The sun dipped beneath the hills of Lively Valley, casting a warm golden hue across the sprawling plains and cliffs. The fractured sky shimmered faintly with violet streaks, but for the first time in what felt like forever, there was peace.
A makeshift camp had been set near a crystal-clear stream at the base of a tree-covered slope. Tents of mixed material—some conjured from Hax Abilities, others scavenged or repurposed from Aeravelle's markets—formed a small ring around a crackling campfire.
The flames snapped and popped, casting orange glows across faces both familiar and strange. For once, no one was rushing to battle or recovering from chaos. Tonight was about warmth, laughter, and maybe pretending things were normal again.
Rose sat on a flat rock, polishing the tip of her blade with a rag. Her emerald eyes reflected the flickering firelight. Across from her, Ivy used Mirror Bloom to split off two clones—one to gather berries, the other to weave a hammock from conjured vines.
Mia and Ethan were sparring gently off to the side, their movements fluid and respectful. Sparks leapt off Ethan's summoned flame dagger, but Mia dodged every time, giggling.
"Careful," she teased, "I don't want to smell like a barbeque."
Ethan smirked. "Then stop dodging so well."
By the fire, Ayaka brewed tea in a ceramic pot she had conjured with Glass Dance, pouring it into makeshift cups for a small circle: Sofia, Olivia, and Daniel. Sofia was writing in her notebook, documenting everything. Daniel looked contemplative, while Olivia just enjoyed the silence, hood drawn over her face.
Near the stream, Uzi was skipping stones, though each throw cracked them in half due to her strength. "Tch. This place needs weaker rocks."
N stood beside her, watching her try and fail. "You know, you could throw softer."
"I am throwing soft," Uzi muttered, then grinned. "You wanna try, lover drone?"
"I prefer the term emotionally-available combat unit," N replied cheerfully, lobbing a stone that skipped five times before sinking.
Further down the slope, Boyfriend and Girlfriend had set up a funky rhythm with a beat-up radio someone found in Aeravelle. Boyfriend bobbed his head, eyes never blinking, while Girlfriend lounged beside him, vibing like she was born for this.
Miku sat near them, braiding flowers into her hair while humming a quiet melody. Every now and then, her teal pigtails fluttered with some unseen breeze. When she joined Boyfriend for a duet, the others cheered.
"Didn't think this night would end with karaoke," Rose muttered, half-smiling.
Jack passed her a roasted mushroom on a stick. "Better than ending it in a crater."
"True."
Riku tapped away on his holographic tablet, working on creating a secure perimeter by linking shadow code with Noah, who lazily teleported from one dark tree to the next.
Ayaka stood and called out, "Everyone, food's ready!"
Within moments, the group circled the fire. Plates were passed, cups refilled, and stories began to roll.
Daichi told a quiet tale about a time before his Hax manifested. Mei Ling chimed in with a dream she had of a dragon that may or may not have been a vision of things to come.
Kenji recounted a street fight he once got into back home, while Yuna shyly shared a poem she'd written about the fractured sky.
Even Haru, usually the reckless one, shared how he missed mundane life—biking through his neighborhood, sneaking snacks.
V stood leaning against a tree, arms crossed, listening but not joining in. When Uzi handed her a plate of food without a word, she blinked, then muttered, "Thanks," before taking a seat near the fire.
Time slowed. For a brief, fleeting moment, the multiverse felt small, warm, and full of people who mattered.
Rose leaned back, watching the flames.
"We're not alone," she said aloud, not meaning to speak. But heads turned. "We're not just people thrown into a world. We're threads in something huge. And even if we don't know how it ends, we've got each other."
No one replied at first.
Then N raised a cup of whatever Ayaka brewed and said, "To surviving, singing, stabbing things, and solidarity."
Everyone laughed and joined in the toast.
That night, under a starlit sky broken by cracks in reality, the group didn't feel like strangers from different dimensions. They felt like a family.
And somewhere, far beyond the hills and fractured clouds, Jerry watched.
Smiling.
Waiting.