Elizabeth was sitting at the entrance of a cave hidden within an extremely tall mountain.
From the summit, two cities could be seen in the distance.
Both were in ruins.
Both had been consumed by nature.
And both resembled cemeteries built for a civilization long forgotten.
Thanks to the connection of the Armor of Bonds, Elizabeth knew exactly which city Samael was in.
The distance that once seemed absurd now felt much shorter.
If she entered that city...
She would probably be able to find him.
The problem was surviving long enough to get there.
Over the past few days, Elizabeth had discovered something very important.
She wasn't good at close combat.
In fact...
She was far from it.
More than once, she had almost died fighting Fallen Nightmare Creatures.
The only reason she was still alive was because of her Awakened Ability.
After completing the First Nightmare, her ability had evolved.
Now she could see seven seconds into the future.
And more importantly...
She could alter the actions she had foreseen.
It was thanks to that ability that she had managed to survive alone on this absurd continent.
But that wasn't the only discovery she had made.
During the last few days, Elizabeth noticed something strange.
America's Fallen Creatures were slightly weaker than normal.
That intrigued her.
So she began to formulate a theory.
In her eyes, those creatures occupied the lowest level of the American food chain.
And because of that, they had evolved differently.
Instead of becoming efficient fighters...
They had become specialists at fleeing.
At hiding.
At surviving.
The result was simple.
They were weaker in direct confrontations.
But much better at escaping them.
Unfortunately...
Fallen Creatures were far from being the greatest problem on this continent.
Elizabeth frequently spotted Corrupted Creatures wandering in the distance.
Gigantic shadows walking among ruined cities.
Monsters so powerful that simply looking at them made her skin crawl.
Thinking about fighting them wasn't even an option.
Today, however, she wouldn't leave the mountain.
The Fallen Creatures in the region were strangely agitated.
More agitated than usual.
For some unknown reason.
So Elizabeth simply remained seated at the entrance of the cave.
Watching the horizon.
Watching the city where Samael was.
— So boring...
Her complaint disappeared with the wind.
She rested her chin on her knees.
Then her thoughts began to wander.
"I thought you had become dependent."
Elizabeth clearly remembered all the times she had scolded Samael.
The times she had said that companions shouldn't depend too much on each other.
The times she had ordered him to speak to strangers by himself.
A small bitter smile appeared on her lips.
"In the end..."
"I'm the one who became dependent on you."
The realization hurt.
Because it was true.
Alone on this monstrous continent...
Elizabeth finally understood how much Samael made her life easier.
Not because he was invincible.
Not because he was perfect.
But because he shared the burden.
Shared the dangers.
Shared the loneliness.
And now she was alone.
And that made her realize just how weak she really was.
The smile disappeared.
Elizabeth looked back at the two cities.
That's when something caught her attention.
The day before, a massive migration of Nightmare Creatures had taken place.
Hundreds of them had abandoned the city where Samael was.
She had observed everything from the mountaintop.
Creatures running.
Flying.
Hiding.
Fleeing.
As though something within that city had terrified all of them.
As a result, the area around the mountain was now infested.
And besides that...
They all seemed restless.
Agitated.
As though they were waiting for something.
Elizabeth continued watching.
Then she saw a blue flash emerge from the small forest located between the two cities.
The forest could hardly even be called a real forest.
It was small.
Compact.
Almost just a cluster of trees.
Even so...
The flash was impossible to ignore.
Elizabeth immediately stood up.
Curious.
She walked down the mountainside, moving away from the cave.
As she walked, she passed a stone on which she had carved a few words days ago.
Cold Oracle Mountain.
A small smile appeared once again.
The name was ridiculous.
But that was part of the fun.
It was a private joke.
A silent tribute to Samael's strange sense of naming things.
A simple way to keep her spirits intact.
Elizabeth continued walking until she rounded part of the mountain.
Then she finally got a better view of the forest.
And her eyes widened.
CRAAACK!!!
A blue thunderbolt exploded among the trees.
Followed by another.
And another.
Electric flashes constantly illuminated the vegetation.
At the same time...
The screams of Nightmare Creatures echoed throughout the forest.
Roars.
Growls.
Sounds of pain.
Sounds of death.
Something was fighting in there.
Something extremely powerful.
But the strangest part...
Was that all that chaos seemed to be attracting even more creatures.
Like moths rushing toward a flame.
Elizabeth remained still, observing the scene.
Her heart began to race.
Because she had the strange feeling that she was about to meet someone.
Elizabeth carefully advanced between the trees.
Then she finally found him.
Bluish lightning exploded in every direction.
Each strike illuminated the entire forest.
Nightmare Creatures were burned to cinders.
Others were cut in half.
Some couldn't even approach before being reduced to ashes.
At the center of that storm stood Vanitas.
Alone.
Covered in blood.
His wounds regenerated slowly.
But not fast enough.
Every minute brought new cuts.
New bites.
New injuries.
And worst of all...
His lightning attracted even more creatures.
It was like a bonfire lit in the middle of the night.
The more he fought...
The more monsters appeared.
The more monsters appeared...
The more he had to fight.
An endless cycle.
Elizabeth felt a chill run down her spine.