Breath, its finally over. Now for the goodbyes.

There was a long moment of silence after the lightning struck. No one moved, no one made a sound, until Natalia finally broke it.

“Is… is it over?” Natalia asked. Jordan walked over, took one look at the fading phoenix, and nodded.

“Yeah, it’s over.” He confirmed.

The moment the confirmation was given, Iro spun around and ran to check on her mom and Nik. After giving them a once over, she thankfully found that outside of a few minor cuts and not so minor bruises, they were OK.

“Good, they’re good. How are the others?” she then asked. Natalia's eyes went.

“DORY!” She exclaimed as she also sprinted over to check on her husband, stripping off his metal armor to get to his skin. While he’d taken a fair bit more damage than Agapi or Nik, particularly where his armor had caved in, there was nothing particularly serious.

“Oh thank Uraina!” She sighed. She then looked over Athan and Lefteris to find they were also relatively fine, though both were even more beat up than Dory. “These two are fine too.”

Mina let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding when they said that. Even though they had tried to take advantage of her, she hadn’t wanted them to die.

With all that finally over, the three girls collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. Jordan just let out a light chuckle at the sight and leaned against a wall while he waited for them to recover. After a few minutes, Iro was finally the one to break the silence.

“Jordan, what the heck was THAT!?” She exclaimed, and Jordan shrugged in response.

“Nothing much. Just a little secret weapon I keep in my back pocket.” He answered with a smirk, explaining exactly nothing. Iro glared at him, silently demanding he explain more, but it was utterly ineffective as his lips remained sealed. Iro then sighed, dragged herself to her feet, and began pulling Agapi and Nik’s unconscious bodies over into the shrine proper. Following her lead, Jordan grabbed Athan and Lefteris, and Natalia grabbed Dory and did the same.

“So, we beat the phoenix. What now?” Iro then asked.

“Now Mina gives up her power back to Uraina, and Uraina will be able to use her power to create a portal to send her home.” Jordan explained.

“Ok, and how do I do that?” Mina asked.

“Just go up to the center of the shrine and let them go. Your heart will tell you the words to say.”

Trusting Jordan, Mina went up and did so. Stepping up to the center of the shrine, where the phoenix slept earlier, she took a breath and began to speak the words in her heart.

“Goddess Uraina, I apologize for what I have done. Against my will, I attempted to destroy your will. I was used in an attempt to strip you of your divinity, something that should never have been done. I, Mikwan, offer up this cleansing of your shrine as an offering of peace to you. I, Mikwan, offer up your stolen power back to you so that I may receive your favor. And I, Mikwan, pray to you for possibly the final time, begging you to allow me to return home. To the sky, where life falls from, I give this.”

As she finished, Mina felt the power inside her come out. But rather than simply leave her, the power surrounded her in a glowing light. She felt an immense feeling of gratitude from Uraina, and then the light moved away from her and formed a glowing portal in the air before her.

“Woah.” Both Mina and Iro echoed.

“So that’s the pure power of Uraina, is it?” Natalia asked, and Jordan nodded.

“Indeed it is. That is Mina’s way home.” He answered.

Mina then turned around to face the others.

“So, I guess this is it then?” Mina said.

“I guess so.” Iro replied. Mina nodded, and turned to Natalia.

“I really liked learning all about the different farm animals from you Miss Natalia. I would have liked to learn more from you.” Mina said to her.

“You and me both Mina.” Natalia replied with a smile. “It was nice having someone as interested in farming as you are. I’ll certainly miss having you around.”

Mina gave her a smile and a nod. She then turned to Iro, who was smiling brightly at her. Mina couldn’t help herself, she jumped in and pulled Iro into a hug, and Iro hugged her right back.

“Thank you for being there for me.” Mina said into her chest.

“No problem Mina. And I’m sorry for dragging you into the drama with me and Nik.” Iro replied. “Now get going Mina. I might miss you when you’re gone, but Danis is certainly missing you a lot more right now.”

Mina nodded, and reluctantly pulled out of the hug. Lastly, Mina turned to Jordan. This time, Jordan spoke before Mina could.

“Circumstances aside, it was nice to get to know you ‘Mikwan’.” He said, and Mina blushed in embarrassment when he said that.

“You heard that huh?” She said, and Jordan nodded. “That’s not actually my-”

“Mikwan.” Jordan interrupted, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Mikwan is a fine name, and so is Mina. It doesn’t matter what anyone else says, the only thing that matters is that you like the name.”

Mina wanted to tell him no, that he didn’t understand, but she couldn’t. One look in his eyes, and somehow, she knew he did understand. He somehow knew exactly what she had gone through even without her telling him. So, she simply took his words to heart.

“Alright.” She said with a nod. She then shot him a teasing glare. “I still don’t forgive you for lying to me though.”

Jordan let out a laugh at that.

“Fair enough, fair enough.” He replied. “Now go on, it’s time for you to go home.”

“Right.” She said, turning around to go to the portal, before abruptly turning back around and hugging Jordan.

“Thank you.” She said softly, then let go just as abruptly and running over to the portal, leaving Jordan there smiling. Just before she stepped through the portal, she looked back one more time.

“Jordan?”

“Yeah?”

“Will I remember you guys when I get back?” She asked. Jordan gave her a pained smile.

“I won’t lie to you, I don’t know. I hope you will, I’m sure we all do, but I really have no idea.” He admitted, and Mina’s face fell slightly. Still, there was nothing she could do, so she forced a wide smile.

“Well, whether I remember this or not, it’s been great. Goodbye everyone!”

“Bye Mina!”

“Have a good one kid.”

“All the best Mina.”

And then, she stepped into the portal.