"Slowly now," Misaki was saying, her gentle voice bleeding into Kai-Se's ears as he closed his eyes per Nishi's hissed instruction. "We want to draw the rest of An-Ri's energy slowly so as to not overwhelm the pendant. It's...a little flimsy."

Kai-Se resisted the urge to roll his eyes. The others wouldn't be able to see it anyway with his lids slammed shut. "Okay," he exhaled through his nose. The arm holding out the pendant was starting to go numb, but he gritted his teeth and pushed forward. "Here goes."

He had no idea what he was doing, but if he was supposed to "gather" An-Ri's korza, he'd start at the place where he'd last felt it. He focused his inward attention on the pendant dangling from his fingers. Like how he called for his magic back in the cell, he tuned out all the chatter around him and the ringing in his ears amplified by Nishi and Misaki's building energies around him.

The back of his lids exploded with color, Shaoryeong's innate energies peeling off the perceivable world like onion skin. He had never imagined it to be so fragile in this place. It's like he was made to tear it apart from the start. Compared to casting magic in the mortal realm, in Shaoryeong, it was so easy it was almost instinctive. The warmth it brought to his veins and limbs provided him some sort of comfort—like he was born to do this, to do amazing, breathtaking things. This was Najizaki Kai-Se, and he wouldn't ever want to let go.

As much as he wanted his exhilaration to go unbridled, he didn't connect to the flow of the universe just to ogle at it. Using his willpower, he leashed part of the currents raging around him and poked through the vast landscape of colors, looking for a thread similar to An-Ri's remnant.

"Good, you're getting the hang of it," Misaki's voice flitted softly inside Kai-Se's head. Was she even saying it out loud? "Try to use the remnant as a beacon."

Kai-Se nodded, letting the rational part of his brain shut off for a second. This was beyond what his mortal mind could comprehend. It's only right to let his heart lead this one. So, he tightened his hold on the pendant, remembering the warmth it once gave to his skin whenever he touched it. That gentle warmth, neither scalding nor lukewarm, was the sign of An-Ri's solid presence.

The heat intensified around Kai-Se. It wasn't enough to make him sweat; cozy seemed like the perfect word for it. That's it. Remember what it's like when An-Ri was with him, when her korza was tied to the pendant. He gritted his teeth as the warmth flared brighter around him. Now, whenever the gusts kissed his skin, he felt a slight sting. He clenched his fingers around the pendant, hard enough to make his nails dig against his palms. More. He needed the rest of An-Ri's energy if they were going to succeed.

Sweat now dripped from the side of his face, coasting down to his chin. With his senses connected straight into the natural flow, he could hear even the quiet hiss of the drops of sweat hitting the ground, dissipating in a haze of steam due to the building magic around him and the other gods with him. Kai-Se took a deep breath. More. He just needed to hold on.

Kaname's voice flitted into his mind. Don't cast any magic or you're never getting back to your body. Kai-Se shook his head. Why did she agree to this plan, then? She knew Kai-Se would be using more magic than what it took to heal her. Why didn't she stop him before proceeding? Some things Kai-Se would ask her some time soon. But not now. Maybe.

Because the heat had thickened enough to make the air around Kai-Se's head hard to breathe. It's like his sickness had followed him to Shaoryeong and was now squeezing his chest until his heart burst or something. His breaths came to his ears, erratic and labored. The sweat dripping from his face had turned into a waterfall. Around him, he could hear Nishi and Misaki's hushed arguing, no doubt about his outward state.

But he couldn't stop now. Not when they're so close. An-Ri's presence, its gentle yet forceful energy, it's here. He could feel it, delighted in the pleasant memories it brought back to his mind and his magic. So close.

"Bound her energy to the pendant," Misaki ordered, the urgency in her voice not making sense to Kai-Se. A strong grip clasped his wrist and another type of warmth hit him. This one was cool, like rain on a summer day. "You're almost out of strength."

Kai-Se blew a breath. It came away shaky. "Okay," he managed. Slowly, he turned to the raging heat around him and tried to envelop it with his magic, with the currents already under his control. At first, the heat rebelled, refusing to be coddled and touched with foreign energies. He dug his teeth against his lip. "Come on. I'm not going to hurt you, An-Ri!"

The warmth raged, burning even stronger. If Kai-Se wasn't relying on Misaki's cold magic, he would have combusted on the spot. His head filled up with air, turning lighter by the second. Hurry. Come on.

