Celeste and Nylon looked downward as they approached the ground at a considerable speed.

  Two beastmen and two Remnants, albeit powerless, came crashing down like a meteor.

  Approaching his mouth to her pointy ears, Nylon talked into them so she could hear him before it was too late.

  "---"

  "Really?!"

  Her expression was a mess. With her long black hair being thrown around perpetually and her eyes fighting back the wind, she faced the man however she could.

  Answering her question, Nylon simply nodded. There was no time to elaborate or discuss it.

  "This is madness!"

  "Always has been! That's what you get for being acquainted with Orion!"

  Once Nylon spoke those words, he smiled and faced his impending doom.

  He turned his body into a ball for just an instant before pushing on his legs.

  A thin veil of darkness, acting like a platform, appeared under his feet.

  When he straightened his body, he increased his velocity with one movement and crashed into the ground first.

  No sound.

  Not even a pebble was thrown around as he landed. The sound of his landing never ripples through the air, which was unusual for anything affected by gravity.

  Celeste watched as a small black dot rapidly enlarged under her, swallowing the land itself in eternal blackness.

  "Black Fang!"

  Her body merged with darkness itself, only letting yellow glowing beads visible, those being her eyes.

  A formless shadow spread larger until it turned into a dark wolf that plunged into Nylon's dark magic.

  The two energies merged into one, but not before creating an explosion of black matter upward.

  Chelsea hugged her sister tighter and closed her arms as the magic swallowed them whole.

  *

  Nylon's magic was similar to the ocean.

  Floating into a void of darkness, only a faint heat could be felt.

  But surprisingly, it was lit enough to see themselves.

  Maybe it was a perception issue, or perhaps it was Nylon's capabilities at play, but the results would vary.

  People familiar with the dark element would feel more at ease and perceive farther inside.

  As Kelsea opened her eyes and recovered from the shock, she lifted her face and saw her sister still hugging her and bracing herself.

  "***"

  Nothing.

  "*****!"

  No sound escaped her mouth, however many times she tried.

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  'Are we dead!?'

  Just as she was questioning herself, she noticed a light growing in the distance.

  'What is this!?'

  Reaching for it, she saw the light rapidly close in and light her surroundings.

  *

  "Woah!"

  Thrown a meter above the ground as recoil affected them after entering his shadow, Chelsea and Kelsea were forced apart and landed on their butts.

  "Ouch! / Ouch!!"

  They were in synchronicity, as usual, but one of them shouted louder than the other.

  "If you can talk and complain about pain, it means you're still alive."

  Both turned their faces and stared at Celeste, who picked herself up from the black puddle under her.

  Since it wasn't exactly liquid, no trace of matter stuck to her dress.

  "Don't look at me like that. That's what Eden always says. It's not wrong, though."

  She walked in their direction and extended her hands such that both could grab one.

  They stared at her dubiously before letting the matter slide away. After grabbing her hands, they quickly found themselves back on their feet.

  "Everyone is in one piece?"

  The darkness began to retract into the center, where Nylon crashed originally. As his voice emerged from the darkness, his body also followed.

  After a bit, all traces of shadowy energy vanished, showing a beautiful but desertic desert of salt.

  "Is this... salt?"

  As Kelsea, who had completely recovered from the emotional rollercoaster, crouched down, she picked up a small part of the sandy matter.

  "Don't taste it."

  "I won't."

  She nodded to her sister to reassure her.

  "I think it's salt."

  Seeing the white crystals flow between her fingers, she nodded in confirmation.

  There was salt in every direction, with nothing to act as a rest spot.

  "This is troubling."

  As Nylon brought a hand to his chin, similar to how his brother does it, a voice echoed in their heads.

  —

  Not everyone had the unfortunate pleasure of falling from the sky.

  Such a case happened to Amelia and the ones who were thrown out of a breach in space alongside her.

  Five meters above ground, two people tumbled downward.

  "Huh?!"

  Seeing the small gap between her feet and the ground, she immediately flipped her center of gravity.

  Skillfully, she flipped before landing crouched on the pavement.

  "Amelia!"

  Senia swam above her, unaffected by the gravity.

  "You're alright? What about the others?"

  "No one's coming out of the opening. It's just us."

  "Just us?"

  As she finished her sentence, one other person crashed violently behind her, one knee to the ground.

