Thirty-five days passed like a frozen moment.
Jhonathan never moved.
He stood in the ruins of what used to be a safe zone, his body unmoving like a statue carved from broken mana and silence.
No hunger touched him.
No fatigue reached him.
Only the steady pulse of an existence that refused to stop continuing.
Inside his mind—
Arthur's voice echoed gently.
"You have enough mana," Arthur said calmly.
"You can extend Phase 2 by one day."
Jhonathan didn't respond immediately.
Not because he couldn't.
But because time itself felt… optional now.
Then—
a familiar presence arrived.
"…Hey."
A voice broke through the silence.
Soft.
Familiar.
A gothic hat tilted into view.
Grimmy stood there.
"…Do you remember us?"
Behind her—
footsteps.
Running.
Laughing.
Crying.
His party members.
"JHONATHAN!"
"WE MISSED YOU!!"
They rushed him instantly.
Grabbing his arms.
His shoulders.
Even pulling him slightly just to confirm he was real.
Jhonathan finally smiled.
And then—
he stood.
His back turned toward them for the first time in weeks.
That was when they saw it.
Not scars.
Not wounds.
But something deeper.
A shifting, unstable aura layered beneath his skin.
A state between life and death.
Not human.
Not divine.
The first Lich in 3000 years.
Silence spread through the group.
"…You're…"
someone whispered.
"…undead…"
Jhonathan turned his head slightly.
Still smiling.
"I am still the same Jhonathan…"
A pause.
"…even if I'm undead."
The tension broke immediately.
They hugged him again.
Harder this time.
Like they were afraid he might disappear again if they let go.
Jhonathan exhaled softly.
For the first time in a long while—
he felt grounded.
Then—
a familiar figure approached.
Draco Jay.
"…Hey bro, Jhon."
The two stood there for a moment.
No fighting.
No tension.
Just history.
They talked.
About everything.
About battles lost and won.
About sins survived.
About people they failed to save.
And people they didn't.
Meanwhile—
Grimmy stepped forward.
Her gothic hat tilted slightly as she looked at him.
"…We have a lot to talk about."
Jhonathan looked at her.
Still smiling.
But quieter now.
"…Yeah," he said.
"…We do."