The wind swept up yellow sand and flung it against his face. After a moment of silence, Shade walked forward to "Miss Brown," gripped the hilt with both hands, and drove the tip of the burning black longsword into her chest.
When he released the sword and staggered back slightly, he saw that the lady had happened to open her eyes. Of course, the "Past" version of her did not recognize Shade. As her body began to turn to sand around the staff that had gradually stripped away the black sunlight, she stared at the sky and spoke her final words:
"If only someone could give me a ray of light."
The wind swept up yellow sand in the shape of an "Angel," leaving behind only the card lying face-down in the pit. The Yggdrasil Staff seemed to have borne power it should never have endured, directly reverting into the Black Key and falling beside the card. Shade bent down with difficulty and picked them up.
The dizziness brought on by bending over nearly made him fall, but fortunately Miss Isabella caught him from behind:
"Shade! Shade! Can you still hear my voice?"
By then, the scenery before Shade's eyes had begun to double. The ringing in his ears meant that he could only see the witch's lips moving, but could not hear a thing.
He realized that he was probably about to pass out, but before losing consciousness, he still managed to leave an instruction:
"Put me in water. I have a god's blessing."
(Little Mia was running.)
The crackling of burning firewood was the first sound Shade heard after regaining consciousness, but his awakening only made the dizzy, pounding sensation in his head more intense. Though the sound of the flames was reassuring, the moment Shade opened his