"No, no. Perhaps you are stronger than her. But she is the one chosen by destiny."
The dusty figure interrupted the Unicorn, but neither the Unicorn nor the Hound was willing to give up like this. They truly wanted to sacrifice themselves to bring back the petrified girl; those feelings were not an act.
"Wait a moment."
The Silver Cat on Shade's shoulder spoke:
"Why don't you ask for her own opinion?"
A paw pointed at the statue:
"Her soul is imprisoned inside, but since her body has decayed, Spirit Communication should work on her. Though we don't know how long her soul can appear, at least you can see her temporarily. Perhaps we can ask what happened here. Compared to us, she understands the rules here better."
Chloe's words made sense. The Unicorn could not use powers related to the undead in her current state, while Shade's thaumaturgy could only communicate with incomplete echoes. Therefore, Chloe would perform the Spirit Communication.
The spell went smoothly. The Cat's Tail swayed a few times, and Chloe then leaped onto the statue's shoulder. As dim Gray Light radiated from her paws, a transparent spirit with the exact same face as the statue slowly floated out.
The beautiful girl opened her eyes and looked around in shock. She first gazed at Shade and the animals in confusion, then somehow recognized her teacher and younger sister:
"Teacher, Clara, you..."
Her spirit was extremely unstable and was about to return to the statue. Clearly, even temporarily freeing her through Spirit Communication was not an allowed method:
"Don't mind me!"
She raised a hand, trying to touch the tearful Unicorn:
"As long as you are happy, I am happy."
Her transparent hand touched the smooth white fur, then vanished. Chloe jumped back onto Shade's shoulder. This