柊, 𝖲𝖧𝖨𝖭𝖸𝖠.

ㅤ Lena fell silent for a moment. There were still countless things she wanted to say, but somehow none of them felt enough. "I don't know if we'll ever meet again." "But wherever you're sent next... I hope you all make it back safely." "Take care of yourselves." "...And thank you for everything." The Para-RAID connection quietly came to an end. ㅤ

ㅤ At that very moment, the battle on the front line reached its breaking point. The Shepherd continued its relentless assault, forcing every remaining Processor to fight with whatever strength they had left. Then the night sky suddenly blazed with light. A missile tore through the clouds before slamming straight into the heart of the battlefield. The explosion shook the entire area. A massive shockwave swept across the ruins as flames engulfed the Shepherd and everything around it. ㅤ

ㅤ Silence settled over the room. Annette stared at the tactical display for several long seconds. She knew exactly how illegal this was. But leaving the Processors to die wasn't something she could accept either. Without another word, she pulled her laptop closer. Her fingers hovered above the keyboard before finally moving. One by one, she bypassed security protocols that should never have been accessed without high command approval. A few seconds later, a single line appeared on the screen. 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺: 𝗢𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲. ㅤ

ㅤ There was no room for doubt anymore. The Shepherd standing before them was Shourei Nouzen—Shinei's older brother, who had long since become one of the Legion. For a brief moment, no one moved. Shinei continued walking forward as though the rest of the battlefield had disappeared, leaving only himself and his brother behind. It wasn't until the Shepherd slowly raised its cannon toward him that Raiden finally snapped back to reality and charged into the fight. ㅤ