The curtain had already opened before them. Fiona trusted Shade greatly and charged straight toward it. But even with the curtain right in front of them, now that the frozen river of time had been restored by the god and teleportation was impossible here, it still took time for the two of them and the cat to pass completely through.
The god seated behind the curtain high atop the distant palace finally made a genuine move against them after seeing the curtain open. Before this, wary of the Tree Father and unwilling to hurt Fiona, the god had not truly fought them seriously.
The night turned into a giant hand and appeared behind them in an instant. Though they were already nearly touching the black curtain floating in the air, that massive hand of night could still seize them.
But at that very moment, the unruly cat had already wriggled more than half its body out of Shade's arms.
Its two hind paws were still inside Shade's coat, bracing against the fabric to keep its balance, while its front paws clung to Shade's shoulders, allowing its little head to peer over his shoulder behind them.
Neither Shade nor Fiona could turn around at that moment, so only Mia's large amber eyes saw the pitch-black giant hand. The cat's excellent night vision even allowed her gaze to pass through that hand, through the hole in the distant palace terrace doors, and see the god seated behind the curtain high in the palace.
God and cat met each other's eyes. The curtain before the former suddenly ignited with golden flames, while the weak and pitiful cat revealed a terrified expression. She had been frightened.
And so, out of fear, the cat whose whole body was still glowing cried out in her usual