Yuli began to prepare, not for training or discipline, but for love. She knew her sister was alive. She could feel it on her skin, like the static before a storm. It wasn't a hunch. It was an echo in her soul, a certainty with no evidence, yet stronger than any proof.
From the first light of dawn to the last star of night, she threw herself into training like never before. Every strike, every breath, every fall and rise was a step closer to her goal. There was no room for doubt or fear. This time, her strength wasn't for defense, it was for finding her. For bringing her back.
Kaela, silent and steady, watched from the shadows of the training field. When Yuli fell, it was Kaela who offered a hand. When Yuli wavered, it was Sol who pushed her forward, a challenging grin on her face and the gleam of her tech tools strapped to her back.
Both knew what it was to lose someone. Both had felt the sharp edge of abandonment, the ache of a bond torn by forces beyond their control. So when Yuli swore to fight to the end for her sister, Kaela and Sol didn't hesitate.
"This fight isn't just yours anymore," Kaela said, pressing her forearm against Yuli's in a warrior's vow.
"Whatever it takes," added Sol. "Against the shadows, the silence, the things that tried to break us."
The other girls began to feel it too. The fire in Yuli's heart spread like a quiet flame. At meals, laughter returned, mingling with a new kind of energy. In training, the rhythm grew sharper, more intense. No one said it aloud, but they all knew: something was changing.
Because now, the Guardians, once lost girls, had become determined women. And this time… they were ready to fight together.
In the castle, in the village, across every corner of the kingdom, the web of protection stretched with renewed strength. Yuli didn't know how long it would take to find her sister. But she knew one thing: she wouldn't lose her again.
She would fight whoever stood in her way. She would protect those who couldn't protect themselves.
This war wasn't only against a cruel organization, it was against forgetting, against abandonment, against every force that had tried to strip the helpless of their humanity.
This time… they were ready to fight together.