Emilia reached the surface, huffing as she pulled herself desperately to the shore, past a collection of small boulders that sunk into the sand. They seemed fragmented, and sharp like knives, but she didn't notice, or care. She felt her body, from top to bottom, ecstatic that she was still in one piece. "Lystra!" She shouted, "Lystra we made-" Emilia paused and spun to the water in a panic, grappling a nearby stone and pushing herself onto her feet. There was no sign of Lystra yet. Emilia froze up again, but her hand stung something fierce. She looked down and noticed she'd slit her palm on one of the nearby stones, spinning around to observe her surroundings. They were all sharp, every last rock around her, and they were covered in [i]blood.[/i] Was it her blood? No, there was too much of it. What could it have been?

	Then she saw it, the remains of a nearby boulder, absolutely doused in crimson liquid. Emilia gasped and inched towards it, slowly making her way around the stumped rock. What she found almost made her toss the remnants of the feast onto the sandy ground. It was a headless body, positively limp. She looked it over, unable to turn away, and identified the features in mere moments. This was Kalo's corpse. Emilia spun towards the direction of the campsite in terror, and noticed a short figure making their way across the lakeside to where the tents sat. Emilia didn't recognize them, but their clothing was foreign. A green robe, and no shoes. Not only that, but their hair held a distinct coloration, and was slicked back like a knife. Green hair, and a green robe... Emilia backed away from Kalo's corpse and scanned the lake's surface for any sign of Lystra, but saw nothing.

[center]***[/center]

	The situation looked bad, worse than Emilia had anticipated, for sure. But Lystra's final moments were far off. A power began to emanate from deep within the shield once again, pulsing through her body and restoring her stamina and physical abilities, far beyond what she'd been used to. It felt like a surge of adrenaline, strengthening her ability to move and pushing her to continue despite the odds. This time the feeling of warmth persisted, despite the shield losing its shine within a few seconds. Was it the shield? No, it couldn't be. The shield was just a tool, after all. 

	It was coming from within Lystra herself.