In a few moments, Luca had cried all the tears in his body. Just then, a bird flew overhead and swooped down. It was Tsumugi. In only a moment, she changed from bird to human and beautifully landed in front of Luca, hurrying toward him in worry. "Wh. what happened here?" she stammered, her body shaking at what she saw lying around her. The Dark Continent looked bleaker than usual, with everything in view reduced to ruin, smothered in dark hues.
Luca managed to speak in a barely audible whisper. "It's all my fault. Every time, it's always my fault. Please leave, Tsumugi. I don't want you getting hurt, too."
With that, his body gave out, falling into Tsumugi's arms as his strength finally dissipated and he fainted. Tsumugi quickly picked up Luca and, with a growing sense of unease, hastened to bring him back to the village. Healers ministered unto him, doing all that they could to repair physical wounds when, in truth, the emotional ones ran so much deeper.
