it carried something strangely familiar."
"You noticed?" Maria replied with a playful grin. "I improvised something new. I'll explain the details later, but your White Mist Arts formed the perfect foundation for it, and for many more techniques to come."
