At that moment, her gaze became deep and complex, as though it had pierced through the barriers of time and space to see herself fighting side by side with Kevin and the others in another world.
She slowly extended her hand, clad in a long black glove, and lightly touched the edge of the crater. The icy sensation was like touching the souls of the departed, making her body tremble slightly.
Closing her eyes, the Pink Fairy Lady took a deep breath.
When she opened them again, tears shimmered in her azure eyes.
She lowered her head and murmured softly.
"Kevin, Mei, I know you aren't here. But here, I saw your shadows. In this cruel war of conquest, too many innocent lives were lost. Their wails and despair echo across this land. I mourn for you,
and I mourn for them as well. May your souls find peace in another world."
As she spoke, she bent down and picked up a piece of metal debris shattered by a Collapse Energy Missile.
Its edges were sharp and cold, like the blade of war, yet its smooth surface reflected a brilliant afterglow beneath the sunlight, like nature's final trace of tenderness toward these ruins.
She clenched the fragment tightly in her palm, as though she wished to condense all the pain, sorrow, and heavy history of this land into that unremarkable object.
Then she raised her head and looked ahead.
That had once been the site of a research base. Now, nothing remained but craters.
She stood there silently, letting the wind brush through her long pink hair, letting tears silently slide down her cheeks and merge with the sorrow and pain of this land.
No one knew how long passed. When the setting sun's afterglow fell upon her and draped