That's when the loud, booming sound of doors being thrown open speared into his senses. It came with such a blast that his eyes flew open, his control over his own magic flitting into a thousand, different directions, unable to be harnessed again. His knees knocked together, throwing him forward.

Then, a characteristic sound of stone cracking blared in his ears. The world slowed, as the broken pieces hit the floor in a series of sharp, tinkling thuds. He looked down. What had once been the pendant he'd had for years was now three, different pieces of jade.

A gasp escaped Kai-Se's lips as he crawled towards the pieces. "No," he breathed as he gathered them in his hands. The once-bright green jade had now dimmed into an olive shade. What was left of An-Ri's phantom energy remaining in faint ripples of heat was replaced by the unrelenting cold. This wasn't something special anymore. This was just a pile of broken rocks.

"What happened?" Nishi demanded, turning to Misaki who brought her arms up in a placating gesture. "We had it!"

Before the god of rain could reply, the sounds of scuffling and weapons hitting armor and flesh resounded in the distance. Kai-Se straightened to see Kaname and the other gods engaged in a battle with a horde of ming-dwang along with other creatures Kai-Se hadn't seen before. Grotesque heads with venomous fangs growled. Barbed tails swished. Roars of various shrillness and timbre amassed in a hair-raising chorus in the room.

Kaname, with her characteristic lavender hair, whipped through the chaos, ducking under swinging swords, using her small and flexible frame to get under her bigger opponents and disrupt their balance. The other gods, having seen their enemies fall, lunged forward to finish them off. Metal clanged against armor. Some gods with ribbons as part of their regalia lashed out with faint gossamer fabric, wrapping around enemies, getting tighter and tighter until they fainted or keeled over.

The sound of swords unsheathing near Kai-Se made him flinch. He turned to Gansai who had drawn the massive swords strapped against his back. An amused and quite manic smile was plastered across his lips. The god seemed to be enjoying this.

A hand gripped Kai-Se's shoulder and turned him away from the pandemonium. Misaki's face whipped in his vision. "Focus, Kai-Se," she hissed. "They won't be able to hold off for long. What happened to the pendant?"

Kai-Se splayed his fingers to both gods. Nishi cursed. "Just our luck," he pushed his spectacles up his long nose. His scowl couldn't have twisted his features further. "What now?"

Kai-Se glanced at the ongoing clash of gods and creatures in the hall. He now was thankful for the endless stretch of the hall of punishment. That way, they could run, and it would take a long while before any of them could catch up. Even Amatesu would surely have trouble in this room, right?

He turned to the gods. "We're going to run. Inward," he jerked his chin towards the opposite direction of the chaos. "I've got one theory to try."

Nishi clicked his tongue. "Please. I've had enough with theories," he said. "I prefer concrete solutions. Certainty! If only you weren't so weak that—"

"Shut it, Nishi," Misaki snapped. She gripped Kai-Se's wrist once more. "I'll be holding on to you so you won't get left behind," she said to him. "Are you ready?"

Kai-Se bobbed his head. "Keep running," he said. "And don't ever stop."

He closed his eyes just as he felt his body getting yanked forward. This time, it was easier to let himself fall back into the raging currents of the natural flow. His limbs turned light as his senses detached from his body. He was vaguely aware of his movements, still running after Misaki and Nishi into whatever end, but he couldn't feel them. It's like he was floating in a vast, empty space with just a little bit of color.

Without the pendant, they were reduced to relying on another type of remnant An-Ri had left. Kai-Se let his mind wander into the various scenes in his head, those who happened in over the years of being with her. There was An-Ri with a younger version of him, letting him play with her bushy tails and her sharp claws. An-Ri transforming her white hair into flowing, black strands as she accompanied Kai-Se in the busy town streets on their way back to the Imperial Palace. An-Ri splashing Kai-Se with calligraphy ink whenever his focus strayed from his lessons long enough.

Memories. They're the most powerful remnant someone could leave behind. And with An-Ri, they were the most precious. Kai-Se called to the nether of color for the other owner of those intimate moments, those tender bits of pure bliss. Back then, they seemed like small things, but now...

They're all that mattered.

An-Ri. Kai-Se yelled into the endless ocean. Come back. We need you.

When nothing happened, he amplified his magic further. Come back, An-Ri, he screamed, the words he threw into the colorful void. I need you.

A torrent of familiar energy washed over him. Too much. It burned. Hurt. Kai-Se heard a gasp in his throat as his will slipped. Before he could realize what's going on, he fell into the boiling well of pure, unharnessed magic. He barely had enough time to call for help because An-Ri's entire korza drowned him.