"We need to confirm whether these talismans will still work on the island."
Tifa softly reminded them, handing her talisman to another young lady beside her who wore a black-and-white maid dress. The latter nodded, bent the talisman, and vanished from where she stood, quickly appearing on the other side of the bonfire.
"They work."
Thus, the six remaining talismans in the inn were all gathered in Shade's hands.
"We'll wait for you here."
She said this to Shade:
"If you encounter danger on the way, or if you're hurt, bend a talisman and come back at any time. Although we can't follow you into this thick fog, everyone here has your back."
The young ladies whom Shade could not name but found familiar all smiled and nodded at him. Looking at the talismans in his hand, Shade knew they would indeed give him much more room for error in the coming battle. But as he ventured deeper into the fog, their effects would also be weakened, so he could not treat them as his trump card.
After making sure he had brought all the relics he might need, Shade stood and prepared to depart. Dorothy and Leisha each gave him a hug and promised that they would wait here for him to return:
"You have to promise us too. You'll come back safely."
Angelina held Little Mia and waved goodbye to Shade. As for Tifa, acting as a maid, she gave him a slight bow after he walked out of the inn's front door, as though she were truly seeing off a master leaving on a long journey.
The firelit inn soon disappeared behind Shade. His boots stepped onto the dark red ground, while the dense sound of rain all around him and the thick fog chilled both his