  The large body of the man caused the pavement to crack into a spiderweb, sending a small dust of cloud around him.

  "Why am I here? Weren't we supposed to stay behind?"

  Heto, the two-meter-tall giant of a man, lifted himself back on his feet and looked at Amelia for an answer to his question.

  "It wasn't supposed to go this way. Trust me when I say that."

  Pushing her gorgeous blonde hair behind her shoulders with both hands, she faced him.

  "I knew that feeling. The inner sense of disaster weighting over the area was a big giveaway. I should've spoken when I had the chance."

  Shaking her head, Senia clasped both hands in front of her chest.

  "Seeing Orion's face, it would have happened even if we pushed it back. This was out of his control."

  Amelia added something.

  "If Orion cannot control it, no one can. Not everything is made to be under control."

  Heto crossed his arms while looking around.

  "Of course. My only problem is that we've been separated from the rest of the group."

  This made both Amelia and Senia frown dangerously.

  'Once again, Orion and I are brought apart. What am I going to do?'

  'Where could he be? Maybe if I swam higher, I could find him?'

  As those thoughts popped in their heads, reality struck them down.

  "What?"

  The water magic making Senia float and survive out of the ocean suddenly vanished, making her fall toward the ground.

  "Senia!"

  Amelia leaped forward and caught her falling body before she could hit the ground.

  "What's happening?"

  Surprised, Heto approached them and began to look at the Lorelei with genuine concern.

  "Kuh!"

  Feeling her energy being siphoned into nothingness, Amelia's legs wobbled until she fell to one knee.

  Heto also began to feel it, as a sharp headache rapidly spread inside his head.

  "Our energy..."

  "Like Orion said. Our connection to our world has been cut off."

  "Then what can we do?"

  "I can't... breathe."

  Panic rapidly spread between them. That moment made them unable to notice the crowd of people that had surrounded them.

  Multiple shadows, large enough to replace buildings, released a tremendous amount of steam as they reached for the intruders.

  'Can everyone hear me?'

  'Orion!'

  'That's Orion's voice!'

  As they felt the joyous feeling of reuniting with their husband through his voice, they finally noticed the threat upon them.

  —

  The fifth group also found themselves at an unusual height.

  But it wasn't much of a problem for them, except for one person.

  "You guys better not let me go!"

  "Relax, I'm holding you."

  "Sis said it. We won't release you."

  Karteira, having her arms pulled by Mia and Nia, motionlessly stared at them with sweat pouring down her face.

  "Even if you were to fall, I would catch you."

  "Mother! It's not reassuring!"

  Completing the fairy family, Titania also found herself with them after crossing the breach.

  *Roar*

  A loud roar echoed behind them. The beast, which reflected light itself with its pristine white scales, followed closely.

  "At least we've got a big friend with us."

  Looking over her shoulder, Mia smiled.

  "Drop me on her back! Stop carrying me like a fishing net!"

  "Hahaha~ You only realized now?"

  Having a bit of fun teasing Karteira, Nia finally brought her toward Lucensia alongside her sister.

  "Solid ground! Thank you, Lucensia!"

  A small tear fell down her face as she felt something besides emptiness under her feet.

  She sat on the ground, resting and recovering, while the others flew in front of the white dragon's head.

  "You had your fun. Now, can we be serious?"

  "Don't lie. You did it because you thought it was funny."

  "..."

  Mia looked away and sighed. Then she shrugged silently.

  "That is it, you two. It is time to focus on our current problem. Diverting your attention works for so long before it starts catching back."

  Titania looked down, staring at a fiery mess that released intense heat, even from the height they were flying at.

  "I do not understand how such a place could exist..."

  Even she, who had seen many things during her long life, couldn't believe the sight they were seeing.

  A giant forest fire, seemingly unending and forever burning with devouring flames, stretched endlessly in all directions.

  The trees weren't releasing black smoke either, simply burning in silence, bringing an unnatural vibe to the place.

  Not even the sound of crackling firewood could be heard. Just the sound of violent updraft wind.

  "Now, this could be bad, but..."

  "Yes. We've been losing magic at an increased pace. We noticed."

  Nia nodded, as a small bead of sweat, hidden from everyone's sight, fell down her nape.

  "We have to descend further and rest."

  As Titania frowned and took a decision, she still looked hesitant.

  "But where?"