Neige stared at the shell of her friend, looking at him with her empty eyes. Yada took her sword out, ready to fight against him if necessary. The circle made of ice slowly expanded around them, threatening to freeze more worlds for eternity.

~Neige... The other you is hiding within her, I won't be able to reach him if you don't give me an opening...~

"So I just have to create an opening."

~Yes, if you could... Use your dagger to cut her somewhere, then I should be able to stop my friend.~

Neige tightly held his dagger in hand. His body could barely hold on, but this wasn't an excuse for him. The man stepped toward Yada, ready to end it all right now. When she saw him approaching, the woman immediately attacked him with all the strength she had. Neige managed to dodge the sword but knew he wouldn't be able to last forever.

~I know it won't be easy to hear but... Yada is most likely already dead, she's not the one fighting against you.~

"I know, I'll try my best to protect this universe. It's the order Yada gave me, and I don't plan on rebelling against it!"

Neige tried to use his dagger to cut his friend. If he managed to touch her once, he knew Ada would take care of the rest. But just like he expected, Yada wasn't easy to touch. Even if her mind wasn't in control, her body still managed to give him some trouble. Every time they trained together, Yada was always the one that got the edge. But he already knew all of her moves, none of his usual attacks would be enough to beat her. Neige closed his eyes fully, only seeing nothingness. He often tried to act blindly as a way to help Silva and help her learn to use her body more efficiently. Even if he rarely did it himself, he knew it would help focus on her friend's moves. He could feel Yada's movements, and while he still needed to open his eyes from time to time, it helped tremendously to read her moves. If his opponent was anyone else, he wouldn't even be able to last a minute that way. Neige knew he was the only one that could do it, it was his duty to defeat her once and for all. However, Yada still eluded his blade despite his best efforts. His heart felt like it was splitting in half, his bones frozen to the core, and his hand burning just by holding the blade.

~Neige! We should go rest somewhere... You're not in a good state, any longer and you're done for...~

"If we do, how many lives will perish? How many worlds will be destroyed? I can barely hold on, I don't even know how I'm still awake, but as long as my heart is beating I'll continue! If I give up now, everyone is done for, and I won't allow it!!"

Using the last remnant of strength he had Neige closed his eyes, remembering the way Sepide fought against Yada last time. Even if he couldn't match her speed, he could see in his mind how Yada reacted to every hit. Once he felt the right moment, Neige yelled and tried to pierce right into Yada's heart with all he had. The only thing that could be heard was silence. Nothing moved, leading Neige to think for a moment that everything was over. When he opened his eyes, the man was shocked to see that Yada managed to block the blade before it reached her chest, holding it tightly with her hands.

~No... Is that it?~

Despite Ada's despair, Neige still believed. He tried pushing the blade, but it was already a miracle that his body could still hold on.

~Neige...~

Neige continued pushing all he could while Yada lifelessly held the blade still. His heart still kept beating, bringing agony every time it beat. Neige's body was at its limit, letting blood flow from his mouth at the intense effort he was providing. Ada felt horrible and powerless, she couldn't help but admire Neige's strength of heart but already gave up in her heart.

"I can't... I can't let this world I love so much disappear..."

Neige kept pushing in vain, no matter how hard he tried, the blade didn't move an inch. Neige kept going despite the incredible pain in his body, the thought of his friends being the only thing keeping him going. The blade suddenly moved and lodged itself straight to the woman's heart. Neige knew it wasn't by his effort alone and looked up to see a smile on his friend. Yada gently caressed Neige's hair, trying her best to be comforting.

"Neige... You did great... I wish I could have been a better friend for you..."

Yada fell in Neige's arms, who held her against him. The winds suddenly became more violent, not leaving any time for Neige to rest.

~I'll stop him, it's time! You can rest now, I'll take care of the rest.~

Ada faced her Neige in what seemed to be a completely icy room. The woman barely stepped and the figure of her friend looked at her with an empty gaze.

"Ada?"

"Yes, it's me Neige. Come on, we have to-"

The figure took his dagger in hand, forcing the woman to stop back.

"Don't worry Neige, I understand. When I was in that state, I hurt your other self. I'll just have to bring you back to your senses."

Ada made a naginata out of the dark matter she was made of. She knew she was less experienced than her friend in fighting, but she also knew how to use her powers as the anomaly better than him. Neige immediately rushed toward Ada and tried to attack her with his dagger. Before he could, the woman used her dark matter as a wall to protect her. The goo that made the wall suddenly froze and shattered, allowing Neige to land an attack on her. She tried escaping using her non-human form but still got hurt during her attempt.

"Neige... We caused this world so much trouble, it's time to leave now..."

"Ada..."

Ada rolled her eyes, seeing that her words weren't reaching her friend. She waved her naginata around and threw the spinning weapon toward Neige. The icy figure easily managed to dodge it by barely moving its head and slowly walked toward the woman with his dagger in hand. Ada moved back at the same rhythm as Neige until the weapon hit his head when it came back. It was just enough for the woman to immobilize him with her tentacles and take back her weapon in hand. She barely had a few seconds before he would free himself, and after taking a deep breath, Ada pierced her friend's chest with the naginata. Everything became silent again, and even if Ada couldn't feel it, she knew the cold wind warmed up.

"I'm sorry Neige... I wish it could have ended up differently..."

Neige fell in Ada's arms. The room around them started to vanish, indicating that she managed to stop her friend. Neige looked at Ada for a moment, his eyes were shining differently, like he finally calmed himself.

"...Ada?"

"Yes, it's me." Tears fell from Ada's face as she held her friend as tightly as she could "It's over now, just rest..."

"I'm sorry Ada... I hope I didn't cause too much trouble..."

Neige held Yada in his arms as the ice surrounding them melted. The man couldn't feel Ada or his other self anywhere. They probably both finally found each other and disappeared now that they had no more reason to exist. Neige held onto his friend as tightly as he could, knowing that it was finally over. He knew he wouldn't have much time left either, no human should be in between worlds for so long. A single tear fell down his face as he took back his dagger and threw it into the void with a smile. There was no way back, but even if there was, he knew his place was with his friend. A few minutes passed before Neige closed his eyes for the last time, a satisfied smile on his face.

Yada opened her eyes to the sound of a river. When she realized she was awake, she looked around in shock. A clear river was flowing in front of her, the green grass stretched to the horizon, and the nightly sky was full of stars but devoid of moons. When she looked around, she saw Neige, staring at the river with a smile. Yada hurried to get his attention, her heart pounding in her chest.

"What happened? Where is everyone?"

"They're safe... We did it Yada, we saved everyone."

Yada smiled in relief as Neige gently took her in his arms.

"It's all over now, they're safe. They'll probably come here someday, but they still have a lot to live before that."

Neige stood up and gave his hand to her, cheerfully smiling at her.

"Come on! Let's walk along the river, just like the old times!"

The group looked at the bright sky, the universe was no longer in danger. But even if they were safe, no one was happy or celebrating, instead looking at Remiel in the hope of good news. After checking for the fifth time, Remiel shook her head again, she couldn't detect any signs of Neige. After waiting for a few hours, everyone still kept hoping. The group stayed silent until Silva suddenly raised her voice.

"Come on, we need to do something. I'm sure if he was looking at us, Neige would think we look dumb."

Silva tried her best to smile, but tears still covered her face no matter how often she cleaned it. The girl dearly held the necklace that Neige gave her, hoping it would bring back her friend. Sepide took Silva in her arms while looking at the moon, still hoping to hear from their friend. Silva's cries echoed in the empty world, leaving everyone without an answer that could comfort them.