Wu started walking, but his body felt like it had a seperate mind of its own. Floating through the wind, listening to the waves crash into the shore as his foot moved robotically under him, riding the momentum of his body as he circled the exterior of the island with no destination.

The strange feeling inside of him was something he had never felt before. He felt disoriented as if his entire world had been turned upside down once more, the sense of directions gone, and the sense of belonging hanging by a thread.

What did he do wrong? What should he have done? Was it his fault? Was it her fault? Was it anybody's fault? Was he just...expecting more than what he should have gotten?

Wu didn’t know, nor did he think anybody knew. Countless questions surged into his mind like water being pumped up a well, and the onslaught of those thoughts brutally washed away any hints of an answer to his current situations.

Maybe if he waited this one out, then everything will be okay? Or would more and more doubt just continue to pile up until it ate him alive from the inside?

Wu wondered, looking down at the slushy beach when suddenly, he caught onto a string of footsteps that led into the woods. The footsteps looked heavy and deep, and the owner of the footsteps was not shod at all. Wu squatted down, tracing the trail left behind before a small shake of the ground propagated through the sand.

Wu hurried forward, following tightly after the footsteps until he made a series of turns around the trees, reaching a small flat opening in the woods as Fatera practiced her routine while hovering atop a pool of water, her feet planted over the surface of the water.

She did not sensed his approach, and Fatera's red eyes widened before she retracted all of the Wave back into her body with Wu's appearance.

"Y...you..." Fatera said, her voice crackly before she quickly cleared her throat, "What are you doing here?"

"I was just walking...around," Wu said, struggling to put on a facade while still trying to stomach what had just happened.

"Weird time for a walk." Fatera said, dropping into a low lunge and delivering a series of punches strung together as she moved through the surface of the water with unexpected elegance, "Aren't ya tired from training?"

"I could ask the same about you." Wu said, sitting down on a piece of rock and watching Fatera move. She completed a series of low sweeping kicks followed by a flurry of punches and strikes before unleashing her hold of the Wave over her feet, dropping into the ankle-deep pool after completion, “But I suppose there are never weird times to train.”

"What are ya really doing here?" Fatera asked, trying to sound cheery like normal.

"You okay?" Wu asked, watching Fatera as her shoulders twitched slightly.

"Why don't ya check on Lera?" Fatera said, "I am far stronger than her. Of course, I am okay."

"After that day," Wu said, standing up as his shoes squished in the sand, "You said you found what you wanted, right?"

"Yes! Of course, I did." Fatera said, turning with a upward curve over her lips, "With ya help, of course. Ya are useful!"

"And ever since then, you seemed to have...changed." Wu said, scratching his head, "I don't know how to best put this but..."

Fatera's body spun around, and she charged towards Wu, her body instantly coated with the crimson-tinted Wave as a glow hovered around her fist. Wu moved immediately as well, jets of Wave shooting out from the hand and feet attachments of his suit as he dodged out of Fatera's way.

So this is how she communicates. Wu nodded, powering up the Void Domain but keeping it on standby as Fatera pivoted in the ground and sent a slurry of sand back onto the trees, violently redirecting her momentum until she charged towards Wu.

However, even Wu could tell that Fatera was moving so much slower than before. Wu projected his hand forward and murmured, "Void Domain!"

Fatera's eyes opened, and she immediately retracted the Wave back into her body as the gauntlets over Wu's hands glowed with orbs of Wave condensing over his knuckles. However, the same sensation of stiffness as a result of Wave usage was nowhere to be found as Wu fired off the orbs and they slammed right into Fatera's body, creating an explosion that threw her body back into the pool.

"Talk to me, Fatera." Wu said, marching forward, "Just what did I do wrong?! Why do I keep messing things up for everybody? Why have you changed? Why has Lera changed?!"

"You don’t get it! You simply won’t!" Fatera said, kicking the sand forward angrily as she didn't expect Wu to pull a blank on her with the Void Domain. She shoved the ground hard, sending her body flying towards Wu before she brought out the Hard Mode and attacked.

That was when Wu properly turned on the Void Domain omi-directionally as Fatera's entire body became locked up.

"It's...not...just...about...you!" Fatera struggled, yanking back the Wave with great difficulty before she crashed into Wu's body, tackling him into the ground. His back crashed into the soft wet sand, and he let out a pained grunt.

"Then what is it about?!"

"Lera had always been scared and worried! Could you not tell?!" Fatera said, slamming her wrists into the ground over Wu's shoulders, "Or are you too contempt with what she offered you that you are blinded to Lera's actual well-being?! When she tried so hard during the Winter Wars, did you truly acknowledge what she has done?!"

"If that's true, then why did you say those things to her?!" Wu shot back, his face lifting off the ground as he glared at Fatera.

"Because...I...I have only become weaker than before too!" Fatera said, her teeth gritted as her heart raced, "What do ya think it felt like when something that's always driven you turned out to be a lie, conjured by yourself?! You think I could just deal with that right away without any issues?! You think it's all this easy, like a game?!"

"Then let me help you!" Wu said, pressing up and trying to free his hands from under Fatera's weight. However, she instead pinned it down further, her breasts pressing into Wu's body and her legs weighing down on Wu's very own, "We could go back to your previous state and set it right!"

"THERE IS NO SETTING IT RIGHT!" Fatera shouted into Wu's face as he watched her in shock. Then, Fatera shot backward, her body straightened as her head instead faced the night sky, "There is no setting it right...it's done. This...this is my future now... All we can do is to move forward...But it fucking sucks..."

"Knowing what you were once capable of, but not being able to access all of that power?" Wu asked, and Fatera nodded slowly before she slightly shifted her hips while still sitting on Wu. He turned out to be a pretty comfortable cushion, actually.

"You...do you think if you used the power driven by your past motivations...that you are cheating?"

Fatera's eyes opened up wide rapidly, and she looked at Wu with disbelief. Then, she blinked a few times before shaking her head rapidly, "No way. Strength is...strength. Of course it's not..."

Wu focused his eyes on her, and he started to understand what is going on. Throughout all of these years that Fatera had been fighting on her own, she had been driven by the piece of memory in search of the next stage of being strong. However, when freed from the shackles of her past, like athletes being forced to retire from their sport, Fatera had lost a sense of direction.

And with that, the ability to access her strongest state, which were always tied to her strongest emotions.

Wu was no one to judge how one should be motivated to fight, and it was certainly up to debate how each person was motivated by different things differently...at the end of the day, it was always up to the individual to find what they are fighting for.

Right? Does that then excuse him for stepping in and helping her? To what extent is he going to help her? To what extent can he?

"Fatera." Wu said, as Fatera pressed her hands onto Wu's stomach and she traced the lines of his abdominal muscles playfully, "Whatever you were driven by, whatever you were motivated by, it's all part of your strength, one way or another."

"...What are you saying?"

"It's always you, Fatera." Wu said, his hand reaching over and hovering over Fatera's long strong fingers, "The Fatera that scared the living crap out of me and Lera at the initial exams, the Fatera that showed up at Ring of Fire just cause you wanted to fight the strongest opponents, the Fatera that showed up to train us just cause I made you lose against Charlie and Lily, and the Fatera that shined so bright, your light were the only one left sparkling at the apex of the Winter Wars...It's always you.

"You have always been the same you, but forever evolving, forever getting stronger. The current you are not different. You are not only defined by your past, but also by your present and your future, Fatera. Just because something in your past had turned out to be different, that doesn't fundamentally change who you are, and all those things that you have experienced...

"Don't let someone else, or a distant destiny determine who you are, and who you want to be." Wu said, his gaze locking in against Fatera's as she listened to him closely, "Even if you got mad at us for how weak we are, you still never left us, did you? You still came back."

"...It’s cause I was hungry..." Fatera retorted. However, Wu felt the tension in her legs slowly loosening, and she rested more of her body weight on Wu.

"I have full faith in you, Fatera, that you will be there with us and for us when we need you." Wu said, "It's okay if you want to take some time to figure things out. When you are ready, we will be here for you."

"What...what are you really saying...?"

"I also want to be a reason you fight, Fatera." Wu said, sitting up and getting even closer to her as Fatera's breathing became more and more rapid with the rise and fall of her chest, "Help me defeat PORA, and save this world. Help Lera become the Guardian that she strived to be. Help Ver fulfill her dream of winning the Ethereal Tournament, and help Augen create a future where we can all be together and be happy."

Fatera ground her teeth together, and she stared into Wu's soul as he reached his hand forward.

"Are you willing to help us?"

Her face turned red, and her heart raced as if she is in Killa mode. The memories of all of the fun she had ever since getting involved with Wu's crazy journey came rushing back, and despite everything, it had always been hella fun. The most fun she's ever had.

"Ya really good at giving speeches." Fatera shook her head and smiled before gripping onto Wu's hand, "That your true power?"

"Maybe." Wu shrugged, "Yet to find a power that works every time. Maybe it's just not meant to be."

"Three days." Fatera said, letting Wu go and helping him up, "Give me three days, and I will figure it all out."

"Got it." Wu nodded with a smile, "I have complete faith in you. Just...try not to sink the island with your dominance state."

"Can't promise anything." Fatera giggled as she winked towards Wu, her footsteps much springier as she walked out deeper into the Woods.